{"title":"Exploring subjective experiences of international social workers in Asia: Content analysis of Japanese field reports","authors":"Masateru Higashida","doi":"10.1111/aswp.12225","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The aim of this study is to explore the subjective and practical experiences of international social workers, focusing on the content, outcomes, impact, and related factors of their activities in Asia. Individual reports of social workers dispatched from Japan to 11 Asian countries during the period of 2003–2018 were collected (<i>n</i> = 59). A mixed quantitative and qualitative content analysis was used to examine their experiences and perceptions in the field. Parts of their reports were categorized mainly into the relationship between requested activities and perceived needs, the type of social work activities conducted, experiences of success and failure in activities, and perceived outcomes and impact of the activities. The quantitative analysis showed that approximately 48.9% of the social workers described positive outcomes of their activities and 43.9% described positive impacts of their activities on the placement or communities. The qualitative analysis revealed that they experienced a variety of difficulties, together with sociocultural and religious differences. Many of their experiences of success or failure appeared to be associated with their interactions with local stakeholders. The findings suggest the importance of the reflective and contextualized practice of international developmental social workers with local stakeholders.</p>","PeriodicalId":44567,"journal":{"name":"Asian Social Work and Policy Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2021-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/aswp.12225","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian Social Work and Policy Review","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aswp.12225","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"SOCIAL WORK","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
The aim of this study is to explore the subjective and practical experiences of international social workers, focusing on the content, outcomes, impact, and related factors of their activities in Asia. Individual reports of social workers dispatched from Japan to 11 Asian countries during the period of 2003–2018 were collected (n = 59). A mixed quantitative and qualitative content analysis was used to examine their experiences and perceptions in the field. Parts of their reports were categorized mainly into the relationship between requested activities and perceived needs, the type of social work activities conducted, experiences of success and failure in activities, and perceived outcomes and impact of the activities. The quantitative analysis showed that approximately 48.9% of the social workers described positive outcomes of their activities and 43.9% described positive impacts of their activities on the placement or communities. The qualitative analysis revealed that they experienced a variety of difficulties, together with sociocultural and religious differences. Many of their experiences of success or failure appeared to be associated with their interactions with local stakeholders. The findings suggest the importance of the reflective and contextualized practice of international developmental social workers with local stakeholders.
期刊介绍:
There is a growing recognition that major social trends, such as the process of globalization, rapidly changing demography, increasing psycho-social difficulties in individuals and families, growing economic disparities within and between the nations, and international migration, present important challenges for social policies and social work practices in Asia. It also has become evident that social policy strategies and social work methods must be developed and implemented in the context of Asian region''s own histories, cultures, and unique developmental trajectories in order to respond effectively to those emerging challenges. The Asian Social Work and Policy Review seeks to encourage exchanges of original ideas, rigorous analysis of experiences, innovative practice methods founded on local knowledge and skills of problem solving in the areas of social work and social policy between various countries in Asia.