Old battles,new frontiers: A study of television violence and social work with children

This article describes the place of television violence in social work practice with children. It is based on interviews with twenty-one social workers who work primarily with children in schools, in community mental health agencies and in private practices. Although the influence of television violence on children has been well documented by other disciplines, there has been a general lack of attention by social work. Because television is so much a part of children's social environment and because the social environment is so much a part of social work practice this study seeks to address that lack. Grounded theory methodology was utilized to analyze the interviews.This paper is adapted from her dissertation in partial fulfillment of a doctorate at Simmons College School of Social Work, Boston, Massachusetts. The author wishes to thank the dissertation committee members, carol Swenson (Chairperson), Deanna Brooks and Margaret Rhodes for their contributions.     

‘She Knew What was Coming’: Knowledge and Domestic Violence in Social Work Education

Social Work educators are aware that within any class of social work students there are likely to be students with first-hand experience of domestic violence. The Writing Stories project was designed to engage students with social policy learning using experiential accounts. An unintended outcome of the project was the disclosure of students' experience of domestic violence. The accounts of violence offer an interesting juxtaposition with the formalised academic story of violence. This paper, by drawing on the concept of banality, aims to uncover how knowledge is presented in those stories and what challenges this may pose for educators. Feminist research highlights the need for researchers to enable women to tell their stories. Social work values also stress that service-user experience should be central to theorising and knowledge production. However, within an educational relationship these stories also need to be examined for how they can both provide a basis for knowledge and compete with, clash or resist other forms of knowledge. The key argument is that neither the formal, academic forms of knowledge, nor the experiential should be privileged. Instead, it is by working across a spectrum of epistemological methods that practice is best contextualised.     

The Lull of Tradition: A Grounded Theory Study of Television Violence, Children and Social Work

This article results from a study of television violence and social work practice with children. Twenty-one social workers who work primarily with children in schools, in community mental health agencies and in private practice were interviewed. A qualitative analysis using grounded theory indicates that social workers do little to elicit television content or information about children's television viewing. They do not believe that television experiences are central to their work. Although social workers express concern about the influence of television violence on children, their traditional beliefs in cause and effect, values neutrality, and gender lead many to minimize its importance.     

Social Work Responses to Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences and Perspectives of Professionals at Women’s Shelters in Sweden

Clinical Social Work Journal - This study explores how social work professionals at women’s shelters in Sweden experience, understand, and are responding to domestic violence under the impact...     

Ready for Qualified Practice? A Comparative Study of Capability for Critical Reflection and Analysis of MA Social Work and MA Step Up to Social Work Students at the End of Second Placement

Social Work education is faced with substantial changes. New programmes like Step Up to Social Work have emerged and were evaluated in relation to intake, programme development and subjective student experiences. The lack of evidence on outcomes of such programmes was addressed in this study. In a comparative study of a MA in Social Work and a MA in Step Up to Social Work, the authors analysed students' capability to critically reflect on and analyse social work practice scenarios at the end of their final placement at one university. The PCF domain ‘Critical Reflection and Analysis’ was operationalised and the study design employed qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Demographic data, academic marks achieved during social work education and written reflections on case vignettes from the two programmes were analysed statistically. The findings suggest that, while there are some differences in outcomes between the programmes, they are not statistically significant. However, reflections on children and family vignettes were significantly better (U = 185, p = 0.008). Thematic analysis revealed considerable variation in the levels of curiosity and critical thinking and those respondents who framed their answers with reference to policy guidance, theory and research often extended their critical thinking.     

Impact of Social Work Education on Student Attitudes and Behavior concerning Oppression

Although human service professionals increasingly are the victims of violence, no data exist on the prevalence of violence in the undergraduate field setting, and only one study has addressed the incidence of violence at the graduate level. To fill this gap in the research, the authors surveyed 121 social work students and 96 field instructors at the undergraduate and graduate levels to identify safety issues, compare incidents of violence, and to examine agency policies on violence prevention and management. Findings revealed that undergraduate and graduate students experienced verbal abuse, as well as physical violence. Field instructors were verbally abused or threatened by clients, but did not report any verbal abuse by students; they also reported physical assaults by clients and paraprofessionals. Students reported that, although they received some classroom instruction on safety issues in practice, agencies used as practicum sites often did not have policies on violence or did not inform students of those policies. The authors suggest that curriculum materials on violence and safety issues be integrated into the curriculum or included in field placement seminars. They also recommend that the Council on Social Work Education mandate the inclusion of such content.     

