Social work practice can be characterized by a dedication to action that promotes social and economic justice. Social justice has become a popular concept broadly, as social inequities become topics of public discourse through movements such as #metoo, Black Lives Matter, and Strike for Climate. However, while all of these important issues have crucial economic components, the focus has primarily been on social justice aspects. Economic Justice has not often been emphasized in the New Zealand context. This has led to a setting where social workers tend to focus on social indicators often at the expense of true Economic Justice. It could be argued that it has actually been the denial of Economic Justice that has led to poor social indicators. While economic justice and financial inclusion are considered vital organizing principles in large-scale social work/ social development efforts (see Social Work Grand Challenges and Sustainable Development Goals), these concepts have opportunities to be further coordinated in their application to the Aotearoa New Zealand context. As such we are seeking articles for a special section on the implication for, and the application of economic justice and social work. To explore the existing research and practice in areas of Economic Justice, we held an interdisciplinary Economic Justice Forum in October of 2020, with researchers and practitioners in the areas of: economics, social work, management, commerce, social enterprise, and microfinance. The following themes emerged from the discussion of the application of economic justice to Aotearoa New Zealand at the forum:
This special section of the journal invites contribution that include any of the following:
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of economic justice, we encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration with practitioners and colleagues outside of social work. We will consider submissions in three formats (as per the author guidelines): full articles of 7000 words, research briefs, 3000 words, and shorter viewpoints or practice reflections of 2000 words. All articles are peer reviewed. Submission of full articles 30 April 2021 – see journal guidelines for more info about requirements and for how to register a please submit on line at https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/information/authors Please contact special section editors Dr. Anaru Eketone and Dr. Marissa Kaloga for more info or to offer an abstract for feedback.
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