Developing social work education in Lithuania

From 1991 through 1998, during the turmoil of independence and transition to a democracy and free-market economy, the authors established the first social work education programme in Lithuania and assisted Lithuanian professionals to assume responsibility for the programme. This article supplies an initial general and conceptual narrative and analyses some of the factors that influenced the development of the programme and a practice model to address conditions in Lithuania.     

Reflective learning in social work education: Scaffolding the process

This article examines the contribution of reflective learning in social work education to professional self-construction of social workers in Ireland. It suggests a framework for scaffolding this process on a post-graduate programme and gives an account of the issues and dilemmas faced by the authors in implementing this framework. The article focuses on the construction of a 'learning community', which facilitates and scaffolds reflective teaching/learning, in two particular course modules, the Use of Self in Social Work and the Practice Skills Laboratory. The authors document the underlying theoretical constructs utilised and the practical implications for the learning environment.     

Applying Bateson's theory of learning to social work education

This article considers the implications of Gregory Bateson's theory of learning for social work education. It gives an example of the application of the theory to the introduction of a new subject — introduction to information technology — on two social work courses. It suggests that there is currently an over-emphasis on competencies without the underpinning of a theory of learning which can address the need for changes of values and beliefs.     

A fundamental rethink of practice learning in social work education

A common response to the need to place increasing numbers of social work students in field education or practice learning placements has been to broaden the range of organisations in which placements are sought. While this strategy has provided many beneficial learning opportunities for students, it has not been sufficient in tackling ongoing difficulties in locating work-integrated learning opportunities for social work students. We argue that new approaches to finding placement opportunities will require a fundamental rethink as to how student placements are understood. This paper introduces an innovative project which started with a consideration of learning opportunities and built a structure to facilitate these, rather than rely on organisational availability to host students on placements.     

Assessment methods in social work education: A review of the literature

Student assessment is an important component of social work education, and consumes considerable effort on behalf of both students and staff members. Social work educators in higher education face the challenge of constructing assessment methods, which encourage the development of reflective and critical learning, as well as enabling students to demonstrate acquisition of required knowledge and/or skills. While there is now a substantial literature on field education, the assessment of classroom-based units has warranted less attention. This paper examines the range of assessment methods reported in the social work education literature, the evidence which supports the use of these methods and issues associated with the identified assessment methods.     

Culturally sensitive social work: promoting cultural competence

In current times of great conflict and clashes between different cultures and worldviews, cultural competencies should be a well embedded feature of social work education. This is a fundamental and cross-cutting issue; however, we question whether it is an obvious concern in social work education in European countries, specifically in Portugal, and if the curriculum of social work courses covers this topic. This article is based on research that seeks to find out if there are mandatory curricular units of the disciplinary field of social work that explicitly address culturally sensitive social work and cultural competencies. Thus, this article presents a study that focuses on educational institutions that provide social work courses in Portugal, and has the potential to be extended to other countries. An online survey and a document analysis of the curriculum programmes of all Portuguese courses in social work were conducted. The study results revealed the lack of curricular units with clear terms relating to the topic of culturally sensitive social work. The implications for practice and educational policy are also discussed, which lead to a reflection and analysis of the evaluation and accreditation process of social work education in Portugal, with a conclusion that it is incomplete and faces major challenges in curriculum development and course accreditation. Challenges and opportunities in developing social work curricula, as well the debate around a generic or specialist social work education are also discussed. Finally, the authors suggest an opportunity to develop cultural competencies through continuing and lifelong learning for social workers.     

Conceptualizing anxiety among social work students: implications for social work education

Student anxiety is frequently discussed within social work education. Due to its potentially devastating impacts, social work educators need to have a full understanding of anxiety in this context, in order to determine the best way to support students. Research on student anxiety from a broad body of literature provides implications for social work classrooms and field education. Key underlying concepts from previous social work and related research on student anxiety inform a conceptual model to help educators develop a more complex understanding of student anxiety. Implications for further research and important next steps in the development of support strategies for social work students are identified.     

