Collective action ethics in social work training in Chile: strengthening youth politicization in neoliberal contexts

Abstract

Universities in Chile have been profoundly transformed by the neoliberal system. Competitive, commodified and individualistic social practices have generated an educational environment in which politics and ethics are denied space. Adopting a critical approach, based on a literature and theoretical review, in this paper I investigate the depoliticization of youth driven by this system, especially in the professional training of Social Work, and propose the curricular integration of an ethics of collective action as a transformative alternative. I conclude that this approach can strengthen the ethical-political commitment in Social Work, stimulating a praxis oriented towards social transformation and justice.