An ‘Ecospiritual’ Perspective: Finally, a Place for Indigenous Approaches
Author(s)
Coates, John
Gray, Mel
Hetherington, Tiani
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2006
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Despite holding significant roles in providing social services to First Nations or indigenous communities, social work has been reluctant to accept indigenous perspectives and traditional forms of helping and healing. Most often, social workers have operated within the dominant paradigms that, despite efforts to the contrary, have primarily imposed Western social work beliefs and practices which have been unable to effectively accommodate diversity. This paper argues that the recent attention to the importance of the environment and spirituality, and the paradigmatic shift that such issues require, has created a welcoming ...
View more >Despite holding significant roles in providing social services to First Nations or indigenous communities, social work has been reluctant to accept indigenous perspectives and traditional forms of helping and healing. Most often, social workers have operated within the dominant paradigms that, despite efforts to the contrary, have primarily imposed Western social work beliefs and practices which have been unable to effectively accommodate diversity. This paper argues that the recent attention to the importance of the environment and spirituality, and the paradigmatic shift that such issues require, has created a welcoming space for indigenous voices. Such acceptance has opened the opportunity for the profession to benefit not only from a genuine exchange among cultures, but also from a re-thinking of the foundational beliefs of the social work profession.
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View more >Despite holding significant roles in providing social services to First Nations or indigenous communities, social work has been reluctant to accept indigenous perspectives and traditional forms of helping and healing. Most often, social workers have operated within the dominant paradigms that, despite efforts to the contrary, have primarily imposed Western social work beliefs and practices which have been unable to effectively accommodate diversity. This paper argues that the recent attention to the importance of the environment and spirituality, and the paradigmatic shift that such issues require, has created a welcoming space for indigenous voices. Such acceptance has opened the opportunity for the profession to benefit not only from a genuine exchange among cultures, but also from a re-thinking of the foundational beliefs of the social work profession.
View less >
Journal Title
British Journal of Social Work
Volume
36
Issue
3
Subject
Social Work not elsewhere classified
Social Work
Sociology
Psychology