Post-Qualifying Education for Social Workers: A Continuing Problem or a New Opportunity?

Between 1990 and 2012 there was a national system for regulating post-qualifying social work education in England. Since then social work has been expected to take a more flexible approach to continuing professional development (CPD) which recognises the contribution played by work-based and self-directed learning alongside higher education awards. While universities can continue to offer post-qualifying courses, it is envisaged that they will work more closely with employers in deciding what should be taught and how. This article is based on a scoping review of post-qualifying social work education in England which highlights the paucity of knowledge about the topic. Although achieving a post-qualifying award is associated with improved knowledge and confidence, little is known about the long-term effects on individuals, organisations and service users. There appears to be a complete absence of evidence on cost effectiveness. As yet, we know very little about the extent of self-directed CPD among social workers and current funding constraints are likely to limit the resources that organisations invest in CPD for their workforce. In a rapidly changing context, the article seeks to provide a baseline from which an agenda for future research into CPD among social workers can be shaped.     

Is Domestic Abuse an Adult Social Work Issue?

Within a global profession with a stated definition that includes ‘promoting social change and development, social cohesion and the empowerment and liberation of people’ (online), it would be expected that the issue of domestic abuse would be integral to the training and role of all social workers. This article reports on research, which highlighted both a lack of understanding of the role of adult social worker within cases of domestic abuse and also a desire for further training around the issue. However, this article sets out how the current UK (in particular, English) context of social work marginalises the issue of domestic abuse within practice with adults. This marginalisation has been achieved through the construction of domestic abuse as a children and families issue and limited duties, powers and resources within statutory work to support victims/survivors in their own right, rather than as ‘failing’ parents. However, the article argues that the role of social work education should be wider than teaching to the current policy or procedures and instead encourage a wider appreciation of the social, historical and political context. The article concludes with tentative suggestions for how domestic abuse could be considered within the social work curriculum for adult practitioners. This is in acknowledgement that social workers can be well positioned for the detection, investigation and support of those experiencing abuse.     

Culturally sensitive social work: promoting cultural competence

In current times of great conflict and clashes between different cultures and worldviews, cultural competencies should be a well embedded feature of social work education. This is a fundamental and cross-cutting issue; however, we question whether it is an obvious concern in social work education in European countries, specifically in Portugal, and if the curriculum of social work courses covers this topic. This article is based on research that seeks to find out if there are mandatory curricular units of the disciplinary field of social work that explicitly address culturally sensitive social work and cultural competencies. Thus, this article presents a study that focuses on educational institutions that provide social work courses in Portugal, and has the potential to be extended to other countries. An online survey and a document analysis of the curriculum programmes of all Portuguese courses in social work were conducted. The study results revealed the lack of curricular units with clear terms relating to the topic of culturally sensitive social work. The implications for practice and educational policy are also discussed, which lead to a reflection and analysis of the evaluation and accreditation process of social work education in Portugal, with a conclusion that it is incomplete and faces major challenges in curriculum development and course accreditation. Challenges and opportunities in developing social work curricula, as well the debate around a generic or specialist social work education are also discussed. Finally, the authors suggest an opportunity to develop cultural competencies through continuing and lifelong learning for social workers.     

Evaluating the Impact of Post‐Qualifying Social Work Education

Post‐qualifying awards in social work are well established within the continuing professional development agenda for qualified social workers in the UK. The evaluation of education and training should be an integral part of this agenda because it is important to ensure that programmes continue to meet standards of delivery, are successful in meeting their aims and objectives and are making an impact on practice. However, there is a limited amount of published work on the evaluation of post‐qualifying social work education, with studies often focusing on programme delivery rather than on their impact on practice.

This paper explores evaluative work within the current post‐qualifying social work framework and discusses the results of an evaluation of the Vulnerable Adults and Community Care Practice programme, a specialist post‐qualifying social work education programme run by a UK university, as an example of an evaluation of the impact on practice. The results indicate positive evidence of impact on practice and demonstrate examples of how the programme has had a direct effect on individuals, teams, organisations and on people who use services.     

