Knowledge and Reasoning in Social Work: Educating for Humane Judgement

Much has been made of the uncertainties and contingencies ofpractice, and of the need for social workers to make more explicituse of formal knowledge in order to reduce this uncertainty.However, we argue that this focus on making certainty out ofuncertainty glosses over the ways in which both knowledge andpractice often propel practitioners towards early and certainjudgements when a position of ‘respectful uncertainty’might be more appropriate. Facilitating learning that will helpsocial workers to deal with uncertainty raises challenges forsocial work educators. If they are to equip social workers withthe skills to exercise ‘wise judgement under conditionsof uncertainty’, they will need to recognize the waysin which both theory and popular knowledge are invoked to makeunequivocal knowledge in case formulation. In this paper, wesuggest ways in which students can be helped to remain in uncertaintyand interrogate their knowledge and case reasoning.     

Practicing What We Preach: Creating Groups for Ourselves

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the professional isolation faced by social group work practitioners and educators. It identifies the need for peer support and connection in an environment of limited opportunities for professional development. The paper describes and assesses long-term peer support groups initiated and developed by each of the authors, one for group work educators and the other for practitioners. It discusses the potential for expanding the development of such groups, which could benefit individual group workers as well as strengthen efforts to ensure the survival of group work.     

Build the social justice bridge: participatory photography with the international group work community

ABSTRACT

“Build the Social Justice Bridge” was a participatory photography project that engaged international group workers in an assessment of group work as a social justice profession. Inspired by principles of photovoice research, the project invited social work students, educators, and practitioners from around the world to contribute photographs and brief narratives that represented the relationship between group work and social justice. The photographs were exhibited during the opening session of the 2018 Symposium of the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG) in South Africa, where more than 200 participants from ten countries reflected on the meaning of the photos for the group work community. In viewing the photos, symposium participants identified a common vision of social justice as well as culturally-specific approaches to group work. Implications are drawn for the internationalization of professional knowledge.     

The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice: Views and Experiences of Social Workers and Students

Findings from surveys of qualified social work practitionersand students indicate a need for social work education and practiceto focus attention both on the importance of religious and spiritualbeliefs in the lives of many service users and on the potentialusefulness of religious and spiritual interventions. In thisBritish study, undertaken in 2003 and 2004, students were lesslikely than their qualified colleagues to consider religiousor spiritually sensitive interventions as appropriate. Attitudesvaried little between those students who held religious beliefsand those who did not, but Muslim students and qualified socialworkers were more likely to view these types of interventionsas appropriate. The authors conclude that there is a clear needfor all social work practitioners and educators to give greaterpriority to exploring the potential significance of religiousand spiritual beliefs in their training, in their professionalpractice and in the lives and perspectives of service usersand colleagues. Social workers need to be able to respond appropriatelyto the needs of all service users, including those for whomreligious and spiritual beliefs are crucial. ‘Culturallycompetent’ practice depends, amongst other things, onan understanding and appreciation of the impact of faith andbelief.     

Social Work Education: Tackling The Theory--Practice Dilemma

Summary The integration of theory and practice has long been a topicfor debate and concern amongst social work educators. A longitudinalparticipant observation study of one cohort of social work studentsconfirmed that the ideal of theory—practice integrationwas also high on their own list of self-established priorities.Students' efforts towards attaining this goal were also hamperedby the perspectives which they themselves brought to bear ontheir training. Attempting to resolve the conflict between theirown perspectives and their perceived demands of professionaleducation students appealed to and reconstructed afresh variousmodels of theory application endorsed both by social work educatorsand practitioners. These models, however, are essentially contradictoryand pose serious problems for the development and maintenanceof social work standards.     

Optimistic but Confused: Perceptions about the Mission and Core Values of Social Work in Vietnam by Vietnamese Policy‐makers,Social Work Faculty and Practitioners

In 2010, the Vietnamese government officially recognized social work as a profession. This study explores whether key stakeholders in the development of social work in Vietnam (i.e. policy‐makers, pioneering educators, and practitioners) had reached a shared understanding about the mission and core values of Vietnamese social work by the end of 2015. An exploratory survey was conducted with 65 participants representing key stakeholders of social work in Vietnam. Participants had a shared but rather generic, at times vague, and overly optimistic view of the mission of Vietnamese social work as a “helping profession” that would be able to solve every social problem and present in all areas. There was a strong, unanimous desire for Vietnamese social work to focus on human dignity, social justice, and individuals’ rights, mixed with the preservation of Vietnam's collective, community‐based culture under the central guiding role of the state.     

Color-Blind Racial Attitudes in White Social Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Focusing on the results of one hypothesis in a larger study, this article examines level of social work education and color-blind racial attitudes in White social workers. Participants (n = 179) who were members of the National Association of Social Workers and self-identified as White, responded to an online survey and completed the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS). Color-blind racial attitudes have been linked to prejudice in other studies. BSW-level practitioners were found to be less aware of racial privilege and blatant racial issues. The article addresses the findings and explores the implications for social work educators and social work practitioners.     

