Rugare Mugumbate
Biographic Data
| ID | 460856 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rugare Mugumbate |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rugare |
| FAMILY NAME | Mugumbate |
| SIGNATURE | MUGUMBATE R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wollongong |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5295-8198 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The Model United Nations (MUN) as a simulation tool embedding decolonisation pedagogy in international social work education
This reflective article examines the use of the Model United Nations (MUN) pedagogy in an international social work subject at an Australian university. We used MUN simulations to develop students’ critical thinking and decision-making skills while engaging with global issues including power, justice and decoloniality. Acknowledging that both the UN and MUN were built on colonial foundations, we adopted a third-space methodology incorporating dec…
Facilitators and barriers to the use of Ubuntu values in social work and social development
The article explores the facilitators and barriers to integrating Ubuntu values into social work and social development practice. Ubuntu values justice, freedom, community, reciprocal relations, responsibility, service to humanity, culture, and spirituality. Drawing from an empirical study involving participants from 19 African countries, the research highlights Ubuntu not merely as a philosophical abstraction but as a lived and culturally embedd…
Indigenous Environmental Ethics and the Decolonisation of Development: Ecological Moral Agency in Rural Zimbabwe
Dominant development paradigms remain largely anthropocentric, positioning the natural environment as a passive resource rather than an active participant in development. This study analyses Indigenous environmental ethics as a decolonial framework for reconfiguring human-environment relations. Drawing on insights from Birchenough Bridge and Honde Valley in Zimbabwe, the study employs a collaborative Indigenous research methodology involving purp…
The myth of postcolonialism in Africa: A call for genuine decolonisation
Arguably, the achievement of independence of most African countries that started in the 1960s ushered in the post-colonial era for Africa. This article explores the myth of post-colonialism in Africa and its ongoing manifestations. The manifestation categories addressed in the article are stolen artefacts and African spirituality, linguicide and ethnocide, the loss of the African naming system, internalised colonialism and beauty standards, and m…
Ubuntu philosophy, values, and principles: An opportunity to do social work differently
Rising immigration and increasing cultural diversity globally highlight the need to decolonize social work and challenge the hegemony of Western-centric cultural and epistemological foundations. This article explores how Ubuntu philosophy can serve as a global decolonizing framework in social work education and practice. Using a reflective conceptual analysis process, we explored Ubuntu as an alternative paradigm for social work educators, resear…
Voices of change: Exploring decolonisation in African higher education through social media text mining
Applying Ubuntu principles to decolonise social work research: A mixed method study on intimate partner violence among women in two refugee camps in Ghana
Global social work research has been predominantly influenced by Eurocentric paradigms, leading to the coloniality of knowledge production. This article reflects on the processes and methods used in mixed-methods research – guided by the African philosophy of Ubuntu as the theoretical framework – on intimate partner violence among women in refugee camps in Ghana. The research shows that community stakeholder consultations, use of local languages,…
‘We Were an Afterthought’: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Pandemic in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (Cald) Communities in New South Wales, Australia
This paper investigates the impact on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in Australia of government and community responses to the coronavirus pandemic of 2019 in the domains of education, employment, housing, social connectedness, and public health communication. Most of the examples are drawn from the state of New South Wales. In Australia, CALD refers to people from countries not classified as main English speaking. Most …
Understanding Ubuntu and its contribution to social work education in Africa and other regions of the world
The overarching philosophy of Black people of Africa is known by different names but Ubuntu is the most popular name. Ubuntu’s origin is attributable to Black Africans in all regions of the continent—North, West, Central, East and South. Different communities may emphasize its different aspects but they are common knowledges, values and practices. The article begins with a discussion of the philosophy of Ubuntu and its application at the micro (i…
‘No university without community’: Engaging the community in social work simulations
Although community engagement is now a widely accepted part of universities’ agenda, the evidence of learning environments that allow students to gain new knowledge and skills through authentic partnership and reciprocity with community members remains sporadic. Guided by educational and community engagement scholarship, the study examined the involvement of community members in social work simulations at an Australian university. Based on reflex…
Physical activity and functional disability among older adults in Ghana: The moderating role of multi-morbidity
Knowledge about how physical activity levels relate to functional disability is essential for health promotion and planning older adults’ care or rehabilitation. The risk of living with one or more chronic health conditions increases with increasing age in lower and higher income countries–many of which are associated with physical inactivity. We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the moderating role of multimorbidity on physical activi…
