**4. Social work education and sustainable development goals**

#### **4.1 Social work and the SDGs in global North and South**

When perusing the literature relevant to the university curricula in SWE, it was understood that there had been a remarkable difference between the developed and the developing world. Some articles were written by native scholars and some were by non-native scholars. Yet, none of them deny the inequality in resources, practices, and the curriculum structure between these two main spheres of the world. It has been a perennial question that whether the implementation of a common global standard is a myth or reality. The information was so diverse that Social Work as a discipline fluctuates between international or national and global or local. Many scholars hold the view that Ameri-centric or Euro-centric Social Work has dominated the entire world [2, 12]. One common notion is that Social Work as an autonomous discipline has not been able to address the diversity and uniqueness of different social systems of global South.

Onyiko et al. comment that the indigenous cultural traits of Kenya have been marginalized by the Euro-centric mainstream social work [12]. It was convinced that what is not native is thrust upon on local learners and practitioners. In many instances Social Work has been considered a lucrative discipline as it is emerging as a new trend, so most of the Social Work learners are conducting their research and field training in urban areas. Therefore, the adjustment to the rural communities and their problems are not easy. As the new Social Work practitioners are unfamiliar with local knowledge, they are unable to work with local communities making them "misfits" in their field placements [12].

The Swedish experience narrated by Wolmesjö is a remarkable example in the developed context how a well-experienced practitioner could rehearse new strategies. The intellectual environment to conduct novel experiments is there, and the learners are ready to engage in new techniques to integrate the Social Work knowledge [4]. The peaceful nature of the society and the forward-looking community is an added advantage. The comparison between the Indian and Australian environments portrays two opposing pictures. Australian context is ahead of the times [17], but the Indian society's catching up with new developments is a considerable achievement [6]. Even though the Indian institutes have had too many strides forward, those have to systematize their contents and the delivery further. Dziro's Zimbabwean account highlights the inadequacy of the existing curriculum and how effective the instability of social institutions on the discipline [11].

Mel has been conducting Social Work research extensively in the African context and published many articles and books to date [5, 13]. The findings denote that there is a remarkable progress against many difficulties. In Southern and East African contexts, the social workers have been fully committed, but the best practices are yet to come. The article highlights the issues related to physical, human, and intellectual constraints [5]. The lack of a database to restore indigenous literature, intra-national

and international collaboration, multidisciplinary approach, and developing a fullyfledged curriculum are the dire needs for some of the African countries [13].

A positive image can be visualized when reading the Kazakhstan experience in which the researchers proclaim that there is a constructive approach by understanding the shortcomings exist in the field of Social Work [14]. Canavera et al. present both the advantages and the disadvantages the SWE is experiencing in the West African region [26]. While some countries have made significant progresses, some others are still to improve their situation. The common shortcomings in the SWE programs are lack of uniformity in SWE programs, unclear job descriptions and legal frameworks, improper training programs, and inadequate local relevance in curricula.
