From local to global: Making social policy more effective for rural community capacity building

Abstract

In the context of a discussion of globalisation this paper examines developments in social policy aimed at building civil society and enhancing social capital. It notes that policy driven by a desire for minimal government intervention and market dominance has resulted in a clear disadvantage in rural Australia and growing inequities between urban and rural communities. Clearly poverty has a postcode and overwhelmingly the postcodes are rural. At the same time the demography of ‘rural’ Australia is changing as the inland empties and the coastal regions experience population overload with its accompanying environmental problems. This paper discusses the need for more effective targeted involvement of the state in rural policy development if we are to preserve quality of life, address inequities and overcome the divide between city and country. There is a strong role for social work in forging rural community development. However, the profession has to be much more politically astute in its dealings with governments and community groups if it is to carve out a central role. Strategies are discussed to develop such a role.

Margaret Alston is an Associate Professor in social work and is Director of the Centre for Rural Social Research at Charles Sturt University, New South Wales. She is a Director for the Foundation for Australian Agricultural Women, a member of the Advisory Board for the Social Sciences Unit, Bureau of Rural Sciences, a member of the Board of General Practice Education Australia and on the Editorial Committee for Australian Social Work     

Paradigm for the Generalist-Advanced Generalist Continuum

Abstract

Social work faculty and practitioners have long argued the definition and parameters of the advanced generalist concept. This article explores the concept of generalist-advanced generalist in practice and in education and advances a paradigm for framing the Bachelor of Social Work-Master of Social Work educational continuum. It further argues that the generalist-advanced generalist continuum is particularly well suited to practice in small towns and rural areas. It further argues that the generalist-advanced generalist continuum is particularly well suited to practice in small towns and rural areas because it provides an educational strategy for preparing both entry level and advanced level social workers with the full range of skills needed for practice in these environmental contexts because content on advanced generalist practice is infused in all foundation, field instruction, and areas of specialty in the advanced curriculum.     

Social Work Educators in a Changing Higher Education Context: Looking Back and Looking Forward 1982–2005

Abstract

The present paper is based on initial findings from an online survey of Australian social work educators conducted as part of the Australian Research Council Linkage Project “Social Work in the Enterprise University: A national survey of social work educators 1982–2005”.1 1. The chief investigators in the project are Associate Professor Elizabeth Ozanne and Professor Craig McInnis, from The University of Melbourne, and Associate Professor Wendy Weeks, who sadly passed away in July 2004. The Australian Association of Social Work and Welfare Education is the industry partner in the project and the researcher is Kylie Agbim (nee Brown), PhD scholar, School of Social Work, The University of Melbourne. The article contributes to empirical data on the Australian social work education workforce and draws attention to the need for greater exploration of the challenges and opportunities confronting social work educators. It is argued that the characteristics of Australian social work academics and their visions for contemporary and future social work education are of increasing importance in a more competitive and global higher education market and in an era when the nature of welfare practice is being radically transformed. Initial findings from the 2005 national survey are compared with findings from the only previous national survey of social work educators and contemporary studies of other academic populations. The data highlight possible implications for contemporary and future social work education in universities.     

‘Business under new management’ — lessons from Canada on regulation of the social work profession

Abstract

In December 1998 the Social Work and Social Service Work Act (hereafter the Ontario Act) was passed in Ontario, Canada marking the effective completion of social work regulatory legislation across provincial Canada. This article outlines the principal features of the Ontario regulations, and summarises the strengths and limitations of the various arrangements which have been implemented across Canada. As moves toward control of the Australian social work profession are contemplated, the implications for such a move are discussed in the light of the Canadian experience.     

Making Continuing Professional Development Relevant and Accessible in Regional Social Work

ABSTRACT

Continuing professional development (CPD) is an integral component of quality social work practice (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2013). Despite this, there is a lack of knowledge around the perceived needs and challenges of accessing CPD for rural and regional social work practitioners. This research explored professional development education needs and challenges for rural social work practitioners. The findings revealed an increase in complex cases in practice leading to the need for more training in mental health, legal aspects, and therapeutic interventions. Strong demand for CPD was evident, with a preference for face-to-face training instead of online modules. In the face of persistent challenges some innovative solutions were possible from a partnership between service providers, higher education providers, and the professional body to better meet the needs of the rural social work practitioners.

IMPLICATIONS

• Increasing complexity in rural, regional, and remote social work practice has placed extra demands on the knowledge resources of social workers.

• Continuing professional development (CPD) must be relevant and readily accessible to meet the needs of those who practice in these areas.

• Partnerships between agencies, higher education providers, and professional bodies, along with the use of technology can increase accessibility for rural, regional, and remote social workers.