Culturally Respectful and Competent Practice: What It Looks Like for Organisations Providing Services to Migrant Youth within the Illawarra Region of New South Wales, Australia
The question of culturally respectful and competent practice is important for human services, particularly in Australia, which is characterised by a highly culturally diverse population as a result of migration. On arrival in Australia, migrants start using local services which they anticipate to be appropriate to their culture, situations and aspirations. This study explored what culturally respectful and competent practice looks like for organi…
Ubuntu Philosophy and Decolonising Social Work Fields of Practice in Africa
"This book addresses a recurrent gap in social work literature by examining Ubuntu as an Indigenous African philosophy that informs social work beyond the largely residual and individualistic conceptualisation of social work that currently prevails in many contexts. Owing to the lack of social work theories, models and generally, literature that is locally and contextually relevant, most social work lecturers based in African context, struggle to…
The expansion of developmental social work in Southern and East Africa: Opportunities and challenges for social work field programmes
This article reports on a study that examined how fieldwork education in Southern and East Africa was responding to the developmental social work agenda. The study used semi-structured qualitative interviews with key informants from 15 social work programmes in 11 different Southern and East African countries. It investigated whether the social work fieldwork placements on offer provided practical experience of a developmental approach to social …
World Social Work Day celebrations in Zimbabwe: An opportunity to promote social justice
Social Work Day was instituted by social workers at the United Nations (UN) in 1983 and is celebrated in March each year to recognise social work’s achievements, share its vision for a just society and foster international solidarity. Subsequently embraced as World Social Work Day (WSWD) by the profession’s international organisations and their affiliates worldwide, Zimbabwe celebrated its first WSWD in 2012 at Bindura, a small rural university n…
The expansion of developmental social work in Southern and East Africa: Opportunities and challenges for social work field programmes
This article reports on a study that examined how fieldwork education in Southern and East Africa was responding to the developmental social work agenda. The study used semi-structured qualitative interviews with key informants from 15 social work programmes in 11 different Southern and East African countries. It investigated whether the social work fieldwork placements on offer provided practical experience of a developmental approach to social …
Ubuntu Philosophy and Decolonising Social Work Fields of Practice in Africa
"This book addresses a recurrent gap in social work literature by examining Ubuntu as an Indigenous African philosophy that informs social work beyond the largely residual and individualistic conceptualisation of social work that currently prevails in many contexts. Owing to the lack of social work theories, models and generally, literature that is locally and contextually relevant, most social work lecturers based in African context, struggle to…
World Social Work Day celebrations in Zimbabwe: An opportunity to promote social justice
Social Work Day was instituted by social workers at the United Nations (UN) in 1983 and is celebrated in March each year to recognise social work’s achievements, share its vision for a just society and foster international solidarity. Subsequently embraced as World Social Work Day (WSWD) by the profession’s international organisations and their affiliates worldwide, Zimbabwe celebrated its first WSWD in 2012 at Bindura, a small rural university n…
The expansion of developmental social work in Southern and East Africa: Opportunities and challenges for social work field programmes
This article reports on a study that examined how fieldwork education in Southern and East Africa was responding to the developmental social work agenda. The study used semi-structured qualitative interviews with key informants from 15 social work programmes in 11 different Southern and East African countries. It investigated whether the social work fieldwork placements on offer provided practical experience of a developmental approach to social …
‘No university without community’: Engaging the community in social work simulations
Although community engagement is now a widely accepted part of universities’ agenda, the evidence of learning environments that allow students to gain new knowledge and skills through authentic partnership and reciprocity with community members remains sporadic. Guided by educational and community engagement scholarship, the study examined the involvement of community members in social work simulations at an Australian university. Based on reflex…
Physical activity and functional disability among older adults in Ghana: The moderating role of multi-morbidity
Knowledge about how physical activity levels relate to functional disability is essential for health promotion and planning older adults’ care or rehabilitation. The risk of living with one or more chronic health conditions increases with increasing age in lower and higher income countries–many of which are associated with physical inactivity. We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the moderating role of multimorbidity on physical activi…
Culturally Respectful and Competent Practice: What It Looks Like for Organisations Providing Services to Migrant Youth within the Illawarra Region of New South Wales, Australia
