Online Education in Social Work,Effectiveness, Benefits,and Challenges: A Scoping Review

ABSTRACT

Online education has long been a controversial issue within the Australian social work community. Although technological advances have improved the quality of teaching substantially, scepticism and disbelief continue to exist. Despite the growing evidence base as to the effectiveness of online teaching, this tends to be overlooked. A scoping review of the literature was conducted to synthesise research conducted on online social work education to identify its effectiveness, potential, and challenges and to show whether online social work education will effectively prepare qualified social workers. This revealed that online education enhanced diversity and equity among social work students and students’ performances and satisfaction were similar for both online and on-campus students. Nevertheless, communication and engagement continue to be a challenge.

IMPLICATIONS

• Decisions on online education should be based on evidence of effectiveness rather than on the assumption that face-to-face teaching is superior.

• Further research is needed to explore effectiveness of online education for different groups of students.

• Employers’ experiences with social work graduates from online courses need further research.

• Academics require support to tailor courses interactively and suitably for online education.

     

Online Teaching in Social Work Education: Understanding the Challenges

There is a rapidly growing industry of online learning and distance education programs at the Master of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work levels both within Australia and globally. A number of best practices have emerged from the literature that warrant consideration when delivering social work programs in online learning and distance education modes. Given the significant advancements in technology that are likely to continue into the next decades, social work academic leaders and accrediting bodies must be prepared to address the changing landscape of higher education, including limited financial resources. Social work academics need to become aware and implement best practices in online learning and distance education e-teaching environments to ensure positive student outcomes, student retention, and student engagement to meet the flexibility needs of students in higher education settings. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the challenges and benefits of distance education and online learning for consideration when providing a social work program in these delivery models.

IMPLICATIONS

• Given the significant advancements in technology that are likely to continue into the next decades, social work academic leaders and accrediting bodies must be prepared to address the changing landscape of higher education.

• Social work academics need to become aware and implement best practices in the distance education and online teaching environment to ensure positive student outcomes, student retention, and student engagement to meet the flexibility needs of students in higher education settings.

     

Using Adjuncts in Social Work Education: Challenges and Rewards

Adjunct faculty have become an essential addition to social work programs in the United States. Full-time social work faculty have not been able to meet the demands created by continued growth of BSW and MSW programs. The number of doctoral students in social work programs has not kept up with the growth of the programs. A survey of program directors available through the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Director's (BPD) listserv in the United States found that respondents saw adjunct faculty as assets to social work programs. The survey results indicated that adjunct faculty provide a ‘value added’ component. Adjuncts need to receive an orientation and continual training to help prepare them for classroom management and become aware of university policies. Adjuncts can be retained if they receive training, have frequent contact with faculty, and have access to university resources.     

Social Work Online Education: A Model for Getting Started and Staying Connected

Social work education has been greatly affected by ongoing technological advances in society at large and in the academy. Options for instructional delivery have been broadened tremendously. The University of Louisville is the first in Kentucky to put its master’s of social work degree fully online, with a first cohort admitted in 2012. The purpose of this article is to provide a model of program development for those social work programs that are considering whether or not to create an online program. The authors explain the process and considerations that went into exploring the online program that was eventually developed and offered by the Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work and conclude with implications for social work practice and education.     

Social Work Education and Clinical Learning

In response to a growing diversity of opinion regarding educational models and essential content in clinical social work education, this paper offers a perspective concerning graduate clinical curricula. Part I, the foundational piece of the paper, discusses the definition of clinical social work, social work’s core orientation and values, and influential contextual issues. The interrelated core orientations guiding knowledge and skill development are identified as the person-in-situation perspective and the concept of relationship. Based on this foundation, Part II identifies elements of a contemporary biopsychosocial knowledge base and essential clinical skills. This paper is intended to stimulate dialogue about a topic of importance to the profession and the clients it serves.     

Kinship Care and Public Child Welfare: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work Education

Abstract

The growing practice of arranging and financing “foster placement” of abused and neglected children with relatives provides an opportunity to redefine relationships between extended families and the child welfare system. The dilemmas and possibilities presented by kinship care as a child welfare service challenge schools of social work to provide intellectual leadership and to prepare social workers for changing child welfare practice. The author's ideas concerning responses to this challenge focus on key mandates of the Council on Social Work Education's Curriculum Policy Statement and on five principal curriculum areas in social work education.     

Teaching Clinical Social Work Skills Entirely Online: A Case Example

While numerous disciplines have eagerly embraced innovative educational technology, many social work educators have not been among early adopters. Social work's focus on the human connection and hands‐on practice skills can seem antithetical to technology‐mediated education. Nevertheless, social work programs are implementing distance learning and Internet‐mediated courses, and some schools are offering entire social work courses online. Leading the way in this regard is the Florida State University College of Social Work, which has developed and implemented the first CSWE‐accredited, entirely online Master of Social Work program. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, design, and implementation of one skills‐based clinical course in this program, with the goal of sharing information in a way that will further the discussion of the risks and benefits of online education as well as provide guidance for educators who may be interested in developing a skills‐based online course in the future.     

