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.     

Exploring a Place for Spirituality in the Social Work Curriculum

Abstract

Although social work recognizes that spirituality is a basic dimension of human development, little attention is being given to this dimension by social work programs. This study surveys the views of social work faculty on the place, if any, that spirituality should have in the social work curriculum. Results suggest that there is considerable support for a course on this subject. Possible explanations for opposition to such a course also are explored. Suggestions are provided for introducing spirituality content into the curriculum.     

Evaluation of Distance Education Programs in Social Work

SUMMARY

Social work courses and programs delivered with distance technologies continue to increase in number. This article reports on current social work education research on distance courses and programs, and makes recommendations for future distance education research. Distance education research in other fields is described to give context for social work efforts.     

Toward a Radical Model of Social Work in Rural Communities

“Rural” areas as distinct from “urban” continue to be defined by greater personal interactions and less emphasis on formal systems of support. This reality rests in contradiction to the overwhelming majority of social work scholarship and theory development which takes place in an urban context. As such the present-day act of being a “social worker” in a rural community can, in many ways, feel like a bad fit, back-applying the model of an urban generalist into an environment whose organic community ties the social work model itself was originally designed to substitute for. In recognition of this, it is necessary to develop a “combined” model of practice for social work with rural communities and peoples. The fundamental distinction to be made is that rural social work, in its most radical form, is less concerned with adapting persons to the Gesellschaft than it is with strengthening the capacity of the Gemeinschaft to provide the kind of support capacity it historically has, taking into account changes and challenges resulting from factors such as globalization, urban sprawl, and cultural change.     

Toward Rigor and Relevance in US Social Work Education

Abstract

After reviewing the major changes taking place in American higher education, the present paper discusses a select number of challenges confronting US social work education. These challenges are broadly characterized as those of rigor and relevance. The paper presents the author's reflections on the best ways to meet these challenges and stresses the promotion of research and social innovations as important foci for social work education.     

Predictors of Nursing Home Admission: A Social Work Perspective

Abstract

Institutionalisation of geriatric patients is a growing trend in ageing societies, such as Singapore. Earlier studies focused on the sociodemographic profile and attributes of nursing home residents and applications, but neglected to address the predictors of nursing home admission from a social work perspective. The present retrospective study identifies independent risk factors that predispose a patient to a nursing home discharge from a general rehabilitation ward in a community hospital in Singapore, with a multidisciplinary emphasis on clinical intervention. Factor analysis results reinforced findings that functional impairment and dementia are consistent predictors of nursing home admission. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that positive predictors of nursing home admission include older age, length of hospital stay, low socioeconomic status, dementia, and functional disability. Social work interventions include early referrals to the medical social worker, so that options for social and family support can be explored prior to deciding to place patients in a nursing home. Other interventions include suitable family therapy and counselling for patients and their families.     

Potential Employers' Views of the Ideal Undergraduate Social Work Curriculum

Abstract

Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) curriculum design is generally considered a collaborative process involving educators, students, practitioners, and employers. The social agency contributes in critical economic, pedagogical, and political ways. The literature is ambiguous, however, regarding compatibility of educators' and practitioners' views on curricula, homogeneity of perceived training needs, and societal changes necessitating curriculum revision. In this study, 77 agency personnel reported their views of 56 BSW curriculum items. The development of communication competence, the mastery of content on socialization and the small group, and the cultivation of basic social work values were commonly viewed as essential. BSW program directors, graduates, and potential employers generally had compatible views. Practice conditions—especially service position (direct or indirect), field of practice, and client age group—influenced curriculum priorities. Changes in educational priorities across a decade were minor, with increasing emphasis on ethical practice, especially as related to confidentiality.     

Freirian Codifications and Social Work Education

Abstract

Although social workers have been writing about the significance of the Freirian framework for decades, a gap exists in the social work literature on Freirian conscientization—Freire's term for the ongoing learning process involved in co-learning. This article attempts to fill that gap by outlining an approach to training students that will enable them to facilitate conscientization. The approach involves the construction and use of politicizing pictures, which Freire called “codifications”. The author describes Freire's method and gives detailed guidance on how to provide training suitable for social work students. The benefits for social work students with this training are that they will be better able to facilitate reflection and abstraction, will become more sensitive to different oppressed groups, and will become more dialogical.     

