‘Never mind the mechanics,what about the (sexual) ethics?’ Sex,sexuality and social work education in sexual violence prevention

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the efficacy of sexual violence prevention education (SVPE) in the USA and Australasia: areas, which have some of the worst rates for sexual violence prevalence, globally. Paradoxically, they are also at the forefront of innovations in sexual violence prevention, compared to some European countries where SVPE is virtually non-existent or at the embryonic stage, such as the UK. Drawing upon the Authors’ previous research on the delivery of SVPE in New Zealand secondary schools, and literature reviews into these innovations, the authors argue that social work education is ideally placed to develop SVPE, due to the ways that some of these innovations, coalesce with social work theory, critical andragogy, and social work values. These synergies have the potential for transnational application through the ways that they can inform SVPE in those countries where it is delivered by social workers in schools, and via the ways it can enhance the social work curriculum to improve post-qualifying practice in addressing sexual violence (SV).     

Trends in higher education in Canada and implications for social work education

Canada, like other countries around the globe, is facing new challenges and opportunities with respect to post-secondary education. Trends in higher education in Canada include rising enrolments and falling revenues; a focus on enhancing employability of graduates through experiential and interactive learning; increased calls for accountability through the assessment of teaching and learning; and the rise of technology-enabled teaching and learning. Social work education is, in many ways, well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these trends due to the focus on case-based learning and practicum education, the focus on assessment of practice competencies as learning outcomes, and the long-standing commitment to teaching innovation and excellence. Nevertheless, meeting fiscal challenges and finding ways to exploit new technologies will require creativity and the development of an expanded body of research on social work education.     

Autism spectrum disorder and the science of social work: A grand challenge for social work research

The social work profession has not yet taken a leadership role in addressing the myriad of challenges that individuals on the autism spectrum encounter across the lifespan. In this essay, we argue that social workers are well equipped to engage in research and practice aimed at promoting full and meaningful inclusion in society, as well as social and economic justice, for individuals on the autism spectrum. We highlight short- and long-term goals that provide the social work profession with a framework to engage in research, practice, education, and advocacy aimed at supporting individuals on the autism spectrum and their families.     

Educating Social Workers for an Aging Society

Longevity is one of the great achievements of the 20th century and its implications for the new century will be profound. The unprecedented demographic shift to an increasingly older society will have a dramatic impact on individual choices over the life course, the structure of the family, and multiple social institutions. Social work can make unique professional contributions to older persons and the late-life family. This article asserts, however, that social work is not adequately prepared to practice in the aging society. The authors document the challenges to social work and recommend addressing these challenges through educational innovations.     

The use of institutional care for children across europe

This article describes the use and prevalence of institutional or residential care of children in Europe. It looks at systems in Western European countries and in countries of Central and Eastern Europe and discusses some of the difficulties in making comparisons across and within Europe. The author takes a wide view of the available literature, government and non-governmental statistics and case studies across the continent of Europe. Taking account of regional and national variations, he describes two broadly different approaches for children and their families and identifies trends in institutional and non-institutional care in the continent of Europe.

In Western Europe there has been a marked reduction in the use of residential care, accompanied by the development of non-institutional family based care and support services. Whilst there are good child-centred reasons for this shift in provision, some countries have gone too far in reducing residential care and are facing a shortfall in suitable foster carers. The financial costs of both residential and family based services remain high at a time of resource restraints. In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe some family based alternatives to institutional care are emerging, usually within the international non-governmental sector. However, children in out-of-home placements throughout the region continue to enter, and remain in, the same kinds of large, isolated and impersonal institutions that existed before the economic and political changes of the late 1980s.

The writer uses his teaching experience in Romania over the past four years to illustrate the development of small-scale social work initiatives in that country and calls for further developments in legislation and policy to support the practice of the emerging profession of social work.     

Social work education in Australia and the USA: comparative perspectives and contemporary issues

The article discusses similarities and differences in social work education and profession in Australia and the USA, reflects on contemporary issues and challenges that affect social work education and practice in both countries, and identifies mutual areas of learning and exchange. Drawing on secondary data, it comparatively analyses important variables such as the growth of social work education, curricula and curricular models, accreditation standards, code of ethics and professional licensure. The analysis shows significant similarities and differences in these variables, and brings out unaddressed issues and challenges. It argues that the profession in general has not adequately been successful in translating its value-based ideals into social work education and practice in both countries, particularly in the context of the free market economies. Experiences of both countries provide scope for mutual sharing and learning.     

