Browsing by Author "Bhangyi, Venesio Bwambale"

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Decolonising social work fieldwork education in Africa
(Taylor & Francis Group, 2023) Bhangyi, Venesio Bwambale; Makoha, Godfrey
Social work is widely acknowledged as a practice-based profession and the decolonisation of its fieldwork education element would enhance its practical relevance in many global South countries. In recent years, there has been growing interest and effort to shift social work scholarship in Africa towards an indigenous, decolonial and contextual theory and practice. This chapter therefore engages with this debate by examining the approaches, challenges and prospects of decolonising social work fieldwork education on continental Africa. Using a systematic qualitative literature review epistemology, the chapter starts with a narration of the origins and status of social work and fieldwork education in Africa. The authors draw on the forces driving the decolonisation debate in social work, and the ubuntu principles of learning as the theoretical frames for the discussion. They further articulate the approaches, challenges and prospects of a decolonial social work fieldwork education in Africa. They conclude by drawing implications for social work fieldwork education rooted in the Ubuntu philosophies of community, culture, multiple/shared knowledge and continuous learning.
Directions in constructing a body of knowledge in eco-social work education and practice in Uganda: Actions, channels, and implications
(African Journal of Social Work, 2023-04) Bhangyi, Venesio Bwambale
In recent times, Uganda has witnessed human suffering resulting from the occurrence of environmental disasters thereby placing social work professionals, particularly those in civic organizations at the forefront of responses. As such, this article argues that the country’s largely agrarian welfare system and its pursuit of sustainable social development urgently necessitate reframing social work scholarship with an emphasis on eco-social theory for professionals to gain relevance and preparedness for actions and interventions that address environment linked problems. Through case analysis, the paper presents four recent cases of environmental natural disasters as a persuasion towards building an eco-social work body of knowledge. It then highlights the education and practice actions towards an eco-social work knowledge. The channels through which this action should take place are discussed and the implications of eco-social work thinking on professional social work education and practice are explored. It concludes by proposing a model for eco-social work education and practice that integrates formal public environmental safeguards and indigenous knowledge systems that champion protective and co-dependence approaches in people-environment interfaces.