Social Work Education in Mainland China: Development and Issues

The present paper gives an overview of the current trend of social work education in Mainland China, a fast-expanding academic subject of higher education in Mainland China during the last 20 years. This rapid development was brought about by the increasing recognition of the use of social work knowledge in tackling some of the social problems arising from the social and economic changes induced by the open door policy of China. New initiatives were undertaken by government departments, academic institutes and service providers, to explore possible reform of service delivery models in serving the elderly, children and youth, women and other vulnerable groups. It thus creates demands for personnel with new skills and knowledge. It has also led to the promulgation of government policies in 2006, in establishing a strong work force of social work, by setting up an accreditation system for social work as a vocation, making available funding for service development and setting up of NGOs. This paper also highlights some of the imminent issues that cause concern, such as the search for a theoretical model of social training and practices suitable for Chinese society, standardization of curriculum design, teaching and learning, consolidation of accreditation examination and career structure, and creation of a working environment conducive to the professionalization of social work in terms of motivating and retaining social work graduates to stay in the service sector.     

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.     

通过体制机制创新加快高教强省建设步伐——2010“高教强省：体制机制创新”学术研讨会综述

通过高等教育体制机制的创新为高等教育的发展创造相对宽松的外部环境,以此调动地方政府和高校的积极性是建设高教强省的重要途径,可采取区域性突破和渐进式改革同步推进的方式,着重调整好中央政府与地方政府、政府与高校的关系。要改革高校获取办学资源的机制,促进高校特色发展;改革大一统教育评价体制,促进高校差异化发展;通过建立服务型的高等教育运行机制,改变行政权力僭越学术权力的弊端,实现高校向学术性组织的回归。     

Building state capacity for welfare governance: The pathway and development of child welfare system and social work in China

ABSTRACT

China’s dramatic socioeconomic transformation after the reform and opening up, coincided with changes in state-family relationship, has resulted in a large number of children at risk of care. In the past three decades, child welfare has been highly concerned by the government and society, and the child welfare system has substantially developed in the direction of establishing a moderately universal system. In this process, the development of child welfare and social work has shown a mutually reinforcing trend. This includes the professionalisation of child welfare services, the professional training of child welfare workers and the advancement of child welfare policies. The governance of child welfare is an essential component of national social governance. Its future development should be oriented towards a developmental and holistic approach of governance, and social work as an important institutional actor plays a critical role in promoting good governance of child welfare and beyond.     

Virtual offender: a pilot project on nurturing social work students’ capacity to work with offenders

ABSTRACT

Although considerable literature conducted in the context of Western societies has concluded that the use of virtual reality (VR) technology can facilitate students’ learning, the applicability of this learning approach to nurturing social work students in the Chinese context remains uncertain. This pilot study empirically tests the effectiveness of VR technology in enhancing social work students’ perceived creativity and competence in working with offenders. The study uses mixed methods that include qualitative and quantitative procedures in a complementary manner. Survey data that capture the responses of 41 social work students collected in the pre-and post-test periods indicate a positive change in self-perceived confidence in handling offenders following the VR training session. The qualitative data generated from the focus groups echo the survey findings and provide insights into the use of VR technology in social work education. Issues and implications for innovative education in the social work profession are discussed.     

What Can an Evaluation of the AGESW Predissertation Fellows Program Tell Us about the Mentoring Needs of Doctoral Students?

ABSTRACT

Good mentoring is a key variable for determining success in completing a doctoral program. The Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGESW) provides leadership in the areas of gerontological social work education, research, and policy. In 2010, AGESW began offering the Pre-Dissertation Fellows Program (PDFP) to enhance social work doctoral students’ professional development and skillset for academia. The purpose of this study was to examine student participants’ perceptions of the PDFP in its role to providing mentorship and training for an academic position that encompasses research, teaching and professional service. This qualitative study examined eight cohorts (2010–2018) of the AGESW PDFP (N = 85). Participants identified a number of aspects of professional development gained, gratitude for the training, an appreciation for candid advice received, and areas of professional development they felt they were lacking within their doctoral training. Implications for doctoral education, doctoral mentorship programs, and the AGESW pre-dissertation program are discussed. Further, programs such as AGESW pre-dissertation fellowship program can serve as a model for other doctoral training initiatives to prepare students to work in academia.     