In Our Own Image

Social work has an image problem in the popular media. Historically, social workers abdicated control for shaping public opinion to media producers who had no investment in the future of the profession. Since 1992, this author, colleagues, and students from the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Social Work, have been producing independent television documentaries for broadcast purposes. A systematic approach to media instruction has evolved. This article promotes the inclusion of such content in the traditional social work curriculum as an innovative educational approach.     

Family policy in Korea

In Korea, family policy as a public policy gained interest in the 1980s, when the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (since January 1995 the Ministry of Health and Welfare) renamed the Maternal and Child Bureau the Family Welfare Bureau. This paper first presents a brief overview of the traditional family system and values in Korea and examines changes in economic and social indicators, changes in family functions and roles, and changes in attitudes toward family that have occurred following industrialization and urbanization. The paper then briefly explains some of the problems Korean families face today. It next examines the Family Planning Program and its results. Finally, it turns to an examination and critique of the policies and programs administered by the Family Welfare Bureau.Yeonoak Baik is a Family Advocacy Therapist for the 8th U.S. Army c/o Commander, 43rd Surgical Hospital (MA), ATTN: EAMC-SH-FAP, Room D-108, Unit #15190, APO AP, 96271-0126. She works in Korea with U.S. military soldiers and their dependents. Her research interests include child welfare, single-parent families, and domestic violence. Her MSW was received from the School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Her research interests include children of divorced families, social welfare policy, and social work administration in Korea. She received her Ph.D. in Social Welfare at Seoul National University in Korea.     

Interventions with Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma: Addressing the Role of Shame

Clinical Social Work Journal - This practice article considers the empirical research on the relationship between shame and trauma resulting from interpersonal violence. It explores the evidence...     

Parent-child separation: A comparison of maternally and paternally separated children in military families

In recent times children have adapted to parental separation as parents balance the demands of family and job responsibilities. While job-related separation affect many in today's society, no population is affected more than children of military families. Changes in the Armed Services have resulted in more children being separated from their active-duty mothers. Although studies have documented the relationship between father-absence and a child's psychosocial development, little is known about mother-child separation in military families. This study compares the psychosocial functioning of children who have experienced extended maternal separation with that exhibited by children who have separated from their fathers. Implications for social work practice are addressed.This research met the dissertation requirement for a D.S.W. at Catholic University of America with Dr. Elizabeth Timberlake as chair and Dr. Barbara Early as committee member.Dr. Applewhite is Chief, Social Work Service, Beyne-Jones Army Community Hospital and Dr. Mays is Social Work Consultant to the Army Surgeon General, Walter Reed Army Medical Center.     

Access to Mental Health Services: The Struggle of Poverty Affected Urban Children of Color

It is estimated that, in the United States, one in ten children and adolescents suffer from illness severe enough to cause some level of psychosocial dysfunction. Urban children, and in particular low-income children of color, are at greater risk of developing mental health problems, and are less likely to receive effective child mental health services. Prompt and effective access to mental health services by urban children of color is a critical direct practice and social policy concern. This article provides an overview of significant barriers to mental health care experienced by poverty affected urban children of color and their families. It also addresses a broad range of practice and policy issues that need to be raised in order to ensure competent delivery of mental health services for children living in urban environments. The role of social work in assisting poor urban children of color to access and benefit from mental health services is stressed. Manny John González, D.S.W., is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service.     

Don’t Worry,She’ll Say it: A Tribute to Florence Lieberman

This paper presents a tribute to Florence Lieberman, a significant leader in the field of Clinical Social Work, who has been and continues to be highly productive and vastly influential. Throughout her career Florence has published books and articles that result from her intense and accurate concerns about social work practice, and particularly about practice with children. Florences academic career includes 20 years at Hunter College School of Social Work in New York. As an influential member of the Hunter faculty, she has played an important role in shaping the impact of social work philosophy on psychotherapy practice. Starting with her Charter membership in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), she has been influential in the development of the Federation of Societies for Clinical Social Work (Federation), the National Academy of Practice (NAP), and the International Committee on the Advancement of Private Practice (ICAPP). Leadership, empowerment, and adherence to Social Works mission are themes that Florence Lieberman has enacted throughout her stellar career. The author discusses his experience with her, which illustrate these essential characteristics.Presented at the International Committee on the Advancement of Private Practice (ICAPP) Meeting on June 9, 2004.     

