From Feminist Social Work Projects to Gender and Diversity Modules? Gender in Social Work BA and MA Curricula at Universities of Applied Sciences

Abstract

The majority of social work practitioners are women and there are specific gender hierarchies in the profession. Conceptions of social problems, the strategies to cope with complex and problematic situations as well as social work practice are all determined by gender perceptions and by the construction of gender differences (Gruber/Froschel 2001: 13). How do these findings correspond with social work course contents at universities respectively at universities of applied sciences, where in Germany the majority of social workers are educated? In this paper I will outline a discussion about the relevance of gender perspectives in social work curricula, starting with the influence of women’s projects and feminist social work on the Diploma programmes. Two developments in European policy could the process of integrating gender perspectives and “Gender Studies“ into Social Work Education get moving: The Amsterdam treaty (1997) which made the concept of Gender Mainstreaming binding to all EU-Member States, and the Bologna-Declaration (1999) and following Communiques, which bind member states to adapt their systems of higher education and to create a European space for Higher Education. The article focuses the question if and how the Bologna process and the reform of the course programmes are seen as a chance for implementing gender topics into the courses of study on the basis of two surveys undertaken in 2004 and 2008.