     

Resources Ancillary Services and Classroom Instruction

Abstract

This article is the story of a social work instructor and her deaf-blind student. The chapter includes: (a) an overview of Gallaudet University, focusing on the Social Work Program and the Office of Students with Disabilities program, (b) personal background information about the student and her professor, and (c) perspectives of the educational process by both the student and her instructor. The article concludes with recommendations to both students and instructors for addressing the needs of deaf-blind students in the classroom and university setting.     

A journey of embedding mental health lived experience in social work education

Abstract

The value of learning from mental health lived experience is widely acknowledged, however, the nature of lived experience involvement in Australian social work education seldom extends beyond guest lecturing. Further, few opportunities exist that build the capacity of people with lived experience to become educators within tertiary settings. In this paper we present the Valuing Lived Experience Project (VLEP), an initiative led by a Lived Experience Academic (LEA) that seeks to systematically and meaningfully embed lived experience into the social work curriculum at a Western Australian university by providing significant opportunities for the capacity building of both individuals with mental health lived experience and academics. Given the relative infancy of service user involvement in Australian social work education, the VLEP offers a number of opportunities for reflection and consideration. A long-standing partnership between a LEA and Social Work Academic is described, the activities and key learnings of the VLEP to date are outlined, and we offer our reflections on challenges encountered throughout the journey. We hope that our experiences and learnings can be drawn upon to progress lived experience participation in tertiary settings and further legitimise lived experience involvement in the education of social workers.     

Community Based Rural Health Care in India

SUMMARY

India is a large country, geographically as well as popula-tionwise. The majority of its population lives in rural areas, i.e., villages. Again, most of the villages are in remote areas. The State has been making sincere efforts to make the basic social services accessible to all in the rural area. Health being one of the vital services, it has been a challenging task before the State to extend it to the remote rural areas, many of which are not yet connected by motorable roads. As a result of various experiments carried out over the last five decades, the State has developed a fairly well-designed primary health care service, and it is in operation in rural areas. However, there appears to be a striking gap between the delivery of health services in rural areas and utilization of the services by the people. Attempts have been made in this article to apprise the readers of the health service system in India, and it discusses the issue of health service delivery at the village level. The discussion is based on a small study carried out in a rural area in the State of West Bengal (India) where students of social work of the University to which the author belongs are placed for field work. Following the inputs received through supervision of the students' work, the study was initiated and conducted.

This article based on the study seeks to focus on peoples' perception of the health services as provided by the State in rural areas, which in turn gets reflected in the extent to which they utilize the services. Social workers being an integral part of the health set up, their role bears special significance. Discussion, therefore, centres on scope for social work intervention at the community level as well as in institutional level of the health service delivery system to make the services meaningful and effective in rural areas. In fact, it has to take the leadership role in reforming the service delivery system when required.     

Case Management in Rural Australia: Arguments for Improved Practice Understandings

Abstract

This article is principally concerned with case management and rurality in the Australian context. While there is substantial literature exploring case management across disciplines and across contexts, there remains a substantial gap in knowledge in relation to the role played by rurality in case management practice in Australia. An emerging body of knowledge associated with human service delivery in rural Australia under the stewardship of authors such as Alston, Cheers, and Lonne, offers valuable links between rurality and human services and draws attention to the specificity of rural work. However, there remains a gap in knowledge about how rural specificity impacts on case management practice in the political, cultural, and socioecological context that makes up rural Australia. Thus, the aim of this paper is to reflect upon contemporary knowledge of rural case management in the light of current literature and emerging trends, and to provoke interest in this topic as an area for further discussion and research.     

Graduate Education for Social Change

ABSTRACT

Is it possible to conduct an effective, progressive, and politicized program for graduate students in our contemporary conservative context? This article evaluates the outcomes over seven years of a pioneering program in Political Social Work. Based on survey data of Political Social Work alumni, it addresses four outcome measures: enrollment, satisfaction with curriculum and field opportunities, job and career development, and persistence of political ideology and practice. While being “political” during the past decade is clearly different than it was in the 1960s, the evidence proposes that political content and practice can have a significant place in both social work education and the field. More specifically, the study demonstrates that politicized social workers in the 1990s were able after graduation to secure employment, sustain progressive values, and practice political social work.     

The role of critical social work education in improving ethical practice with refugees and asylum seekers

ABSTRACT

This paper uses critical reflection as its primary methodology to research one Master of Social Work student’s former practice experiences as an Australian immigration officer. The paper contextualizes the study by offering a critical analysis of hegemonic constructions of asylum seekers in Australia, which are reflected in Australian law and policy, as well as potentially influencing social work practice. Critical reflection on one of the author’s practice provides a rich case study that reveals the tensions of government-employed social workers in restrictive environments, and the espoused social justice values of the profession. The findings hold implications for both social work education and practice, suggesting that critical social work education, and in particular, the use of critical analysis and reflection, can improve ethical practice with refugees and asylum seekers.     

