Continuing professional development after qualification--partnerships,pitfalls and potential

Social work educators, employers and policy-makers have increasingly recognised the importance of continuing professional development. The UK social work qualification (DipSW) provides a broad base of practice skills, knowledge and values. However, increasingly complex work, frequent legislative and policy changes, research findings and challenges of working in a societal context of increasing change and diversity all contribute to the necessity of developing strategies for continuing professional development which adequately equip social workers. Such education cannot be alienated from social workers' employment context, and thus needs to remain mindful of employers' needs while concurrently maintaining academic rigour. This paper explores the development and delivery of a year-long post-qualifying training course run collaboratively between West Sussex Social and Caring Services and University College Chichester. It places some of the experiences of tutors, candidates and Training and Development Officers within the wider context of social work education, training and the delivery of social care. In exploring some of the contradictions and tensions experienced it seeks to further understand the challenge of delivering effective training in an increasingly complex and fragmented arena. Finally, it considers possible future developments, mindful of future changes in UK social work education.     

Countertransference and positive growth in social workers

A number of factors contribute to social workers' states of mind including exposure to intense emotionality and disturbance, job satisfaction, burnout, secondary stress, and the perceived value attached to social work. Together these can lead to placing social workers at risk of vicarious traumatisation. While vicarious traumatisation can lead to posttraumatic stress, it may be important to explore whether posttraumatic growth is a possibility. The aim was to provide evidence for growth in social workers and to test for its association with factors that are known to contribute to the state of mind of the social worker, and thus affect countertransference reactions. Sixty-two social workers completed self-report measures showing those who felt more valued in their professional role scored lower on burnout, higher on job satisfaction, and positive growth. The role of these variables as factors influencing countertransference reactions is discussed.     

The Resilient Survivor—A Student Social Worker's Journey

This article is intended to bridge the gap between the literature on the service user perspective, essential to social work training, and the personal experiences student social workers bring to their training. It argues that there is a need to recognise the personal and sometimes painful experiences student social workers may bring to their training and the potential impact they have on their social work education and future practice. Sexually abused as a child, the author is in a unique position as a first year social work student to explore and share the impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on her social work education and how this has been managed. This article will chart a parallel journey of personal and professional development by exploring the importance of reflective thought on one's own personal experiences and discussing how these experiences can inform the professional knowledge, skills and value base. This article concludes that during personal and professional development potential issues or themes may arise. These include the blurring of personal/professional boundaries, the need for heightened self-awareness skills, the ability to use supervision appropriately and the potential to misuse personal insights.     

Intention to leave in social workers and educators employed in voluntary child welfare agencies

Introduction

Individuals employed in child welfare settings can have a profound impact on children in care. Research shows that direct care staff can have an effect on emotional and physical outcomes for children with whom they work. This paper seeks to expand knowledge of the child welfare workforce by studying educators employed in child welfare settings and comparing their job satisfaction and intent to leave with that of prevention workers employed in similar settings.

Materials and methods

Data for prevention workers (n = 538) were obtained from workers employed at all preventive service programs under contract with a large municipality. Data for educators were obtained from voluntary agencies located elsewhere in the state (n = 139). The instrument was a modified version of a survey developed to examine job satisfaction and potential turnover among public child welfare workers. Domains measured included various aspects of job satisfaction, intention to leave, and whether workers regretted taking their jobs. Data were analyzed using bivariate analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM).

Results

While both educators and prevention workers varied on different domains of job satisfaction, their overall satisfaction did not differ nor did their intention to leave their jobs. Satisfaction with contingent rewards, the nature of the work and opportunities for promotion along with not regretting taking one's job were predictive of thinking about leaving one's job. Thinking about leaving was predictive of taking concrete steps towards actual leaving.

Discussion

While people both prevention workers and educators report different levels of job satisfaction and work conditions in their agencies, job title itself has less to do with a worker's intention to leave, as measured by both thinking about leaving and taking steps towards actively looking for a new job, than other factors. Larger contextual factors may be at play in workers' decisions to stay employed. Suggestions are made for reducing turnover intentions along with suggestions for further study to clarify the role of organizational factors in workers' intention to leave.     

