Graduate Social Work Education

This paper reviews the current state of empirical research on graduate social work education, focusing upon the major curriculum content areas of research, practice skills, HBSE, policy, values, and field instruction. The authors address what has been accomplished to date, and which areas are especially in necd of quality research investigations.     

Social Work Development in Japan

With the enactment of the Certified Social Workers and Care Workers Act in 1987, Japanese social work would seem at last to have achieved social recognition and a secure position in Japanese society. However, when one examines the roles, working conditions, education and training of social workers, there are significant differences to be observed from the norms of western social work. In this paper the author sets out the unique characteristics of social work in Japan and reviews the pattern of its development in historical, cultural and political terms.     

社会工作专业教育在中国的发展

文章回顾了中国社会工作专业教育的发展历程,分析其发展的现状,总结目前社会工作专业教育的成效及存在问题,并对中国社会工作专业教育发展所面临的挑战与机遇展开探索。     

从社工人才大量流失看社会工作发展——基于当前社工毕业生流向的思考

社会工作在中国大陆的恢复和发展已有近二十年,随着政府和社会各界的日益重视,人们似乎已经看到了社会工作发展的"春天"。然而,一个至今仍没有改变的事实——社工人才大量流失严重影响了社会工作的进一步发展。社会工作发展的最大障碍仍然是体制因素,社会工作"教育先行"策略应该有所调整,社会工作发展应是一个系统工程。     

社会工作在大学生就业辅导中的应用

高等教育由“精英化”教育向“大众化”教育的转变，毕业生的逐年增加，使大学生就业难的现象突现。据发达国家经验，大学生就业辅导的开展正是针对该现象提供的有效帮助，只是我国的大学生就业辅导起步较晚，还存在很多发展空间。本文试图从系统论和生涯理论的视角出发，探索社会工作的理念与方法在大学生就业辅导过程中的应用。     

Social Work and End-of-Life Care

Abstract

This paper reviews the professional literature with respect to the social work profession's involvement in end-of-life care. The search process was conducted by entering key words in various combinations to electronic databases. Eligible articles were required to address one of the following: roles and activities of social workers in providing end-of-life care; core principles valued by social workers in the provision of end-of-life care; and barriers to provision of effective end-of-life care. The literature from 1990 through July 2004 was searched most rigorously. Based on this review, suggestions for where the profession of social work should focus its energies are offered. These key areas include focusing on generating empirically-based knowledge for practice and policy analysis and developing a system of social work education that addresses the unique knowledge and skills needed to participate in end-of-life practice as competent and informed professional practitioners. Current initiatives with regard to critical areas are summarized.     

Social Gerontology and Social Work

Summary This paper reviews developments in the study of ageing as anindividual and social experience and it considers recent studiesof practical services for the elderly. In so doing it aims tohighlight the ways in which social work skills and helping techniquescan be developed. It also relates the findings of studies ofservice delivery to the elderly to the development of futurepolicy.     

Probation and Social Work

The paper considers the representation of probation themes inthe British Journal of Social Work (BJSW) since the early 1990s,and reviews developments in probation policy and practice sincethen, with a focus on the relationship between probation practiceand social work. It argues that emerging research evidence supportsthe view that effective probation practice is likely to be informedby values and skills that are recognizably within the traditionof social work, and concludes that despite pressures to abandonsocial work as a basis for probation practice, it is not obviouswhat the alternative could be.     

A Case for Social Work Evaluation of Social Work Education

Correspondence to Imogen Taylor, Research Fellow, Department of Social Work, University of Bristol, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TN Summary This paper discusses the importance of evaluation of socialwork education by social work researchers, particularly giventhe increasing demands from different interest groups for socialwork courses to demonstrate effectiveness. It is noted that educational researchers are dominating thefield of educational evaluation, yet it is crucial for the survivalof social work that social work education be evaluated by socialwork researchers. Both the tools and the outcome of such evaluationwill shape the future of social work education and social workitself. Recognizing that cross fertilization of ideas between disciplinesis essential, a model for social work evaluation is proposedwhich is derived from models developed by other disciplinesand integrated with social work practice theory. The resultingresearch model draws a number of parallels between researchand practice, bringing together two groups which are often distantand distinct. The model also brings researcher and user closertogether. The model is analysed in light of its applicationto the evaluation of Enquiry and Action Learning, an innovativeapproach to social work education implemented by the Departmentof Social Work, University of Bristol. Central government funding must be available to ensure systematicand rigorous evaluation of social work education rather thanthe piecemeal research possible so far.     

