By Lynne Dulaney-MacNicol
An upcoming Canadian–European exchange program will enable eight University of Calgary social work students to work with displaced persons in Austria, Poland, Finland and Belgium, while a corresponding eight European students will come to Calgary for semester-long field placements.
Developed by a consortium of social work programs in four Canadian universities: Calgary, Montreal, Carleton and University of British Columbia, Kelowna, and four European post-secondary institutions, the “Displaced Persons Project” is funded by the universities and by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) under the International Academic Mobility Initiative.
Thirty-two Canadian and 32 European students will experience their 500- to 600-hour supervised field placements overseas for the duration of the project, which will run over the next three years. Students will receive $3,000 each for travel and living expenses, and may access financial support for language training if required.
Associate professor Constance Barlow, PhD, is spearheading the experiential learning project. As the Faculty of Social Work’s director of field education, Barlow is highly enthusiastic about the project.
She considers it a unique opportunity for students at the graduate and undergraduate levels to experience global learning and enhance their personal and professional development. “By learning to think globally, our students will enhance their local effectiveness,” she says.
The project offers students valuable field experience working with marginalized populations, including homeless, refuges, immigrants, and indigenous populations, in any of the countries.
“We’re confident the project will enhance students’ understanding of displacement as a global social problem and develop their practical abilities to address this issue,” Barlow says. “We are also hopeful that this will lead to an ongoing partnership with our European members. We are working towards long-term sustainability of these exchanges.”
In addition, eight social work faculty members (four Canadian and four European) will participate in week-long transatlantic teaching exchanges.
Far from being new to the Faculty of Social Work, experiential learning is a hallmark of social work education. “Our discipline has always valued field experience, both in the local context and in international settings. It’s an essential aspect of social work education worldwide,” says Barlow. “We include practicum requirements in both our undergraduate and graduate programs, because we are committed to the value of experiential learning.”
For more information, contact Dr. Constance Barlow at cabarlow@ucalgary.ca.
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