Speaker

Prof Leila Patel
SARCHI (Chair)
University of Johannesburg

New directions in Developmental Social Work in China in response to National and Global challenges

Abstract Narrative

Amid Covid and other potential pandemic, Covid-related poverty, post-Covid recovery, climate change, uneven development and inequalities of regionalization and globalization, demographic changes, rapid rural-urban migration and prevalence of urban ghettos, these challenges to social work interventions in sustainable and social development are imminent. While diverse practices of Developmental Social Work are increasingly adopted by social work practitioners across developing as well as developed countries to integrate social work interventions with certain elements of economic activities or organizing, the exchanges, conceptualization and theoretical constructions are inadequate.
While State Socialism of China assumes that the government should play a stronger role of in promoting economic development, in particular, poverty alleviation, in the last decade the introduction of social work has a strong affinity with poverty reduction and therefore, fostering a strong affinity with the practices of Developmental Social Work. Together with the legacy and lineage of development work introduced into China since the Open-Door Policy, many domestic partners of development work transformed into social work organizations and blend development interventions into social work practices. These practices and paths of Developmental Social Work are in the early process of conceptualization and theorizations, and we believe would be inspirational to social development practitioners and researchers across China, developing and developed countries as well.
This roundtable will consist of presentations and discussion of the lessons learnt, the conceptualizations and theorizations from action researchers on Developmental Social Work in China. The roundtable is a sequel of the Developmental Social Work Action Research Initiatives of the Institute of Social Work, Yunnan University of China, in developing practice models of developmental social work with urban and rural poor, as well as collaborating with the public sector. The initiatives have been developing for more than a decade, from rural and urban pilot projects to provincial pilots, as well as Developmental Social Work Exchange Network within China. The roundtable will include the following themes:
(a) Developmental Social Work as indigenization and endogenization of social work in China: Professor Xiang, Rong will analyze the practice models of the Institute of Social Work and Yunnan Heart to Heart Social Work Service Centre in poverty stricken migrant communities, rural communities as well as the provincial-wide incubation initiatives to promote developmental social work in ethnic, poverty stricken and border regions of Yunnan province in Southwest China.
(b) The role of Community Economic Development (CED) in Developmental Social Work: Dr. Anna Chen will draw on her action research on CED in integrating empowerment strategies of rural-urban migrants, as well as assessing the potentials of various community economic development practices in tackling urban and rural poverty, as well as the empowerment of rural and urban poor.
(c) The importance of Para-Professional social worker in rural Developmental Social Work: Dr, He, Yufei will draw on her action research and analysis on the relative importance of para-professional social workers to “professional” workforce in village cooperatives and social service agencies.
(d) Lessons learnt from the path of Developmental Social Work in China: Dr. Luk, Tak Chuen will draw lessons and pitfalls on the practice models, social collaborations, education, work force development within the path of Developmental Social Work in China, especially in addressing the Village Revitalization and Sustainable Development of China.
(e) Relevance and Implications of the Chinese Experience for Developmental Social Work to Global development challenges- a moderated Discussion: Prof. Leila Patel will moderate a discussion between the panelists and other participants on the relevance and implications of the Chinese practices and conceptualization in Developmental Social Work to other developing, as well as developed countries.

Biography

Leila Patel is professor of Social Development Studies and holds the South African Research Chair in Welfare and Social Development, University of Johannesburg. Leila is the founding director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) from 2004 -2018. She has published widely on issues of social development in South Africa and internationally and is the recipient of both national and international awards. In 2020, she received the National Research Foundation’s Science for Society Gold Medal Award (2020) and Katherine Kendell Memorial Award (2020) for distinguished scholarship and for her contribution to social work education and social development. Her research interests include social welfare policy, poverty and hunger, social protection, gender, care, the social services and children, youth and families. She has wide experience in academia, research, teaching and fulfilled various roles in government, civil society and private sector social involvement initiatives. She was South Africa’s first director general of social welfare after apartheid and has played a leading role in the development of welfare policy in South Africa. Her forthcoming edited volume will be published by Edward Elgar titled Social Protection and Social Development in the Global South.

Dr. Tak Chuen Luk
Project Coordinator
Chinese University of Hong Kong

New directions in Developmental Social Work in China in response to National and Global challenges

 

Biography

Dr. Tak Chuen LUK is currently Project Coordinator in the Yunus Social Business Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Visiting Professor to Social Work Institute, School of Ethnology and Sociology (Social Work), Yunnan University, Chair of Advisory Committee, Yunnan Heart2Heart Community Care Service Centre. He has previously been Associate Professor in the department of Sociology in Hong Kong Baptist University, Head of Research in Oxfam Hong Kong. He was first trained in social work and later earned his doctorate of Sociology from the University of Chicago. He once taught in Hong Kong Baptist University and later joined Oxfam Hong Kong and established the Centre of Research and Development in Beijing. He is working with social innovation and development social work to advance social work practices on the issues of poverty and sustainable development, in the areas of rural-urban migration, circular migration, indigenous communities, rural development in poverty-stricken and disaster affected regions.

