From Specialism to Genericism: Rising and Falling to the Challenges of Responding to Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Social Work Education in Wales

Abstract

Issues of race equality/cultural diversity have been on the UK social work training agenda since the late 1970s; few attempts have been made to assess training inputs or evaluate outcomes. This aspect of social work education remains under-researched but the nature and extent of such training are also highly contested. This paper reports on a study of programme providers across Wales aimed at capturing the nature and extent of training on issues of race equality/cultural diversity. The findings suggest attrition of these issues against a strengthened legislative and policy mandate on equalities. Participants note a shift away from specific training on race equality/ diversity towards a generic approach being unable to systematically account for student exposure or experience of training on these issues