WELCOME to ASWEK!

PREAMBLE

Association of Social Work Educators in Kenya (ASWEK) is the professional body that represents and advances the aspirations of Social Work Academics and its affiliates  in Kenya. Registered in 2019 under the Societies Act, our mandate is to support social work educators and students so as to ensure that the next generation of social workers has access to excellent and quality learning opportunities. ASWEK’ overall purpose is to strengthen, and advance social work education, develop and enhance standards of quality social work education and consequently standards of social work practice as well as avail an enabling environment for exchange and sharing of social work scholarship in Kenya and beyond.

WHY A PROFESSIONAL BODY FOR SOCIAL WORK EDUCATORS?

The idea to register a professional body for social work educators in Kenya was birthed out of endless grappling with major gaps facing the social work profession in the country. Since independence, social workers in the country have not been able to lobby effectively for a professional body that is capable of representing social work as a united front. The gap between social work education and professional practice is a point of contention among academicians and professionals.

The Global Social Service Workforce Alliance (2018) pointed out that the social welfare system (and the workforce) is weak and ineffective in delivering services in many countries in Africa.  In part, this is attributed to little access or availability to quality social work training and education. This has resulted to marginalized and disempowered social work workforce. Social workers are part of the national social service workforce if not the dominant professionals. They occupy a center-stage in meeting the needs of vulnerable populations, including children, youth, people living poverty, internally displaced people, those affected by disease; persons with disability; the elderly; those whose rights are violated in families and communities.  Ineffective service delivery is partly attributed to the limited access to quality training and education

The absence of accreditation and standardization of social work training programs and curricula is so far the biggest challenge in Social Work education in our country today. There is need for a conceptual order, adequately regulated social work education and practice and a strong professional body for coordination, mobilization and enforcement of professional standards.

ASWEK was born to fill in this gap.

OUR HISTORY

May 2019

Founder member and current president of the Association Ms. Phyllis Muraguri, a Social Work Educator at the Technical University of Kenya mobilized a few social work educators on a social media platform. Discussions on how to shape social work education in Kenya took center stage.   

July 2019

Inaugural meeting took place in Nairobi. Ten social work educators in attendance including representation from Kibabii, University of Nairobi, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Pan African Christian University, Technical University of Kenya, Maasai Mara universities and Hope Africa, University, BURUDI attended. Milestone resolution from the meeting was to register the group as an Association of Social Work Educators in Kenya (ASWEK).

Nov 2019

Professional Talk on GETTING YOURSELF PUBLISHED. Guest speaker was Prof. G. G. Wairire, Associate Professor of Social Work, Department of Sociology and Social Work, U.o.N

December 2019

Received registration certificate from State Law Office, officially registered as Association of Social Work Educators in Kenya, ASWEK. Milestone achievement!!