This publication addresses the extent to which social work curricula in
Kenya prepares graduates to handle issues of poverty and social
development, the specific knowledge and skills that they are equipped
with an existing gaps therein. In addition, the challenges that confront
the training and practice of social workers and what needs to be done to
ensure that there is an enabling environment for social work education
and practice in the country have also been addressed. The publication,
which is the outcome of a study on the promotion of professional social
work towards social development and poverty reduction in East Africa,
analyses the role that professional social work plays in the efforts to
reduce poverty, enhance social development and realise the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in Kenya. Consequently, emphasis has been laid
on the status of professional social work education and practice in
preparing social workers to address issues of poverty and MDGs in the
country. Cross cutting gender issues that impact on social work
education and practice which in turn affect the efforts to address
poverty in Kenya have also been analysed. Given that the time span for
MDGs was to end in 2015, the authors envisage that the lessons learnt
through this study, and the gains made with regard to MDGs should not
end in the set time span but rather, that social work educators and
practitioners, together with other stakeholders in policy formulation
and implementation, still have more to of in making sure that these
gains are consolidated into social work training and practice, with
additional efforts being made towards sustainable poverty reduction
efforts in Kenya.
