A Transformative Approach to Social Work Education

Abstract

[EN] The paper presents an overview of “The Journey Guides Program” - a mentorship and experiencial learning framework developed by the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary in Canada. This program was implemented in an Advanced Graduate Seminar, a preparatory course for graduate Social Work students prior to entering their field placements. This article begins by discussing critical pedagogy, the theoretical framework that undepinned the “The Journey Guides Program”, followed by a description of the eight-step process we adopted to implement this program. The authors conclude by discussing the benefits of the Journey Guides program, and plans for ongoing development and transferability of this model. Keywords: Journey guides, transformative learning; mentorship; social work