Language transition trauma and the monolingualism of social work education in India: A reflexive thematic analysis

Abstract This paper deconstructs language as a structuring force in Indian social work education (SWE), where it operates not as a neutral medium but as a gatekeeper to academic and professional circuits. Framed within a decolonial framework and invoking Fanon, Spivak, Bourdieu, and Fricker, the study conceptualizes linguistic inequality as a manifestation of epistemic injustice. Using reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with forty-two social work professionals, the study explores how linguistic background influences students’ trajectories through SWE and employment. Proficiency in English enables smoother navigation through academic and labor market thresholds, while regional language educated students face systemic disadvantage, especially during the abrupt, often unacknowledged transition to English-medium instruction at the tertiary level. This rupture is theorized as Language Transition Trauma, denoting the psychological, cognitive, and social distress that arises when learners are compelled to function in an institutionally dominant language without adequate scaffolding. Participants described cascading effects, including academic underperformance, diminished confidence, and persistent marginalization, exacerbated by institutional neglect and exclusion. Eschewing an anecdotal reading, the paper situates these experiences within broader structures of educational stratification and labor market inequality, calling for a fundamental reorientation of SWE through multilingual pedagogies, centering linguistic justice as a principle of epistemic inclusion.