Perceptions Among Social Work and Non-Social Work Students Concerning Causes of Poverty

Feagin’s Poverty Scale was used to measure social work students’ and non-social work students’ perceptions of the causes of poverty. Present social work students, like previous ones, attribute poverty more to structural factors than individual factors. Further analysis, however, suggests that this may only be true for female and white social work students. Male and nonwhite social work students appear to attribute poverty to both structural and individual factors. White social work students perceive structural factors as more important in causing poverty than white non-social work students. Non-social work students did not overwhelmingly attribute poverty to individualistic factors as expected.     

Using portfolios to stimulate critical thinking in social work education

Each generation of social work educators has grappled with the best way to teach students to become competent social workers. Critical thinking has become one goal in social work education. This paper is premised on the assumption that social work students can develop critical thinking abilities through portfolios. The theory behind the use of portfolios in social work education is a 'hand-in-glove fit' with critical thinking. In addition, portfolios are consonant with social work values of self-determination and individualisation. Portfolios are compendiums of purposefully selected student work to show that the objectives of a programme have been met. They are also useful as an alternative method of student evaluation. Portfolios and critical thinking are partners in educating students to become competent social workers.     

Learning About Poverty Through Simulation: A Pilot Evaluation

ABSTRACT

Previous research suggests many health care professionals and students, including those in social work, have limited understanding of the causes and implications of poverty. Effective and relevant education is needed to train health care professionals to relate to those living in poverty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of team-based simulations on student perceptions and critical thinking about poverty. Data were collected from three poverty simulations, which took place at a university in the spring of 2015. Evaluations were completed by 230 students, and results showed promising improvements in students’ ability to think critically about poverty and increases in their ability to understand others’ perspectives regarding living in poverty.     

Working with social complexity in a neoliberal society: challenges for social work in Estonia

This article deals with Estonian social workers' perspectives on the fundamentals of the social work profession in a society where radical social, political, and economic changes have occurred within a very short period of time. Estonia typically figures as a model country, sometimes as a positive model, sometimes as a negative one, but according to most commentators, Estonia has pursued social and economic transformations in a particularly dramatic way. Social workers have recognized that radical changes have created new types of problems and social work should deal with vulnerable people and families under uncertain and unforeseeable conditions. Estonia is a challenging example to understand social work in the context of a neoliberal market society. It is therefore necessary to find out what the new challenges for the development of social work as a profession are. This article explores a ‘direction’ toward which social work in Estonia is developing, focusing mainly on the influence of the Estonian political context. The results of the research are relevant to the entire social work profession, insomuch as they address questions about the essence of social work and the ethical principles of the social work profession in society and how they can be strongly influenced by neoliberal thinking and increasing complexity.     

Politics and Positionality: Engaging with Maps of Meaning

This article considers critical social work education within the context of the challenges associated with the increasingly neoliberal, corporate and competitive nature of higher education and human service provision. The metaphor of maps is used as a framework for exploring the potential for transformational learning opportunities associated with alternative ways of thinking about teaching and learning. Countering the neoliberal tendency to depoliticise, metaphors of maps and map-reading, as discussed here and applied to social work education, evoke diverse perspectives and engagements in relation to the politics of knowledge, knowing, theory and practice. In emphasising the partiality of knowledge, the indivisibility of the ‘knower’ and the ‘known’ and, as such, the personal and the professional, efforts to cultivate critical consciousness, thus, enable different conversations. The central premise of this article is that in offering opportunities for engagement which open up rather than close down the space for meaningful dialogue, educators may contribute, in profound ways, to both student development and the (re)shaping of public discourse.     

The Volunteer Citizen After Welfare Reform in the United States: An Ethnographic Study of Volunteerism in Action

In the United States, neoliberal strategies for social, economic, and state organization have been accompanied by frequent calls for volunteers to solve serious social problems. A case study of a community mobilization of middle-class volunteers to provide one-on-one support to families in poverty shows both possibilities and limitations. Volunteers provide social support to families in poverty, thus alleviating social isolation. Volunteers learn about systemic forces that cause poverty, its effects on families and communities, and about themselves and their capacities to engage in poverty work. However, social isolation is but one of many problems associated with poverty, and even a more knowledgeable amateur volunteer corps cannot take the place of substantial social, economic, and political change.     

There are no Answers,Only Choices: Teaching Ethical Decision Making in Social Work

Abstract

In teaching students about ethical decision making in social work, it is essential that the students are able to recognise the moral implications of their work and develop a deep understanding about ethical issues and their personal responsibility for making ethical choices. Thus, more than a “how to do it” approach is needed and teaching students about values and ethics is an essential thread that runs through our experience-based social work education program. The present paper describes a learning unit that sought to teach students about ethical decision making as a critical thinking process and, in so doing, to integrate students’ knowledge and experience of values, ethics, policy, and research in the final year of study. The relationship between values, ethics, policy, research, and social work practice provided an ideal context within which students could learn to integrate their knowledge and experience and apply it directly to their fieldwork practice. The paper ends with our critical reflection on this teaching experience and a critique of decisionist ethical frameworks.     

