Promoting sexual well-being in social work education and practice

This paper explores the importance of including sexual well-being within social work practice and education. Social workers often work with individuals for whom opportunities for sexual expression are limited and who face discriminatory attitudes. Sexual well-being is a global concern, and is particularly relevant considering international interest in the influence of notions of well-being on mental and physical health. Implementation of new social care policy in England, underpinned by the well-being principle, provides practitioners with the opportunity to explore what is meaningful to individual’s well-being through person-centred approaches to practice. There is currently little coverage of sexual well-being within social work education, this means students and practitioners lack the knowledge and skills to challenge barriers. Promotion of the concept of sexual citizenship, with its associated rights and responsibilities, enables social workers to engage in rights focused practice. Sexual well-being is a sensitive subject and the social and personal barriers practitioners may experience in addressing this topic are explored.     

Practice experience and social work education

Abstract

This paper examines the arguments that are often put in favour of social work academics having direct practice experience in order to enhance their teaching effectiveness. The paper looks at the number of ways that social work academics can gain up to date knowledge of practice developments and explores what constitutes an effective teacher. It concludes that recent direct practice experience will be of limited use in assisting social work academics to become effective teachers and that there are other ways that academics can become aware of practice developments that are in line with the other professional requirements on academics such as research and knowledge generation.     

Evidence-based practice in social work: perceptions and attitudes among Norwegian social workers

Although the concept of evidence-based practice (EBP) eludes precise definition, it is used as a trademark label to ensure that practice is based on science and thereby effective and of high quality. Proponents of EBP have proposed that both education and practice in social work should be transformed according to the principle of EBP. They attribute critical opposition to EBP to a lack of knowledge of what EBP is. In this article, we endeavour to clarify the concept and present results from a survey among social workers (N?=?2060) from Norway. The survey results show that although many have heard of the concept, few have precise knowledge about it. However, the more educated social workers are (master’s level), the clearer their opinions, both critical and non-critical. The results are discussed in relation to neo-liberal governance and development of social work.     

Teaching social policy to social work atudents: a critical reflection

Local and international evidence suggests that professional social work education often fails to effectively prepare graduates to implement social policy objectives within their everyday practice. This paper critically analyses the development of social policy subjects within one particular Australian social work course. Particular attention is drawn to subject objectives, content, reading material, teaching methods and assessment. Some suggestions are made for new educational initiatives that could potentially lead to more effective social policy practice.     

Rural social work The perceptions and experiences of five remote practitioners

Abstract

Living and working as a remote, rural social worker is a challenging experience. This qualitative study explores the experiences of five longer-term social workers in rural Western Australia. It provides a glimpse of their world including initial experiences, factors which support long-term rural practice, the demands and skills needed, the difficulties working in a bureaucracy and the positive aspects of rural practice. Tentative conclusions indicate that rural practice is distinct, due to the demands of living and working in the same community. Moreover, skills must be applied in the context of few secondary referral points or after hours services, and huge distances. The difficulty of maintaining professional identity and feelings of personal isolation are significant, but are compensated for by families who are settled and reluctant to leave, These findings can be used to inform social work education and improve retention of workers and quality of rural practice.     

Magic happens: Revisiting the spirituality and social work debate

Abstract

The social work profession is currently undergoing a resurgence of interest regarding the issue of spirituality in social work. This article attempts to summarise and explore the debate so far and to discuss the implications of this in a practice context. Current issues including definitions of spirituality and the key concerns in the areas of both practice and education are addressed. The article concludes with an overview of a model of spiritually sensitive social work practice, and poses options for further professional reflection on the place of spirituality in social work practice.     

Globalisation and social work: A snapshot of Australian practitioners' views

The process of globalisation, that is, the increasing interdependence of world society, is a controversial movement supported by some because of the potential cross-national benefits, but criticised by others because of the fragmented or uneven distribution of those benefits. As many social workers interact with clients who may be affected by globalisation processes, we were interested to investigate their practice views on this topic. Sixty-six social workers completed a questionnaire that explored the relationship between local and international issues. Practitioner responses indicated a strong interest in the topic and widespread agreement that, in their daily practice, there is a link between local and global issues affecting clients. How this perspective is incorporated into practice, however, was not so clear, and there was some variation within the group of respondents. The paper concludes with some suggestions to further enhance the knowledge on this topic among social workers.     

