Grief and loss theory in social work practice: All changes involve loss,just as all losses require change

Working with and recognising grief and loss issues have long been identified as one of the core skills of social work practice. Despite its centrality, the exploration and application of grief and loss theory from a perspective other than death and dying has received sporadic attention in social work literature. This paper begins with a personal reflection from practice, which provided the catalyst writing in the first place. The concepts of grief and loss are then discussed in relation to losses other than death and dying. An analysis of historical and contemporary theories of grief and loss will then be explored, with the author advancing a theoretically expansive approach to grief and loss. This theoretical approach is one that is consistent with social work practice and is committed to diversity of experience and clients' strengths, as it adopts a framework for practice, which is constantly mindful of the context and meaning systems of social work clients.     

Roots of Futility,by Norman A. Polansky,Robert D. Borgman,and Christine De Saix. Jossey-Bass,San Francisco, 1972. $9.50 Hardbound. 288 Pages

Abstract

This paper describes a study of first year graduate social work students' work in practica and assesses their transfer of practice evaluation knowledge and skills from the classroom to the field. The data are drawn from case material recorded by the students using a structured recording format. The paper addresses three central questions. What were the salient features of the students' practices? Did students apply practice evaluation knowledge to their work with clients? And, what variables influenced the ways that the students practiced? Recommendations for enhancing class and field integration and for increasing knowledge and skill transfer given the significant influence of the practicum instructor's orientation are discussed.     

Lay and professional knowledge in social work: reflections from ethnographic research on child protection

This paper is concerned with the discursive interaction of lay and professional knowledge in the practice of social workers. The contention is that identifying discrete sources of knowledge—such as evidence-informed materials—may be less important for explaining how social workers guide their practice than recognising the effect of the discursive interaction of lay and professional knowledge within organisational culture. The example used for this discussion is child protection work, with a particular emphasis on how practice can be seen to be gendered. In the course of making this overall argument, the paper draws on academic debates about the nature of knowledge in professional work and discusses lay and professional knowledge as revealed through ethnographic research carried out in a social work team in the UK.     

Enhancing Critical Reflection amongst Social Work Students: The Contribution of an Experiential Learning Group in Care Homes for Older People

As part of a Practice Learning Centre, representing a partnership between an English University social work department and a non-governmental organisation, 12 students were placed in care homes for older people for their first period of assessed practice. The aims of this initiative were to facilitate: development of critical reflection; deployment of social work skills in a care home setting; and opportunities for social work students to work with care home residents. The learning was captured via four Experiential Groups facilitated by the Practice Educator with responsibility for assessing the students' practice. On-site supervisors also participated. Key learning included understanding of: the importance of critical reflection as a key social work skill; the influence of organisational norms and care home culture on the quality of care practice; the complexity and emotion-rich nature of person-centred care; and the pivotal role of relationships in work with people with dementia. Links made in the Groups—between the experiential and theoretical, the emotional and cognitive, and the structural and personal—demonstrate their value as learning platforms. Placements in care homes have considerable potential to enrich practice education; this is especially important in the context of an ageing population.     

Defining Culturally Competent Practice with Sexual Minorities: Implications for Social Work Education and Practice

In recent years, social work has placed an increasing emphasis on culturally competent practice. Although use of that term has referred primarily to practice with ethnic and racial minorities, the concept has been broadened to include social work with other culturally diverse populations. This article examines the application of cultural competence principles to practice with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered clients. Attitude, knowledge, and skill components are addressed to delineate a culturally competent approach to social work with sexual minorities. Implications for practice, education, and the profession are also discussed.     

Perceived Competencies of Social Workers in Adolescent Practice

Abstract

This investigation yielded data on the perceived competencies of social workers in adolescent practice. On average, survey respondents related that their perceived knowledge/skill levels ranged from moderate to high when working with depressed, sexually abused youths, or those with behavioral issues. However, respondents also perceived their knowledge/skill levels as moderate to poor when adolescent clients presented with: chronic physical conditions including HIV+/AIDS, sexual orientation issues, gang involvement, or were youths of color. Survey respondents credited work experience and conferences as the primary sources of their perceived practice knowledge/skill. Greater knowledge/skill levels in adolescent practice were associated with greater years of practice.     

Education,practice and research. Knowledge and attitudes to knowledge of Swedish social workers

This article deals with the knowledge base and methodological orientation of Swedish social workers and their attitudes to different sources of knowledge as a basis for practice. By means of a survey, 412 social workers in 12 municipalities responded to questions about their education, further training, the periodicals and books read and their views about the knowledge required for their tasks. The response rate was 93%. The data were analysed with quantitative techniques, including logistic regression analysis and show the following results: (1) The methods used in practice differ from what might be expected considering the content of social work education; (2) The Swedish methodological repertoire differs somewhat from that described in the Anglo-Saxon literature; (3) Different areas of social work display quite dissimilar images. Social workers in child welfare are closest to a coherent knowledge base, while those dealing with social assistance are least well off in this respect; and (4) Overall, there is an obvious lack of a common and up-dated knowledge base. Less than 1 in 10 read research-oriented periodicals and relevant books more than once or twice a year. These results are discussed in relation to the quality of social work education, social workers' attitudes to research-based knowledge, the research itself and the organisational setting of social work practice.     

