Collaborating for Justice: Embedding Religion and Spirituality in Timor-Leste Social Work Education

In this article, authors examined the integration of religion and spirituality in developing Timor-Leste’s first university-level social work degree, reflecting the nation’s unique socio-political and cultural context. Development drew on Australian social work principles (AASW, 2024) to ensure alignment with professional standards, while faith perspectives were embedded for local relevance. Although culturally responsive practice is common in Eurocentric or secular curricula, faith-informed models are less common. Embedding such approaches alongside human rights frameworks can strengthen graduate capacity to address poverty, marginalisation, and social protection gaps, contributing to sustainable social justice systems.IMPLICATIONS Integrating faith-informed approaches in social work education enhances cultural relevance and challenges secular paradigm dominance.Collaborative autoethnographic methods provide a model for cross-cultural curriculum partnerships.Reflexive practices examining multiple value systems foster ethical practice across diverse contexts.