Educating Resilient Practitioners

Many social workers face challenges maintaining professional optimism and personal well-being in their chosen career. The retention of capable practitioners is important to employers and the wider profession. This paper reports on elements of an ongoing study into practitioner resilience in social work in health and non-statutory practice settings. The project aims to explore experienced social workers' understanding of their resilience in the face of workplace demands and stressors. Findings from a small, qualitative study of experienced practitioners in New Zealand suggest that social work education contributes in multi-faceted ways to preparing resilient practitioners. The authors recommend the strengthening of these elements in pre-service education.     

Are we ready for them? Overseas-qualified social workers' professional cultural transition

Developing sociocultural competence in a new country is essential for migrants practising social work within new and distinct cultures. An argument for interventions needed to support the cultural transitioning of a migrant social work workforce is made, informed by findings from a mixed methods study of the experiences of overseas-qualified social workers in New Zealand. One of the main findings relates to migrant social workers' professional adaptation to the new environment. We focus the discussion here on how the perceptions and practices regarding the cultural dimensions of the transition informed their adaptation. Although this is a highly contextual example of social work practice in a foreign setting, the dynamics have equivalents in many international contexts as migration of labour is common globally. We argue that a greater focus on the migrant workforce is required in debates on globalisation. The discussion of the findings will highlight the need for culturally informed interventions to enable an increasingly global workforce to successfully make a professional cultural transition.     

Students' Use of Self: Teaching Implications

Social workers acknowledge that they bring more than their professional skills and knowledge to practice, hence the emphasis in many social work programs on enhancing students' self knowledge. After a general overview of self‐knowledge activities for students, the gap between insight and practice is highlighted. The empirical literature is reviewed to find specific and purposeful self enactments, defined as functional ways in which workers intentionally apply their self to practice. Located within professional boundaries, such self enactments potentially form the basis upon which students might consider how to apply their own personal self.     

The need for explicit argumentation in ethical decision-making in social work

This article addresses the need for social workers' explicit argumentation in ethical decision-making, i.e. the justification offered in adopting a particular course of action with their clients. It is the main assumption of this article that social workers need to be aware and explicit of the personal and professional ideas, concepts, values, and assumptions that guide their practice. In the following sections we clarify central concepts such as argumentation and its explicitness, present a conceptual framework for analyzing ethical decisions in social work, illustrate its applicability on social work dilemmas, and discuss possible implications for social work practice and education. Finally, we recommend that social work education put emphasis on: (1) developing more awareness for inner deliberations and making these explicit and amenable for evaluation; and (2) developing specific skills for explicit argumentation in ethical decision-making.     

The Myth of Global Social Work: Double Standards and the Local-Global Divide

The push towards “global standards” in social work is part of a movement to generate uniformity, quality control, and benchmarking for professional education programs. It acts as a powerful vestige of modern institutions and professional associations to prescribe through processes of standardization, formalization, and technical specificity. In social work “global standards” attempt to create a fixed set of minimal requirements to which all professional programs should adhere. Standards are viewed along two dimensions: (i) as a necessity due to the changes and scale of complexity in social work; and (ii) as a vehicle for importing dominant forms of knowledge, values, and skills. Those parties who enthusiastically underwrite attempts to construct “global standards” in fact create a powerful network of allies that undermine local or cultural differences and fail to reconcile them. Global standards in social work undercut indigenous skills and values and negate the expertise of professional judgement. They constitute an unnecessary and politically motivated intrusion in the world of social workers. Ultimately, standards such as these are an illegitimate, impersonal, and voluntary means of regulation. As such, global standards are inherently political because their construction and application formally regulates the local practices in which they become embedded. Over time, they modify the position of social work practitioners and alter relations of accountability to the standards themselves.     