Social Inclusion as an Agenda for Mental Health Social Work

Summary

Following New Labour's election to office in the UK in 1997, policy initiatives have proliferated relating to mental health. Much of this policy innovation emphasises the social dimensions of mental health and distress, with an emphasis on employment and social inclusion. Paradoxically, this modernization of the mental health agenda comes at a time when mental health social work is struggling to establish its role and contribution within recently integrated health and social services. The paper considers whether New Labour's flagship programme, Mental Health and Social Exclusion, constitutes a “New Deal” for mental health, and whether it provides a perspective that will help mental health social work to define its distinctive contribution to integrated services.     

Social Work Strategies and Tactics in the Workplace

Abstract

Those social workers who offer employment services can frame job development and placement as a process of workplace socialization in which they facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities in mainstream work settings. This paper examines the construct of workplace socialization and offers five specific strategies and related tactics for its facilitation in the context of social work practice in disability and rehabilitation.     

Risk and Social Work Practice

Abstract

Risk assessment and risk management have emerged as central organising principles for an increasing number of health and welfare programs. As a consequence, the language, technologies and imperatives of risk have assumed considerable prominence in the practice of many social workers. The present paper addresses three significant and contemporary explanations for the rise of risk in the day-to-day work of many social workers. In the context of these approaches, the paper examines some of the challenges risk presents to professional and ethical social work practice. Four issues with particular meanings and impacts for social work are discussed, namely the priority of risk over need, changing professional roles, relocation of responsibility to individuals, and the culture of blame.     

Social Work and Family Dispute Resolution

Abstract

Social workers have a significant role to play in the development and provision of family dispute-resolution services. Recent legislative changes and new directions in mediator accreditation in Australia are influencing education and practices in family dispute resolution. Alongside lawyers and psychologists, social workers constitute one of the main professional groups working in this area. A major contribution of social work is the emphasis on reflexive practices that consider political, social, and economic contextual factors. This is underpinned by a commitment to social justice and practices that focus on issues of access and equity and antidiscriminatory practice.     

Investigating Diversity in Social Work Doctoral Education in the United States

ABSTRACT

Despite its emphasis on social justice, social work in the United States has not always attended to issues of diversity in doctoral education. This article examines the state of the discipline’s research on traditionally underrepresented students in U.S. doctoral social work programs. An analysis of relevant peer-reviewed articles from social work journals revealed that this research has focused on demographic trends, degree motivation, student barriers, existing supports, and career navigation. Diversity in U.S. doctoral social work education is vastly understudied with the majority of scholarship focusing on ethnoracial difference. The limitations of this study are discussed, and future research directions are proposed including the need to examine various kinds of social differences and a wider range of support initiatives.     

Lessons from American Social Work Education: Caution Ahead

Abstract

Similar trends are occurring in Australian and US social work education, as universities increasingly adopt a rigid market orientation to tertiary education. This marketisation shapes social work education in manifold ways, including the pressure to increase revenues (and effect greater efficiencies) by expanding the size of social work programs. The unregulated growth in social work programs leads to lowered admission standards, as programs are forced to compete for students. An oversupply of social workers will also drive salaries downwards as supply eclipses demand. These issues are examined in the context of a “big” versus a “small” (fewer but more highly trained social workers) model of social work. Emphasis is placed on the lessons that Australian social work educators can learn from the challenges facing US 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.     

Integrating Religion and Social Work in Dual Degree Programs

Abstract

This article offers challenges, suggestions and examples for integrating insights from religion and social work in the context of masters level dual degree programs that link social work and other fields of study about religion, such as theology, pastoral counseling, and religious studies. The author first relates some personal and professional experiences regarding his own journey during the past 30 years in trying to find ways to connect religious studies, pastoral counseling, and social work. Next, the article presents suggestions for mutually beneficial ways that fields for studying religion and social work can challenge each other. Finally, several practical suggestions are given for designing integrated religion and social work dual degree programs.     

Teaching Social Work and Social Policy in the Era of Hyperpartisanship

ABSTRACT

For social work educators, teaching social policy in the current political climate in the United States may seem daunting and energizing at the same time. Students are often acutely aware of the political and policy-related controversies raging in Washington, D.C. and local governments, and yet their position on these issues may be unexplored or conflicted. The social policy classroom can be a productive place to explore these conflicts, but instructors may be especially wary of undertaking these difficult conversations in the current hyperpartisan era. This article explores how to ground these conversations in social work’s professional values, pedagogical theory, and educational best practices to help students build skill and confidence in developing their own well-informed assessments about policies and politics.     

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