Friendship and other weapons: Group activities to help young girls aged 5–11 to cope with bullying by Whitson,S.

In face of the proliferation of many varieties of group modalities, social work has paradoxically been eroding its own group work component in the past decade. The rise of generic training has resulted in a diminishing pool of qualified practitioners, consultants, and educators in group work, as well as the virtual disappearance of group work articles in social work journals. This self-created gap has been filled by borrowing techniques from other professions. With a beginning recognition of these trends, some shifts are occurring that begin to signal a reversal of this process.     

SOCIAL GROUP WORK EDUCATORS

This study reports a survey of selected characteristics of social work educators who reach social work with groups, and the content of what they teach. Findings indicate that the "social goals" model appear to be decreasing in utilization, c1inical or treatment orientations appear to be increasing in importance, and the DSW/PhD appears to be replacing many years of practice experience as the primary credential for teaching.     

Importance of Research in Social Work Practice: A Pilot Study From Turkey

Abstract

It is highly important that social work practice be guided by scientific research and the resultant practices introduced to the literature. Social work research in Turkey is carried out by social work academics and practitioners. This dual position they occupy has not been thoroughly investigated in recent years; therefore, the aim of this research was to scrutinize the relationship social workers take when completing research in Turkey. Within the scope of this research, data were collected by conducting an online survey of 365 social workers. Results of the study show that 45.8% of the social workers have conducted research before. Nonetheless, 93.7% of the social work practitioners do feel the need to carry out scientific research in order to shape their professional practices. Considering these results, future research should concentrate on social work practitioners’ problems taking into account their dual position as both the producer and consumer of the research.     

The rhetoric versus the reality: a critical perspective on practice with fathers in child care and protection work

Within social work training and practice there is a firm emphasis on anti-discriminatory practice. At the same time, however, fathers are often marginalized or ignored in child protection practice. In suggesting a framework for practice we argue that it is essential to address the anomaly between the rhetoric and the reality of such practice if we are to provide a coherent child protection service. This paper addresses the limitations of current models of practice and traces the theoretical strands that influence them. It is essential that social work practitioners understand the role terms they use and the aim of engaging fathers. By beginning to unravel the differences between role and gender and unpicking the diverse (but overlapping) dimensions of fatherhood, it is contended that there is no definitive, dominant discourse regarding fatherhood in the same way as there is about motherhood. However, in conceptually recognizing these roles it is suggested that intervention can be planned in a way that explicates the specific aim of engaging men.     

Ascertaining the wishes and feelings of young children: social workers' perspectives on skills and training

The research was undertaken in the context of the ongoing debate about child care social work training and children's participation. Its aim was to explore the views of qualified child care social workers about their skills in eliciting the wishes and feelings of younger children and the relevance of social work training for this task. Questionnaires, focusing on their skills and training, were completed by 70 UK child care practitioners from the Children and Families Court Advisory and Support Service, voluntary agencies and local authorities. On average, practitioners felt able to ascertain the feelings and wishes of children as young as 4 years old. Nevertheless, at qualifying level, only 30% had training in communicating with young children, 16% in ascertaining children's feelings and wishes, and 66% in child development. Many had subsequently relied on in‐service training and their own initiatives to acquire further skills and understanding. In conclusion, most participants were experienced practitioners working in supportive organizations and had developed considerable communication skills. However, concerns remain because they identified deficits in child care social work qualifying and post‐qualifying training. Consequently, more effective training at all levels is required if social workers are to engage younger children successfully and facilitate their participation.     

Constructing social work identity based on the reflexive self

Summary In this article, the social work identity is conceptualizedbased on concepts of the self (Benjamin, 1995; Foucault, 1988),rather than concepts associated with ego psychology. Socialwork students, teachers and practitioners have historicallyattempted to gain a sense of ego mastery and control by theacquisition of theory to enhance skill-based practice expertise(Austin, 1952; Zetzel, 1953; Bandler, 1960; Memmot and Brennan,1998). In so doing, they have attempted to manage anxiety asa means to enhance learning. Traditional social work functionssuch as acceptance, non-judgemental attitudes, and empathy (Biestek,1957; Woods and Hollis, 1990) have been utilized to encouragepractitioners to manage their feelings related to difference.We argue, however, that the social work identity is enrichedwhen social workers allow their selves to be in a state of disassemblyin the presence of the other (Smith, 1997). When social workersexperience their selves as complex and dialogical, they aremore open to the influence of the other (Bakhtin, 1993). Wemake the case for practitioners to work on a reflexive selfrather than attempting to achieve ego control through the managementof anxiety.     

