Human rights integration in Ethiopian social work education : a study on curricula and students’ understandings

Abstract

Focusing on the integration of human rights into the Ethiopian Bachelor of Social Work programme, this paper presents a study of students’ understanding of human rights by employing a mixed-methods research design. Qualitative content analysis and survey study were utilized to assess the extent of human rights infusion into the undergraduate curriculum and examine students’ understanding of human rights conventions. The qualitative content analysis revealed a non-explicit infusion of human rights content into the social work curriculum. Human rights were indirectly applied and referenced in the human rights themes, e.g. for refugees and migrants, showing a lack of explicit and direct integration of human rights in the curriculum. The survey study also showed that, of the 201 participants, a significant majority (77%) lacked awareness of the human rights documents pertinent to social work. A discernible augmentation in the familiarity with the human rights conventions was observed among students as they progressed through higher levels of study. Hence, the study posits that Ethiopian social work schools should consider revisiting their curricula and give due attention to the human rights infusion into their social work programmes.