International perspectives Introduction 169; A comparative perspective on the role of the state in welfare 170; Definitions and rationale 173; Implementation issues and resources for internationalizing the curriculum 177;

Chapter 12 has focused on the resources for teaching about globalization and some of the approaches to ‘internationalizing’ the UK curricula in social policy and social work. It is clear that there has been a significant growth in the number of texts available which address international social policy issues, often from a comparative perspective, and that the development of the Internet has added a new dimension to the availability of resources and the opportunities for imaginative forms of teaching, learning and assessment. While the emphasis and examples in the previous chapter have tended to concentrate on social policy, it can be argued that these resources and opportunities are equally available in the area of social work education. However, assumptions that social work is essentially a ‘local’ activity, bound by national legislation and traditions, as well as professional requirements regarding course content and assessment, may have operated in addition to other constraints to limit development of international perspectives, at least at the qualifying stage of social work education.