Discursive scholarship in anti-racist/cross-cultural social work education

Multiculturalism has become a critical debate in social work education with contemporary scholars arguing that this issue poses social work with one of its greatest challenges in the 21st century (Powell 2001; Dominelli, Lorenz and Soyden 2001; Razack 2002). Whether we agree that anti-racist/cross-cultural education is the major issue or not, social work scholars cannot ignore the fact that the rapidly changing social, political and cultural landscape in Australian society during the last half of the 20th century has unsettled the dominant monocultural discourse characteristic of the first half, consequently, demanding social work academe foster a culturally aware program that prepares students and practitioners for the realities of practice in an increasingly multicultural community.