Zelda Foster and Her Contributions to Social Work in End-of-Life Care

ABSTRACT

This article is both a memoir of one social worker's professional collaboration with Zelda Foster and a tribute to Zelda's legacy in the form of an educational resource on end-of-life care. It reviews achievements of Zelda Foster in social work practice and teaching related to death and dying. Resources presented in this article were supported by the Soros Foundation's Project on Death in America, a funded grant project to which Zelda contributed. The end-of-life care education, training and informational tools discussed in this article are examples of ongoing efforts in the social work profession to improve the lives of the dying and bereaved.     

Visioning the Future of Gerontological Digital Social Work

ABSTRACT

Gerontological Social Work education has been substantially altered by the advancement of today’s digital technologies, influencing both the training and tools required to ensure student success in social work research, policy, and practice. The goal of this paper is to present the state of the science on gerontological digital social work education, identify implications for emerging technologies, and define areas for social work student competencies and proficiencies to advance the field of gerontological digital social work. This paper underlines the role of gerontological digital social work education in preparing future researchers, practitioners, and policymakers when engaging in Digital Therapeutic Teams. We provide insightful considerations pertaining to emerging technologies which present unique opportunities for innovation. Furthermore, this paper presents training and education opportunities for social work education in preparing future gerontologist practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to engage in multidisciplinary team efforts and leverage digital technologies and digital therapeutics.     

Social Work in a Managed Care Environment

Managed care has created a new service environment, eliminating distinctions that have sustained social work ideology and the profession throughout its history. This paper reviews important features of managed care, considers changes it has brought to practice ideology, the practitioner/client relationship, and the practice environment, including social work employment. The paper discusses the new opportunities, challenges and problems that have emerged with this approach.
While social workers should not embrace managed care, they should not run from it or blindly oppose it. They need to aggressively pursue it, fighting its major drawbacks, while adapting to a competitive market place. Given the current managed care market, the social work profession is now in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills, and available at the right price. It must now take on a leadership role to maintain its competitive position, protect its clients and insure quality practice.     

论社会行动德育模式在社会工作价值观教育中的应用

价值观是社会工作的灵魂,但是中国大陆社会工作价值观教育普遍存在理论脱离实际的困境。社会行动道德教育模式提倡的以行动为本的道德教育新理念和新方法对中国大陆社会工作价值观教育具有现实的启发意义。文章最后从如何提升学生道德行动能力的角度对实施社会行动取向的社会工作价值观教育提出了几点实务经验。     

Towards Establishing School Social Work in Malaysia

This paper calls for the introduction of school social work in Malaysia. Many industrialized countries have introduced school social work, partly because teachers are not able to tackle students' personal and social problems. Teachers are burdened with teaching tasks and are not trained to handle social problems. The introduction of school social work in these developed countries was an admission that there was only so much teachers could do in addressing the problems of school children. Even with school counselors, the problems have not decreased. Many parents in Malaysia perceive schools to be incapable of providing sufficient education to excel in the major exams. The existence of many private tuition institutions and private teachers is a testimony to that perception. If society has already deemed these teachers to be incapable of providing quality education, to expect them to look after students' social problems is presumptuous on society's part. The need for school personnel who understand the social ills of the community is urgently needed, and it is the contention of this paper that school social workers are best equipped for that responsibility.     

Explanation and Education in Social Work

Summary Social work education has to confront the problem of workingwith students in developing an understanding of the range ofexplanations that exist in the social sciences and the differentbases of these explanations. One pedagogic approach is to explorea map of categories of explanation based upon different conceptionsof the nature of social science knowledge itself. Such a map,outlined in the paper, would distinguish between physical scienceparadigms and human science paradigms and identify the differentimplications for social work of the various viewpoints. Theteacher cannot remain neutral with regard to explanation inthe social sciences; the author therefore indicates that hisown account is based on a marxist perspective     

Revisiting Eight Decades of Social Work Education in India

Social work education commenced in India in 1936 with the establishment of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. This paper examines the historical evolution of professional social work education in India. It also critically examines the growth of social work education, fieldwork practice, and social work as a profession in India to discern its limitations. Various alarming situations have hampered the growth of social work in India and as such the profession suffers a credibility problem. We offer recommendations for the growth and success of social work education in India.     