Advancement in social work education: fostering a supportive environment for students of non-dominant racial and ethnic backgrounds

Doctoral students from non-dominant racial and ethnic backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in programs of social work despite efforts to increase student diversity. This paper highlights the unique challenges experienced by non-dominant racial and ethnic students and offers suggestions for addressing retention and attrition concerns among these students across systems within doctoral social work programs. The authors identify structural inequalities, marginalization, discrimination, minority stress, and lack of support as potential barriers to student success. Suggestions for increasing diversity and retention are rooted in critical multiculturalism and involvement theory, emphasizing institutional change, socialization, recruitment, and social support.     

Kairos and practice wisdom in social work practice

Practice wisdom is a form of practical moral reasoning when social workers face the complexity and uncertainty encountered in practice. Following a literature review on practice wisdom in social work, its essential features are discussed, identifying a neglected element in the literature—the element of time. The element of time is found to be implicitly considered in models of social work practice but not in relation to practice wisdom. If the right action has to be taken in the right place, and at the right time, the concept of practice wisdom would be much impoverished if the element of time is not considered in its discussion. Hence, the concepts of kairos—qualitative time, and chronos—quantitative time, are discussed. The relevance and usefulness of kairos in social work practice are pointed out. Social workers need to work with ‘time within time’, be conscious of clients’ sense of time, know what to do as well as what not to do at the appropriate time. Finally, the inextricable link between time and space and the possible emergence of novelty and ingenuity are examined to bring out the creative dimension of practice wisdom.     

Attitudes of social work students towards older people

Demographic ageing is a challenge for many countries. Even though Turkey has a relatively younger demographic composition, the proportion of the older people (65+) within the population is rapidly increasing. Within this framework, older people are becoming more important clients for both social work students and social workers in Turkey. This study aims to reveal the attitudes of social work students towards older people and determine the various factors that affect their views on older persons. In the scope of the project, Kogan's Attitude Towards Old People Scale was applied to 419 social work undergraduate students at a university located in Central Anatolia. The findings showed that social work students scored a mean of 130.96 and they generally had positive attitudes towards older people. The correlation between year of study, gender and age was not statistically significant. However, having lived mostly in urban areas was positively correlated with the mean Kogan scores and this finding was found to be statistically significant. Exposure to personal contact with older people at both the personal and professional levels was influential in shaping attitudes about the older people.     

Learning pattern of social work students: a longitudinal study

Research on learning patterns of social work students is scare. This longitudinal study addresses this issue by employing mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative study design to understand the learning pattern of students throughout their undergraduate social work studies. Six rounds of quantitative data collected by structured questionnaires and four rounds of qualitative data collected by focus group interviews have been conducted at an interval of every 6 months to track the learning pattern and to evaluate the continuous impacts of social work education on students. Results indicate that although students’ evaluation on the curriculum was positive and with significant difference in mean scores, paired sample t-tests found no significant difference between time 1 and 6 of all outcome variables. With regard to students’ change in attitude, acquisition of knowledge and skills, results indicate a ‘U-shape’ trend and a fluctuating learning pattern with a rebound in different outcome variables toward the end of the three-year study. Qualitative data echoes the findings and reveals that students go through the confused freshman stage, to disillusioned in practicum and finally with enriching experience upon graduation. The paper discusses meanings and implications of student learning pattern to social work education.     

The psychological goods on clinical social work: a content analysis of the clinical social work and social justice literature

The purpose of this content analysis was to evaluate the extant literature on clinical social work and social justice. In July 2009, an online search of the university databases EBSCO Host (1988–2009) was conducted to identify articles on clinical social work and social justice. Thirty-six peer reviewed journal articles were identified and extracted. The majority were non-empirical articles (75%) published in the United States (94%) over a 21-year period from 1988 to 2009. Overall, clinical social work practice was described as psychological and/or sociopolitical interventions that had a direct and/or indirect effect on psychological and sociopolitical level social justice outcomes. Theories and practices consistent with social justice were advanced. These findings suggest that clinical social work's promotion of psychological well-being remains an underdeveloped area in the scholarly and research literature. In this era of professional educational reform, additional research and professional training on social justice based clinical social work practice is warranted.     

