Social work education: state of the art

In assessing the appropriateness of contemporary social work education to its context, the article assumes that social work practice and education must relate to its social reality. The article argues that, since the 1970s, that reality has changed in relation to the role of the welfare state, perceptions of economic growth and the independence of the state. As a result, the roles of civil society, the community and welfare personnel have changed, with implications for social work. At the same time, the earlier tendency of social work to avoid the major social issues of the day is no longer appropriate, and the article outlines five major issues needing to be addressed by social work. In conclusion, the article presents four options that social work education should, as a total profession, address, if the profession is to play the roles demanded of it by its contemporary social reality.     

How to use the vignette technique in cross-cultural social work research

The vignette technique was used in a cross-cultural comparative study of the delivery of personal social services in the United Kingdom and Sweden. In this article we discuss the major premises of using the vignette technique in cross-cultural comparative social research. In total, 247 vignettes were collected, 165 in Örebro. Sweden and 82 in the United Kingdom (73 in Leicester, England and 9 in the rural areas of Bangor, Wales). The vignettes were filled in by social workers working in the sector of child and family care. Since this technique is seldom used in cross-cultural comparative studies, it was necessary to develop a model for interpreting cross-cultural data. In this article we consider methodological and practical aspects of the method adapted for cross-cultural social work research. A preliminary survey of our empirical data demonstrates the usefulness of such a model in understanding cross-cultural data. However, the empirical data will be presented in a later article.     

Whispers in the library: a response to Liz Trinder's article on the state of social work research

In this journal, Liz Trinder (1996) helpfully describes three types of social work research. Using examples from studies undertaken by the Dartington Social Research Unit over a 30-year period, this reply explores the overlap and complimentarity between types of research and suggests ways in which several sources of evidence will lead to a common conceptual framework in UK children's services.     

The future of social work education: beyond the state of the art

David Cox (1995) argues that social work educators need to engage with social issues if they are to move social work away from the doldrums in which it has become trapped. Although this is true, changes of a greater magnitude are required if social work practice is to remain relevant in the twenty-first century. In a globalizing world, social work educators have to play a key role in internationalizing the social work curricula (academic and practicum) and socializing practitioners to embrace emancipatory approaches to social work if they are to counteract the brutalizing forces of industrialism and militarism. Engaging with social change to empower excluded groups requires social workers to work with "clients", policy-makers and international welfare organizations in ways that link the personal and structural dimensions of social life. In short, practitioners need to go beyond the state of the art if their interventions are to respond to the "person-in-their-situation" in a modern context.     

Social work in the making: The state and social work development in China

The instrumental role of government in the development of social work in China has led to questions about its political function. So far, little has been reported on how the government has “made” social work in China. To fill this gap, we first provide a brief chronological review of major policies and activities of the Chinese government in its making of social work in China. The state's intervention has indeed been massive and crucial although, politically, it may limit the mandate of social work in China. Yet, we argue that the development of the social work profession in China is generating institutional space for the emerging civil society to take a more active role in welfare service delivery. Situated and mediating between the state and the emerging civil society, the social work profession in China will need to constantly negotiate its mandate to meet the needs of both sides.     

Social work research and its dependence on practice

The state of the art in social work research indicates major difficulties concerning the knowledge basis of the discipline. This article aims to contribute to the discourse on the nature of social work research as a scientific activity. The starting-point is the philosophy of science developed within the realist approach. It is argued that knowledge is primarily gained through activity in attempting to change social reality and through communication with other people. Knowledge is also recognized as knowing how to do something. The character of the social work knowledge may particularly be understood within the frame of reference presented by the realist approach. The history of the ideas of social work demonstrates the importance of understanding the interplay between theory and practice in social work. The article attempts to delimit the provisional borders of social work research. A model of social work research fields is presented.     

Social work is beautiful On the characteristics of social work

Social work is frequently described as a problem-solving activity. Social workers are expected to identify social problems, thoroughly investigate them and take proper measures to solve them. Superficially, this kind of definition is unassailable and harmless (and, of course, partly valid), but in a deeper sense it denies us access to important concepts, perspectives and, hence, possibilities of interpretation, regarding the activity we call social work. Following this line of thought, there is a blind spot in the self-understanding of social work. This article outlines an alternative perspective on social work emphasizing making visible new possibilities of interpretation and action rather than solving problems. In connection with a recently reported research project, Organization and Human Change in Social Work, specific features of social work are suggested and discussed. The aim is to contribute to the development of a theoretical identity of social work, based on its own specific characteristics.     

