Who we are:

Welcome to the Global Partnership for Transformative Social Work web site. We are a world-wide, non-affiliated community of social work educators, researchers, theoreticians and practitioners interested in exploring existing and potential expressions and applications of what might loosely be called postmodern thought, in particular the confluence of perspectives termed social construction. These perspectives resonate with our belief that transformations in thinking and practicing are needed to address the challenges of our contemporary global environment.

Social work's traditional location between mainstream and marginalized society, its commitment to serving oppressed peoples, and its professional mandate to promote a more just social order, position it to be a positive force for transformative change. Capitalizing on this positioning requires new approaches to scholarship, education, practice and inquiry. We need to reinvigorate the social in social work and support the everyday practices of social workers that interrogate and illuminate the genesis, functioning and maintenance of social knowledge and institutions.

While we resonate with social work's long-standing advocacy for silenced voices, we do not promote a particular political agenda. Rather, we seek to generate new forms of inclusive dialogue and to challenge those discourses that claim privileged knowing or require the suppression of alternative viewpoints. We also believe that social work discourse is impoverished to the extent that it privileges a Western, particularly U.S. and U.K., perspective. Therefore, we seek representation from all parts of the globe. Similarly, while professional boundaries provide a sense of group identity and cohesion, they must be highly permeable to the ideas and practices of other disciplines and fields. Cross-profession and cross-discipline dialogue can provide new possibilities and vision.

What we do:

The GPTSW supports activities that generate spaces of connection and enrichment for social workers and allied professionals At this time, our primary activities are small gatherings entitled, "Transforming Social Work Practice, Education & Inquiry" held annually in Vermont since 2000 and also, in June 2007, in Järvenpää Finland. These gatherings provide a safe, respectful setting for social workers from around the world to engage in dialogue about the expression and application of postmodern and social constructionist ideas. By using various relational formats we hope to make these gatherings not only places to share these ideas but to experience them.

A recent publication of essays inspired by participation in these gatherings entitled, Social Work Dialogues: Re-shaping the Canon in Inquiry, Practice and Education (Council on Social Work Education), is available for those interested in learning more. [Click here for more information].

We hope you will consider this web site as a virtual gathering place for sharing and exchanging ideas. It can also be a resource for learning more about our work and activities. For example, on this site you can find published or working papers that provide a sample of the kinds of work we are doing. You are free to download these papers for your personal use. We also invite you to browse the brief bios of our advisory board.

Future Plans:

We continue to explore ways of connecting with interested social work and allied students and professionals. A current avenue of exploration is the development of small workshops on specific topics such as social construction and social work. Please let us know if you would be interested in participating in or sponsoring such activities in your locale.

Collaboration with the Taos Institute, a virtual organization of social constructionist scholars, practitioners, and educators is another interest. This collaboration promises to be mutually enriching and enable us to offer more activities and products to the global social work community. Some GPTSW advisory members are board members or associates of the TI and others have participated in TI sponsored conferences.

If you are interested in our gatherings or other activities – or simply would like to be on our mailing list please complete a brief information form.

Thank you for your interest.