Otherness and empathy—implications of Lévinas ethics for social work education

This paper examines the concept of otherness in Lévinas’ ethics and raises related issues regarding the limits of empathy on philosophical grounds. This study also identifies and discusses a number of linguistic, social and cultural barriers that can establish such limits on practical grounds. This paper raises various considerations for social work educators teaching empathy. Such considerations suggest that social work educators could adopt a stance of ‘understanding and not understanding’ and a dialectical approach in using knowledge and skills. Furthermore, this study challenges the common assumption that empathy leads to compassionate action. Apart from empathy, moral commitment is necessary to engage in such action. This article discusses such moral commitment in relation to Lévinas’ notions of face and responsibility that place ethics before knowledge. Hence, the present study brings the attention of social work educators back to the importance of nourishing virtue and the moral character of students.     

Development of professional commitment among students in social work education

This study seeks to expand empirical knowledge of commitment to social work using a sample of 212 Norwegian students. The first aim is to investigate the development of students’ commitment to social work from the start of education (first year) to its end (third year). The second aim is to investigate how theoretical and relational knowledge contribute to commitment to social work. The third aim is to examine how compatibility between students’ abilities and the vocational demands of social work contribute to professional commitment. A paired samples t-test and an ordinary least squares regression were conducted to test the aims of the study. The results document that students experience weaker professional commitment at the end of education compared to the beginning. It also seems that theoretical and relational knowledge contribute to professional commitment. The findings also indicate that students whose abilities are compatible with the vocational demands of social work experience stronger professional commitment than those for whom a discrepancy exists.     

Engaging undergraduate social work students in research through experience-based learning

Social work programmes internationally have taken diverse approaches to research training in their curricula. This paper presents an Australian case study of engaging undergraduate social work students in research using experience-based learning. The case study explores the potential of experience-based learning to assist in overcoming the ‘anxiety’, students are observed to report in relation to research training and education. The social work programme at the University of Newcastle, Australia has embraced an experience-based learning model since 1991. Despite a research active and engaged staff and a commitment to research-informed pedagogy, educators continue to observe students as indifferent and reluctant to engage in research training. To address this, work-integrated learning was strengthened in the research course to enable students to design, develop and deliver practice-relevant research in partnership with local support services. Preliminary evaluation of the course highlights both potential and the pitfalls of experience-based learning approaches to research training. While found to enhance research engagement and demystify its role in practice, experience-based learning was associated with significant resource and time imposts. These findings suggest cautious consideration of structure and scope is essential for experience-based learning to be a feasible approach to research training at the undergraduate level.     

Citizenship and work in global capitalism: From domination to aspiration

The sociology of citizenship emerged during an exceptional period in which workers benefitted from economic growth and gains in productivity. Yet the field grew against the backdrop of a market‐oriented global capitalism defined by high levels of precarious work, surplus labor, and economic insecurity. Tracing the evolution of global capitalism in the wake of World War II, and across the unequal regions of the world, I outline three different perspectives on the relationship between capitalism and work. These include an outdated and untenable perspective of citizenship as workplace product , a critical perspective of citizenship as worker domination , and an optimistic perspective of citizenship as aspiration and agency . The analysis suggests that citizenship represents an important terrain of struggle within global capitalism, simultaneously enabling patterns of domination and inspiring movements for liberation.     

Fight Club,or the Cultural Contradictions of Late Capitalism

Most critical engagement with the film Fight Club tends to emphasize its relevance for the study of contemporary representations of gender and masculinity. These readings tend to primarily highlight the “reactionary” aspects of the film, which are seen as a response to structural sources of feminization experienced by men as they are embedded in the consumerist machine of the service‐oriented economy. In this paper I argue that these takes on Fight Club, while enlightening and indeed capturing a key aspect, miss what I think is its most essential contribution: its attempt to craft a transcendental “counter‐myth” capable with dealing with the cultural and societal contradictions of post‐industrial capitalism in the context of the transition to a service oriented economy. I draw on the work of Daniel Bell in order to offer a neo‐Weberian reading of Fight Club which makes sense of various aspects of the film which are rendered meaningless by the gender‐focused reading. I argue that Fight Club can be seen as an attempt to deal with the evacuation and exhaustion of the original form of value‐rationality from the realm of production in service work — grounded in the older ethic of ascetic Protestantism — as well as the failure of ideological interpellation in the consumer society — grounded in a domesticated version of the experience‐based counter‐Bourgeois ethic associated with aesthetic modernism — to provide an adequate substitute for it. I conclude that Fight Club can therefore be interpreted as an inchoate attempt to produce some version of a class consciousness and cognitive mapping in the late‐capitalist situation.     