哈贝马斯对社会科学的方法论反思

康德对自然与精神的划界,导致价值从认识论隐退,从而使实证主义有机可乘,以知识论取代了认识论,这让哈贝马斯感到震惊,于是,哈贝马斯通过重新考察认识论,以兴趣为导向作认识的基础,力图恢复认识论的价值意义。为此,他分析西方实证主义兴起对社会科学产生的重大影响,运用自然科学的方法探究社会科学,认为把价值从社会科学中驱除的做法,危害着社会科学自身存在的价值,应该通过辨析自然科学方法使用在社会科学上的危害性,提出社会科学应该采用批判解释学,摆脱自然科学方法论阴影,从而克服社会科学所产生的危机。     

Social work programmes in the social democratic welfare regime

In this article we examine the emergence of social worker training in the Nordic countries and discuss the possible effects that the social democratic welfare regime has had on such training. We also discuss the development in recent decades of the academisation of the training and the establishment of social work as a subject of research and teaching. The early history of social worker education is based on archival material, national inquiries and secondary sources. Our presentation of the recent history of social work education is based on the responses to a questionnaire sent to teachers of social work in 33 Nordic social work programmes, and on a survey of course syllabi and prospectuses. It is also based on the reading lists for the social work courses in these programmes.     

The (ab)sense of a concept of social support in parenting research: a social work perspective

Social support, as a complex, dynamic and multidimensional concept, has been studied extensively. However, a review of research publications on social support and parenting reveals that social work perspectives on social support are underdeveloped in the Social Sciences Citation Index. Social support is predominantly studied in relation to parental health, considering social support as a buffer against potential negative outcomes for children. This, in turn, legitimates extensive research on parents ‘at risk’. Specific target groups have been questioned abundantly using social support measures, mainly consisting of self‐reports. We conclude that social support is studied as a predefined concept, lacking conceptualizations that encompass the actual enacted support in relation to the perspectives of both givers and receivers of support. Moreover, the focus on targeted groups ignores the experience of social support in more diverse populations in general services and in everyday life. Issues of reciprocity, diversity and multivocality are central to our appeal for social work perspectives truly encompassing the relational aspect of social support. The question whether, and to what extent, social workers (including practitioners, policy‐makers and researchers) should give attention to this relational aspect is discussed.     

Raising awareness of transformative ecosocial work: Participatory action research with Australian practitioners

This article reports on Participatory Action Research with social work practitioners who collaboratively explored the effects on professional practice when practitioners raise their awareness of an ecosocial work approach. Although contemporary research in the profession has contributed to the ongoing development of ecosocial work, there is a notable lack of collaboration with social work practitioners. Using a transformative ecosocial work model of practice, researchers together with social workers from a range of practice contexts met as co‐inquirers to plan, implement and evaluate ecosocial work interventions. As part of a larger international study, this article reports on research outcomes within the Australian context. Overall, results indicate that practitioners incorporated interventions across personal, individual, group and organisational levels of practice, but were constrained by structural elements at broader levels. Continuing the development of ecosocial work requires further collaborative exploration with practitioners, which takes into consideration communities and broader social and political systems. Key Practitioner Messages: ? This research endeavours to contribute to the evidence‐base for progressing transformative ecosocial work in professional practice; ? Using Participatory Action Research (PAR), this research was done in collaboration with social work practitioners as co‐inquirers to develop ecosocial work interventions; ? A range of ecosocial work interventions were implemented at the personal, individual, group and organisational levels.     

Social work programmes in the social democratic welfare regime

In this article we examine the emergence of social worker training in the Nordic countries and discuss the possible effects that the social democratic welfare regime has had on such training. We also discuss the development in recent decades of the academisation of the training and the establishment of social work as a subject of research and teaching. The early history of social worker education is based on archival material, national inquiries and secondary sources. Our presentation of the recent history of social work education is based on the responses to a questionnaire sent to teachers of social work in 33 Nordic social work programmes, and on a survey of course syllabi and prospectuses. It is also based on the reading lists for the social work courses in these programmes.     

社会工作质性评估研究的回顾(1990-2003)对中国社会工作的启示

在社会科学的历史中,定量和定性研究的争论持续了差不多半个世纪。随着研究者对实证主义的质疑,质性研究的数目逐渐增加。根据布瑞曼(Bryman,1988)的看法,质性研究有以下特点:(1)透过被访者的眼睛看世界;(2)描述日常生活情境的细节;(3)了解在不同社会范畴的背景中的行为及意义;(4)强调过程;(5)倾向采用文字及结构灵活的研究设计;(6)尽量避免在研究初期确立理论和观念。邓泽和林肯(Denzin & Lincoln,1998)也指出,质性研究有以下元素:(1)采用多元的研究手法;(2)涉及自然和诠译的角度;(3)在自然的情况下作出研究;(4)尝试理解和分析不同现象的…     

Linking the university and the social agency in collaborative evaluation research: principles and examples

This paper presents an analysis of components of successful social work evaluation research practice. Among the key obstacles to successful evaluations of social work intervention are the impoverished knowledge base on which many social work interventions are based, the isolation of researchers and practitioners in the conduct of evaluations, and during research implementation failure to cope with the changing field context. To remedy this situation social work needs to invest in university and social agency partnerships focussed on knowledge building for the profession. In such partnerships the traditional roles of the researcher and the practitioner are altered so that shared responsibility for knowledge development is possible. In addition, to deal with changing field contexts the research team needs to be continuously engaged in problem solving and redesign. An initial example of such a partnership is described together with a case study illustrating implementation of a multi-site field experiment evaluation.     

