Educational Alternatives, Volume 15, 2017

Abstract: This article aims to discuss my reflexive account as a social work educator in England, a black, female, of migrant parents, applying a relationship based approach to my teaching. A challenging aspect of my role is to create a safe learning environment and to build professional relationships with the students. This has been contested by the diverse student group (dis)connected by historical colonisation, current globalisation and identities navigating different countries and cultures. With the growth of globalisation and internationalism, the phenomenon of cohorts of students from countries connected by historical colonisation yet separated by language, culture and identity, is likely to be experienced by educators from a range of disciplines in multiple countries. I intend to capture how migration and our embodied experiences of learning and teaching can manifest in the classroom, the implications of this and how educators manage the challenges this can present between themselves and the students.