Evidence-based practice in social work: perceptions and attitudes among Norwegian social workers

Although the concept of evidence-based practice (EBP) eludes precise definition, it is used as a trademark label to ensure that practice is based on science and thereby effective and of high quality. Proponents of EBP have proposed that both education and practice in social work should be transformed according to the principle of EBP. They attribute critical opposition to EBP to a lack of knowledge of what EBP is. In this article, we endeavour to clarify the concept and present results from a survey among social workers (N?=?2060) from Norway. The survey results show that although many have heard of the concept, few have precise knowledge about it. However, the more educated social workers are (master’s level), the clearer their opinions, both critical and non-critical. The results are discussed in relation to neo-liberal governance and development of social work.     

Identifying as an evidence-based social worker: the influence of attitudes,access, confidence,and education

This study explored United States-based social workers’ (N = 152) attitudes toward, access to, and confidence in engaging in evidence-based practice (EBP), the extent to which social work education prepared them to engage in EBP, and the factors that contributed to their identification as an evidence-based practitioner. Findings indicated that although practitioners had a positive attitude toward engaging in EBP, they were only moderately confident in doing so, rarely accessed evidence, and were only moderately prepared through their education. Believing that EBP should be implemented, more educational preparation, and positive attitudes contributed to greater identification as an evidence-based practitioner, areas that social work and continuing education should further support to enhance social workers’ EBP skills.     

An integrated and experience-based approach to social work education: The Newcastle model

This paper describes a unique social work education model developed by a group of social work practitioners, all but one of whom were new to academia. The University of Newcastle, in New South Wales, pioneered problem-based learning (PBL) in Australia. The social work programme adopted PBL and gave it a strengths focus, making experience and experiential learning central to its approach. Newcastle's model is based on the belief that learning to be good social workers is best achieved through learning by doing, working with students' experiences, integrating theory and practice, using a collaborative or small group approach, and locating these elements in a strong social justice context. The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree is relatively new. Introduced in 1991, its first graduates entered the workforce in 1995. The Newcastle model provides a unique example of experience-based learning and an integrated approach to social work education.     

Messages to Social Work Education: What Makes Social Workers Continue and Cope in Child Welfare?

This article examines the positive elements which make social workers continue their career with a focus on statutory child welfare. Such analysis is needed, as existing research tends to highlight stress, exhaustion and career break-up issues. The empirical data consist of focus groups of 28 social workers and a questionnaire addressed to 56 professionals in child welfare in two Finnish urban municipalities. The focus groups were targeted at novice, expert and veteran social workers. The analysis presents organisational, person-related and client-work-related positive elements from the point of view of social workers. The results highlight that social work in child welfare may be experienced as being rewarding and professionally challenging. The positive elements vary among novice, expert and veteran social workers, with the latter especially viewing their work as independent expert work with major opportunities to make a change in children's lives. Commitment to care of children is one of the key motivating factors. The study suggests that social work education should recognise that the subjective motivation to do social work may change during one's career and that social work may be simultaneously both stressful and rewarding. Students should learn how to balance these aspects of their work.     

Communication,culture and competence in social work education

This paper argues that the managerialist influence on the DipSW has meant that both the models of social work and of social work education that have come to dominance since it was first approved in 1989 are incompatible with the development of anti-racist practice. We explore the potential of reformulating social work as a communicative activity and the implications of this for the education of social workers. We argue that this would require an approach that incorporates three main elements: an analysis of the way in which power and disadvantage is distributed between racial groups and the ways in which this affects their ability to represent their own needs in political debate; an understanding of the ways in which the wider discourses of racial domination find expression in culture; and the development of our understanding of how intrapsychic representations of race and power come to be inscribed in mental life. It is through the interrelationship of these domains that anti-racist practice can become integral to social work.     

Human rights at the heart of the social work curriculum

ABSTRACT

Social work policy and practice all over the world continue to face the impact of the neoliberal agenda. Similarly, social work education has been subject to the economic and political changes, with an increasing emphasis on a discourse of ‘evidence-based practice’. However, it is the core of social work programs in higher education to initiate students in the fundamental values of social work, as they are recognized in the global definition of social work. In order to prepare future social workers for their assignment, human rights should be given an explicit place in the social work curricula at Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences.

