THE BENEFITS OF USING ADVENTURE EDUCATION TO FACILITATE DIALOGUE IN SOCIAL WORK DIVERSITY TRAINING

Abstract

Social workers are confronted with diversity in their daily practice, and the significance of understanding diversity in all its forms is reflected in its inclusion in the BSW program outcomes (South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), 2012). However, some people in society do not value diversity, which leads to minority groups' experiencing intolerance and low levels of social justice. Qualitative research was conducted with social work students with the purpose of performing an analysis of the possible benefits of using adventure activities to determine if this could contribute to teaching social work students about diversity issues since it forms part of the BSW curriculum. This activity also assisted students to face their biases and misconceptions of others and to recognise the myriad diversity factors that exist in society. However, the focus of this article is on how the activity contributed to explaining and discussing diversity. Participants reckoned that it was a meaningful aid in explaining diversity. Sensitivity towards diverse groups and the need to respect their differences were also cultivated. Lastly, the strengths of using an activity to teach diversity were identified. This research showed that adventure-based activities could be a valuable aid when teaching emotionally loaded topics and facilitating dialogues on these topics.