This timely Routledge Handbook creates a much-needed space to explore what makes social work uniquely African, as well as shaping, informing, and influencing a new culturally relevant era of social work. The specific focus on social work education offers approaches to transition away from the hegemony of Western literature, knowledge, and practice models underpinning African social work education. The authors identify what is relevant and meaningful to inform, influence, and reconceptualise culturally relevant social work curriculum.

Covering Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the Handbook comprises both empirical and conceptual chapters, multiple approaches, case studies, and key debates on social work education. It is structured in four parts:

• Approaches to Indigenising, Decolonising and Developing Culturally Relevant Social Work Education

• Social Work Education: Evolution across Contexts

• Embedding Field Practicum into Social Work Education

• Knowledge Exchange between the Global South and Global North.

The range of indigenous, local knowledge that the Handbook presents is crucial to social work evolving and facilitating for reciprocal learning and knowledge exchange between the Global South and Global North. Whilst the context of the Handbook is Africa, the topics covered are relevant to a global audience engaged in social justice work across social work, social welfare, social development, and sustainability.

“The Routledge Handbook of African Social Work Education is a long-awaited book that adds significantly to the knowledge base of international social work. Most significantly, it is an important milestone on the long road to decolonising social work education, research and practice worldwide. It contains in-depth, contextualised case studies, research findings and experience-based contributions from various African countries.”

Tanja Kleibl, Technical University Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS), Germany

“This book provides an in-depth exploration of social work education and fields of practice, with practical examples from diverse contexts across Africa. The book is not only relevant for social work educators, practitioners, students, and social policy makers, but also all those interested in decolonial perspectives in social work and social development.”

Janestic Mwende Twikirize, Makerere University, Uganda

Susan Levy is Associate Dean International and Senior Lecturer in Social Work, in the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, University of Dundee, UK.

Uzoma Odera Okoye is a Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Pius T. Tanga is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa.

Richard Ingram is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Dundee, UK.