Preparation for Contact: An Aid to Effective Social Work Intervention

This article proposes that a pre‐contact phase of work which helps prepare the worker/social work student for face‐to‐face intervention is a prerequisite for effective practice. It builds on the original work by Douglas and McColgan in which preparation for contact was placed in the context of the Diploma in Social Work Competence requirements. In this revised article links are made to the new degree in social work while retaining the framework which provides for examination of essential knowledge, skills and values which underpin effective preparation for a social work encounter. The article discusses the Preparation for Contact exercise and explores its value as a learning tool for social work students, its usefulness as an assessment tool for university tutors and agency practice teachers in relation to testing the student's ‘readiness’ for contact and its place in providing practice learning evidence in relation to requirements of the degree in social work.     

Evidence-Based Practice: Current Issues and Future Directions

Abstract

Evidence-based practice approaches continue to increase in popularity in health and human service contexts in Australia and internationally. As social workers face pressures to evidence practice and justify outcomes, the limitations in applying an evidence-based practice approach to social work are confronted. The present paper identifies the features of evidence-based practice and notes the potential benefits and limitations of this approach in social work. Debates surrounding the nature of social work interventions, effectiveness and evidence are reviewed. The current context and climate influencing the use of research and other evidence in social work are discussed. The paper also considers the position of qualitative, interpretive and critical reflective approaches in relation to evidence-based practice. Issues for the future of evidence-based practice in social work are identified, including the need for the profession to examine more closely the relationship between critical reflective and evidence-based approaches to practice.     

Integrating Critical Consciousness into Direct Social Work Practice: A Pedagogical View

An unnecessary and unfortunate divide has existed historically within social work both in the United States and also in the United Kingdom between social reform or anti-oppressive practice, and direct social work practice or social care. In this article, the limitations of such a dichotomy will be explored, and ways that social work educators may more effectively integrate critical reflection approaches into their pedagogical practices will be identified. Building upon Denzin's methodological elaboration of C. Wright Mills' concept of private troubles–public issues, this article will discuss the usefulness of applying methods from critical, interpretive qualitative research to help social workers achieve critical consciousness in social work education and practice. This article will also address ways to help social work students overcome impediments to achieving critical consciousness, including the anxiety attendant upon changing one's belief systems. Finally, this article will describe the development of a concentration-year MSW elective, Transformative Social Work Practice, which sought to assist social work students in becoming more critically reflexive in their clinical work.     

Using Decision Analysis: Connecting Classroom and Field

This paper reports on the findings of a small‐scale research project investigating the views of social work students on the use of decision analysis. After giving the context of the research, the article reports on what was found when students, who had just completed a Decision Making and Risk module, were asked for their opinions on the component parts of decision analysis, its use as a practice tool and their attitudes to using it on placement. The research found that the respondents in general took a critical and supportive stance towards the use of decision analysis in social work and, with extra teaching and a positive approach from their practice assessor, would be happy to use decision analysis. When the same group of students completed a follow‐up questionnaire on a placement recall day, half of them had thought about using decision analysis but only three had gone on to discuss this with their practice assessors. Some issues in relation to connecting ‘classroom’ and ‘field’ are identified and the paper concludes that a number of further steps would be necessary to realise the potential of decision analysis to help students be more systematic and analytical in their approach to decision making.     

Teaching the Child Perspective in Social Work Education: Ethical Principles and Classroom Strategies

Aimed at graduate and undergraduate social work instructors, this article identifies the problem of inadequate attention to children in social work education in the US. The authors argue that social work ethics require social work educators to address children as a vulnerable population. They argue that children will be more central in social work education if instructors adopt a child perspective defined by three knowledge categories, development, well‐being and hope, that serve as reference points in teaching. A triangular strategy of position, attitude and action is provided to guide the day‐to‐day use of a child perspective in the classroom. The authors examine sources of the problem, describe its effects on students' education and future practice and provide classroom examples and teaching techniques.     

The case for critical social gerontology in social work education and older women1

This article argues the case for the application of critical social gerontological theory and research to social work education and older women, both as a way of heightening student social workers' awareness and understanding of the complex and diverse experiences of older women who make use of personal social services AND to develop anti‐ageist and anti‐sexist practice. In presenting this ‘case for social gerontology’, the paper will draw on findings from the author's recent research with older widows.     

The Passing of the Practice Teaching Award: History,Legacy, Prospects

This article reviews the origin, development and prospective demise of the Practice Teaching Award, as a prelude to considering the scope for reconfiguring practice teacher training and assessment on the GSCC landscape of social care codes of practice, qualifying programmes in social work and an integrated post‐qualifying framework. As a bridge from the past to the future, the article highlights a rich PTA ‘legacy’, identifying a particularly valuable ‘bequest’ in the ‘mainstreaming’ of portfolio assessment. Transcending the sphere of education and training as such, the reflective self‐assessment characteristic of effective portfolio construction is identified as a major contribution to the ‘professionalisation’ of social work practice as a whole.     

