Research that brings into discussion critical issues relating to the meaning and relevance of African knowledge vis-à-vis the so-called hegemony of Western knowledge forms in the curriculum is important to the study of African societies. Kreitzer's book, based on her doctoral dissertation, provides a well-researched background for addressing how the colonial and postcolonial context augmented Western hegemony and knowledge in the social work curriculum in Ghana. The two opening questions that Kreitzer raises in relation to this curriculum – ‘How did social work evolve in Africa?’ and ‘What is African culture?’ – signal the focus of her discussion.
Kreitzer's reference to herself as ‘a privileged white western woman … challenged by my own racism’ adds a cautionary note. But Kreitzer's previous work in Ghana, with the VSO and teaching social work, puts her in a vantage position to explore issues that concern Western knowledge and its practice in local communities. She traces the development of social work education within a generalized higher education framework, in different historical, cultural, political and economic contexts, and with a focus on Ghana. In so doing, Kreitzer enables the reader to contextualize the debate within a wider national (Ghanaian) and international framework. By working through the research methodology of participatory action research (PAR), Kreitzer constructs a narrative that prioritizes knowledge that is culturally appropriate to the curriculum demands of Ghanaian society. As in many learning contexts globally, the need for local knowledge in the curriculum is being emphasized in Ghana today.
Kreitzer explores the practice of Ghanaian social work in order to demonstrate gaps in knowledge that occur when the curriculum is devoid of the local context and its history. Kreitzer notes that: ‘The exportation of western social work theories and knowledge had helped introduce social work to many parts of the world with the assumption that its core theory and practice is universal and transferable and that a western social work curriculum is the best in the world’ (p. xvi). Based on her critical evaluation of the social work curriculum, and using data based on primary research with social work practitioners, academics, students and community members as participants interested in social work education, Kreitzer challenges this assumption.
The book's seven sections combine historical (colonial, liberal policies, development aid), thematic (African and Western knowledge, curriculum changes) and contextual (Ghanaian) approaches that allow the author to draw on specific moments within this arrangement in which to situate the most important debates. The ethos and direction of each section are guided and informed by specific Ghanaian Adinkra symbols, making the centrality of culturally drawn programmes evident. Specifically, section one presents an overview of how African education at the university level was influenced by a Eurocentric curriculum. The effect of this on the ‘crisis’ for identity within the social work curriculum is discussed explicitly.
Section two on ‘cultural identity’ provides examples of how identity has been historicized and of the international frameworks within which identity is given shape. In relation to social work, Kreitzer discusses the influence of cultural identity in three ways by looking at professional identity, professional training and professional practice. These three areas are historical focal nodes of contestation that reflect the hegemony of Western knowledge. The other five sections examine various aspects of shifts within Western knowledge, neoliberal thinking, economic systems, development and aid, the role of professional associations, and implementation modalities of the social work curriculum. Of additional value is the book's appendices section, which clearly shows the questions and exercises used to arrive at the recommended curriculum changes.
However, the centrality of social work and the urgency of (re)considering it within a changed curriculum ought to have been given more coverage. The vital curriculum questions and changes proposed by the author are condensed. More detailed attention to the specific nature of Ghanaian problems would have been especially important, as the book does not aim to add new knowledge on hegemonic Western influences in curriculum practice in Africa but instead uses the understanding derived from this approach to reflect upon the Ghanaian situation and the PAR methodology.
All the same, while the need to make curriculum changes at various educational levels has been widely discussed, little has been done in terms of the social work curriculum. The book adopts a clear objective to educate readers and to get them to re-examine the influence of hegemonic Western knowledge. Adopting an advocacy approach, this book emphasizes the centrality of African needs and voices for an African curriculum.