Development NGOs and the Challenge of Partnership: Changing Relations between North and South

This paper reviews the changing relationships between Northern development NGOs (NNGOs) which are organizations with their roots in industrialized countries, and local southern NGOs (SNGOs) which exist in many aid-recipient countries. It draws on selected experiences from the Bangladesh context. There are three main changes which have taken place. Firstly, many NNGOs in the past decade or so have moved from implementation of development projects towards a partnership approach in which they fund and attempt to work with SNGOs. This has increasingly led to the idea of NGO "capacity-building" as a key objective, but a significant growth in SNGO capacity in a country such as Bangladesh increasingly renders such objectives less meaningful. Secondly, official bilateral or multilateral development donors are increasingly moving towards the direct funding of Southern NGOs rather than the previous model of funding through Northern NGOs in the partnership approach. This leaves many NNGOs in an uncertain position. Thirdly, the need to respond to international emergencies in the post-cold war order has led governments increasingly to fund NNGOs to undertake relief and emergency work on a contractual basis. This trend also potentially raises questions about the viability of their longer-term development work. All three sets of changes are contributing to an uncertain future for NNGOs, which arguably face an "identity crisis", and they will need to adapt carefully to the emergence of new global social policy agendas if they are to continue to be effective.     

Spiritual Need and the Core Business of Social Work

This paper examines the development of social work practicein spiritual care and the attitudes towards spirituality andreligion demonstrated by social workers in the UK, through reflectionon key findings from two empirical studies conducted ten yearsapart. Fieldwork for the first study, conducted by the author,was undertaken from 1990 to 1992 and was the first of its kindto examine the treatment of spirituality in social work practicein the UK. The second study reported in 2004. Comparison ofthe findings from these two studies showed that the increasedsympathy towards ‘spiritual practice’ is not asgreat in social work as is demonstrated amongst other humanservices professions, and that there is continuing inhibitionand resistance in the UK in social work education in particular.The paper argues that much of the problem for practitioners,even where they identify spiritual need as an issue, lies inthe inadequate theorizing and lack of practice guidance developedin the context of UK social work. It concludes by discussingthe particular context of mainstream social work practice inthe UK and examines how assessment of spiritual need and spiritualinterventions might connect with social work’s core business.     

Social Work, Sectarianism and Anti-sectarian Practice in Northern Ireland

Correspondence to Dr Jim Campbell, Department of Social Work, The Queen's University of Belfast, 7 Lennoxvale, Belfast BT9 5BY, Northern Ireland. Jim Campbell lectures in the Department of Social Work, The Queen's University of Belfast. His doctoral thesis was on the concept of violence in social and political thought. His current research interests include social policy in Northern Ireland and mental health social work Summary This paper addresses a subject relatively unknown to the Britishand international social work audience—that of trainingfor anti-sectarian practice. In doing so, it points to someof the complex, even dangerous issues raised by such trainingfor social work students and practitioners in Northern Ireland.The paper comments upon the limited but significant ways inwhich social work educators and practitioners have tried tochallenge sectarian discrimination in Northern Ireland, andproposes methods in train ing and research which might facilitatea better understanding of these processes.     

Relighting the Campfire: Rediscovering Activity-Based Group Work

Group Work Camp, sponsored by Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups (AASWG) and held during the summers of 2009 and 2011 on the campus of George Williams College of Aurora University, provided unique opportunities for educators, practitioners, and students to experience the power of collective action and activity/experience-based groups. The camp reminded participants of the origins of the group work movement and how the prevalence of experientially based group practice has diminished over the past few decades. Further, this camp experience served as an awakening and may have particular import for U.S.-based practitioners to align with emerging trends in global social group work.     

Professional social work education in end-of-life care: contributions of the Project on Death in America's Social Work Leadership Development program

Social work education in both BSW and MSW level courses is missing vital content about end-of-life care, palliative care, and bereavement. End-of-life care training opportunities through continuing education programs have also been limited. This deficit is significant because a vast number of social workers are already confronted with end-of-life issues on a daily basis in a variety of practice settings. Through the Project on Death in America, Social Work Leadership Development Awards initiative, many programs and models for professional social work education and training in end-of-life care have been developed and are presented in this article. These include: end-of-life care courses, symposia, training manuals, certificate programs and fellowships. Although the curricula continue to be refined, many of these programs are available to practitioners to advance their knowledge and skills and their curricular models are available to social work educators for possible replication.     

The sub-structure and subjectivity construction of social work development in China

ABSTRACT

Under the structural changes during the reform and opening-up, social work education has been re-established for 30-year in China with the efforts from different actors. It develops rapidly, and even the effects may be unbalanced. As the re-established subject and career, social work education and practice are sub-structures in nature. Their developments are affected strongly by the economic-social transformation and political system. The process is a sub-structural development. The re-establishment of social work is a process of multi-subjects construction: It is led by government policies while the government and academic groups collaborate for it. The groups of social work educators and practitioners facilitate the process. The overseas academic groups support and cooperate for it. These actors facilitate the development of social work education and profession. The social work develops the path with its characteristics. It is compatible with reform and development. The reflection on professional development is also be required.