The Influence of Managed Care on Job-Related Attitudes of Social Workers

This study explores the relationships between the levels of conflict that social workers experience when interfacing with managed care organizations and outcome variables including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intentions. A total of 591 social workers practicing in mental health agencies in New York State completed self-administered and anonymous questionnaire packets that included several measures: Level of conflict that workers experience when interfacing with managed care organizations (CMC), job satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intentions. Results showed that CMC had statistically significant correlations with organizational commitment and with emotional exhaustion. The author discusses the role of social work schools and agencies in offering new educational opportunities and training in order to improve workers' skills, which are necessary for communicating and negotiating with managed care organizations.     

Learning to Be a Social Worker in a Non-traditional Placement: Critical Reflections on Social Work,Professional Identity and Social Work Education in England

Drawing upon findings from a national evaluation of student social workers' experiences of ‘non-traditional’ placements with a national charity, this article considers what such placements can contribute to the development of an individual and collective sense of professional identity for social work. This is explored against the background of current developments in social work education in England, including changes to the requirements for practice placements and the introduction of ‘fast-track’ routes to qualification, preparing students for social work in statutory children's services. The article suggests that with the establishment of The College of Social Work and the development of the Professional Capabilities Framework, relevant to all social workers throughout their careers, the profession has an opportunity to promote a concept of social work in England beyond that required by statutory sector employers; and that practice learning in non-statutory and non-traditional settings has an important role to play in this.     

Strengths And Struggles: Overseas Qualified Social Workers' Experiences In Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

A growing number of professionals practise in a country other than the one where they obtained their professional qualification. A mixed-methods study explored the experiences of one group of such professionals, overseas-qualified social workers practicing in New Zealand. This article reports findings from four key informant group interviews and an online survey (N = 294), including this population's satisfaction with their employment, their introduction to local practice, and experiences of mistreatment and discrimination. The study highlights migrant social workers' desire for better access to information and induction opportunities to orient them to the local practice environment and notes their experience of discrimination in the workplace. Such findings require a thoughtful response from practitioners and professional bodies and is worthy of further research and discussion. We argue that migrant social workers in New Zealand require orientation activities tailored to meet their needs and a more welcoming system of recognition of the skills and experience they bring.     

Child Protection Social Workers' Engagement in Continuing Professional Development: An Exploratory Study

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study into the nature of child protection social workers' engagement in, and understanding of, continuing professional development (CPD) in Ireland. Qualitative methods were used given the exploratory nature of the research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight child protection social workers from a community-based child protection department in Ireland. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. A review of the literature is provided and key findings are outlined and discussed. These findings relate to the nature and frequency of participation in CPD, perceived motivators and barriers to participation in CPD, and social workers' views on the potential impact of statutory registration of Irish social workers (which was implemented in the months after this study was carried out) on CPD participation. Research limitations and suggestions for future research are considered, along with the implications of this study for social work practice.     

REWARDS AND FRUSTRATIONS OF BEING A SOCIAL WORKER: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

This paper deals with aspects of actual professional experience of social workers, in order to grasp a framework for professional rewards and frustrations. A qualitative research tool was chosen, life histories, and ten social workers were interviewed. The subjects were women who graduated between the 1950s and the 1990s from schools of social work in Brazil, and whose practice, present or past, involves direct contact with clients. The reasons explaining satisfying professional situations are rooted in professional experiences which were translated into personal development, the establishment of personal ties and the acquisition of skills. Perceptions of having contributed towards solving a difficult situation and recognition from their clients were positively appraised. These are rewarding situations from which social workers derive the feeling of having created something which is positive for the clients and for themselves. Unpleasant situations were described as unfair situations experienced by clients, poor working conditions and difficulties concerning inter‐professional relationships. Inferences on the feminine role as influencing social workers' rewards and frustrations with the profession, as well as inferences on possible unconscious configurations underlying some of the data were drawn in the conclusions.     