Pedagogical and Policy Challenges in Implementing E-Learning in Social Work Education

SUMMARY

This paper provides a summary of the findings from in-depth interviews with thirty social work educators and administrators involved in developing and offering e-learning in their programs in Canada. Using qualitative data analysis, four interrelated categories were developed: Professional Challenges, Pedagogical Challenges, Faculty Challenges and Administrative Challenges. A large number of issues were identified in each of these categories. Six themes emerged from the study. These themes form a two-part framework for examining policy issues and implementation tasks. The findings have pedagogical and policy implications for social work educators who are implementing e-learning in their programs.     

Three Voices: Reflections on Homophobia and Heterosexism in Social Work Education

This article reviews recent developments in interprofessional learning in health and social care with a view to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of current initiatives in this area. As the emphasis increases on interprofessional working as a central pillar of intervention across the social work and health professions, corresponding moves have been made to incorporate parallel learning objectives in curriculum guidance issued by accrediting bodies such as the General Social Care Council and the General Medical Council. It is important, however, not to take the assumed benefits of this development as a ‘given’, or to oversimplify the task of turning high‐level aspirations into practically achievable and pedagogically effective learning experiences. This article therefore gives an account of one attempt to deliver realistic and worthwhile practice‐based interprofessional learning opportunities. The development, implementation and evaluation phases of this initiative are considered in order to draw out the key messages as to the strengths and potential shortcomings of this model, and the positive messages for good practice we believe we can offer.     

The Challenges of the Post of Dean in Social Work Education

This paper reports an experiment in teaching social welfare policy content to first year students in a school of social work. In the context of an integrated class-field experience, the course sought to teach student practitioners a process of inquiry which might be useful in their efforts to change social welfare policies and programs. The project was based on the premise that social action is likely to be more effective when it is based on a systematic assessment of the problem in question and how it is being dealt with by existing policies and services. The authors discuss the advantages and limitations of this approach that were observed during the two year experiment and suggest that with certain modifications it can be an effective means for teaching social welfare policy.     

Sustainable Social Work: An Environmental Justice Framework for Social Work Education

Environmental degradation is not experienced by all populations equally; hazardous and toxic waste sites, resource contamination (e.g., exposure to pesticides), air pollution, and numerous other forms of environmental degradation disproportionately affect low income and minority communities. The communities most affected by environmental injustices are often the same communities where social workers are entrenched in service provision at the individual, family, and community level. In this article, we use a global social work paradigm to describe practical ways in which environmental justice content can be infused in the training and education of social workers across contexts in order to prepare professionals with the skills to respond to ever-increasing global environmental degradation. We discuss ways for social work educators to integrate and frame environmental concerns and their consequences for vulnerable populations using existing social work models and perspectives to improve the social work profession's ability to respond to environmental injustices. There are significant social work implications; social workers need to adapt and respond to contexts that shape our practice, including environmental concerns that impact the vulnerable and oppressed populations that we serve.     

Student Voices Speak Quality Assurance: Continual Improvement in Online Social Work Education

As social work education expands instruction through the rise of distance education, educators seek new ways to improve quality in online courses. Quality assurance standards and student feedback offer valuable insights to ensure satisfying and effective online learning experiences. An examination of these two assessment approaches concurrently in the context of a 4-year study of student perspectives in MSW Human Behavior and the Social Environment foundation courses illustrates how systematic feedback from students can complement existing quality assurance standards. Of particular importance is the unmistakable strength of student voices about their learning from diverse perspectives in an online collaborative leaning setting that can and should be incorporated into standardized quality assessment guidelines for social work programs.     

Social Work within a Community Discourse: Challenges for Teaching

This paper considers the continuing debate about the relationship between social work and community work. We write about our collaboration as educators, one from a social work background and the other from a community work background and discuss the challenge of teaching community work to social work students in a way that is relevant for contemporary practice, and that embraces community work principles and values. Our paper explores Ife's framework of competing discourses of human services and discusses how it has helped us to articulate our thinking and teaching practice in the Irish context. For us, the framework integrates social work and community work within a community discourse that provides a language transcending disciplinary boundaries. This approach represents a means of familiarising students with the community work process and enabling them to take action on issues of social justice. The framework represents four competing models of human service delivery: the managerial, the market, the professional and the community. We discuss how we use this conceptualisation to teach and engage students in a process of critical reflection. The paper discusses methods we use to undertake this process, and the development of our teaching practice over the last two years.