政府购买社会工作服务模式分析

在我国社会工作事业发展目标中社会组织发展起着重要作用,其中关于社会组织发展路径、政府购买社会工作服务是一项重要内容。目前在我国表现的最为突出问题就是社会组织在其发展过程中与政府的关系问题,这是一个亟待解决的理论和实践问题。政府购买社会工作服务已将民办社会工作组织发展提到了战略的高度。政府购买服务的过程既为社会工作组织提供了经济支持,也为社会工作组织成长提供了发展空间。而在政府购买社会工作服务的过程中,政府究竟应该建立什么样的行政模式,便成为政府管理理念转变的契机。因此,政府购买社会工作服务模式本身并不重要,重要的是这种模式将会带来政府执政理念的更新和整个社会的和谐发展。     

社会工作专业实践教育模式研究

随着国家对社会工作者人才队伍建设的重视,社会工作人才培养成为社会工作教育领域的重中之重,人才培养过程中,对实务能力建设的专业实践教育提出了更高要求。因此,需要探索一种与行业俱进、有针对性的实践教育模式来满足新时期社会工作专业教育的需要,本文构建并详细阐述了宏观、中观、微观三个层次支持网络的实践教育模式。     

Academic writing in social work education: reflections from an international classroom

The affordances of processing subject knowledge through academic writing are rarely explicitly realised in social work education. In this article, we highlight the link between instructors’ efforts to facilitate students’ academic writing and students’ perceived increase of knowledge in the subject of social work in an international context. Based on instructors’ and students’ reflections collected before, during, and after a course, we aimed to answer the following questions: in what way can academic writing support students’ learning in social work? What are students’ reflections on the pedagogical model involving academic writing? The theoretical framework for the analysis was based on learning theories focusing on collaborative learning. The main conclusion is that the instructors’ awareness of how to scaffold students’ ability to write in an academic context and to develop the students’ understanding of social work in a local and global context is an important factor in student learning.     

略论本土社会工作历史的整合

社会工作的发展史与民国时期同步,可分为引入、高等教育的专业人才培养与社会工作实务在民间组织尝试推展、体制化的探索三个阶段。新中国成立后该专业在高等教育和社会实务领域内被取消。1987年以后又被重新引入,形成专业社会工作和民政系统工作双轨运行的一种现状。基于学科的完善和当前社会工作本土化的现实需求,对这两个历史片段必须进行整合和重构,而这种工作必须建立在社会工作"本土化"的反思和知识梳理的前提下,并且形成对三个核心问题的思考。     

Social Work, the State and the University

Summary Some aspects of the triangular relationship between the state,the university and social work are explored. Is it appropriatefor social work to be taught in a university? What are the implicationsof the fact that well over 90% of social workers are employedby the state? And what above all, is the nature of the relationshipbetween critical analysis as the corner-stone of scholarshipand the need to prepare the social work student to functioneffectively in the real world? It is argued that the respectiveattitudes of higher education and government towards socialwork are influenced by the nature of social work's relationshipwith sociology, but that this in turn has not been fruitfulfor practice development.     

构建政府、福利组织与高校的联动机制——系统论视角下的我国社会工作发展思路

中国社会工作的发展是一项庞大的系统工程，需要政府、福利组织与高校等诸要素的相互支撑，形成良性互动，以实现各种资源的最佳利用和配置。当前在我国社会工作发展过程中，人们对政府与福利组织之间的伙伴关系较为关注，而对于政府、福利组织和高校三者关系的论述有所不足。本文从系统论的视角出发，剖析了政府、福利组织与高校在社会工作体系中各自的需求与供给情况及其内在的逻辑关系，并指出三者之间具有不可分割的共生关系。文章认为，当前国内社会工作发展中遇到的一些困境，正是由于三者间没有形成良性互动的有机联系而导致。发展社会工作必须建立政府、福利组织与高校的联动机制，其中政府必须先行一步，在这个联动机制中发挥关键的推动和主导作用。     

After the Handover in 1997

This paper analyzes the development of social welfare, social work education, and the social work profession against the background of Hong Kong's socio-economic and political development before and after the historic 1997 transfer of sovereignty. The change from a British colonial regime to China's Special Administrative Region has not changed Hong Kong's welfare regime, which provides the context in which the social work profession and education developed. The welfare sector has been increasingly subject to managerialist control by the government. Marketization in higher education in general has resulted in the proliferation of social work education programs. On the other hand, social work education has ventured new directions of development to face up with the challenges of increasing globalization.     

