engleski

Challenges of users' participation in social work education

To be included means to have equal position for negotiation, agreement and intervention, as well as to be able to asses the situation from own perspective and to be taken seriously. It takes the whole system to be prepared for inclusion of new participants – service users in social work education. Experience has shown that process of users' involvement in education often takes place spontaneously and unplanned, which does not mean necessarily that it goes in a right direction, especially when it deals with vulnerable, marginalized groups. For future social workers it is very important to have the opportunity to develop sensitivity for participatory and empowering approach toward users and their concepts of involvement in the process of higher education. This is also important for developing social work practice, tailored by users and reflecting their perception of being helped and being able to use that help. Experiences in users’ participation in social work education at Zagreb’ s Department of Social work will be presented and discussed. Expected outcomes are in developing more understanding of users’ involvement in social work education, sharing experiences on users’ involvement and promoting partnership between users, professionals and academic community.

social work education; users' involvement; empowerment

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