PEDAGOGICAL DILEMMAS FOR SOCIAL WORK IN ACADEMIA

Abstract

The authenticity of pedagogy becomes compromised when students’ psychosocial needs are considered paramount, especially in the current transformation-driven context, when overstepping boundaries flies in the face of academics’ terms of employment, their teaching responsibilities and the academic canon. The nexus between the practices of this helping profession and the academic development of social work professionals has ignited considerable debate and presented significant challenges. This article explores academics’ conditions of employment regarding their teaching and learning responsibilities alongside the profession’s ethical obligation to respond to students’ psychosocial needs, a duality that presents numerous pedagogical dilemmas.