The question of culturally respectful and competent practice is important for human services, particularly in Australia, which is characterised by a highly culturally diverse population as a result of migration. On arrival in Australia, migrants start using local services which they anticipate to be appropriate to their culture, situations and aspirations. This study explored what culturally respectful and competent practice looks like for organi…
Ubuntu Philosophy and Decolonising Social Work Fields of Practice in Africa
"This book addresses a recurrent gap in social work literature by examining Ubuntu as an Indigenous African philosophy that informs social work beyond the largely residual and individualistic conceptualisation of social work that currently prevails in many contexts. Owing to the lack of social work theories, models and generally, literature that is locally and contextually relevant, most social work lecturers based in African context, struggle to…
‘We Were an Afterthought’: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Pandemic in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (Cald) Communities in New South Wales, Australia
This paper investigates the impact on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in Australia of government and community responses to the coronavirus pandemic of 2019 in the domains of education, employment, housing, social connectedness, and public health communication. Most of the examples are drawn from the state of New South Wales. In Australia, CALD refers to people from countries not classified as main English speaking. Most …
Understanding Ubuntu and its contribution to social work education in Africa and other regions of the world
The overarching philosophy of Black people of Africa is known by different names but Ubuntu is the most popular name. Ubuntu’s origin is attributable to Black Africans in all regions of the continent—North, West, Central, East and South. Different communities may emphasize its different aspects but they are common knowledges, values and practices. The article begins with a discussion of the philosophy of Ubuntu and its application at the micro (i…
The myth of postcolonialism in Africa: A call for genuine decolonisation
Arguably, the achievement of independence of most African countries that started in the 1960s ushered in the post-colonial era for Africa. This article explores the myth of post-colonialism in Africa and its ongoing manifestations. The manifestation categories addressed in the article are stolen artefacts and African spirituality, linguicide and ethnocide, the loss of the African naming system, internalised colonialism and beauty standards, and m…
Ubuntu philosophy, values, and principles: An opportunity to do social work differently
Rising immigration and increasing cultural diversity globally highlight the need to decolonize social work and challenge the hegemony of Western-centric cultural and epistemological foundations. This article explores how Ubuntu philosophy can serve as a global decolonizing framework in social work education and practice. Using a reflective conceptual analysis process, we explored Ubuntu as an alternative paradigm for social work educators, resear…
Voices of change: Exploring decolonisation in African higher education through social media text mining
Applying Ubuntu principles to decolonise social work research: A mixed method study on intimate partner violence among women in two refugee camps in Ghana
Global social work research has been predominantly influenced by Eurocentric paradigms, leading to the coloniality of knowledge production. This article reflects on the processes and methods used in mixed-methods research – guided by the African philosophy of Ubuntu as the theoretical framework – on intimate partner violence among women in refugee camps in Ghana. The research shows that community stakeholder consultations, use of local languages,…
The Model United Nations (MUN) as a simulation tool embedding decolonisation pedagogy in international social work education
This reflective article examines the use of the Model United Nations (MUN) pedagogy in an international social work subject at an Australian university. We used MUN simulations to develop students’ critical thinking and decision-making skills while engaging with global issues including power, justice and decoloniality. Acknowledging that both the UN and MUN were built on colonial foundations, we adopted a third-space methodology incorporating dec…
Facilitators and barriers to the use of Ubuntu values in social work and social development
The article explores the facilitators and barriers to integrating Ubuntu values into social work and social development practice. Ubuntu values justice, freedom, community, reciprocal relations, responsibility, service to humanity, culture, and spirituality. Drawing from an empirical study involving participants from 19 African countries, the research highlights Ubuntu not merely as a philosophical abstraction but as a lived and culturally embedd…
Indigenous Environmental Ethics and the Decolonisation of Development: Ecological Moral Agency in Rural Zimbabwe
Dominant development paradigms remain largely anthropocentric, positioning the natural environment as a passive resource rather than an active participant in development. This study analyses Indigenous environmental ethics as a decolonial framework for reconfiguring human-environment relations. Drawing on insights from Birchenough Bridge and Honde Valley in Zimbabwe, the study employs a collaborative Indigenous research methodology involving purp…
Social Work (8 works) · Social Work Education and Practice (8 works) · Political science (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · African cultural and philosophical studies (6 works) · Social science (6 works) · Law (4 works) · Work (physics (4 works) · Colonialism (3 works) · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics (3 works)