Social work practitioners' experience of the clinical utility of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory

Clinical utility of an assessment instrument can provide important information about the potential value of that instrument when used in practice. The aim of this study was to describe social work practitioners' experiences of the clinical utility of a Swedish version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory. Because knowledge of clinical utility in this area is scarce, a qualitative method based on semi‐structured interviews was used to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Data were collected through 16 interviews and then analysed by qualitative manifest content analysis. The analysis yielded five categories: improves quality of child protection investigations, supports practitioners, HOME has drawbacks and difficulties, certain issues are important for future applications and basic conditions are crucial. The findings supported the clinical utility of the HOME Inventory though some critical issues have to be addressed, especially concerning the category basic conditions are crucial. A thorough education, the possibility to practice activities related to the administration of the method and support from management were found to be essential. Replication and further studies are needed in the Swedish context to confirm the applicability of the HOME Inventory.     

Social work students and social change: on the link between views on poverty, social work goals and policy practice

This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the factors that are associated with social work students' willingness to engage in policy practice. It examines a model according to which the willingness to engage in policy practice is linked to the importance that students attribute to the goals of social work and to their views on poverty. The sample consisted of 138 social work students in one of Israel's leading universities. The measures consisted of four questionnaires developed specifically for this study. The findings revealed strong relationships between students' views regarding the causes of poverty and their attitudes towards the preferred ways to deal with poverty. In addition, strong relationships were found between the importance that students attributed to the goals of social work and their willingness to engage in policy practice. However, no significant relationships were found between students' views on poverty and their willingness to engage in policy practice. Different explanations for these findings are advanced in the article.     

Social welfare and social work: the meaning of poverty programs in Latin America

During the last decade, the concern about poverty has turned into a key issue in the government discourse, and participatory poverty programs have multiplied all over Latin America. Nevertheless, poverty and social unrest keep growing. The objective of this article is to explain this apparent paradox. First there is an analysis of the relationship between structural adjustment, the growth of poverty, and the reorientation of broad social policy away from social rights towards selective and targeted poor relief. In order to illustrate the content and operation of a typical Latin American poverty program, the Mexican National Solidarity Program is examined. The initial question posed is whether this program alleviates poverty and grants a social minimum for the poor in view of the magnitude of poverty, the quantity of resources and their allocation. Next the participatory approach of the program is analyzed in relation to the empowerment of poor groups and communities. Finally, there is a reflection on the place of social work in this program and how the role of the social worker has been transformed.     

Theory and social work: A conceptual review of the literature

This article presents a conceptual review of the literature concerning social work and theory. Based on analysis of 93 research studies, drawn from literature in English published between 1968 and 2016, the review considers the many ways that theory is conceptualised in the literature, and asks meta‐theoretical questions about how and why different conceptualisations arise. The article examines definitional questions and ambiguities concerning the use of theory, extant research on the use of theory by social workers in practice, hostility expressed regarding theory in social work, the theory/practice divide and perspectives that emphasise theory's utility or functionality. The article points at some methodological and ethical limitations concerning current research, and summarises dominant, as well as less prominent, versions of what counts as theory within the social work discipline, before finally suggesting that further meta‐theoretical research is needed.     

What (a) Difference a Degree Makes: The Evaluation of the New Social Work Degree in England

After many years of debate in the UK about the need for a degree-levelqualification in social work, the arguments for a minimum degree-levelqualification were accepted. The requirements for the degreein England were developed drawing on work from a number of sources,including a benchmark statement for undergraduate degrees insocial work and focus groups with stakeholders. The new degreein England, launched in 2003, involves one extra year’sstudy; improvements in the qualifying standard for social work;and specific curriculum and entrance requirements. At the timeof launching the degree, the government department responsiblefor funding (Department of Health) commissioned a three-yearevaluation of the implementation of the new degree to establishwhether the new qualifying level leads to improvements in thequalified workforce. The aim of the evaluation is to describethe experiences of those undertaking the degree, collect theviews of the various stakeholders about the effectiveness ofthe degree and measure the impact of a degree-level qualificationon those entering the workforce. This article, written by theteam undertaking the evaluation of the England degree, exploresthe reasons for the methodological approach adopted and theissues that have arisen in setting up the research.