For human rights to gain more attention in social work programs in higher education, a Manifesto was written by lecturers’ social work in the Netherlands and Flanders, with a 5-point program to include human rights in the social work curricula. In this article, we elaborate on the five objectives that are presented in the Manifesto. Throughout the paper, we introduce small ‘case examples’ of how human rights can be integrated in education. These experiences show the importance of developing a particular social work perspective on human rights that is found in the idea of ‘human rights from below.’     

Repositioning Risk in Social Work Education: Reflections Arising from the Threat of SARS to Social Work Students in Hong Kong during their Field Practicum

The social work profession has always been involved in dealing with uncertainty and risk in the life politics of clients. However, it is not easy for young social work students to translate this philosophical disposition into their real life practice with clients. In spring 2003, when the SARS epidemic broke out in Hong Kong, a group of social work students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong were doing their fieldwork practicum. Suddenly confronted by a collective sense of risk in their role as social workers, the students went through a period of unrest, as performing their helping duties brought with it a simultaneous exposure to personal risk. This paper is based on four focus group interviews with these social work students, to understand how they processed their experience of risk during their exposure to the SARS crisis, and how they connected the experience to their social work practice with clients. It is found that the predicament arising from the exposure to personal risk brought about by the SARS crisis during the students' field placement engendered the reflective process that enabled a renewed and personalized meaning of professionalism. The results provide a basis for reflection among social work educators on the role of risk in the training of prospective social workers, and on how social work education can better prepare students for practice in a high‐risk environment.     

Linking Practitioners' Attitudes Towards and Basic Knowledge of Immigrants with Their Social Work Education

Based on a survey of 1,124 social workers in the United States, this article examines how practitioners' attitudes towards immigrants and their general knowledge of immigration varied according to the content of their social work education. Although the majority of practitioners reported receiving coursework on practice with immigrants, this showed no effect on their attitudes or knowledge. In contrast, coursework on immigration policy predicted more favorable attitudes towards immigrants. Considering the mounting anti-immigrant sentiment and retrenchment of immigrants' rights in the United States, the results suggest the need to further explore what course work content is needed to prepare social workers for the current needs of the field. We argue that social work education must expand upon existing cultural competence models of practice with immigrants, to better prepare social workers to address the deepening social exclusion of undocumented immigrants in the United States.     

Dementia: challenges for social work education in Europe

ABSTRACT

Dementia has been identified as a global challenge across the spectrum of health and social care (World Health Organisation. (2012) Dementia: A public health priority. Geneva: WHO). This paper will explore the implications of this for social work education and the challenges it poses. There is a lack of this focus on social work with older people and people with dementia (pwd) in social work education. Based on calls for an infusion of content on ageing and dementia in social work curricula, paper proposes that we should adopt a person-centred philosophy alongside gerontological social work competencies to achieve this. The specific aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore how we can use these ideas as teaching tools to engage social work students in the discourse on dementia and to develop appropriate skills to work with pwd, their families and carers.     

PRACTITIONERS' UNDERSTANDINGS OF SPIRITUALITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

Over the past 2 decades the topic of spirituality and its relationship to the social work profession has taken its place as a significant and important part of the agenda for social work research, education, and practice. In this article we discuss the results of a qualitative study that addresses how a group of social work practitioners defined spirituality and the implications of these findings specifically for social work education. Based on findings from a thematic analysis of interviews with 20 social workers, we explore the usefulness of the term spirituality in social work education and the importance of student engagement in a self-awareness process related to spirituality. A template to initiate discussion of these issues for use in the classroom is proposed.     

