TEACHING SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY: A COMPARISON OF TWO PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES

The use of experiential approaches to teach social welfare policy suggests that such methods may increase undergraduate social work students' knowledge of and skill in working on social and economic justice issues. This article compares 2 such methods using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first teaches social welfare policy as a service learning course and the second integrates social welfare policy into the students' practicum experience. The authors conclude that both approaches are equally effective in helping students to increase their knowledge of policy concepts and may help students feel more competent in using policy-related skills.     

Education,practice and research. Knowledge and attitudes to knowledge of Swedish social workers

This article deals with the knowledge base and methodological orientation of Swedish social workers and their attitudes to different sources of knowledge as a basis for practice. By means of a survey, 412 social workers in 12 municipalities responded to questions about their education, further training, the periodicals and books read and their views about the knowledge required for their tasks. The response rate was 93%. The data were analysed with quantitative techniques, including logistic regression analysis and show the following results: (1) The methods used in practice differ from what might be expected considering the content of social work education; (2) The Swedish methodological repertoire differs somewhat from that described in the Anglo-Saxon literature; (3) Different areas of social work display quite dissimilar images. Social workers in child welfare are closest to a coherent knowledge base, while those dealing with social assistance are least well off in this respect; and (4) Overall, there is an obvious lack of a common and up-dated knowledge base. Less than 1 in 10 read research-oriented periodicals and relevant books more than once or twice a year. These results are discussed in relation to the quality of social work education, social workers' attitudes to research-based knowledge, the research itself and the organisational setting of social work practice.     

Editorial

Social work students' responses to research tend to reflect their anxiety about the acquisition of competency in statistics and research methods. Their desires to attain social work education and subsequently become practitioners are viewed by them as at odds with research as taught. Yet, within the current quantocentric culture—which the authors define as one in which quantitative research methods are privileged over other lines of inquiry—social work education is increasingly emphasizing research as a central component of practice. Using a ‘culture as disability’ framework to understand quantocentric culture and its impact on the educational environment, we suggest an educational approach designed to interest students in a broad view of research allowing for the wholehearted inclusion of non‐quantitative and practice‐related facets of research. The approach encourages students to: (a) fully articulate their perceptions of research, both positive and negative; (b) link these views and experiences to the anti‐oppressive social work literature and to examine research methods from the perspective of quantocentrism; and (c) develop an inclusive typology of research that integrates qualitative approaches encompassing historical, philosophical, narrative and other avenues that are relevant to their future social work practice careers.     

Integrating Critical Consciousness into Direct Social Work Practice: A Pedagogical View

An unnecessary and unfortunate divide has existed historically within social work both in the United States and also in the United Kingdom between social reform or anti-oppressive practice, and direct social work practice or social care. In this article, the limitations of such a dichotomy will be explored, and ways that social work educators may more effectively integrate critical reflection approaches into their pedagogical practices will be identified. Building upon Denzin's methodological elaboration of C. Wright Mills' concept of private troubles–public issues, this article will discuss the usefulness of applying methods from critical, interpretive qualitative research to help social workers achieve critical consciousness in social work education and practice. This article will also address ways to help social work students overcome impediments to achieving critical consciousness, including the anxiety attendant upon changing one's belief systems. Finally, this article will describe the development of a concentration-year MSW elective, Transformative Social Work Practice, which sought to assist social work students in becoming more critically reflexive in their clinical work.     

Insights into proceeds from social investments: beyond numbers fetishism and relativism

How profitable are social investments? It is necessary for social professionals to gain and give insight into the proceeds of their work. Both clients and professionals will benefit from a results-oriented approach. Subsidising agencies and financiers will reap the fruits of such an approach as well. But how can we gather evidence on the proceeds of social investments? In this article we distinguish two mutually complementary ways of gaining evidence. The first is known as evidence-based policy and practice, mainly quantitative research on the effects of social interventions and on the causal relations between interventions and outcome. However, limitations are attached to quantitative research because of disruptive factors, a variety of side effects and the dynamics of social reality. Complementary evidence is therefore needed: practice-based evidence, based primarily on qualitative methods that provide insight into mechanisms and conditions under which effects occur. The practice-based method presumes systematically studying a series of small-scale and mindful practices in order to uncover tacit knowledge of professionals. It is exactly this combination of rigid quantitative research and flexible qualitative methods which does justice to the challenging undertaking of clarifying the proceeds from social investments.     

