ABSTRACT
Several authors contend that with the growing cultural diversity of Western societies comes the responsibility for social service providers to better prepare themselves to engage with their culturally diverse clients (Boyle and Barranti, 1999; John et al., 2003; Marmen and Delisle, 2003; Rebolloso Pacheco et al., 2003). Hokenstad, Khinduka and Midgley (1992: 187) note in their discussion of international social work, practitioners need to recognize that ethnic heterogeneity is ‘the norm, not the exception’. As such, Nagy and Falk (2000: 57) argue ‘the minimum requirement is that social workers should be prepared to work locally in an increasingly multicultural society’. International placements potentially contribute to this preparation by providing students with the opportunity to broaden their cultural horizons (Boyle, Nackerud and Kilpatrick, 1999; Pawar, Hanna and Sheridan, 2004; Webber, 2005). Moreover, as the discussion about the internationalization of social work continues to unfold, the important place of international placements is reaffirmed (Caragata and Sanchez, 2002; Healy, 2001; Pettys et al., 2005). This chapter aims to contribute to the discussion on the internationalization of social work education through a critical examination of international student placements. Specifically, it argues that exploration of students’ initial choice to undertake overseas placements is crucial if the internationalization of social work is to avoid reproducing inequitable North-South power relations. As Razack (2000) and Drucker (2003) argue, efforts to internationalize social work must take into account these relations characterized by a history of colonialism and current-day imperialist practices.
