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Adaptation and Acculturation: Experiences of Internationally Educated Social Workers

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Abstract

Transnational mobility of internationally educated social workers has been on the rise for the past 20 years, with little empirical study regarding their experiences of professional adaptation. This paper contextualises and presents data from a study with 15 social workers who undertook their professional education outside Canada and have migrated to Canada within the past 10 years, regarding their professional acculturation and adaptation. The analysis focuses on elements that facilitated and mitigated their professional acculturation and the resulting adaptations participants have experienced in their practice in the Canadian context. The paper's discussion outlines the importance of a stronger grounding in professional values of social work in order to facilitate professional acculturation and adaptation of internationally educated social workers.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Social and Humanity Research Council of Canada Standard Research Grant Programme ref.: 410-2011-0743.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. École de Service Social, Pavillon Lionnel Groulx, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada

    Annie Pullen Sansfaçon

  2. École de Service Social, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada

    Audrey-Anne Dumais Michaud

  3. School of Social Work, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada

    Marion Brown

  4. Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N, Canada

    John Graham

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  1. Annie Pullen Sansfaçon
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  2. Marion Brown
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  3. John Graham
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  4. Audrey-Anne Dumais Michaud
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Correspondence to Annie Pullen Sansfaçon.

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Pullen Sansfaçon, A., Brown, M., Graham, J. et al. Adaptation and Acculturation: Experiences of Internationally Educated Social Workers. Int. Migration & Integration 15, 317–330 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-013-0288-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-013-0288-2

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