A Yarn Among Social Workers: Knowing, Being, and Doing Social Work Learning, Expertise, and Practice

Abstract

Many social workers engage in Yarning and truth-telling. This worldview is important considering that Australian social work literature is historically informed by white western thought. This white lens has obstructed the self-determination of Aboriginal social workers and their communities. We came together as Aboriginal social workers and non-Aboriginal allies. Our authorship engaged dialogue and Dadirri (deep listening) with one another in reciprocal relationships. We thematically analysed, reordered, and preserved our Yarn in written text. Yarning with the use of Dadirri respected oral traditions of knowledge sharing and, in itself, was a decolonising act. Our aim to document Aboriginal knowledge and experience as social workers through Yarning, involved truth-telling about social work, social work learning, expertise, and practice. IMPLICATIONS A priority for decolonisation in social work is to value Yarning as a significant feature of knowledge sharing and a legitimate form of authorship. Decolonising social work requires things to be done differently, e.g., prioritising Indigenous social workers in developing frameworks for education and practice, and leading the implementation of these frameworks.