Application cards: A classroom technique for teaching social work practice

This paper describes the use and evaluation of application cards as a teaching tool designed to enhance students' abilities to apply knowledge learned in social work practice classes. Strengths and limitations of this tool as a means for enhancing students' application skills are discussed, based on qualitative and quantitative evaluative data.     

Building research capacity for social work practitioners: a regional perspective

This article explores the research experiences, interests and capacity of social work professionals working as frontline workers and managers in human service organizations in regional South Australia. It also draws attention to social work practice issues requiring further investigation as identified by these professionals. The research data for this paper were collected using quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data provided evidence to show the extent of research interests among social work practitioners in the region. Qualitative data added depth to the findings by identifying social work practice issues as described by research participants. The study revealed that few participants had any research experience; however, the majority felt the need to undertake research, expressed interest in research training and a desire to be involved in research projects. These findings have implications for higher education providers in the social work discipline. They draw attention to the importance of better preparing students for research in practice, and also for schools of social work to actively engage in building research capacity and output in regional Australia.

Abbreviations: Frontline social work professionals (FLSWP); The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)     

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice with Mentally Ill Persons who Abuse Alcohol and Other Drugs

Abstract

The current article outlines a comprehensive approach to evidence-based social work practice, and applies it to persons with severe and persistent mental illness who also abuse alcohol and other drugs. Representative empirical literature is summarized within a framework that delineates the three major functions of evidence-based social work practice: assessment, intervention and evaluation. Assessment protocol, which incorporates the use of valid scales to complement the qualitative interview, is based on domain-specific research that outlines relevant psychosocial risk factors, and highlights those that are amenable to change. Intervention strategies are derived from the growing body of controlled research findings, but flexibility in implementation is recommended to accommodate clients' individual needs and the vagaries of daily practice. Naturalistic evaluation methods are used to capitalize on the use of brief, valid process and outcome measures to augment individual qualitative evaluation and to aggregate data for program evaluation. The implications of this integrated evidence-based strategy for social work practice are discussed.     

Adult learning styles: Implications for practice teaching in social work

This paper focuses on the current aspiration to further the process of continuing professional development in social work. It contends that knowledge from the field of adult learning theory may be helpful in sign-posting some tangible ways forward here. The particular emphasis is on critically assessing the usefulness of identifying learning styles as indicators of preferred ways of learning. Knowledge of learning styles is explored as one way of promoting students' learning on practice placements. A small-scale qualitative research study with a group of practice teachers and their students is presented as a vehicle for exploring this new terrain in social work. The findings of this research build on key themes identified by the current literature in this area. The author's findings suggest that information about learning styles has direct practical application in the social work practice teaching arena. The data points to the potential value of using such information to guide students' learning on practice placements and has relevance to considerations of their continuing professional development. Suggestions are put forward to highlight how practice teaching and Diploma in Social Work programmes could facilitate this process. The paper stresses the over-riding need to view students as actors in a broader social context, however, and highlights how information regarding learning styles needs to be utilised in this context.     

Solving Current Social Challenges: Engaging Undergraduates in Policy Practice

This article explores an innovation in teaching policy practice at the undergraduate level. It analyzes an experiential learning model that uses current social challenges as a compelling way to generate student learning about policy practice. Over the course of the semester, students examine antecedents, current issues, and potential solutions to a contemporary social issue through a series of assignments that build knowledge and skills and link the topic to larger social policy concerns. Using quantitative and qualitative evidence from seven semesters, the article explores benefits and challenges of this approach to teaching, and derives lessons for social work education.     

Epistemology of the Bottle: The Social Construction of Alcoholism and Alcoholics in Social Work Literature in the United States Between 1950 and 1959

ABSTRACT

This article examines selected social work literature that has been published in mainstream social work journals in the United States from 1950 to 1959 in order to deconstruct how alcoholism and alcoholics have been historically constructed within the social work profession. The theoretical framework employed is that of social constructionism and deconstruction. The methodology is qualitative research, specifically historical analysis. The findings of this article are discussed for their relevance to social work practice and social work education.     

Neoliberalism and social work identity

This article considers the relationship between the identity of social work and the neoliberal political project. Reference is made to a small but carefully structured quantitative research study in Auckland, New Zealand which examined the knowledge applied and produced in the practice of social work. This study found evidence consistent with Philp’s [(1979). Notes on the form of knowledge in social work. Sociological Review, 27(1), 83–111] theorisation of a specific ‘form of knowledge’ for social work which is produced and reproduced as a function of relational engagement between social workers and those who are constructed as ‘clients’ in an unequal society. This discourse casts the ‘failing subject’ as socially located and inherently redeemable in direct contrast to populist neoliberal constructions of personal responsibility and moral deficit. With reference to dialectical theory it is suggested that this resilient discourse, embedded in ‘every-day’ practice, is inevitably a source of resistance to the imposition of neoliberal practice and policy design. This resistance provides hope for the progressive voice of social work in the current contest of ideas in relation to the future development of social work.     