Developing people in a network of relational practices: reflections on the role of social work education

The mission of social work education in Flanders is threefold: to deliver education, to conduct research and to provide services to society. In our opinion social work education has a critical and liberating function towards society and it must stimulate and develop a critical attitude amongst students. In this article we first focus on the educational dimension of social work education as we practise this in one institute. Next we describe how we realise our objectives as a social work education institute in relation to the professional field. The central concept of our vision is social work as a relational practice.     

Practice Learning and the Development of Professional Practice

The development of professional practice is based on practice learning, yet there is no consensus about its definition. The currently evolving use of the term ‘practice learning’ provides us with an opportunity to consider the nature of learning for professional practice at initial entry through to post qualifying stages of development. A number of streams of thought are influencing the understanding of practice learning and we aim to consider some of these and how they inform those involved in supporting and guiding practice learners at different stages of their professional development.

In presenting our conceptualisation of practice learning we argue against oversimplified dualities of classroom‐based academic learning concerned with theory and workplace‐based practice learning concerned with practice. Additionally we make explicit the career‐long nature of practice learning which is as embedded in continuing professional development as it is in the requirements for qualifying programmes.

Having established what we mean by ‘practice learning’ we consider the impact of organisational learning theory on the management of practice learning. The consideration of the characteristics of organisations which learn leads to a brief examination of approaches to teaching and learning which promote knowledge creation in a way which is meaningful to practitioners. We will argue that the development of understandings of organisational learning and knowledge creation should become part of the knowledge base for those supporting and guiding practice learners, in addition to the traditional knowledge base of adult learning theory.

Before exploring the nature of practice learning it would be helpful to consider briefly what we mean by professional practice for which practice learning is preparing people.

Professional practice in social work is a complex set of activities which involve direct work with service users, and their families, as well as work with other professionals and agencies. A range of knowledge and skills are used with a firm value base which recognises diversity and oppression as key elements in UK society.

Such professional practice is learned and developed in a range of ways over time through training, practice, understanding, analysis and reflection. However, the nature of just what practice learning is and where it occurs has become a focus of debate in the UK as a result of recent developments in initial professional education and training for social work.     

Reviews

The article discusses language as a form of social differentiation and the importance of its recognition as such within social work. Structural and ideological barriers to the recognition of linguistic identity within the UK context are explored, before focusing on additional language tuition and the benefits of its use as an awareness raising tool, drawing from socio‐linguistics literature and applying it to social work education.

Research points to the necessity of the development of a ‘third place’ between a native and target linguistic culture to permit a greater depth of understanding of multicultural and multilingual contexts. It is argued that culturally competent language tuition, when used beyond an exercise in communicative competence or bilingual resource development, has great potential in terms of developing anti‐discriminatory practice past a monolingual framework, and allowing monolingual practitioners to discover their own linguistic identities, and reach their own ‘third place’.     

US Social Work Students' Attitudes Shift Favorably Towards a Harm Reduction Approach to Alcohol and Other Drugs Practice: The Effectiveness of Consequence Analysis

Given the increasing numbers of people in need of treatment for problems associated with Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) problems and the concomitant likelihood that social worker caseloads currently reflect this increase, a critical analysis of social work student attitudes towards different approaches to AOD treatment is warranted. Our study examined United States' social work students' (n = 100) attitudes towards treatment approaches to practice with people who misuse/abuse AOD and enlisted a Consequence Analysis (CA) intervention designed to shift attitudes towards considering a harm reduction approach. The Harm Reduction Acceptability Scale (HRAS), as well as a two-item response measure, measured pretest and posttest attitudes. Findings demonstrate that at pretest both intervention and comparison groups were willing to consider a goal of moderation (a proxy for the acceptability of a harm reduction approach and a client-centered perspective), and neutral on the effectiveness of an abstinence-oriented approach. At posttest, the intervention group became more flexible and open to the broader philosophical perspective of a harm reduction approach while the comparison group became less so. Consequence Analysis appears responsible for producing the observed changes in attitude towards harm reduction. Implications for international social work education and training are discussed.     

The Theory Circle: A Tool for Learning and for Practice

Social workers have grappled for many years now with the tension between theory and practice. The struggle may be to bridge a perceived gap between the academic knowledge base of social work and the complex realities of practice. Equally, it may be to move from common‐sense interpretations of human need and professional responses, towards a more informed and accountable approach to practice. In recognition of the challenges faced by social work academics, practitioners and students, in relation to applying theory to practice, two of the authors of this paper developed a model, which aimed to facilitate productive discussions between practice teachers and students about the nature of theory and its link to practice. In addition, the model was designed to promote partnership approaches where service users participate fully in identifying their own issues and in shaping the services they receive. This paper describes the model—The Theory Circle—and reflects upon its effectiveness, based on the views of 19 practice teachers from central Scotland. The findings suggest that the pictorial model is one that practice teachers and students find accessible and valuable; it helps them to build a theoretical understanding of service users' situations and to work alongside service users to agree the most appropriate methods of intervention.     