The Corporate University and social work academic roles

Abstract

Universities have undergone significant changes in the last decade. Universities have become ‘corporate’, integrating the values, assumptions and ethics of corporate economic capitalism. Within universities, social work practice expertise is negated as a criterion of valued ‘technological role expertise’ of social work academics. The paper describes and analyses the compounding impact of changes in the role of universities upon the historically problematic relationship between social work practice and social work education, The paper suggests a means to integrate both roles in the roles of practitioner-academic and academic-practitioner A typology is developed which identifies the knowledge and skill basis of social work practitioners and academics. The typology enables an identification of the cross fertilisation of each role on the practice expertise of the other. Through such a typology an alternative valued criterion of ‘technological role expertise’ can be established by the profession itself for utilisation in both academic and practice appointments and promotion assessment.     

Threshold Theory and Social Work Education

Critical reflection is a concept in social work education that holds a significant place—it provides both foundational theoretical ideas about the practice of social work, and is also a process used in career-long learning. Understanding critical reflection as a threshold theory concept—a higher education learning and teaching concept—providing a framework which assists educators in teaching critical reflection. Threshold theory identifies certain concepts as foundational within a discipline—these are transformative in profoundly altering the way students understand the subject. As with critical reflection, they are also integrative, conceptually difficult or ‘troublesome’ and difficult to forget.

The intrinsic nature of critical reflection makes its use as a conceptual model in practice a complex task: it requires the integration of theoretical knowledge, in a multiple-step methodology. Students must fully engage with the process, in identifying the impact of their lived experience, values and beliefs on their practice, as well as power, social structures and influential discourses. This article argues that threshold theory assists educators in understanding the nature of learning that is required for students to master critical reflection in social work education     

Social Work Student Views on Palliative Care Learning Resources

Abstract

Many social workers are expected to work with individuals and families who are dealing with life-limiting illnesses, yet during their university education they may not have been exposed to materials that address issues related to death and dying. The Social Work Department of University of New England in Armidale, Australia designed and delivered a palliative care teaching and learning session using publicly funded online materials. Themes emerging from questionnaire and focus group data analysis included appreciation for the importance and emotional demands of the materials, sensitivity and flexibility among educators who ideally have work experience in the field, expanding presence of social work philosophy in curriculum materials and exploring spirituality, and examining culture-informed practice in greater depth. Among the implications is the need for concerted efforts to teach about death and dying using high quality accessible materials, while ensuring social work values and approaches are reflected in the content.     

The Sociology of Death and Dying: An Overview

This paper reviews the main sociological responses to death and dying by overviewing the central literature in the area known as the ‘Sociology of Death’. The main findings and arguments are outlined and analysed in three sections which cover the Anthropology of Death, the Sociology of Death and the Sociology of Dying. Criticism is summarised at the end of the paper and a suggestion is offered for future work in the area. It is concluded that an examination of dying from the perspective of those dying will give us a more complex understanding of different patterns of death. Such an analysis will fill the large gaps in our present knowledge about the dying process. It will also heavily contrast with simplistic views of dying formed by an over attention to the care givers' realities.     

Partnership practice: Responding to the challenge,realising the potential

This article explores some of the key components of training for partnership practice in social work. It presents an analysis of the forces working for and against partnership, and offers some ways forward from rhetoric to reality. The focus on practitioners' knowledge and skill development is assisted by exercises at key points in the text. The implications of training for organisations are also considered. Finally, partnership principles are seen to influence the training itself.     

Social Work Training or Social Work Education? An Approach to Curriculum Design

Population ageing, economic circumstances and human behaviour are placing social welfare systems under great strain. In England, extensive reform of the social work profession is taking place. Training curricula are being redesigned in the context of new standards of competence for social workers—the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF). Students must be equipped on qualifying to address an extensive range of human problems, presenting major challenges to educators. Critical theory suggests an approach to tackle one such challenge—selecting the essential content required for areas of particular practice. Teaching on social work with older people is used to illustrate this. Habermas' theory of cognitive interests highlights the different professional roles served by the social work knowledge base—instrumental, interpretive and emancipatory. Howe's application of sociological theory distinguished four social work roles corresponding to these. It is suggested that curriculum design decisions must enable practitioners to operate in each. When preparing students to work with older people, educators therefore need to include interpretive and emancipatory perspectives, and not construct social work purely as an instrumental response to problems older people present. This approach provides one useful rationale for curriculum design decisions, which is applicable to other areas of practice, and to contexts outside England.     