Curricular Blueprinting: The Relevance of American Social Work Education for International Students

This study assesses the relevance of US‐based social work curricula for international students. Both the perceived advantages and disadvantages of international educational training are considered, including the consequences of curricular adaptation. The study utilizes multiple qualitative methods including participant observation, 15 semi‐structured interviews, and text analysis. The majority of international respondents reported intending to work with poverty alleviation and social development. Respondents reported learning some inappropriate skills, intervention strategies, and policies that cannot be appropriately applied across cultures, and which are divorced from local context. Benefits of exchange include discussions of marginalized populations, enculturation into Western values and methods that may be beneficial to future job opportunities, and the enhancement of critical thinking skills to address social problems.     

Are We Educating Creative Professionals? The Results of Some Experiments on the Education of Social Work Students in Italy

Creativity is a competence crucial for the practice of social work. In particular, it is associated with a greater ability to solve complex problems and to learn, and it is considered to be an integral element of the professional identity of social workers. Nevertheless, in the past 20 years, neoliberal policies and bureaucratization have promoted models of education focused more on technical skills than on imaginative and ideational capacities. This article presents the results of two experiments conducted to determine the effects on creativity and imagination of the technical education of social workers. The results show that creativity is not a variable independent of the type of education delivered to students and that educational programmes which emphasise only the technical dimension of social work can have a direct influence on the creative abilities of students. It is therefore necessary to strike the right balance between education aimed at the acquisition of technical skills and education that promotes creativity.     

Critical Thinking in Social Care and Social Work: Searching Student Assignments for the Evidence

The ability to think critically would appear to be a defining feature of competent social work practice. Yet the way practitioners develop critical thinking and how it is taught and assessed within educational establishments is unclear. This paper explores one key aspect of the learning process; the way critical thinking might be evidenced in the transition from Further Education to Higher Education. The assignments produced by students undertaking the HNC in Social Care and year one students at the initial stage of the BA Social Work programme in Scotland were examined. The findings suggest that students working in social care environments and year one students on the BA Social Work course were able to evidence some critical thinking; however, it was generally quite minimal and limited to certain categories. Whilst there are likely to be diverse opinions within Scotland as to how the new four‐year honours degree in social work is implemented in terms of teaching, assessment and learning, a valuable opportunity may be missed if critical thinking is not a core feature and meaningfully aligned to students' experiences at Further Education and Higher Education.     

Evaluating the outcomes of intensive critical thinking instruction for social work students

Social workers require critical thinking skills to analyse situations which present themselves in the course of professional work and in making decisions about the most appropriate forms of social work intervention. The 4-year Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of Newcastle, Australia, introduced an intensive instructional unit on critical thinking at the beginning of the final year of the course. The Cornell Critical Thinking Test, the Ennis—Weir Essay Test and a qualitative student self-appraisal were administered to students in the fourth year of the degree prior to the intensive instructional unit on critical thinking and again after the unit had been completed. From the results it was concluded that explicit and concentrated instruction on critical thinking assisted social work students to improve their critical thinking abilities and to identify principles of critical thinking.     

Persistence of an exclusionary model: Inequality and segmentation in Mexican society

Beginning in the 1980s, Mexico's social and labour policies took a neoliberal turn which exacerbated inequalities, poverty and social exclusion. The change of policy course that has occurred over the past decade has so far failed to bring about a critical review of the country's economic model and its social consequences. The role of the State has been systematically cut back; social services have been outsourced to the market; and informal family‐based social protection has gained ground. Mexico's social model has thus been reduced to a system that is almost exclusively concerned with protection for those living in extreme poverty.     

Teaching philosophies and practices in social work education: do the core competencies influence our consciousness?

Assessing the mechanisms by which EPAS core competencies are embodied in classroom teaching is important for comprehensively examining EPAS’ success. This case study of one program presents emergent findings about perceptions of teaching, and the influence of core competencies, derived from interviews conducted with faculty members at a graduate social work program. Participants were asked about their teaching philosophies and practices, and the influence of social work core competencies in framing their philosophies and practices. Four primary themes emerged: (1) engaging students in learning, (2) linking the classroom and field, (3) critical thinking, and (4) core competencies are not evident at a conscious level. Participants described strong ambiguity about how the core competencies consciously influence teaching approaches, while clearly stating goals for interacting with students, integrating field experiences in the classroom, and helping students build critical thinking skills. Implications for social work education are described.     

Attitudes toward poverty among exit students of undergraduate social work programs in eight Latin American countries

What is the attitude of Latin American undergraduate social work students toward poverty? An earlier study from Europe and other countries worldwide found that most graduating social work students who participated in the research were clear about the socio-structural causes of social problems such as poverty. Still, no data on this topic is available for Latin American countries. The aims of this study were: (1) to describe and to compare eight Latin American graduating undergraduate social work student groups regarding their attitudes toward poverty, as measured by two scales: Causes of poverty scale and Ways of dealing with poverty; and (2) to discuss some of the implications of the study for social work education and practice. Using a quantitative transnational-comparative design, a total sample of 525 nonrandomly selected, graduating undergraduate social work students from eight Latin American countries responded to a self-administered questionnaire. An individualistic attitude to understanding and to dealing with poverty emerged in the majority of the student groups. Multivariate procedures and inferential analyses demonstrated variations across the student groups. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.     

