Framing Service Learning in Social Work: An Interdisciplinary Elective Course Embedded within a University–Community Partnership

While academic service learning has grown in popularity across disciplines and universities, the pedagogical strategies for service learning courses vary greatly, especially for courses focused on development in underserved communities. Ideally, service learning pedagogy should place equal importance on student and community benefits, build reciprocal relationships with community partners, and engage students in deep reflection about social cultural and economic issues. In designing a new service learning elective course to engage students in a rural town revitalization project, we intentionally framed the course to meet the aforementioned goals. We used a three-component service learning pedagogy model that: (1) embedded the course in an existing university–community partnership; (2) mobilized interdisciplinary teams of students for community-identified projects; and (3) promoted reflection on complex economic and social justice issues by integrating students' processing through blog, faculty–student–community discussions, and community feedback. Benefits to students and community based on two qualitative studies are discussed, as are implications for social work education and research.     

Joint Assessment in Inter‐professional Education: A Consideration of Some of the Difficulties

This paper examines one effort to jointly assess nurses and social workers where professional as well as academic qualifications were at stake. It chronicles an attempt in a Scottish university to integrate assessment of a multi‐disciplinary academic course with assessment within the existing post qualifying framework for social work. In setting up a new course the assessment strategy was designed to meet both the course learning outcomes and the requirements of the Post Qualifying Award for social work. In looking at the tensions between different academic disciplines it is, perhaps, not surprising that this attempt at assessment across professional boundaries ran into difficulties. The context of the assessment issue and the different mechanisms used in repeated attempts to resolve the problems are examined. The tentative conclusion is that, while the inter‐professional education process is highly valued by students, there are tensions between the academic and practice assessment requirements, between different academic traditions and between understandings of reflection and how it is assessed. Mutual trust and understanding are essential to the development of inter‐professional education, including an accreditation system which is flexible enough to meet a range of needs.     

Talking about emotion: how are conversations about emotion enabled in the context of social work practice education?

It is widely acknowledged that emotion is a potent force in social work practice and practice education which can have a significant impact on both practice and practitioner experience. So too, is the recognition that social work students may face higher levels of stress than their qualified colleagues—social work itself, one of the professions where workers often experience higher levels of emotional demand than do other occupational groups. In terms of professional training courses for students entering the ‘helping professions’, there is a visible theme of heightened student pressure that relates, in some way, to the practicum aspect of their qualifying course. Relatedly, there is a clear consensus that the quality of the student-Practice Educator relationship is a key determinant of student learning and student experience. This article presents the findings of a small-scale qualitative research study, investigating how conversations about emotion are enabled within supervision, from a sample of final year qualifying students (n = 4) and Practice Educators (n = 5). It intends to make a contribution to the literature concerned with the development of good practice in this area, with a particular focus on the facilitative approaches of Practice Educators and the preparation of students for professional practice.     

Teaching Social Work Research: A Comparison of Web-Based and In-Class Lecture Methods

ABSTRACT

Like many other disciplines, Social Work education programs are increasingly including on-line classes in course offerings. Despite the rapid and widespread proliferation of web-based courses there is little data in the social work literature to inform educators about this teaching methodology. Using a quasi-experimental design this study examines the performance of 73 MSW students on objective measures of learning in a social work research course. Findings reveal that performance of students in lecture only and lecture with Blackboard supplement sections of the course was significantly better than performance of students in the on-line course.     

Promoting Readiness to Practice: Which Learning Activities Promote Competence and Professional Identity for Student Social Workers During Practice Learning?

Practice learning is integral to the curriculum for qualifying social work students. Accreditation standards require regular student supervision and exposure to specific learning activities. Most agencies offer high-quality placements, but organizational cutbacks may affect supervision and restrict the development of competence and professional identity. Undergraduate social work students in Northern Ireland universities (n=396) were surveyed about the usefulness of the learning activities they received on placement for developing practice competence and professional social work identity. Results suggest that students most valued regular supervision, constructive feedback, observing social workers, and thinking critically about the social work role. Differences were reported across placements with students feeling disadvantaged in agencies where there was no clear social work role.     