Policy-Practice in Social Work: Models and Issues

Abstract

The emergence of policy—practice is a recent development in social work. In this article, policy—practice is defined as a direct social work practice mode with the potential to strengthen the social work profession's abilities to meet its century-long commitments of providing policy-informed services to those in need of them. At the same time, policy—practice advocates for and participates in policy implementation and change. This article examines policy—practice and places it within the context of the profession's historic cause—function debate and identifies several barriers that have complicated development. Most important, the article reviews five policy-practice models found in the literature: (1) social worker as policy expert, (2) social worker as change agent in external work environments, (3) social worker as change agent in internal work environments, (4) social worker as policy conduit, and (5) social worker as policy itself.     

The Relationship Between Schools of Social Work,Social Research,and Social Policy

This paper outlines a curriculum model for the continuing education of graduate social workers. The curriculum plan is based on the assumption that western industrial man has entered a new era—the cybercultural era. The paper argues that the graduate practitioner must be retooled to fit the conditions and circumstances of the new era. Eight knowledge areas are explored as priorities in this continuing education plan: the nature of global ecology, the nature of mass organization, the nature of youth, the nature of the new economy, the nature of contemporary politics, the nature of inter group communications, the nature of professionalization, and the condition of social work theory. Through the exploration of these knowledge areas, it is felt that a new updated social work practice theory will be developed.     

Knowledge Equity is Social Justice: Engaging a Practice Theory Perspective of Knowledge for Rural Transformation

Social inequities are made possible by and compounded by knowledge inequity. Accordingly, new and more vehicles are needed in which different and transformative knowledges can chart new possibilities, practices, and meanings for rural people. One way forward is to work toward an ecology of knowledges in which the need for many types of knowledge is recognized and different knowledges are respected. Drawing on case study and “photo‐voice” research with women in rural Ethiopia, this article uses a practice theory approach to explore the possibilities of knowledge dialogue among different types of knowledge and skill. Recognizing the wide spectrum of deep knowledge and skill employed in local practice, and understanding how all knowledges are rooted in social context, actors can find common ground to dialogue through methods of praxis and narrative.     

BSW students' perceptions of key competencies,values, and practitioner skills Implications for social work education

Abstract

This study profiled undergraduate Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students' self-reported skill levels and valuations of personal qualities, practitioner skills, values and ethics, scientific skills and key competencies germane to social work practice. Differential assessments of personal qualities, practitioner skills, values and ethics, and scientific skills as well as differential assessments of the importance of 14 key competencies challenge a pattern of social work education where an integration of theory and practice is made difficult by a linear sequence of theory, followed by applied theory, followed by practice.     

Assessing BSW Student Direct Practice Skill Using Standardized Clients and Self-Efficacy Theory

Entering and exiting BSW students were compared on self-efficacy and on direct practice skill performance with a standardized client. Self-efficacy was tested as a predictor and as a mediator of skill performance. Ordinary least squares hierarchical regression found BSW education to be predictive of higher skill and higher self-efficacy. After controlling for BSW education, self-efficacy negatively predicted direct practice skill, and mediation was not supported as hypothesized. This study suggests caution in the use of self-efficacy as an outcome measure, advances the use of standardized clients for assessment, and affirms the need for the development of valid and reliable instruments for assessment of direct practice skill in social work education.     

The Place and Relevancy of Practice with Couples in Graduate Social Work Education

Social workers often provide services and therapy for couples; however, little literature has been published that suggests models for teaching—from a social work perspective—marriage counseling or social work with couples. This article reports the results of a survey that examined how faculty in graduate schools of social work are teaching practice content in marriage counseling and their perceptions of its relevancy to social work practice. Findings indicated that some content on social work practice with couples is evident in most master of social work programs. Moreover, faculty perceived social work practice with couples as moderately relevant to all practice settings listed in the survey.     

Attitudes of nursing students toward death and dying: A research note

Fear, denial, and the avoidance of death and dying appear to be products of life in modern society. While society insulates most people from contact with the death and dying of others, there are professions that come into repeated contact with dying individuals. The present study uses the Collett‐Lester Fear of Death Scale to analyze the Fear of Death and Dying for Self and Others (four subscales) among a sample of registered nurses (BA level). Over a 10‐year period, nurses’ fears concerning death and dying were measured at three points—before a course on death and dying (Pretest), after the course (Posttest), and at a point in their professional nursing practice (Retest). The results suggest that these nurses’ fears of death for self and others change at a statistically significant level over the Pretest and Posttest observations; however, the changes are temporary. The Fear of Dying for Self and Others tends to decline significantly over the Pretest and Retest observations. Age, religion, religiosity, and employment factors were also analyzed vis‐à‐vis the Fear of Death and Dying Subscales. Some directions for additional research into nurses’ fears about death and dying are given.