Teaching Gender in Social Work - MailChimp

alongside, and not above or below, other potential forms of discrimination and
oppressive. As the understanding of power becomes more sophisticated, so also
do the debates. One may conclude that it is too simplistic to say that this is the
major issue of the day, given all of the other challenges that are faced by service
users and carers. Still, we cannot lose sight of the contribution that feminist
and gender-related theories have made and continue to make. The need for us
to have courage and confidence in engaging deeply with the issues in order to
be able to grapple with the ongoing contradictions and challenges illustrated in
this discussion and familiar to readers is thus emphasised.
Dealing with gender in an integrated manner allows for it to imbue
teaching across a range of areas, but this can also mean that sufficient attention
may not be paid to the particularities alongside the other integrated themes.
Using such approaches as those set out above (within modules and/or lectures
on family policy, anti-discriminatory practice, power and empowerment, and
child care and welfare)should ensure that sufficient attention is paid to the
dilemmas of gender relations and stereotyping within the broader context of
preparing to become a generic social worker. As noted at the beginning, this
article does not seek to show that such an approach is necessarily better than
a more specialist form of teaching; rather it illustrates how, within a generic
programme, gender can be maintained as a core area of consideration within
the broader context of social work education and training.
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