Process of constructing alternative social work discourses in Asia: A case study of Buddhist social work as social representations

Abstract

This preliminary study examined the process of constructing alternative discourses on social work. It focused on the exploration of Buddhist social work by researchers and practitioners in Asian countries, including monks and nuns. The present investigation was grounded in the analytical perspective of the social representation theory posited in the domain of social psychology. Books, reports, and any relevant papers written in English were collected as primary data sources (n = 22), and a qualitatively descriptive analysis was conducted on these data. The scrutiny specifically attended to the mechanism of familiarization, which comprises the process of anchoring and objectifying. The study's findings revealed the process of intentionally (re)naming activities and related events that were previously not necessarily described as Buddhist social work. These practices and occurrences were then classified and positioned within a particular cross-border paradigm. Additionally, some monks, nuns, and other stakeholders became conversant with discussion and research activities related to Buddhist social work. Objectifying actions, such as (re)discovering and reproducing, thus became taken for granted by such functionaries. These findings suggest that cross-border Buddhist social work discourses were actively constructed through the usage of relevant terms and concepts. In other words, the results of this study indicate that alternative discourse is internationally becoming the familiar form of discussion within the discipline.