International Child Welfare: Guidelines for Educators and a Case Study from Cyprus

This article outlines challenges and opportunities educators and students face while attempting to develop a global perspective in social work. It discusses the need for more international focus in the classroom and increased field placements in non-Western countries. Exercises using an in-depth case study of the historic and current dynamics of Cyprus are proposed. After centuries of strife, Cyprus remains divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. This case provides social work educators with classroom material lending itself to both student self-reflection and a greater understanding of imperialism, colonization, and marginalization by Western nations and how those elements affect student ideologies. Particular attention is paid to the need for culturally informed and self-reflective international approaches to child welfare.