The concept of adequate causation and Max Weber's comparative sociology of religion

Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, studied in isolation, shows mainly an elective affinity or an adequacy on the level of meaning between the Protestant ethic and the 'spirit' of capitalism. Here it is suggested that Weber's subsequent essays on 'The Economic Ethics of World Religions' are the result of his opinion that adequacy on the level of meaning needs and can be verified by causal adequacy. After some introductory remarks, particularly on elective affinity, the paper tries to develop the concept of adequate causation and the related concept of objective possibility on the basis of the work of v. Kries on whom Weber heavily relied. In the second part, this concept is used to show how the study of the economic ethics of India, China, Rome and orthodox Russia can support the thesis that the 'spirit' of capitalism, although it may not have been caused by the Protestant ethic, was perhaps adequately caused by it.     

A social work re-reading of students as consumers

The concept of student as consumer highlights significant shifts in what Canadian students pay for their education and how this transition has shaped their relationship with learning as well as their overall expectations for, and participation in, the project of higher learning. Consumerism in social work education reflects broader trends towards academic capitalism in Canadian universities and is a result of neoliberal ideology reshaping higher education. In this paper, we explore student and faculty participants’ reflections on the impact of consumerism on progressive social work education, exploring how participants use the term to make sense of their experiences and how doing so reshapes progressive social work education itself.     

Teaching social work students to speak up

It takes courage to defend your values or boundaries in the face of emotional and social risks. Social work advocacy, relationships, resilience and education all rely on the ability to engage in ‘difficult conversations’, defined as dialogue to defend personal values or boundaries in the face of potential social or emotional risks. Yet, students often speak of feeling scared, unskilled and prone to instinctive response patterns when trying to speak up, making the question of how we can teach moral courage an important and understudied area of pedagogical research. In this article, we describe a Canadian pilot study to develop and evaluate learning activities developed for an undergraduate social work practicum seminar course to help students to speak up. We describe the key elements of the learning activities co-developed with students, and outline the SPEAKER model which resulted from the study as a way of helping students to assess, safely engage in and experience success with, these difficult conversations. Drawing on the concepts of embodied learning, the pedagogy of discomfort and identity theory, we suggest the value of building learning around the naturally occurring ‘difficult conversations’ faced by students in their practicum and other areas of their life.     

Part-time occupational mobility in the service industries: regulation, work commitment and occupational closure

Whether stereotypical perceptions of part‐time workers’ commitment to work are accurate is a matter of contention. Commentators such as Hakim (1996 ) suggest that full‐ and part‐time workers have qualitatively different orientations to work, while others ( Fagan 2001 ) argue that, as most women work full‐ and part‐time over the life course, such a view is overly static. This paper investigates firms’ structuring of part‐time work, focusing specifically upon the processes through which part‐time work becomes marginalized. It is argued here that the organisational context and use of part‐time work mediate managers’ and full‐time workers’ perceptions of part‐time workers’ commitment to work and together, these factors structure part‐time workers’ selection for career development. The paper argues for making conceptual distinctions between legislation, organisational policies and workplace practices in understanding patterns of change and, more importantly, continuity in the use and structuring of part‐time work. Furthermore it is argued that the stratification of part‐time work can be explained through processes of informal occupational closure.     

Neoliberalism and social work identity

This article considers the relationship between the identity of social work and the neoliberal political project. Reference is made to a small but carefully structured quantitative research study in Auckland, New Zealand which examined the knowledge applied and produced in the practice of social work. This study found evidence consistent with Philp’s [(1979). Notes on the form of knowledge in social work. Sociological Review, 27(1), 83–111] theorisation of a specific ‘form of knowledge’ for social work which is produced and reproduced as a function of relational engagement between social workers and those who are constructed as ‘clients’ in an unequal society. This discourse casts the ‘failing subject’ as socially located and inherently redeemable in direct contrast to populist neoliberal constructions of personal responsibility and moral deficit. With reference to dialectical theory it is suggested that this resilient discourse, embedded in ‘every-day’ practice, is inevitably a source of resistance to the imposition of neoliberal practice and policy design. This resistance provides hope for the progressive voice of social work in the current contest of ideas in relation to the future development of social work.     

