Troubling Trauma-Informed Policy in Social Work Education: Reflections of Educators and Students in Aotearoa New Zealand

Social work education is a contested site in many Western countries, where neoliberal governments tend to privilege individual-focused rather than structural, rights-based welfare perspectives and expect curricula to reflect this preference. Over 2014–2015, well-publicised criticism of social work referred to graduates’ lack of knowledge of trauma informed practice and risk assessment. Our qualitative study employed focus groups with social work...