Developing people in a network of relational practices: reflections on the role of social work education

The mission of social work education in Flanders is threefold: to deliver education, to conduct research and to provide services to society. In our opinion social work education has a critical and liberating function towards society and it must stimulate and develop a critical attitude amongst students. In this article we first focus on the educational dimension of social work education as we practise this in one institute. Next we describe how we realise our objectives as a social work education institute in relation to the professional field. The central concept of our vision is social work as a relational practice.     

Dementia: challenges for social work education in Europe

ABSTRACT

Dementia has been identified as a global challenge across the spectrum of health and social care (World Health Organisation. (2012) Dementia: A public health priority. Geneva: WHO). This paper will explore the implications of this for social work education and the challenges it poses. There is a lack of this focus on social work with older people and people with dementia (pwd) in social work education. Based on calls for an infusion of content on ageing and dementia in social work curricula, paper proposes that we should adopt a person-centred philosophy alongside gerontological social work competencies to achieve this. The specific aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore how we can use these ideas as teaching tools to engage social work students in the discourse on dementia and to develop appropriate skills to work with pwd, their families and carers.     

Hope over fear: social work education towards 2025

ABSTRACT

Prediction of possible futures is fraught with dangers. Neither the global economic crisis which erupted in 2008 nor the political earthquake which shook Scotland over the issue of independence during 2014 was foreseen by many commentators, if indeed any. Given these experiences, predicting where social work education might be in 2025 is a potentially hazardous enterprise. Nevertheless, the recent resurgence of interest in utopian thinking reflects a widely felt desire to go beyond ‘capitalist realism’ and to envisage different possibilities – a desire also reflected in political developments in Greece and Spain. This development is primarily in reaction to the dominance of another form of utopian (or dystopian) thinking: neo-liberalism, with its message that ‘there is no alternative’. In this paper, I will argue that that search for alternatives has important implications for social work and social work education. Following a discussion of the ways in which neo-liberalism has shaped the profession over two decades, the paper will identify current challenges to neo-liberal social work and social work education and more widely, to the politics of austerity. Drawing on examples from different countries, I will argue that this ‘new radicalism’ points the way to a more politically engaged social work education.     

Rethinking the nation and international relations: The space of nation states

Efforts to move sociology beyond the nation state and international relations theory have both been plagued by several limitations and dualisms. Recent research has begun to find ways beyond the problems by turning to Pierre Bourdieu's relational conception of social structure and practice. Yet one specific relational structure forming a key part of the puzzle has been neglected or merely implicitly assumed so far: the space of nation states. After clarifying the structural-constructivist nature of this concept, we aim to specify it by constructing an empirical model of the contemporary space of nation states using a specially compiled dataset and tools of geometric data analysis. The analysis reveals the distribution of powers on the world scene, and more specifically, the uneven possession of two varieties of “meta-capital” understood as capacities to regulate the value and exchangeability of certain capitals and to decree what even defines a legitimate “state”. We argue that the nation state, which is accurately understood as a contingent construct and well-founded fiction from a Bourdieusian viewpoint, should not be excluded when analyzing the expression and reproduction of contemporary global power relations.     

Looking After Children: implications for social work education

Pilot schemes demonstrated a wide range of areas in which the Looking After Children materials might be used in social work training, both as part of the academic and the practice curriculum.     

Heterosexism and social work education: The invisible challenge

This paper is concerned with the new discourse in social work education with its emphasis on anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice. This directive is examined critically in relation to sexual orientation, suggesting that the contemporary climate is confusing and far from straightforward. The ideological, theoretical and legislative contexts in which social work as a profession has developed are reviewed, and their heterosexist bias exposed. In contrast to developments in relation to racism and sexism, little attention has been given to heterosexism - yet the heterosexual hegemony needs challenging with urgency if we are to truly work in an anti-oppressive way with lesbians and gay men.