Enhancing the anti-domestic violence competencies of undergraduates: action research on a social work curriculum in Mainland China

ABSTRACT Based on a domestic violence intervention undergraduate course offered by a university in Mainland China, this study explores how dialogic education help enhance the competencies of students on domestic violence intervention through action research, with a key framework on gender sensitivity in a multicultural context. In the action process of dialogic education, teachers are the facilitators, constructing diverse dialogic contexts for students. This enables students to break the culture of silence about domestic violence in freewriting, understand intimate partner violence from a gender perspective, develop critical reflection through Chinese and international comparison view, and enhance cultural sensitivity through multicultural group interactions, all of which enable students to achieve professional competence in domestic violence intervention, based on their life experiences. Finally, this paper discusses the further application of dialogue-based anti-domestic violence education in the China context.