Strengths, justice and collective action: what social work and community welfare can offer Australian Indigenous education

Abstract

[Extract] Social work and community welfare are professions with a long association with Indigenous Australians, some of it good, some of it bad. But these professions also have traditions of social commitment and social action that reject the status quo when it continues to oppress people. We believe that it is not enough just to understand society; the task is to change it. Three positions drawn from social work and community welfare may be useful for educators. These positions move well away from attitudes of stigma, failure and blame in working with people. We are no longer interested in describing failure but in assisting and achieving success. The three approaches are the strengths perspective, critical theory and social action. Briefly, the strengths perspective is an approach to working with people that rejects problem-based assessment and concentrates on developing the resources individuals and communities possess. Critical theory analyses the unjust historical, cultural and material conditions of our society and its negative impact on individuals,families and communities. Social action emphasises strategies to change these unjust social conditions through consciousness raising, participation, education and collective action.