Moderator Variables in Social Work Research

Moderator variables are "third variables" that affect the size or nature of the relationship between an independent and dependent variable. Because of this role, such expressions as specification, contingency, conditional, and qualification have been used in reference to moderator variables. In classical experimental research in psychology, moderator variables have been referred to as involved in "interaction effects" with the independent variable. Considering their important role in specifying under what conditions and for what subgroups variables will have significant effects, surprisingly little attention has been awarded moderator variables in social work research. This paper reviews the history of moderator variable applications in the related disciplines and exemplifies recent applications in the study of gender discrimination and research on stress, strain, and social support. Special attention is given to the comparison of correlations and slopes, factorial analysis of variance, and moderated regression analysis, since these are the dominant analytic strategies for detection and valuation of moderated effects. Less prominent procedures and refinements are briefly presented, as is the important role of moderator variable in theory explication and causal inference.     

"A Salary is not Important Here": The Professionalization of Social Work in Contemporary Russia

Helping professions address the growing number of social problems which have emerged, along with contextual changes in Russian society, culture and state social policy. Social work only emerged in Russia in 1991 and it still lacks recognition by public opinion and by other caring professions. This paper addresses the current development of the social work profession in Russia, considers its context and reviews the main issues affecting processes within social work practice and education. Many social work agencies are in search of new forms of organization and are trying to develop new philosophies of service, in order to build positive relations with communities. However, given the 70 years of the Soviet era when social protection was highly centralized and bureaucratized, the organizational cultures of the new social services sometimes reproduce old patterns of bureaucracy, especially where employees lack professional education. The reflective practitioner type of professionalism is here argued to be more appropriate for social workers in today's Russia. The paper includes an analysis of interviews with social workers and administrators in a large Russian city and considers the results of an ethnographic study of social services in the same city.     

Improving the Interpersonal Skills of Social Work Students: The Problem of Transfer of Training and What to do About it

Correspondence to Dr David Dickson, Head, SST Centre, Dept of Communication, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Co Antrim, N Ireland, BT37 0QB. Summary Interpersonal skills which enable the worker to engage meaningfullywith the client, lie at the heart of effective social work practice(Cournoyer, 1991). The acceptance of this proposition has importantand obvious implications for the preparation of would-be socialworkers. While the increasing popularity of structured approachesto training in this domain has been commented upon (Sowers-Hoagand Thyer, 1985), it is, perhaps, surprising that relativelylittle has been published by way of a systematic explorationof current social work education/training provision in promotingskilled professional interaction. This paper critically reviews some of the research investigatingthe effects of structured training on interviewing performance.While reported outcomes have been largely positive, methodologicalweaknesses are identified and discussed. The issue of trainingeffects persisting and being applied outwith the training environmentis dwelt upon. Contrasting paradigmatic perspectives on theprocess, reflected in such labels as ‘transfer of training’and ‘generalization of outcome’, are considered.These differing conceptualizations are synthesized in the illuminationof factors that seem to be pivotal in the transfer process.Finally, recommendations are made for improving interpersonalskill training procedures for social work students.     

Maternal Depression, Child Care and the Social Work Role

Correspondence to Michael Sheppard, Principal Lecturer, Department of Applied Social Science, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA. Summary This article reviews findings on the relationship of maternaldepression and child care problems, a relationship which haslargely been ignored in social work. These findings are of particularimportance in view of the philosophy in the Children Act 1989that the best place to bring up a child is usually with theirfamily and the duty of local authorities to promote this. Thefindings consistently identify a clear relationship betweenemotional and behavioural child care problems and maternal depressionshowing that depression is likely to affect the mother's childcare abilities and also her perceptions of the child's behaviour.These have important implications for education, training andpractice, and these are discussed.