Employment commitment among the long-term unemployed in norway: Is a culture of dependency about to develop?

This paper explores the association between employment commitment and employment status, with a focus on the long-term unemployed. It has been claimed in some quarters that there has been a decline in the work ethic and a parallel development of a culture of dependency. Our data indicate that employment commitment seems to be influenced by previous and present work experiences, but factors such as sex and household circumstances are also of importance. There appears to be no association between unemployment duration or receipt of unemployment benefits and employment commitment. Even persons with a marginal attachment to the labour market are highly committed to employment. There is little evidence indicating that a decline in employment commitment is likely to take place. Overall, unemployment commitment among young people was as high as that found among older age groups. There are no signs of the development of a culture of dependency and a reduced work ethic. Our data further suggest that it may be possible to reverse low employment commitment among marginal categories by offering them meaningful paid work.     

Trends in higher education in Canada and implications for social work education

Canada, like other countries around the globe, is facing new challenges and opportunities with respect to post-secondary education. Trends in higher education in Canada include rising enrolments and falling revenues; a focus on enhancing employability of graduates through experiential and interactive learning; increased calls for accountability through the assessment of teaching and learning; and the rise of technology-enabled teaching and learning. Social work education is, in many ways, well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these trends due to the focus on case-based learning and practicum education, the focus on assessment of practice competencies as learning outcomes, and the long-standing commitment to teaching innovation and excellence. Nevertheless, meeting fiscal challenges and finding ways to exploit new technologies will require creativity and the development of an expanded body of research on social work education.     

Learning pattern of social work students: a longitudinal study

Research on learning patterns of social work students is scare. This longitudinal study addresses this issue by employing mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative study design to understand the learning pattern of students throughout their undergraduate social work studies. Six rounds of quantitative data collected by structured questionnaires and four rounds of qualitative data collected by focus group interviews have been conducted at an interval of every 6 months to track the learning pattern and to evaluate the continuous impacts of social work education on students. Results indicate that although students’ evaluation on the curriculum was positive and with significant difference in mean scores, paired sample t-tests found no significant difference between time 1 and 6 of all outcome variables. With regard to students’ change in attitude, acquisition of knowledge and skills, results indicate a ‘U-shape’ trend and a fluctuating learning pattern with a rebound in different outcome variables toward the end of the three-year study. Qualitative data echoes the findings and reveals that students go through the confused freshman stage, to disillusioned in practicum and finally with enriching experience upon graduation. The paper discusses meanings and implications of student learning pattern to social work education.     

Translating knowledge into practice: using simulation to enhance mental health competence through social work education

ABSTRACT

Simulation-based learning (SBL) is an innovative experiential teaching method where students and instructors interact with a simulated client to foster students’ holistic competence in practice. Considering the context of North America where social workers are the largest service provider in the field of mental health, it is critical for educators to enhance competencies in students during the social work program. Guided by competency- and simulation-based, adult learning frameworks, this paper illustrates the development and integration of a range of educational activities into a treatment-focused advanced mental health course in the social work curriculum. We conclude by discussing how SBL enhances students’ mental health competence and provide recommendations when developing SBL in the mental health curriculum in social work education.     

The capitalist metabolism: an unachieved subsumption of life under the value-form

Abstract

This article views capitalism not only as a mode of production, but also as a mediation of the reproduction of life (human and non-human), following the concept of ‘social metabolism’ that Marx employs to analyze the interaction between the individuals composing a society and their natural environment. Insofar as the ‘value-form’ is the distinctive social relation of capitalism, it appears necessary to ask whether the metabolic process of reproduction can be fully subsumed under this form. Marx takes for granted the idea that the reproduction of labor-power consists only in the consumption of commodities resulting from abstract labor, thus omitting the appropriation of unpaid domestic work, mostly performed by women. Feminist criticism clarifies how capitalism always depends on some reproductive work being appropriated for the accumulation of surplus-value without being integrated in the value-form. Following Jason W. Moore, I attempt to indicate that the same logic is at work for the reproduction of non-human life under the capitalist value-form, thus contradicting the sustainable reproduction of its own natural conditions. These two limitations of the capitalist subsumption of life open a new space for an expanded critique of capitalism, which goes beyond the exploitation of waged work by reflecting upon the concerns of feminist and ecological struggles.     