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.     

Vedanta and social work practice

Spirituality holds an important place in the lives of social workers and their clients. It informs our understanding of the world, our morals and values, and our conduct. Spirituality is a powerful tool of guidance and healing. Recognizing its importance, efforts have been made to integrate spirituality into social work practice. A gap in these efforts is the inclusion of epistemological foundations of key Eastern religions and spiritual practice. Concepts such as yoga and meditation have been adapted as healing methods; however, the knowledge base that informs them has been neglected. This article addresses this gap with an exploration of Vedanta and how it can be integrated into social work practice. Vedanta is the body of knowledge that informs the traditions of yoga, Ayurveda, and Hinduism. This article explains key concepts of Vedanta including Advaita Vedanta, the five sheaths (ways of knowing), pathways to Vedanta (methods of obtaining knowledge), dharma, karma/reincarnation, the nature of reality, and the lineage of Gurus. The second part of the article focuses on the application of Vedanta to social work practice within existing literature and identifies areas for further research.     

The role of research in defining a 'practiceable' problem for social work: The parallax of community and family violence exposure among children and youths

In the partnership between social work practice and research considerable attention has been devoted to the formulating of researchable questions that are raised by practitioners in order to improve, inform, and evaluate human services. In contrast, little attention has been devoted in the practice-research partnership to the formulating of "practiceable" problems for social work: Namely, what role does research play in defining social problems that, once discerned, are viewed as worthy and capable of meaningful social work intervention? This article considers the role of research in rendering practiceable the problem of American youths' victimization inside the home, and, in parallax, the problem of youths' victimization outside the home. This comparison yields insights about the contributions that research has made in shaping social work practice on one front, and about the obstacles and opportunities for research in rendering social work practice activities on parallel front. Broader lessons for social work practice research are considered from this parallax view.     

Training research-minded social workers: experience from Estonia*

ABSTRACT

Social work education in its modern sense started to develop after Estonia regained independence from the collapsing Soviet Union. The aim of this article is to introduce good practices of teaching research-mindedness, this being one of the main principles in teaching social workers-to-be in the University of Tartu in Estonia. We have been inspired by the academic tradition of university teaching in general, the new international definition of social work and, not least, the realisation of social workers in practice of not being able to apply academic knowledge to everyday social work practices. This article revisits the term research-mindedness and examines how it has been integrated into the university level teaching process. Our purpose is to discuss the methods students of bachelor’s and master’s programmes can learn to ‘translate’ social issues into research questions, critically appraise the findings and ‘translate’ them back as new research evidence for social work practice.     

Towards a Comprehensive Typology of Knowledge for Social Work and Alcohol

This article presents a theoretical model of knowledge acquisition by social workers with regards to alcohol, which formed the propositional element of a recently awarded doctoral thesis submission. It begins by briefly contextualising the relationship between alcohol and social work, the profession's response to the increasing sense of alcohol-related issues in workloads and calls for more effective intervention responses. In considering how this is often reflected in demands for social workers to receive more education about alcohol, it critically examines existing considerations of possible typologies of knowledge for social work, before encapsulating them within a model focusing on alcohol. The model suggests that any such typology is likely to be composed of multiple sources, including both codified and non-codified elements. It concludes by considerations of some of the implications for research approaches that could be used to gain a better understanding of these knowledge frameworks. In doing so it proposes that it is through these alternative considerations that more holistic understandings of social work knowledge will be established. Discussion of the implications of working within more inclusive knowledge frameworks, for social work education, policy, practice and research, are contained throughout the article.     

Teaching Human Behavior and the Social Environment to Enhance Students' Personal Epistemology

Current trends in education practices focus on student's personal epistemologies and their development. Two social work educators took specific steps to attempt to enhance the personal epistemologies of the social work students in their courses in human behavior in the social environment. One instructor repeated the trajectory of the reflective judgment model in her lectures, and the other gave a series of assignments that presented students with ill-structured problems to solve. Preliminary qualitative and quantitative data provided support for their subjective judgments that the teaching methods assisted students in moving toward more sophisticated personal epistemology. This article outlines the teaching methods and the data used and the current literature on personal epistemology.