Teaching evidence-based social work in foundation practice courses: learning from pedagogical choices of allied fields

The field of social work is attuned to the need to incorporate evidence-based practice education into masters-level curriculum. One question remaining is how to integrate evidence-based practice in the foundation practice courses. Integration of evidence-based practice across the foundation-level curriculum coincides with the Council on Social Work Education's mandate that student's engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. Through a discussion of definitions, criticisms, and pedagogy across the allied fields of medicine, nursing, and social work the authors address the current status of evidence-based practice curriculum in foundation-level education. The authors incorporate the lessons learned from allied fields and a Masters of Social Work student's analyses of their experience of evidence-based practice learning to propose an adult-learner model to improve evidence-based practice pedagogy in Social Work.     

Shared Expectations? Reforming the Social Work Qualifying Curriculum in England

This is the first of two articles presenting findings from a scoping review undertaken in 2011 to inform proposals for a review of the social work qualifying curriculum in England made by the Social Work Reform Board. The review used a mixture of published and unpublished resources to compare the issues raised by the reports of the Social Work Task Force with what was known from published research investigating the ways that the current Requirements for Social Work Training (Department of Health, London, 2002) operate. It found that the evidence base on which the key issues relating to the concerns about initial social work qualifying programmes rest was very variable. The absence of a substantial research evidence base in this area hinders the development of effective policymaking on social work education, but the current changes to social work education and to social work regulation offer a timely opportunity to expand what we know about different assessment systems and how best to regulate social work courses.     

Three-dimensional virtual reality: Applications to the 12 grand challenges of social work

Abstract

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) identified 12 Grand Challenges of Social Work to unify the profession with focused research, practice and policy applications for the most pressing social issues. Virtual Reality (VR), specifically three-dimensional immersive computer-generated environments, has a history of research and applications to address social and behavioral problems. VR is becoming more readily available, as the technology is becoming more common in mainstream platforms such as mobile technology. While social work interventions are often tailored for vulnerable populations that may not have access to VR computing, it appears that virtual reality is gaining accessibility with these advances. Within the framework of the 12 Grand Challenges of Social Work, researchers from three social work virtual reality laboratories in the United States, Texas State University, the University of Houston, and the University of Alabama, review applications previously tested and currently in development to focus future research and intervention in social work practice.     

The timing of motherhood: The challenge to social workers

The timing of the first birth has become a critical issue, to be addressed by the social work profession. This paper suggests that women who have timed the birth of their first child at two different stages in adulthood have responded to the challenges of motherhood in divergent ways. In order to work as effectively as possible with mothers and children, social workers need to understand these differences related to the timing of motherhood.Dr. Walter is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Widener University and is in private practice.     

African-Centered Frameworks of Youth Development: Nuanced Implications for Guiding Social Work Practice with Black Youth

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal - Literature within social work on African-centered frameworks that can be used to inform research and social work practice has remained limited. Often...     

The implicit assumptions of television research: an analysis of the 1982 NIMH report on television and behavior

The authors analyze some of the assumptions underlying most current research on television. They emphasize the dependence on (1) an individual rather than an institutional level of analysis; (2) a model of research utilization that pays little explicit attention to where sources of leverage lie for changes in programming; (3) extremely simple models of the selection processes associated with different levels of television viewing; and (4) uncritical appraisals of the consequences of effects that many would call small or modest. These issues are illustrated by a general discussion of the NIMH report on Television and Behavior and specific discussion of "mainstreaming" and the effects of television violence. In 1972, POQ's editors invited Leo Bogart to prepare an extended review article of the Surgeon-General's Study of Television and Social Behavior (POQ 36:491-521). When the 10-year follow-up study was released by NIMH in 1982, the editors asked Thomas D. Cook, a distinguished psychologist noted for his research on television, to perform the same function.     

The development of social work education in Spain

This research note presents briefly the development of Education for Social Work in Spain. The year 2008 has marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of its incorporation into Spanish universities as an undergraduate degree. In addition, the academic year 2008–2009 has seen the introduction of the qualification, Doctor of Social Work. It also provides some thoughts about the academic situation and status of social work at a global level as a result of the domination of the English and Spanish languages. It also compares the development of social work with studies in other countries, and different forms of understanding of the basis of social work in Europe.