Rasisme eller kultur? Perspektiver i utdanning av sosialarbeidere i Norge og England

Abstract

This paper discusses approaches in social work education on ethnic minorities in England and Norway. Ethnic diversity presents social work with new challenges. Ethnic minorities are overrepresented as clients in social welfare, among the unemployed and children in care, and they have in general a lower standard of living than the majority. This study focuses on social work education in Norway and England and how the challenge of ethnic diversity has been interpreted and conceptualised in social work education. The analysis makes use of three different frames of reference for interpreting the relationship between the majority and the minority: anti-racism, the anti -oppressive, and the cultural approach. On the background of these frames of reference the paper discusses how the challenges from a diverse ethnic society with considerable variations in standards of living can be met in the education of social workers in Norway.