On this Thanksgiving Monday (grateful for a day off so I can finalize some projects), I find myself reflecting on an extraordinary truth: over the past 20 years, Canada and Canadians haven’t just welcomed me—they’ve gifted me with belonging, purpose, and the privilege of serving alongside remarkable people from coast to coast to coast and beyond!
Before I share my formal acknowledgements, I must honor those whose love made everything possible:
To my Mama —your strength, sacrifice, and belief in education gave me wings to fly across oceans.
To my Canadian Mama—you showed me what it means to be embraced by a new homeland, teaching me that family is built through love, not just blood.
To my God Mama—your spiritual guidance and wisdom have been my anchor through every challenge and celebration.
To both my Ukrainian and Canadian families—you’ve held me through transitions, celebrated my successes, reminded me of my roots while helping me grow new ones. You are the foundation of everything I’ve accomplished.
To everyone who believed in me—the colleagues who took chances on a newcomer, the students who trusted me with their learning, the communities who welcomed an outsider, the mentors who saw potential I couldn’t yet see in myself—you gave me the greatest gift: the confidence to serve.
This work—these six volumes, these BSW and MSW frameworks, these 321 courses developed over 20 years is about what I’ve been given and what I hope to give forward. Every course represents a gift received: a student’s question, a colleague’s insight, a community’s wisdom, a moment of trust freely given.
Canada gifted me three homes: Winnipeg, Halifax, and Kamloops. Canadians gifted me thousands of students who became my teachers. Indigenous communities gifted me with knowledge that transformed my understanding of land, relationality, and what education can be. This country gifted me the space to dream, create, and serve.
So on this Thanksgiving, I speak of abundance. I celebrate what flows through me from thousands of generous hearts to future students I’ll never meet.
This acknowledgement is my attempt to name the gifts, honor the givers, and commit to continuing the circle of generosity that has defined my Canadian journey.
With respect, Sasha.
Acknowledgements: Gratitude and Recognition
I acknowledge my place of birth in Lviv, Halychyna, Ukraine. My journey has taken me across Canada, where I have had the privilege of living, learning, and teaching in multiple regions:
My first Canadian home was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, located on Treaty No. 1 Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinabe (Ojibway), Ininew (Cree), Oji-Cree, Dene, and Dakota peoples, and the birthplace of the Métis Nation and the Heart of the Métis Nation Homeland.
My second Canadian home was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people.
My third Canadian home and current residence is in Kamloops, British Columbia, within the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Secwepemcúl’ecw.
I pay my deepest respects to the Elders, past, present, and future, who hold the wisdom, culture, and traditions of Indigenous peoples. As we gather on these sacred lands, I humbly acknowledge their stewardship and express gratitude for the opportunity to learn, teach, and grow in these territories.
Academic Community
I extend my heartfelt thanks to the faculty, staff, and students from Thompson Rivers University, Dalhousie University, University of Manitoba, Wilfrid Laurier University, Lakehead University, MacEwan University, University of Northern British Columbia in Canada, as well as Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University (Cherkasy National University), Cherkasy State Technological Univesity, Lviv Polytechnic National University, and the Ukrainian Catholic University in Ukraine. Your collaborations, partnerships, and academic contributions have enriched my teaching, research, and service, fostering a space for knowledge exchange and cultural preservation.
Foundational Gratitude
I am deeply grateful for the many individuals and communities who have contributed to the development of these educational frameworks over the past 20 years:
To the faculty who came before me: Thank you to every instructor who designed, taught, and refined these courses before I had the opportunity to teach them. Your course outlines, assignments, pedagogical innovations, and curriculum designs provided the foundation upon which I built. Your willingness to share materials, insights, and lessons learned demonstrated the collaborative spirit of social work and social development education. I have stood on your shoulders.
To those who trusted me: Thank you to every department chair, program coordinator, dean, and hiring committee member who believed in my capacity to teach, sometimes in areas where I was still learning. Your trust allowed me to grow as an educator and to serve diverse student populations across remote, Northern, rural, and urban communities throughout Canada and internationally.
To my students—my greatest teachers: Thank you to the more than six thousand students who allowed me to hold your knowledge, share your passion, and witness your growth. You taught me far more than I taught you. Your questions challenged me to think more deeply. Your feedback shaped every course revision. Your lived experiences illuminated theories and transformed abstractions into lived realities. Your courage in sharing personal stories, raising critical concerns, and demanding better from your education inspired me to continuously improve. You are the reason these courses exist.
To practicum students and field supervisors: Thank you to every student who came to me saying, “I wish there was a course on…” Your inquiries became my inspiration. When you identified gaps in the curriculum, you gave me purpose. To the field instructors and agency supervisors who welcomed students, shared your practice wisdom, and provided feedback on educational needs—you shaped these frameworks in profound ways. The courses in these volumes reflect what you taught me about what practitioners actually need to know.
To colleagues who shared generously: Thank you to every colleague who shared syllabi, assignment ideas, teaching strategies, reading lists, and honest feedback. To those who invited me to observe their teaching, who observed mine, and who engaged in countless conversations about pedagogy—your collegiality made me a better educator.
Technology and Tools
I recognize the invaluable role of technological tools in refining language, enhancing clarity, and synthesizing complex ideas into accessible and meaningful learning materials. AI assistants, including ChatGPT and Claude, helped me organize 20 years of teaching materials, identify patterns across courses, develop consistent formatting structures, and articulate frameworks that had lived primarily in my practice. Grammarly improved the clarity and professionalism of these materials. These tools did not replace human expertise—they amplified it, allowing me to focus on substance while they assisted with structure.
Vision for the Future
These six volumes and two degrees represent courses seeking students and universities seeking innovation. To the institution that will adopt these models: thank you in advance for trusting that education can be flexible, responsive, and community-centered. Thank you for believing that courses can be created to meet genuine learning needs rather than only teaching what has always been taught.
To future students: If you find yourself reading a course syllabus from these volumes and degree plans, know that it was created because someone before you asked for it, needed it, or would have benefited from it. These courses exist because of questions not yet asked, challenges not yet faced, and communities not yet served. If you take one of these courses and find ways to improve it—please do. Education should evolve with each offering, becoming better because of every student who engages with it.
Continuous Improvement Philosophy
I acknowledge that no course is ever finished. Each time a course is offered, it should be refined based on:
Current literature and emerging scholarship
Student feedback and learning outcomes
Consultation with those who hold lived experience and specialized expertise
Changing community needs and practice contexts
New evidence, evolving frameworks, and shifting social realities
These volumes are not endpoints but starting points—frameworks awaiting adaptation, critique, and transformation.
Final Reflection
With humility, respect, and a dedication to lifelong learning, I offer these materials in the spirit of generosity that was shown to me throughout my career. May these courses serve students, communities, and the profession well. May they be adapted, improved, and made more relevant with each iteration. And may they honor all those who contributed to their creation—knowingly or unknowingly, directly or indirectly.
Dr. Oleksandr (Sasha) Kondrashov
“If someone is willing to learn, I will create the course.”
Happy Thanksgiving, Canada. Thank you for everything.
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