Weaving IASWG Competencies into a Bicultural Aotearoa New Zealand undergraduate Social Work Programme from a Moana Pasifika Perspective

Abstract

This chapter discusses the redesign of ‘SocWork 311: Social Work Process and Practice’, a compulsory third year undergraduate course that utilised group work as the central focus for student learning. The International Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups was chosen as one of three key frameworks, whereby explicit connections were made with the Aotearoa New Zealand Code of Ethics for Social Work, and the NZ Social Work Core Competency Standards (CCS). The CCS standards are inclusive of the Kaitiakitanga Framework - a set of Māori cultural competencies that social workers must demonstrate in order to practice in New Zealand. As a social work programme located in New Zealand’s largest city, and boasting a diverse student body, inclusive of students from Māori, Pacific, New Zealand-European, Asian and other descent, we explore key tenets of the revised course curriculum. We discuss the implications of incorporating global and culturally responsive pedagogies through group work education, acknowledging the bicultural, Pacific-located context of social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. These insights, presented through the lens of Pacific educators and social work students, shed light on ways international social work educators, students, leaders and researchers may adapt their curriculum to enhance student learning through group work.