Responsibilisation,social work and inclusive social security in Finland

ABSTRACT

In this article responsibilisation in social work is studied by analysing two Finnish state-level policy documents (called final report and research report) which concern a current activation initiative called inclusive social security (ISS). It is asked how social workers and clients are constructed as responsible subjects in these documents. Responsibilisation refers to the advanced liberal mode of governmentality, which aims to strengthen citizens’ abilities to self-governance through various techniques that include the intertwined elements of surveillance and empowerment. It is demonstrated that the policy documents construct the social workers’ and the clients’ responsibilities partly in different ways. The final report leads activation to be based on shared responsibility and social work to be more community-based, whereas the research report strengthens more individual-based responsibility of clients and social workers. For the clients, the interpretation of ISS based on shared responsibility would probably be less stigmatising and paternalistic than the one based on individual responsibilities, i.e. approaching long-term unemployed citizens as being personally ‘at risk’ and thus a justified target group of individualised techniques for activation. For social workers and clients, future activation appears to be a wide mix of different techniques, moral expectations and possible ways of being a responsible subject.     

Preparing social workers as reporters of suspected child maltreatment

Social workers are an important source of reports to child protective services in the United States (US). However, it is unclear what role social work education plays in preparing social workers for this responsibility. The current study explores how undergraduate and graduate social work programs in the US prepare students as reporters. This study found that while almost all programs that participated in this study provide students with some content related to their role as reporters of child maltreatment, there are varying ways such content is provided, and many avenues for improvement. International implications are highlighted.     

Partnership for continuing professional development: The impact of the Post Qualifying Award for Social Workers (PQSW) on social work practice

This article is based on a small-scale inquiry to evaluate the impact of the Post Qualifying Award for Social Workers (PQSW) on social work practice. The author sought the views of key stakeholders in one of the regional UK Post Qualifying Consortia, although practical constraints prevented the direct inclusion of service users' views. A post-hoc questionnaire and semi-structured interviews explored the impact of the PQSW awards on individual social work candidates and their employing agencies. The findings contribute to current debates around how training can be used to ensure delivery of the modernised social services required by the Government. While this is a small, locally based inquiry, its findings are relevant to ongoing national developments across the continuum of social work training and education. The findings suggest that the awards in general have a positive impact on practice for both individuals and organisations. Factors which increase or impede that impact were multi-faceted and complex, involving individuals, organisational cultures and wider contextual influences. The key to success, it is suggested, is partnership - proactive and committed working together between employers, individual workers and those prescribing/providing the training and education.     

Professional Socialization: A Bridge Between the Explicit and Implicit Curricula

Professional socialization has become a notable construct for social work with the publication of the Council on Social Work Education's (2008) revised Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Though historically regarded as essential, little is known about the professional socialization of social workers. This article presents professional socialization as a key element that bridges the explicit and implicit curricula. Results from this study provide empirical support for a theoretical framework of the professional socialization of social workers with a particular focus on factors that predict professional socialization, which is defined as a multidimensional, temporal construct beginning before formal education and continuing after it, with values, attitudes, and professional identity as outcomes. Implications for social work education, development of systematic research in this area, and recruitment and retention are discussed.     

Translating knowledge into practice: using simulation to enhance mental health competence through social work education

ABSTRACT

Simulation-based learning (SBL) is an innovative experiential teaching method where students and instructors interact with a simulated client to foster students’ holistic competence in practice. Considering the context of North America where social workers are the largest service provider in the field of mental health, it is critical for educators to enhance competencies in students during the social work program. Guided by competency- and simulation-based, adult learning frameworks, this paper illustrates the development and integration of a range of educational activities into a treatment-focused advanced mental health course in the social work curriculum. We conclude by discussing how SBL enhances students’ mental health competence and provide recommendations when developing SBL in the mental health curriculum in social work education.     

Does self-assessment in a group help students to learn?

'One of the greatest misconceptions about self-assessment is that it can be undertaken in isolation from others' [Boud (1995) Enhanced Learning through Self-assessment (London, Kogan Page), p. 200]. Social work practice - the experience from which we learn in social work education [Boud et al. (1985) Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning (London, Kogan Page)] - operates in the context of social relationships. This means that learning develops within its social environment, be it a student group, workshop, team or project. If self-assessment is to be an effective aspect of reflective learning in social work education, then it is important that social work students develop skills in self-assessment in group contexts. This paper charts an exploration of self-assessment in a group setting in order to reach some conclusions about how self-assessment can be encouraged amongst social work students as they carry out group assignments.