Rural and Regional Developments in Social Work Higher Education

Abstract

Social work education has traditionally been taught in urban universities in on-campus programs. In the present paper, the author outlines the nature of social work education at Charles Sturt University, a regional Australian university. The author argues that social work education in a rural/regional university is shaped by rural social contextual issues, as well as by changes in the higher education sector. The author notes that social work education fills a significant gap in that it attracts students who are unable to access urban campuses, adds value to rural service delivery, supports rural/regional research, and highlights issues of rural disadvantage. Despite this, the paper argues that rural disadvantage and higher education sector pressures place the delivery of social work education shaped around and responsive to rural social justice issues in regional universities in jeopardy.     

“Mapping Social Justice”: Integrating Policy Practice Across the Curriculum

ABSTRACT

The National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education identify social justice as a guiding principle of the social work profession, yet there is little consensus in the field of what the term actually means and how it can be achieved. Master of Social Work programs are likewise struggling with how to educate students on social justice and prepare them to engage in macro-level advocacy after graduating. This article examines how one student-led social justice initiative at a school of social work is seeking to increase student engagement in macro-level social justice work through the use of targeted advocacy alerts. This article explores the project’s development, implementation, first-year feedback, and modifications made to provide other MSW programs a blueprint to adopt their own version of the project. Findings suggest that the targeted alert model may be successful in engaging clinical MSW students in social justice advocacy.     

School Social Work Information Systems (SSWIS): A Relational Database for School Social Workers

SUMMARY

After a review of their information management system, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Social Work Office began a process to improve data collection and information management. The result was the creation of the School Social Work Information System, a relational database designed and developed by the school social workers themselves. This article reviews the process of evaluating existing systems, developing and implementing the new system, evaluation and continued development of the new system, and implications for further social work practice. This article is intended to provide the school social worker with the necessary information to develop similar systems.     

Publication Rates of Undergraduate Social Work Programs in Selected Journals

Abstract

Scholarship is receiving an ever-increasing emphasis within social work education, particularly at the undergraduate level. Decisions on recruitment, reappointment, tenure, salary, and promotion often are influenced by publication productivity. The authors extend previous research on publication activity of graduate faculty by reporting the journal article production of undergraduate social work faculty over a 7-year period in seven major social work journals. As expected from earlier studies, relatively few faculty produced a sizable proportion of the articles. However, articles written by only one author were less common than previous research suggested. The majority of articles appeared in three of the journals reviewed: Social Work, Journal of Social Work Education, and Families in Society (formerly Social Casework). The most prolific undergraduate faculty were likely to come from programs located in combined bachelor of social work/master of social work settings in relatively large public universities. Gender differences were noted in only one area: twice as many women authors were among the most prolific baccalaureate contributors.     

A therapeutic social work team in practice

In 1996, as a result of interagency collaboration between social services and health, Leeds Social Services Department brought together three groups of social workers undertaking therapeutic work into a centrally managed team. Continued inter-agency working together has ensured that the Therapeutic Social Work Team has become an established service for children and families. This paper describes the work of the team by focusing on four areas: the context of interagency collaboration, therapeutic work in the child protection process, managing different theoretical approaches in one team, and evaluating practice.     

Must Schools of Social Work be Freestanding? Yes!

Abstract

Point/Counterpoint is a regular feature of the Journal of Social Work Education. Its purpose is to provide a vehicle for the expression of contrasting views on controversial topics in social work education. Our goal is to illuminate important debates and explore the diverse perspectives that are shaping social work education.

In each issue of the Journal, social work educators are invited to comment on a topic about which they have differing viewpoints. Each commentator is given an opportunity to make a brief rebuttal. In this issue, Barbara Shank (Chair, Department of Social Work, University of St. Thomas and the College of St. Catherine), Irving Piliavin (Director, School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Marsha Seltzer (Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison) address the question: Must schools of social work be freestanding?     

The social reality of youth and social work: between visibility and invisibility

ABSTRACT

Social work has a long history of study and intervention in at-risk or vulnerable groups. Due to their diversity, the visibility or invisibility of such groups has varied over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The work presented here is focused on determining the place youth occupies in social work as a field of study and intervention. Demographic reality has shown a decreasing attention to young people when compare to other age groups, while its social relevance has been maintained or even increased. However, their social situation does not seem to be in accordance with this statement. Such imbalance may be the baseline of the actual-limited recognition of youth in current welfare policies, and with them, of Social Work. To confirm this loss of representation, International Social Work conferences were examined. Research lines, thematic areas and intervention models on youth were gathered as well as scientific work from two databases. The presented results show how social work, without losing its primary focus on social exclusion maintains a line of work with youth, but still understanding it as a problem rather than a resource.