TEACHING NOTES: MAKING STATISTICS "REAL" FOR SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS

This article presents results from an evaluation of service learning in statistics courses for master of social work students. The article provides an overview of the application of a community-based statistics project, describes student feedback regarding the project, and illustrates some strengths and limitations of using this pedagogy with social work statistics courses. Student evaluations (N=38) suggest that implementing a service-learning pedagogy allows students to master basic statistical analysis skills and see practical applications for statistics. Such an approach also provides myriad benefits for faculty, although incorporating service learning into a statistics course can present specific challenges.     

Grassroots Networks: A Model for Promoting the Influence of Service Users and Carers in Social Work Education

We examine a process for involving service users and carers in a social work programme in Scotland and include the perspective of a service user involved in the development. We note the extent of service user and carer involvement within Scottish social work education. The Dundee system involves a regulated process of academics liaising with service user and carer groups in the locality, so that the expertise of service users and carers informs and influences social work qualifying training. The model is built on current ideas surrounding communication networks that work in non‐hierarchical ways. The paper emphasises the importance of basing a system on shared values and overcoming tokenistic approaches to involvement.     

Learning by doing: an experiential approach to program evaluation

Despite the increased importance of producing social workers who are prepared to evaluate practice, there is a paucity of literature addressing the pedagogical challenges of program evaluation courses. The present study evaluates the structure and pedagogical approach of a newly implemented program evaluation course. The course took a team-based, experiential learning approach to designing a program evaluation plan for students’ field placement agencies. Five student-led focus groups (N = 44) were conducted at the conclusion of the course to address two aims: to assess student perceptions of the content, structure, and delivery of the course; and to assess student attitudes toward applied research. Data were collected between November and December 2014 in a public university’s graduate social work program in the northeastern United States. The steps of grounded theory data analysis were implemented to elicit major themes from student feedback. Results suggest that perceptions of applicability play a central role in shaping student attitudes toward program evaluation. Experiential and team-based pedagogical approaches appear to increase accessibility of course content for students. Suggestions for enhancing student learning in program evaluation courses are discussed.     

The Right Tools for the Right Job: Social Work Students Learning Community Development

The place of community development within social work varies across nations and time. The tensions in the 1970s in the UK gave way to decades when social work has been dominated by issues relating to protecting and caring for individuals. We now have a resurgence of community development activity, bringing together varied disciplines such as urban planning and health promotion as well as social work. Within the UK there are now requirements for community development knowledge and skills within qualifying social work training. This paper reflects on experiences in promoting community development practice learning in social work qualifying placements within Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland. Issues are raised about the diversity and complexity of expectations on qualifying training, and the challenges that face universities, colleges and employing organisations in developing practice learning in this curriculum area. The prospects for improving community development learning within both qualifying and post qualifying education and training are considered particularly in the light of inter-professional and inter-organisational initiatives that put community development in the context of health promotion, housing, crime, poverty and other social issues that might be addressed at community level to improve the health and social well-being of citizens.     

An evaluation of repertory grid technique in social work education

Social work educators need to develop a repertoire of methods to help students and practitioners reflect on and learn from practice. A matched subjects experimental research design was used to evaluate the use of repertory grid technique with cohorts of students from two social work qualifying courses. Students found completing and discussing computer analyses of grids a useful adjunct to conventional supervision. Grid completion was also associated with improved course performance.     

Learning to be interprofessional through the use of reflective portfolios?

