The special volume contains articles on social work issues in the Canadian Arctic and northern communities. In the foreword Douglas Durst writes about the UArctic activity: "The University of the Arctic is a cooperative network of about 130 northern universities, colleges and other related organizations committed to education, research and the promotion of Indigenous and local peoples and sustainable development in the circumpolar North. Out of this network, a number of Thematic Networks have been formed to address specific issues or concerns. In the spring of 2006, colleagues at University of Nordland hosted a thematic conference on social work which I had the great pleasure of participating. From this social work thematic group, faculty and researchers from Russia, Finland, Sweden, Canada and Norway collaborated on a number of projects. Later colleagues from Alaska, Iceland and Greenland joined the group. In 2011, the UArctic Thematic Network hosted an international conference on social work in the north. The conference was titled Supporting Healthy Communitites Through Social Work and was held in Reykjavik, Iceland, August 2011. The conference was well supported by Canadian scholars and from the papers presented at the conference, we worked at developing this special issue with heavy bias from Canada."


The articles in the issue are:

  • Issue Facing Social Work Education in the Canadian Arctic
  • Social Work Education Canada's North
  • Exploring the Intersection of Culture and Education in Nunavik
  • Building Healthy Northern Communities Through Strengthening Capacity
  • Exploring the Unique Features of a First Nations Graduate-Level Social Work Program
  • The Role of Social Work in Palliative Care
  • Multiple Relationships: Maintaining Professional Identity in Rural Social Work Practice
  • Implementing Social Policy - Social Workers' Experience from Estonia and Norway


The full issue can be found at Journal of Comparative Social Work website.