Chinese students’ experiences of learning social work: a Chinese/Australian comparison

ABSTRACT The contemporary development of Chinese social work has occurred in the context of strong engagement with international education exchanges and curriculum. Many issues in training students for practice have emerged. This study explored how Chinese students learned social work in two different educational contexts in China and Australia. A qualitative insider researcher approach with thematic analysis was used to explore learning experiences of two cohorts of participants over a two-year period. The first cohort studied social work in China only, while the second cohort studied both in China and in Australia. Five key themes emerged. The first three themes related to learning experiences, and the other two themes related to interactions with teachers and support systems. These five themes suggest that social work is learned in very different forms in China and Australia. Recommendations are made for better understanding of these differences and the resulting impacts for Chinese students.