Learning portfolios are used extensively in health and social care. There is evidence of their value as a tool to consolidate learning although limited information is available regarding their use in social work education. This study explores the use of a portfolio to encourage social work students to reflect on their interprofessional learning (IPL). The portfolio offers a means of demonstrating professionalism concerning knowledge, skills and attitudes in the context of collaborative practice. The findings of this research suggest that qualifying students were largely capable of reflecting on their development of interprofessional competence after attending specific IPL events, which were part of a wider programme. Social work students found reflective writing difficult, although this improved over time. In particular students struggled to write about skills and attitudes. Students perceived the portfolio to be a good way to assess their progress and believed this helped them to engage with their learning and make meaning through reflection and analysis. They appreciated that IPL and feedback from their assessments had advanced their abilities for self-analysis; despite needing help with reflective writing, they felt better prepared for ongoing use of reflection in their professional development, and in ‘working together’.     

Maximizing Student Learning: A Case Example of Applying Teaching and Learning Theory in Social Work Education

Social work is a practising profession and when students undergo a social work undergraduate course they are expected to learn and apply the knowledge, skills and values necessary for their future social work career. As an educator, the challenge exists in determining whether students have learnt the material and are prepared to implement the knowledge, skills and values into practice. Current theories on teaching and learning are useful tools to educators who want to ensure that course units are maximizing students' learning potential. This paper focuses on the application of three established teaching and learning theories implemented in a social work module. The paper begins with an overview of Biggs' theory of Constructive Alignment, Biggs' four levels of understanding/Bloom's Taxonomy, and Race's five factors that underpin successful learning. The paper describes the integration of the theories to a social work undergraduate module through the following four-step process: (1) revisit learning outcomes; (2) determine teaching methods and learning activities; (3) design assessment; and (4) receive feedback/evaluate. The students' learning experiences were positively reflected through their personal learning outcomes, formative feedback and summative feedback, which demonstrated the ability to maximize student learning through the incorporation of teaching and learning theory.     

‘Back to our Roots?’ Re-visiting psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in the education of student social workers

While there is a well-established literature on psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in social work education, little has been published recently. This paper reviews the rationale for its use, evaluating its impact on students’ learning in the light of contemporary policy and practice contexts facing social work education. Analysis of feedback gained from a recent cohort, identifies three ways in which learning through baby and young child observation contributes: firstly, students encounter and learn about the complexity of child development from the direct experience of observing and secondly, observing facilitates the development of important skills for practice; students’ ‘use of self’. Thirdly, through observing, students describe how they develop the capacity to take-up and sustain a professional role. Well-structured teaching and learning through observation is therefore shown to provide a rigorous, theoretically-grounded contribution to the training of university-based social work students entering this complex and challenging professional field.     

Group Work in Graduate Social Work Education: The Price of Neglect

Abstract

Although social work practice with groups is on the rise, social work education has neglected to prepare students for group work practice. The results of a 1991 survey show that graduate education has practically eliminated group work as a specialized area of study. Most schools offer group work only as an elective, and few students graduate with a course in this subject. Additionally, students in foundation courses learn little about group work theory and have limited or no group field work experience in which to develop practice skills. The authors discuss the consequences of this lack on student learning, faculty development, field education, and the social work curriculum. They make recommendations for schools and CSWE to revitalize group work in the curriculum.     

On the learning journey: what helps and hinders the development of social work students’ core pre-placement skills?

The development and assessment of core skills, including communication skills, are essential prerequisites before social work students are judged ready for practice placement. This paper presents qualitative data from the first year of a three-year study of an undergraduate module taught jointly to undergraduate and postgraduate students on two qualifying programmes at a university in England. The study considers the impact of video recording in a ‘skills laboratory’ on social work students’ skills development, and compares this with other feedback mechanisms at the pre-placement ‘Readiness for Direct Practice’ threshold for the different student groups. Responses from 88 students to two questions on factors they identified as the most helpful/least useful for core skills development were collected, using the same questionnaire at three stages of the module. These were analysed using a grounded theory approach. A separate, quantitative analysis showed that assessment outcomes for undergraduate and postgraduate students were not statistically different. In contrast, this qualitative analysis showed that while there was common value for students from self-observation using video, there were key differences in learning preferences between undergraduates and postgraduates in relation to feedback. While undergraduates valued peer support in group work, postgraduates preferred feedback from authoritative, independent and credible sources.     

