Indigenous social work is gaining significance in the social work profession to respond to Indigenous voices. However, there is still ambiguity on how Indigenous social work is conceptualised, and this ambiguity has resulted in reluctance in the social work profession to accept Indigenous perspectives and knowledge in education and practice. To clear this ambiguity, this article examines Indigenous social work as a concept and explores its diverse discourses work through a critical review of 40 articles. The review analyses four lines of thoughts that emerged on how Indigenous social work is conceptualised across the globe.
AkintayoTHämäläinenJRissanenS (2018) Global standards and the realities of multiculturalism in social work curricula. International Social Work61(3): 395–409.
2.
AsanteMK (1991) The Afrocentric idea in education. The Journal of Negro Education60: 170–180.
3.
CheungMLiuM (2004) The self-concept of Chinese women and the indigenization of social work in China. International Social Work47(1): 109–127.
4.
ChongHH (2016) The understanding of Indigenous peoples towards professional relationships: The case of Taiwan. International Social Work59(2): 235–245.
5.
CoatesJGrayMHetheringtonT (2006) An ‘ecospiritual’ perspective: Finally, a place for indigenous approaches. British Journal of Social Work36: 381–399.
6.
CrabtreeSA (2008) Dilemmas in international social work education in the United Arab Emirates: Islam, localization and social need. Social Work Education27(5): 536–548.
7.
DesaiMNarayanL (1998) Challenges for social work profession towards people-centred development. The Indian Journal of Social Work59(1): 531–558.
8.
FurnessSGilliganP (2010) Social work, religion and belief: Developing a framework for practice. British Journal of Social Work40: 2185–2202.
9.
GoldsteinH (1986) Education for social work practice: A cognitive, cross-cultural approach. International Social Work29(2): 149–164.
10.
GolightleyMHollowayM (2017) Editorial: The voice of international social work. The British Journal of Social Work47(2): 285–292.
11.
GolightleyMHollowayM (2019) Editorial: Academia and practice: An essential social work partnership. The British Journal of Social Work49(7): 1701–1704.
12.
GrahamJRAl-KrenawiAZaidiS (2007) Social work in Pakistan: Preliminary insights. International Social Work50(5): 627–640.
13.
GrayM (2010) Indigenization in a globalizing world: A response to Yunong and Xiong (2008). International Social Work53(1): 115–127.
14.
GrayMCoatesJ (2010) ‘Indigenization’ and knowledge development: Extending the debate. International Social Work53(5): 613–627.
15.
GrayMCoatesJ (2015) Changing gears: Shifting to an environmental perspective in social work education. Social Work Education34(5): 502–512.
16.
GrayMCoatesJBirdMY (eds) (2008) Introduction. In: Indigenous Social Work around the World- Towards Culturally Relevant Education and Practice. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, pp. 1–12.
17.
GrayMCoatesJHetheringtonT (2007) The indigenous voice in mainstream social work. Families in Society88(1): 55–66.
18.
GrayMFookJ (2004) The quest for a universal social work: Some issues and implications. Social Work Education23(5): 625–644.
19.
HammoudHR (1998) Social work education in developing countries. International Social Work31: 195–210.
20.
IbrahimaABMattainiMA (2017) Social work in Africa: Decolonizing methodologies and approaches. International Social Work62(2): 799–813.
21.
IvesNGAitkenO (2008) Technology and access: Responding to the social work education needs of first nations and Inuit communities. Social Work Education27(6): 683–692.
22.
JonesDN (2018) Promoting community and environmental sustainability. International Social Work61(4): 471–475.
23.
JonesPRoweSMilesD (2018) Beyond practical preparation: A critical approach to preparing social work students for international study experiences. International Social Work61(6): 1083–1094.
24.
KalinganireCRutikangaC (2015) The Role of Social Work in Poverty Reduction and the Realisation of Millennium Development Goals in Rwanda. Kampala, Uganda: Fountain Publishers.
25.
KingRUBokoreNDudziakS (2017) The significance of indigenous knowledge in social work responses to collective recovery: A Rwandan case study. Journal of Indigenous Social Development6(1): 37–63.
26.
KulkarniPD (1993) The indigenous base of social work profession in India. The Indian Journal of Social Work54: 555–565.
27.
LaitinenMVäyrynenS (2016) Social work practices and research with Sámi people and communities in the frame of indigenous social work International. Social Work59(5): 583–586.
28.