Identifying social innovations in European local rural development initiatives

Social innovation is attracting increasing attention in research and policy, heightened by continuing austerity across Europe. Therefore, this paper examines earlier research into community-led local development (CLLD) initiatives in rural areas of Europe to develop our understanding of the meaning and scope of rural social innovation. We draw on a Schumpeterian view where innovations emerge from new combinations of resources that bring about positive changes and create value in society. A Schumpeterian social innovation framework is derived as the basis for re-analysing data from previous evaluations of LEADER policy in five different national contexts. This elicits a clearer understanding of social innovation in a rural development context, identifying different processes and outcomes that create social value. As the CLLD agenda and the demand for innovation in Europe gather pace, our aspirations are to inform future research and other initiatives on how to integrate social innovation into the design and evaluation of new rural development policies and programmes.     

Social work and interprofessional education: integration,intersectionality, and institutional leadership

Over the last decade healthcare policies and practices in the US have placed significant emphasis on healthcare integration, mental health parity, and implementation of team-based practice models to improve quality, safety, and affordability of service. With these incentives in mind, schools of social work have joined with national and international health education organizations to reduce disciplinary silos and increase shared learning opportunities across professions and programs. The social work profession has long supported collaborative practice however, students are rarely paired with others in the classroom or intentionally taught about counterparts’ roles and expertise. Social work leaders are also responsible for addressing the intersectionality between collaborative competencies and sociocultural factors. The 2015 EPAS and 2016 Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice create multi-level opportunities for social work educators to provide Interprofessional Education (IPE) innovation and leadership across common curricula and educational settings. The authors examine historic challenges to integrating IPE in social work curricula, provide three examples of IPE/social work initiatives in higher education, describe the intersectionality of the EPAS and the IPEC competencies, and identify institutional benefits associated with the integration of IPE in schools of social work culture and curriculum.     

The role of social work field education programmes in the transmission of developmental social work knowledge in Southern and East Africa

This paper reports on the findings of a study on the role of social work field education programmes in the transmission of developmental social work knowledge in Southern and East Africa. It highlights the challenges in locating developmental social work placements and the creativity shown by social work educators in addressing these challenges and improving learning opportunities for social work students. Both academics and students were found to be committed to developmental social work, within a willing practice environment hampered by knowledge, capacity and resource constraints. Social work education was found to be playing a transformative role through the teaching of a developmental social work curriculum and the creation of collaborative developmental social work learning experiences. Social work educators trained and supported agency supervisors in developmental social work, while students served as conduits, modelling developmental social work practice. What has yet to be determined in future research is the students’ perspective of this developmental educational environment.     

When social work students meet workers with mental-health lived-experience: a case study

Current social work education in India reflects globalization priorities and tendencies of neo-colonialism that emulate curriculum priorities and duplicate content developed in countries like the USA. Social work education as implemented by countries like the USA, has limited success in transnational training of social workers and their ability to address emerging social problems and deep rooted structural imbalances within non-USA social contexts. Yet, the concept of the world being an emerging global village is used to justify and reaffirm the colonial goals of universal education and pedagogies within social work and its application to starkly different contexts, such as India. This paper argues against the imperialist nature of social work education through examples from social work syllabi from Indian schools of social work. Secondly, this paper examines the role of academic collaborations and international organizations in addressing the challenges in curriculum development. Finally, through an example from a Curriculum Development Project undertaken in a sub-Saharan African country by one of the authors, the paper demonstrates ways of generating more local content for curricula that would create culturally sensitive social services.     

Service user involvement in social work education: experiences from Germany and implications for a European perspective

ABSTRACT

Service user involvement (SUI) in social work education has gained widespread attention in Europe and other continents. Nevertheless, experiences on including service users in social work education have not been reported from Germany or other German-speaking countries to date. This paper reports preliminary experiences with implementing SUI in a bachelor’s programme of social work in a German University of Applied Sciences. The main goals of the current paper are (1) to provide a background for implementing service user approaches in Germany by introducing the structure of social work education in Germany; (2) to report experiences from a weekend seminar where service users worked together with students of social work in the framework of a curriculum of a German University of Applied Sciences and (3) to formulate some implications of these experiences for SUI across Europe. The main results were that introducing service user involvement into a German curriculum of social work is possible but needs careful reflection and planning. Experiences gathered in the weekend seminar with service users were encouraging for service users, students and teachers. We conclude that systematically implementing SUI into German curricula of social work is important.     

Exploring a New Direction for Social Work Education and Training in Nigeria

American and British models of professional social work that have been exported to Africa have been critiqued as unable to address the unique issues and cultural characteristics of the majority of Africans. Such critiques have increased as the social work profession in the Western world has failed to come up with answers to many of its own most vexing social problems. African social work educators are therefore questioning the borrowing of such ‘problematic’ Western social work knowledge. This paper critically reviews the challenges for social work education and training in Nigeria of this Western‐influenced social work legacy that is largely remedial in nature and underpinned by the charity and casework model that locates problems within individuals and their families. Building on recent scholarship, personal experiences of schooling and working in Africa and the West, as well as experiences from collaborating on a project with colleagues in a social work program in a Nigerian university, three issues are put forth that could guide an exploration of a new direction for social work education in Nigeria.     