Re-engineering the multiple choice question exam for social work

The aim of this study is to devise a multiple choice question (MCQ) exam that provides students with opportunities to engage in a deep approach to learning. Multiple choice assessment is largely unused in social work degree courses in the UK because of associations with techniques such as guessing and rote learning, which do not correspond with deep approaches to learning. Strategies used to enhance opportunities for a deep approach to learning within the MCQ exam used in this study included certainty-based marking (CBM), enhancing the use of formative feedback and giving students responsibility for devising the MCQs. Results show that students use similar levels of deep learning when they completed a MCQ exam compared to those students who completed an essay exam. The deep learning approach for the MCQ exam was, however, less when compared to a different module that used an essay assignment. There is an increasing pressure on Higher Education to provide more robust assessment practices, and findings in this study suggest it may be time for social work tutors to reconsider the role of the MCQ format within the existing range of assessment tools.     

Delineating the Learning Process in Generating a Research Culture among Undergraduate Social Work Students: A Case Study of Student Participation in an Academic Conference

Conferences provide excellent opportunities for academics, HDR students and social work practitioners to network, learn and contribute to the general body of knowledge, and establish or maintain credibility, yet there is little research about the possible opportunities conferences may provide to undergraduate students. This article introduces the notion that undergraduate social work students have much to gain from participation in academic conferences, particularly for generating a research culture among students. It follows a specific case study of undergraduate students' attendance at an international conference by analysing their learning in the development of a greater appreciation of the links between social work research, theory and practice.     

Student Voices Speak Quality Assurance: Continual Improvement in Online Social Work Education

As social work education expands instruction through the rise of distance education, educators seek new ways to improve quality in online courses. Quality assurance standards and student feedback offer valuable insights to ensure satisfying and effective online learning experiences. An examination of these two assessment approaches concurrently in the context of a 4-year study of student perspectives in MSW Human Behavior and the Social Environment foundation courses illustrates how systematic feedback from students can complement existing quality assurance standards. Of particular importance is the unmistakable strength of student voices about their learning from diverse perspectives in an online collaborative leaning setting that can and should be incorporated into standardized quality assessment guidelines for social work programs.     

Creation and evaluation of a maternal mental health course

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) engender significant and increasing personal, social, developmental, and economic burdens to women, children, families, and global public health. In the US, a Master of Social Work (MSW) elective course, Introduction to Maternal Mental Health, was created to prepare future social workers to better understand, detect, intervene, and advocate with women struggling with perinatal mental health concerns. A pilot study used pre–post-surveys (N = 10) and a focus group to examine students’ knowledge acquisition, course satisfaction, and perceived self-efficacy. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a statistically significant difference between pre- and post-survey course content knowledge scores. Positive focus group feedback and survey outcomes suggest that students benefitted from the course in terms of increased learning and professional efficacy in maternal mental health; however, the study should be replicated using a larger sample and comparison group. The course outline provided may be used to develop a similar course or to infuse maternal mental health content into existing courses. The paper concludes with implications and recommendations for social work educators.     

Teaching Note—MSW Student Perceptions of Learning Advanced Clinical Practice Skills Through the Flipped Classroom

The flipped classroom, with its focus on student-centered learning and active student engagement, is a growing trend in social work education. This article presents an innovative way of delivering practice content through the flipped classroom model, which can be adapted for any level of social work education. It walks readers through the steps of developing the course and the successes and challenges of the flip, particularly with an incorporated skills lab component. Additionally, this article shares student reflections on the development and execution of the course, with specific feedback on the experiential learning environment, discussions surrounding instructor workload and preparation, and implications for future iterations of the course from students who had very little prior technologically centered learning experiences.