Women at work: Commitment and behavior over the life course

Women at every stage of the family cycle are increasing their labor force participation but few maintain the continuous, full-time attachment characteristic of employed men. What does this mean in terms of women's subjective work commitment? Using data from six waves of the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics this study investigates the relationship between the pattern of employment over a five-year period and employed women's psychological commitment to work; findings suggest congruence as well as incongruence between labor force attitudes and behavior at different stages of the life course. Commitment to work in 1976 is also incorporated in a model estimating 1977 employment status. Results reveal that the greatest congruence between subjective commitment and labor force attachment is found in young women who have not yet begun their child bearing. On the other hand, employed mothers of preschoolers emerge as the group most likely to evidence discrepancies between labor force behavior and psychological commitment to the work role. Subjective commitment to work is shown to have a slight positive effect in estimating labor force activity the subsequent year, but the greatest predictor is women's work pattern over the previous five years.     

Culturally sensitive social work: promoting cultural competence

In current times of great conflict and clashes between different cultures and worldviews, cultural competencies should be a well embedded feature of social work education. This is a fundamental and cross-cutting issue; however, we question whether it is an obvious concern in social work education in European countries, specifically in Portugal, and if the curriculum of social work courses covers this topic. This article is based on research that seeks to find out if there are mandatory curricular units of the disciplinary field of social work that explicitly address culturally sensitive social work and cultural competencies. Thus, this article presents a study that focuses on educational institutions that provide social work courses in Portugal, and has the potential to be extended to other countries. An online survey and a document analysis of the curriculum programmes of all Portuguese courses in social work were conducted. The study results revealed the lack of curricular units with clear terms relating to the topic of culturally sensitive social work. The implications for practice and educational policy are also discussed, which lead to a reflection and analysis of the evaluation and accreditation process of social work education in Portugal, with a conclusion that it is incomplete and faces major challenges in curriculum development and course accreditation. Challenges and opportunities in developing social work curricula, as well the debate around a generic or specialist social work education are also discussed. Finally, the authors suggest an opportunity to develop cultural competencies through continuing and lifelong learning for social workers.     

Creating ethical work climates: A socioeconomic perspective

In this essay, I introduce a theory of ethical work climates and describe how ethical climates can be created in business firms by applying a socioeconomic perspective to the process of organizational design. I begin by discussing moral climate in general—presenting the concept of a moral climate continuum and identifying the positive moral climate as one especially conducive to ethical behavior by agents of the firm. Next, I suggest a process for determining where a firm falls along the continuum by obtaining information about prevailing organizational norms. I then proceed to outline the theory itself, analyzing how management can move a firm from the negative to the positive end of the continuum. In this analysis, I argue that a socioeconomic management perspective provides a particularly strong foundation for establishing positive moral climate. I then propose a strategy for designing key organizational processes to transmit this perspective throughout the firm. The essay concludes with an agenda for future research.     

Strategies for enhancing online teaching in social work education

ABSTRACT

In response to the growing importance of online education in social work education, this article describes the context of online teaching and learning in social work education. Online teaching and learning are further discussed in the context of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We emphasize the importance and need for trained faculty to teach in an online environment, particularly in HBCUs; offer an example of how the University of the District of Columbia, an HBCU, prepares its faculty to teach online; and conclude with specific strategies for online teaching and social work faculty. Finally, we provide recommendations for social work education.     

Application of Web-based learning in teaching social work law

Computer-assisted learning is now well established in many universities and offers a number of virtues that should commend it to social work educators. It offers a unique and valuable way of achieving certain learning outcomes that are of particular value in social work education. This paper presents one attempt to develop its potential by integrating Web-based tutorials into teaching social work law. It is suggested that Web-based learning has a unique and specific contribution to offer in enhancing student learning, but it does need to be carefully planned and integrated into teaching. Resistance to this form of learning needs to be anticipated; and the reasons for it considered for they may partly explain why the use of computer-assisted learning in social work education has, so far, been fairly limited. Nevertheless the 'added value' of Web-based learning is considerable so long as it is not regarded as some kind of cheap or 'soft' teaching option.