Canadian reflections on the Covid-19 pandemic in social work education: from tsunami to innovation

Abstract

Looking back, the first wave of the pandemic was about to hit us and we could not know the impact then; the pedagogic, the emotional/human/relational, and the collaborative. Immediate modifications required pedagogy and pandemic balancing, prioritizing student safety. These reflections of three academics in leadership roles in the Faculty of Social Work faculty at a large university in western Canada, span from mid-March to early May, 2020 as COVID-19 approached. Our reflections consider social work education comprehensively, as an integrated system. We recount the human and emotional nature of our experience; approaches to interacting and collaborating with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders; ways of innovating on local, provincial, and national levels; and examples of how core social work values guided our work. We embraced technology and found energy in innovation through collaboration about pedagogic decisions. It is here among innovation and collaboration, that we discovered our strengths and gained confidence to move forward. This manuscript provided an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which this crisis has forced openness to innovation toward the future of social work education. It also serves as a call to other schools and faculties of social work to share their reflections.