社会工作教育的理论与实践的再反思——以中国高校社会工作专业课程设计为例

自改革开放以来,中国高校社会工作专业课程正处于理论与实践的探索及初步发展之中。从课程设计的范式看,当今中国高校社会工作专业课程采取的是以科目为本的主流传遁模式,这种理性主义模式十分注重课程的规范化、体系化、学科化,但又缺乏弹性的课程设计空间。为此,笔者在对科目为本的社会工作专业课程理念的反思及建议融入批判实践范式的基础上,进一步从泰勒的课程原理的线性程序框架出发,具体地提出了目前我国高校社会工作专业课程的改革方向。     

职业化背景下社会工作人才培养向度

明确培养目标与定位是搞好社会工作专业教育的关键所在,价值伦理性、技能性、多元性是社会工作人才培养过程中应始终坚持的三个主要发展向度。其中价值伦理性向度打造社会工作专业之灵魂,技能性向度彰显高职社会工作教育之特色,而多元性向度则是保证社会工作专业教育可持续发展的重要因素,是社会工作人才获得超越性发展之重要伏笔。     

多重需要:社会工作实践教育的现实处境——以某侨乡留守儿童社会服务为例

社会工作实践教育在社会工作教育中的地位越来越重要。但社会工作实践面临的现实处境是非常复杂的,尤其对专业社会工作发展刚起步的地方来说。本文通过对温州市某侨乡留守儿童社会服务基地建设的回顾,强调在社会工作实践教育中应回应处境中的多重需要。这些需要主要来自于政府、服务对象、督导者、学生。本文提出,要使社会工作实践教育持续地、良好地发展下去,必须平衡多种需要之间的关系。     

高教研究的社会责任与高教研究主体的使命

高等教育研究的社会责任内涵主要包括：关注社会发展,服务于社会;预测高等教育可能面临的问题,引领社会发展;紧贴高等教育实践,促进改革与发展;加快高等教育学科建设,为理论创新作贡献;遵循研究中的伦理道德规范,保持高教研究队伍的纯洁性等方面。高教研究主体的使命包括提高以高等教育理论为对象的研究、以高等教育现象为对象的研究和以高等教育实践为对象的研究。     

A systematic review of studies on ethnic minority youth development in Hong Kong: an application of the ecological framework

Abstract

Ethnic minority young people play a significant role in the socio-economic growth of an ageing society with a decreasing fertility rate. The successful social integration of individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds within a society is a core value of the social work profession. This study examines the understanding of ethnic minority youth development in Hong Kong using a systematic review methodology. Risk prevention and positive promotion factors were identified using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework. Articles were searched through multiple databases in English, and 36 academic articles were reviewed. These studies mainly examined the risks of academic failure of these students in Hong Kong while few focused on the positive directions of multidimensional youth development. Future social work research and practice should examine positive youth development for ethnic minorities which can inform social work practice in Hong Kong and within other East Asian traditionally ethnically homogeneous societies undergoing significant changes in ethnic diversity.     

The Understanding and Use of Reflection in Family Support Social Work

ABSTRACT

Previous research emphasizes the need for reflection in complex, dynamic practices, like social work. However, increased governance of the public sector and welfare state has caused a reform, which in turn has affected the layout and conditions of work. Private sector control ideals and ideas from the auditing system have led to a new focus. It is argued that we should subordinate practice approaches – characterized by reflection, proven experience, and tacit knowledge – to manual-based treatment, evaluations, and assessments. This study aims at understanding the role of reflection in social work by investigating its use and valuation by family support social workers. Opportunities and resources for reflection are another focus. Focus group interviews (n = 40) were used to produce data. The need for reflection to conduct highly qualitative social work became evident. The question is not whether to reflect or not, rather how this best can be done, given current time constraints. Reflection was considered a coping mechanism, offering a sense of professional legitimacy. Organizational changes seem to impact on time for reflection. However, when enabling process, learning, and development, it can be argued that reflection is beneficial for several parties. Therefore, reflection requires continued emphasis, highlighting its potential benefits.