Dr Rong Xiang
Institute of Social Work, Yunnan University

New directions in Developmental Social Work in China in response to National and Global challenges

Abstract Narrative

Amid Covid and other potential pandemic, Covid-related poverty, post-Covid recovery, climate change, uneven development and inequalities of regionalization and globalization, demographic changes, rapid rural-urban migration and prevalence of urban ghettos, these challenges to social work interventions in sustainable and social development are imminent. While diverse practices of Developmental Social Work are increasingly adopted by social work practitioners across developing as well as developed countries to integrate social work interventions with certain elements of economic activities or organizing, the exchanges, conceptualization and theoretical constructions are inadequate.
While State Socialism of China assumes that the government should play a stronger role of in promoting economic development, in particular, poverty alleviation, in the last decade the introduction of social work has a strong affinity with poverty reduction and therefore, fostering a strong affinity with the practices of Developmental Social Work. Together with the legacy and lineage of development work introduced into China since the Open-Door Policy, many domestic partners of development work transformed into social work organizations and blend development interventions into social work practices. These practices and paths of Developmental Social Work are in the early process of conceptualization and theorizations, and we believe would be inspirational to social development practitioners and researchers across China, developing and developed countries as well.
This roundtable will consist of presentations and discussion of the lessons learnt, the conceptualizations and theorizations from action researchers on Developmental Social Work in China. The roundtable is a sequel of the Developmental Social Work Action Research Initiatives of the Institute of Social Work, Yunnan University of China, in developing practice models of developmental social work with urban and rural poor, as well as collaborating with the public sector. The initiatives have been developing for more than a decade, from rural and urban pilot projects to provincial pilots, as well as Developmental Social Work Exchange Network within China. The roundtable will include the following themes:
(a) Developmental Social Work as indigenization and endogenization of social work in China: Professor Xiang, Rong will analyze the practice models of the Institute of Social Work and Yunnan Heart to Heart Social Work Service Centre in poverty stricken migrant communities, rural communities as well as the provincial-wide incubation initiatives to promote developmental social work in ethnic, poverty stricken and border regions of Yunnan province in Southwest China.
(b) The role of Community Economic Development (CED) in Developmental Social Work: Dr. Anna Chen will draw on her action research on CED in integrating empowerment strategies of rural-urban migrants, as well as assessing the potentials of various community economic development practices in tackling urban and rural poverty, as well as the empowerment of rural and urban poor.
(c) The importance of Para-Professional social worker in rural Developmental Social Work: Dr, He, Yufei will draw on her action research and analysis on the relative importance of para-professional social workers to “professional” workforce in village cooperatives and social service agencies.
(d) Lessons learnt from the path of Developmental Social Work in China: Dr. Luk, Tak Chuen will draw lessons and pitfalls on the practice models, social collaborations, education, work force development within the path of Developmental Social Work in China, especially in addressing the Village Revitalization and Sustainable Development of China.
(e) Relevance and Implications of the Chinese Experience for Developmental Social Work to Global development challenges- a moderated Discussion: Prof. Leila Patel will moderate a discussion between the panelists and other participants on the relevance and implications of the Chinese practices and conceptualization in Developmental Social Work to other developing, as well as developed countries.

Biography

Dr. Rong Xiang, Associate Professor, is the Director of Social Work Research Institute in School of Ethnology and Sociology in Yunnan University. She also serves as the Vice President of Yunnan Federation of Social Workers, and a Committee Member of National Community Governance Committee. Her areas of research are social work education, developmental social work, rural and ethnicity social work, and gender and development. Her Ph.D thesis is on ethnic women and migration in a south westen Chinese village. Her publications among a few are: Innovation, Inclusion and Integration: Out of the Current Social Work Education Crossroad in China. Journal of China Agriculture University, March 2017; China Developmental Social Work: YNU and H2H Community Care Action Research, Developmental Social Work: Theory and Practice, Taibei:Publishing House, 2016.

Dr Anna Chen
Lecturer, Department of Social Wor
Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, China

New directions in Developmental Social Work in China in response to National and Global challenges

Supporting Document

Biography

Dr Chen Anna is an assistant professor in the social work department at Central China Normal University(CCNU). She was trained in Wuhan, got her social work bachelor and master of social work degree in mainland, and PhD of social welfare in Chinese University of Hong Kong. She once worked in a south China NGO research center for two years and did many case studies and survey on China grassroots NGO. and currently teach domestic violence intervention course in CCNU. Her research interest include the critical social work approach, women empowerment, social development, gender and labor study. Her recent publications are: Enhance the anti-domestic violence competencies of undergraduates: action research on a social work curriculum in Mainland China. China Journal of Social Work, 2021. State Intervention and de-gendering and re-gendering community work: A field study of sex segregation of occupation in the governance of covid-19 pandemic in China, journal of Chinese Women’s Studies, 2021.