Sustaining social work education in Ukraine: The second phase

A decade has passed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of communism. In partnership with countries from the west, many countries in eastern Europe, including Ukraine, have developed social work education courses as part of the process of establishing social democratic principles. This article has as its focus an innovative project being funded by the UK Department for International Development and managed by Hamlet Trust, a charitable body at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Ukraine. The project has been designed to develop and sustain earlier attempts to introduce social work into the country. Additionally, the intention is to extend training opportunities, and thereby to develop a new skills base in the workforce outside the capital city, Kyiv. Two new training courses are described and analysed, their unique features being on-site supervision and coaching of a group of experienced teachers and agency managers to take over teaching and training previously delivered by western consultants. Although the project does not end until 2002, it is possible to share some of the learning from this innovative approach with other eastern European countries in transition.     

Access to Interprofessional Continuing Education in Integrated Care Through Digital Instructional Technology

ABSTRACT

In preparing the workforce for integrated care, continuing professional education serves a critical role. Within a rapidly changing health care landscape, matriculated students now benefit from pedagogical innovations supporting integrated care, particularly interprofessional education, and working professionals must not be excluded from this transformation. University-based digital instructional programs can support the learning needs of working professionals, providing an alternative and complement to brick-and-mortar classrooms and ad hoc onsite trainings. This paper describes the structure, content, digital approach, and outcomes of a continuing education program in integrated behavioral health and primary care, housed in a school of social work at a major university. The challenges of interprofessional digital education are described and future directions are suggested.     

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.     

Drama for Empowerment: the role of Drama in Education with special reference to work in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe

This article deals with the strengths and pitfalls of Drama in Education. I describe two projects that have focused on the empowerment of young people in a civil society and the promotion of intercultural understanding between the countries of Western and Central and Eastern Europe: “Seeding a Network” and “Branching Out”. It is argued that drama is the most inclusive and social of all art forms. Drama in education provides young people with a safe context in which they can tackle major issues, and allows teachers and students alike to radically re‐examine their social and personal relationships. The dangers associated with drama are also discussed.     

NETWORK IMPACT OF SOCIAL INNOVATION INITIATIVES IN MARGINALISED RURAL COMMUNITIES

The marginalised rural communities are characterised by societal challenges, such as isolation, lack of job opportunities, land abandonment, low quality of life and generally low education. Social Innovation (SI) initiatives may represent an opportunity to strengthen relationships among the members of rural community, by means of the alteration of the existing social networks. In this way, more exchange of information is expected, paving the way for the creation of professional collaborations among firms and other actors. This paper aims at proposing a short-term evaluation framework of effectiveness of a SI initiative in terms of reconfiguration of the social network structure. The described empirical case study is VàZapp’, a rural hub located in Southern Italy, which provides innovative solutions to activate social relations amongst farmers, altering hence their network. A well-referenced SI theoretical model, developed within the H2020 project SIMRA (Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas), and the methodology of Social Network Analysis (SNA) were used to verify and measure quantitative and qualitative indicators affected by network intervention activated by VàZapp’ initiative. Results show that this SI initiative worked effectively, leading to a +308% in the number of relations and +250% in social network density. In addition, an evident improvement in the quality of the social relations was found, especially in cases where there are direct engagements within VàZapp’. Outcomes suggest that supporting and promoting SI initiatives could become a central discussion point for the rethinking of rural development policies focused on regeneration of social relations’ structure.     

Migrants’ Descendants and New Mobilities between China and Spain

The economic rise of China and the financial crises in Spain have transformed transnational practices between the two countries and have boosted new strategies of mobility among Spanish of Chinese descent. This article examines the relationship that migrants’ descendants establish with their parents’ country of origin from their childhood, and analyses emerging new mobilities towards China undertaken by migrants’ descendants who have attained high degrees of formal education and are looking for a better professional future. The article argues that migrants’ descendants are reshaping the transnational space between the two countries and re-evaluating their transnational training in order to apply their Spanish and Chinese socio-cultural skills in their professional careers. The research reveals how migrants’ descendants undertake a migration journey to secure upward social mobility, just as their parents did when migrating to Europe. Hence, social and geographical mobility intersect in opposite directions over time and across generations.     

A Model for Enhancing Individual and Organisational Learning of ‘Emotional Intelligence’: The Drama and Winner's Triangles

The author describes a model that can enhance professional learning and awareness, assisting appropriate responsibility‐taking in interactions. It has been effectively applied over 10 years with managers and practitioners in public sector settings across social work, health, education and housing, and more recently also in the private sector. The model is first explained in the context of family relationships to facilitate generalisability. Applications in social work management and practice roles are described. They are seen to demonstrate greater effectiveness, personally and professionally, within the context of day to day challenges. The result is to assist collaborative and organisational learning in behaviours similar to those associated with the language of emotional intelligence.