Evaluating a Teaching Module on Ethically Responsible Evidence-Based Practice Decision Making in an Advanced Micro Practice Course

ABSTRACT

This article adds to the growing body of literature on the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) in social work. Specifically, it examines a 9-hour EBP educational model designed to prepare MSW students for appropriate decision-making strategies in working with multicultural client populations. The model places emphasis on identification and application of critical thinking skills for micro- and mezzo-level practice in urban social work systems. It moves beyond traditional research approaches and emphasizes community-based and emic approaches for generating evidence appropriate for ethnic minority populations. Students’ written assignments (N = 80) demonstrated the model’s pedagogical value as a learning strategy for applying EBP. Students’ evaluations demonstrated the model’s value in sensitizing students to the importance of becoming ethically responsible research consumers.     

ETHNOGRAPHIES OF PRACTICE—PRACTISING ETHNOGRAPHY

This paper argues that acquiring competencies in different approaches and procedures in qualitative or interpretative social research provides a strong foundation for case analysis in professional social work practice. When students of social work become familiar with such research and are encouraged to engage in their own supervised projects they develop skills for a circumspect and sensitive practice with clients. The paper reports on work with students of social work in Germany, which can be described as an attempt to help them to become self‐reflective ethnographers in their own affairs, of their own emergent social work practice. It spells out different phases of a process in which they learn to make their own practice strange. This process consists of developing different competencies in observing, analysing and writing, and requires a setting in which students' written observations and reflections can be shared and discussed by their peers in a critical, egalitarian and supportive manner. The author thinks that such a critical and self‐critical discourse which addresses professional issues in general, as well as the individual student's (or practioner's) experiences and reflections, can have important implications for the collective development of social work and its relationship with other professions.     

Inter‐ethnic conflict: a role for social work in sub‐Saharan Africa

African social work educators have consistently argued that conventional social work tasks and practice fail to address the critical socio‐economic needs of communities living in the sub‐Saharan region. This paper identifies inter‐ethnic conflict in Africa as both cause and symptom of the inequitable distribution of natural resources and public goods between ethnic groups in conditions of pressing material need. Reporting on results from a survey of social work students at the University of Ghana which explored their own experiences of inter‐ethnic conflict, this article considers alternative strategies for training in anti‐discriminatory practice. Training approaches developed in the United States of America and the United Kingdom are critically examined and the problems of their direct applicability in an African context discussed. In conclusion the need for a distinctively African approach to conflict management and anti‐discriminatory training is advanced.     

The Debate as a Pedagogic Tool in Social Policy for Social Work Students

Social work education under the Diploma in Social Work has been shaped by a competency led training model. The danger in this approach is that the critical thinking required of the reflective practitioner becomes lost. This paper argues that the teaching of social policy requires a complex interplay of knowledge, skills and values if students are to be equipped to participate effectively in the policy process. The authors, as teachers of social policy to social work students, have developed the use of the debate as a tool for learning and assessment. This approach is evaluated using structured student feedback and is discussed in the context of experiential and reflective learning and the application of social policy as ‘policy practice’. Over three cohorts, students reported increased knowledge and understanding and improved confidence in argumentation skills. Observation showed them utilising a range of policy practice skills. Recent evidence from the USA and Australia begins to confirm the value of this learning tool.     

Grasping the Nettle: Integrating Learning and Practice Revisited and Re‐imagined

This paper reports on findings from a practice audit and literature review into Integration of Learning for Practice, conducted in Scotland between November 2003 and February 2004. Findings from the practice audit suggest that although the integration of learning is one of the key aspirations of social work education, and there are many different approaches currently in use which attempt to enhance learning integration, students, practitioners, service users and social work lecturers all agree that more needs to be done in this area. The review of literature indicates some ways in which this might be taken forward. The paper concludes that for integration of learning for practice to succeed, we need a re‐imagining of the traditional boundaries between field and classroom, and practice teacher and social work academic.     

Building Relationships with Aboriginal People: A Cultural Mapping Toolbox

Abstract

This article describes a cultural mapping tool developed specifically for working with Aboriginal people experiencing mental health problems. The tool has broad scope, drawing from ecological and systems approaches. It will assist social workers to understand cultural and family obligations and build relationships with Aboriginal service users. Students learning about cultural diversity have expressed concern about asking culturally-sensitive questions. Australian human service workers typically state they feel inadequate in addressing Aboriginal culture in their practice approaches. The three components of the cultural mapping toolbox, (a) the social and emotional wellbeing cluster map, (b) the community and cultural diversity map, and (c) the migration map, provide social workers with a way of supporting a culturally connected lifestyle in contemporary society.     

Teaching Critical Practice: Resisting Structural Domination through Critical Reflection

This paper explores some of the responsibilities and challenges that face social work educators who teach critical practice to social work students. It is suggested that using critical reflection may enhance social work educators' capacity to prepare practitioners to work towards progressive social change and social justice, despite current social trends, such as globalisation, which potentially marginalise critical practice. This paper provides a reflective account of my experiences of teaching critical reflection to undergraduate social work students, drawing on critical postmodern theoretical underpinnings. Related pedagogies will be discussed which outline experiential reflective learning. It is ultimately contended that critical reflection is an important part of social work education and practice that is committed to enhancing citizenship, human rights, social justice and social change ideals.