Organisational Factors,Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave Among Newly Qualified Social Workers in England

Satisfaction with different organisational elements and aspects of work contributes markedly to overall levels of job satisfaction and intention to leave. For newly qualified social workers (NQSWs), especially immediately after graduation, self-perceived competence and their confidence in their educational preparation are also important. This article reports on a longitudinal study following 280 social work students into social work employment in England using data collected as students and six months after graduation. We focus on their experiences as NQSWs, thus only including those working in social work jobs, reporting the relative importance of their satisfaction with different work elements, such as supervision and job engagement. These are used to construct a model of NQSWs' overall satisfaction and intentions of leaving their social work jobs. The model incorporates NQSWs' perceptions of how well their degree courses prepared them for their current social work jobs in addition to personal, organisational and specific role characteristics. Using statistical techniques of factor analysis and regression modelling we highlight the complexities of how job satisfaction is constructed and we argue that the data reveal the importance of team support and self-efficacy in relation to whether social workers are thinking about leaving their current social work jobs.     

Personal Growth Towards Intercultural Competence Through an International Field Education Programme

Abstract

An international social work field education programme at the University of South Australia provides social work students with the opportunity to develop intercultural skills and intercultural sensitivity. The programme is conceptualised within a developmental framework that enables the identification of stages of personal growth and professional development from ethnocentrism to ‘interculturality’ or intercultural sensitivity. This framework, alongside the use of a clear ethical perspective and the reflective practice process, is a useful resource to assist students to identify their level of sophistication of cross-cultural competence and to respond to them in ways that facilitate their growth and development towards competent social workers working with difference and across cultures.     

Youth workers' use of Facebook for mediated pastoralism with juvenile delinquents and youths-at-risk

Youth work seeks to rehabilitate juvenile delinquents for re-entry into mainstream society and to prevent youths-at-risk from falling into delinquency, thus necessitating that youth workers assiduously monitor their clients. With the avid use of social media by youths, youth workers must also adopt these communication platforms to reach out to their young clients. Drawing from interviews with youth workers, this study analyses how they use Facebook to communicate with their clients and monitor their activities. Surveillance forms a key thrust of youth workers' professional use of Facebook, enhancing their ability to oversee these youths' personal development for the purposes of mentoring and rehabilitation. Contrary to dystopian, power-centric conceptions of surveillance, the study finds that the youth workers' surveillance of their clients is undergirded by care and beneficence, better understood using Foucault's concept of pastoralism. Through mediated pastoralism via Facebook, these youth workers can derive a more extensive picture of their clients, including their emotional state and peer interactions. With this knowledge, the youth workers can then calibrate their interventions more strategically and only step in when their clients engage in behaviour that poses significant risks or danger. In so doing, the youth workers foster sustainable social capital with their clients that they can still leverage over time. Facebook communications also help the youth workers to bridge communication gaps with these youths. The study also examines how the youths resist the youth workers' oversight in various ways.     

Public relations supervisors and Millennial entry-level practitioners rate entry-level job skills and professional characteristics

An online survey was administered to 109 Millennial entry-level public relations employees and 56 supervisors regarding entry-level job skills and professional characteristics. The Millennial entry-level workers rated their job performance in the above average and average ranges. The supervisors rated six of the eight job skills and all 16 professional characteristics as significantly poorer than the Millennials rated themselves. The job skills of computer and social media skills were the only two items that did not generate a significant difference. The researcher outlines ways in which faculty, students, employers, and Millennial-aged employees can build learning communities that will help undergraduate students and Millennial workers develop proficient job performance and keep faculty up-to-date regarding current industry trends.     

Mind the Gap! Students' Understanding and Application of Social Work Values

This paper discusses a research project that explored the development of student social workers' values during the first year of professional education at one Scottish university. Questionnaires, based on a vignette, and focus groups established baseline information at the outset of the study. These methods were reapplied a year later to identify the extent to which students' values framework had developed, and the factors that had supported this. The study revealed that, by the end of that year, students could both identify and apply values to support them in their work with individuals to a greater extent than they could those to help them challenge structural discrimination. The study also highlighted the need for university-based teaching, and practice learning experiences, to provide more opportunities for reflection and discussion to support the development of values in student social workers.