LamCWBlythE (2014) Re-engagement and negotiation in a changing political and economic context: Social work in Hong Kong. British Journal of Social Work44: 44–62.
29.
LanNTHugmanRBriscoeC (2010) Moving towards an ‘indigenous’ social work education in Vietnam. Social Work Education29(8): 843–854.
30.
LawKLeeK (2016) Importing Western values versus indigenization: Social work practice with ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. International Social Work59(1): 60–72.
31.
LavalleeLF (2010) Blurring the Boundaries: Social Work’s Role in Indigenous Spirituality. Canadian Social Work Review27(1): 143–146.
32.
MabvuriraV (2018) Making sense of African thought in social work practice in Zimbabwe: Towards professional decolonisation. International Social Work63(4): 419–430.
33.
Mafile’oTVakalahiH (2018) Indigenous social work across borders: Expanding social work in the South Pacific. International Social Work61(4): 537–552.
34.
MathebaneMSSekuduJ (2018) A contrapuntal epistemology for social work: An Afrocentric perspective. International Social Work61(6): 1154–1168.
35.
MayakaBTruellR (2021) Ubuntu and its potential impact on the international social work profession. International Social Work64(5): 649–662.
36.
MidgleyJ (2001) The critical perspective in social development. Social Development Issues23(1): 42–50.
37.
MidgleyJ (2008) Promoting reciprocal international social work exchanges: Professional imperialism revisited. In: GrayMCoatesJBirdMY (eds) Indigenous Social Work around the World: Towards Culturally Relevant Education and Practice. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, pp. 31–45.
38.
NadkarniV (2002) Interventions on garbage pollution using integrated social work practice framework. Indian Journal of Social Work63(3): 313–339.
39.
NadkarniV (2010) Editorial. Social Work Education29(8): 815–817.
40.
NashMMunfordR (2001) Unresolved struggles: Educating social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Social Work Education20(1): 21–34.
41.
PullaVRDasTKNikkuB (2020) Indigenous or blended model for South Asian social work?Space and Culture8(1): 40–58.
42.
RagabAI (2016) The Islamic perspective on social work: A conceptual framework. International Social Work59(3): 325–342.
43.
RankopoM.J.Osei-HwedieK. (2011) Globalization and Culturally Relevant Social Work: African Perspectives on Indigenization. International Social Work54(1): 137–47.
44.
Ranta-TyrkköS (2010) Theatre as social work in Orissa, India: Natya Chetana’s theatre for awareness. Social Work Education29(8): 923–927.
45.
RekhaM (1977) Some observation on teaching of values and ideologies in an Indian school of social work. The Indian Journal of Social Work38(3): 227–233.
46.
RockL (2015) Social work education: The Caribbean experience. The Indian Journal of Social Work76(1): 95–114.
47.
SimondsVWChristopherS (2013) Adapting Western research methods to indigenous ways of knowing. American Journal of Public Health103(12): 2185–2192.
48.
SinclairR (2004) Aboriginal social work education in Canada: Decolonising pedagogy for the 7th generation. First Peoples Child and Family Review1(1): 49–61.
49.
SmallENikolovaSPSharmaBB (2017) Cultural competency in the global setting: Are social work students prepared to serve in a culturally diverse world?British Journal of Social Work47: 666–682.
50.
SpalekBMcDonaldLZ (2012) Social work and political contexts: Engagement and negotiation. British Journal of Social Work42: 1013–1021.
51.
TangaPT (2013) The challenges of social work field training in Lesotho. Social Work Education32(2): 157–178.
52.
ThomsponLJWadleyD (2018) Integrating Indigenous approaches and relationship-based ethics for culturally safe interventions: Child protection in Solomon Islands. International Social Work62(2): 994–1010.
53.
TryggedS (2010) Balancing the global and the local: Some normative reflections on international social work. International Social Work53(5): 644–655.
54.
UgiagbeEO (2015) Social work is context-bound: The need for indigenization of social work practice in Nigeria. International Social Work58(6): 790–801.
55.
United Nations (1971). Training for Social Welfare, The Fifth International SurveyNew York.
56.
VijayalakshmiB (2004) Building social work knowledge: Some issues. The Indian Journal of Social Work65(1): 73–86.
57.
YunongHXiongZ (2008) A reflection on the indigenization discourse in social work. International Social Work51(5): 611–622.
58.
YunongHXiongZ (2011) Further discussion of indigenization in social work: A response to Gray and Coates. International Social Work55(1): 40–52.
