Cultivating Global Citizens through Study Abroad and the Use of Technology with Undergraduate Social Work Students

This article examines factors of successful use of faculty-led short-term study abroad programs as a teaching strategy in promoting cultural humility among undergraduate social work students. Key attributes that influence improved cultural awareness in social work students are detailed, including the use of social media prior to, during and after travel abroad. Undergraduate social work students (n=8) participated in a summer course including travel to Costa Rica. Description of the teaching techniques and strategies are described pre-travel, in-country and post-travel. Two measures are described given to students pre-travel and post-travel to assess cultural flexibility, adaptability, openness and personal autonomy. These include the Cross Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) and the Short Term Study Abroad Survey. Results included all of the students reporting a change in their world view, attitude changes as a result of in- home stays, and agency visits. There was a significant difference on the CCAI on the Personal Autonomy subscale

Creating Useful Knowledge in the Social Sciences through Interdisciplinary Research

Interdisciplinary research (IDR) attempts to advance systematic and rigorous “scholarly endeavors that integrate at least two different perspectives into a blended product” (Achenbaum, 1995). Ideally, it produces better results than conventional approaches. Effectively navigating this process resulted in two-thirds of all major social science advances during the social Copyright University of Houston, 2006 24 movements between 1930’s and 1965 (Deutsch, as cited in Achenbaum, 1995). It deviates from the reductionist spectrum of natural and social sciences by introducing a systems-oriented approach. Social Work has led the way in promoting a holistic view of human behavior, but we have not spent enough time talking about interdisciplinary research. This article attempts to articulate some of the process issues which support harmonizing disciplines

PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL WORK VOLUME 5 (Spring 2007)

This is the full-text volume of Perspectives on Social Work, vol. 5 (Spring 2007)