Social constructivist orientation to indigenizing social work: The case of Kazakhstan

Abstract

The study explores how indigenizing social work occurs in Kazakhstan and how educators’ and practitioners’ socially and historically formed conceptions of culture and knowledge influence it. In-depth interviews reveal that indigenization is occurring using authentic Kazakh practices and literary works as part of a cultural revival. Local literature is under dual epistemic dominance; knowledge borrowing takes place as a “patchwork.” Narrowing cultural competence to interethnic respect and constructed avoiding or homogenizing cultural differences impede indigenization. The findings enrich global understanding of postcolonial indigenization and highlight that policies and measures may be less impactful without critically examining socially constructed conceptions.