Mature-aged Social Work Students: Challenges,Study Realities,and Experiences of Poverty

There has been a substantial increase in mature-aged students enrolled in higher education in recent decades. Equally, mature-aged women, often with family responsibilities, are well represented in social work degree programs. In this article, the findings from the National Study of Social Work Students (NSSWS) are examined in relation to mature-age students to better understand their study experiences, and factors that may be impeding their ability to take advantage of a university education. What is clear from the data is that many mature-age social work students were experiencing poverty at higher rates than their younger counterparts who were themselves financially struggling at higher than average rates for domestic Australian tertiary students. Here, mature-age social work students’ experiences and perspectives are presented using quantitative data and students’ own qualitative responses. The results have important implications for social work educators and administrators, and wider policy ramifications regarding student equity.

IMPLICATIONS

• These findings provide a spotlight for national bodies, universities, educators, policy makers, sector partners, and researchers into the under-researched, lived realities for mature-aged Australian social work students.

• Better understanding the grinding effect of poverty on many mature-aged social work students can spur political action to enact systemic change.

     

‘I've come on this course to learn how to be politically minded’: political discourses among students entering a social work programme

Small-group self-administered interviews were conducted with 80 students entering a social work degree in the UK, asking about their motivations, political engagement and perspectives on equality. Especially as the interviews went on, many students were found to identify structural constraints on agency and express a desire to learn more about the political stakes of social work. However, it was concluded that speakers had to contend with, and by degrees operate upon, a neoliberal discursive terrain.     

Resisting Neoliberalism from within the Academy: Subversion through an Activist Pedagogy

Teaching and learning in the neoliberal academy means that educators in non-market-oriented departments, such as social work, face several constraints and challenges when trying to implement an anti-oppressive, social justice focused curriculum. This article considers challenges that can arise with an introductory social work course in the current context of neoliberalism, especially when open to both social work and non-social work students. With a particular focus on larger class sizes, the use of precarious labour and the depoliticization of the classroom, the authors use an inductive, reflective approach to analyse observations made about shifts in the behaviour and engagement of students in the course. The authors surmise possible explanations for these shifts, considering changes made to the substantive content and pedagogical practices of the course. Through this process the authors propose that these changes represent an ‘activist pedagogy’ which may offer potential for anti-oppressive education with students both inside and outside social work. As such, the authors propose ‘activist pedagogy’ as a possible way to resist and subvert the neoliberal educational paradigm and to better integrate the principles and practices of social justice and anti-oppressive social work into the classroom.     

Preparing Social Work Students for Rural Child Welfare Practice: Emerging Curriculum Competencies

Multiple issues that are unique to child welfare social work practice in rural areas markedly affect workforce recruitment and retention, yet little attention is given to the proficiencies needed to equip emerging social workers for this growing area of the field. Curriculum content is needed that provides students with the opportunity to master the skills needed to thrive as child welfare social workers in rural areas. Using an evidence-based practice critical thinking model as a guide, a systematic review of literature and documents addresses many of the competencies needed to prepare social work students for child welfare practice in rural areas. These competencies are identified. Suggestions for integration into the social work curriculum are offered.     

SCHOOL SELECTION PREFERENCES OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITY MSW STUDENTS: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

A convenience sample of MSW students responded to an Internet-based survey (N=2,289) retrospectively reporting their reasons for enrolling in a specific social work graduate program. Reponses indicate that MSW students who enroll in private graduate programs are younger and reported reputation-related and employment-related reasons for specific school selection more often than students enrolled in public schools. Students enrolled in public schools reported location-related reasons as more important. Bifurcation of the applicant pool into private and public preference-groups presents a recruitment challenge. Other findings include that enrollment rates are substantially higher than previously anticipated, which suggests that most applicants to graduate social work programs are likely to be admitted if they apply to multiple programs.     

Promoting Deep Learning: A Teaching,Learning and Assessment Endeavour

The need for social workers to develop expertise in critical reflection is now a dominant theme in the literature. How this expertise is achieved, however, remains under‐explored in an environment increasingly focused on outcomes, evidence of performance and teachers' preoccupations with curriculum content and assessment. Students' understanding of critical reflection and how, if at all, their social work education assists in developing this capacity, continue to be under‐represented.

Applying a ‘deep‐learning’ framework, this article outlines an attempt to engage final year social work students in a teaching, learning and assessment exchange that promotes critical reflexivity. It presents the thinking behind the evolution of a unit focused on social work in public welfare and health settings. Using their final assessment exercise in which they are asked to review their learning, it then offers students' responses to that unit. In particular, the paper highlights the personalised practice visions offered by students as they seek to locate themselves, personally and professionally, before making the identity‐challenging transition from student to qualified practitioner.