Social work guanxi: a reflexive account of the social work relationship in the Chinese context

ABSTRACT

In a guanxi-driven acquaintanceship, the worker, the client, and the community are tied together more closely than they are in mutually agreed-upon service contracts. This paper re-examines the contemporary boundaries in the social work relationship, especially in Asian nations such as China, where ‘relationships’ are generally translated and perceived as ‘guanxi’. The indigenisation of social work must be managed with care when translating from West to East. Drawing from the experiences of community development projects in rural Hong Kong, this paper discusses how guanxi among social workers, clients and other stakeholders in Chinese communities might challenge the professionalism of social work and breach the boundaries of social work relationships.     

Assessing attitudes of college students toward cross-cultural relationships: Implications for social work practice,research, and education

Higher education in America is a major social institution and an incubator of intellectual thought, holding an important and transformative place in the public domain, but it has also been implicated in the perpetuation of inequality, and the feeding of racial animus. The research question guiding this quantitative study explored predictors of college students’ perceptions of interracial relationships, which led to the querying of factors likely to impact social distance regarding interracial relationships at a mid-sized, diverse, rural university in the south. Two instruments were utilized to test the variables; the Bogardus Social Distance scale and the Social Dominance Orientation scale. The findings indicate statistical significance among two of the three variables examined, when controlling for socioeconomic and demographic variables; positive interracial experiences (p = < .002) and, greater amounts of interracial social contact (p = < .046) predict lower social distances regarding interracial relationships. Implications for higher education involve greater efforts toward social inclusion, increased cultural sensitivity, and an acknowledgment of the current and past structural and systemic inequities that have hindered positive race relations, and a vow to rectify those.     

What is clinical social work? looking back to move ahead

This paper traces the evolution of the concept of clinical social work and looks at where we are and where we are headed as clinical social workers. It reaffirms the view that clinical social workers intervene with clients presenting the full range of problems in a variety of facilities and in private practice and must draw on a broad knowledge base within a person-situation perspective and address the special needs of culturally diverse and oppressed populations. The paper also considers the move toward legal regulation, the role of private practice, the need for clinical doctoral education, the importance of new models for clinical research, and the significance of advocacy for a broad range of services to clients.     

Referrals and Resources for Chemically Dependent Gay and Lesbian Clients

The article investigates issues surrounding same-sex relationships in an African context. Many countries on the continent outlaw such partnerships, creating complex dimensions for people trapped in a no-man's land of socially unacceptable reality. Furthermore, criminalization of same-sex practices results in a lack of targeted health and welfare programs, creating a dangerous lacuna in service delivery. To address this, academic programs, field supervisors, and practitioners, particularly in the field of social work, must be sensitive to the needs of sexual minorities, and those behind whose acceptability they are forced to hide, especially in an alien environment.     

Preparation for practice: embedding the development of professional identity within social work curriculum

Newly qualified social workers often enter challenging interdisciplinary settings where they need to be able to clearly articulate a distinctive professional identity. To prepare for these realities, this paper discusses how the development of professional identity has become increasingly central to qualifying social work curriculum at an Australian university. Preparation for social work practice has long been the focus of research in a number of countries, with a significant emphasis on knowledge and skill acquisition, rather than on the development of an overarching professional identity that is also underpinned by shared values and sense of professional purpose and expectations. Against this backdrop, the paper describes initial changes that have been made within core social work courses to progressively embed the development of professional identity more consciously across their studies, to be better prepared for contemporary challenges in the workplace. It is concluded that further changes are needed to fully transform the curriculum, and that the impacts of these changes be systematically evaluated in relation to preparedness for practice.     

Reconstructing and re-conceptualising social work in the emerging milieu

Abstract

As we approach the twenty first century, social work as a collective activity is experiencing considerable uncertainty. This paper argues that the strategy embodied in promoting traditional professionalism, while moderately successful in the past, has become increasingly problematic. Similarly, the ongoing utility of current approaches to practice theory as a key part of the professional project is questioned. Identifying key challenges emerging in the environment, the paper suggests that an active debate about both the organisation and conceptualisation of Australian social work is vital for its future.