Social work education: state of the art

In assessing the appropriateness of contemporary social work education to its context, the article assumes that social work practice and education must relate to its social reality. The article argues that, since the 1970s, that reality has changed in relation to the role of the welfare state, perceptions of economic growth and the independence of the state. As a result, the roles of civil society, the community and welfare personnel have changed, with implications for social work. At the same time, the earlier tendency of social work to avoid the major social issues of the day is no longer appropriate, and the article outlines five major issues needing to be addressed by social work. In conclusion, the article presents four options that social work education should, as a total profession, address, if the profession is to play the roles demanded of it by its contemporary social reality.     

The future of social work education: beyond the state of the art

David Cox (1995) argues that social work educators need to engage with social issues if they are to move social work away from the doldrums in which it has become trapped. Although this is true, changes of a greater magnitude are required if social work practice is to remain relevant in the twenty-first century. In a globalizing world, social work educators have to play a key role in internationalizing the social work curricula (academic and practicum) and socializing practitioners to embrace emancipatory approaches to social work if they are to counteract the brutalizing forces of industrialism and militarism. Engaging with social change to empower excluded groups requires social workers to work with "clients", policy-makers and international welfare organizations in ways that link the personal and structural dimensions of social life. In short, practitioners need to go beyond the state of the art if their interventions are to respond to the "person-in-their-situation" in a modern context.     

Social Work Students' Perceived Knowledge of and Preparation for Group-Work Practice

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to identify factors relevant to social work students' perceived knowledge of and preparation for group-work practice. In addition, the experiences of students in the classroom and in the field are discussed in relationship to these variables. Although classroom and field experiences were significant, exposure to group in the field placement was a much stronger predictor of group-work knowledge. Students reported feeling most knowledgeable about the concepts of mutual aid, diversity, group culture, and group phases. Reported gaps in learning were related to research and legal issues associated with group work.     

The BSW Social Work Curriculum: Teaching Strategies,Case Material,and Assignments for Teaching Group Work

This article is a companion piece to another article appearing in this special edition of Social Work with Groups on group work content for the generalist practice curriculum. In this article, techniques that assist the instructor in presenting the material on group work in the classroom are identified. These techniques, which include case material and classroom exercises, also help students connect their field and classroom learning about group work. The activities discussed in this article derive from the core group work content discussed in the previous article.     

Introduction

No abstract available for this article.     

Teaching Group Work in the BSW Generalist Social Work Curriculum: Core Content

In this article, nine considerations associated with social work practice with groups are identified and discussed. These range from the importance of mutual aid and the role of the group leader to multicultural competence and practice skills needed in the beginning, middle, and ending phases of group work. Group work is only one of four modalities that must be taught in the undergraduate practice sequence. Therefore, the nine considerations represent the essential content on group work for the generalist practice curriculum. The author assumes that this content can be presented in a 7-week time frame. In a companion article, the author presents teaching strategies and techniques that assist the instructor in conveying the principles for practice discussed in the present article.     

Professional Social Work Education in End-of-Life Care

Abstract

Social work education in both BSW and MSW level courses is missing vital content about end-of-life care, palliative care, and bereavement. End-of-life care training opportunities through continuing education programs have also been limited. This deficit is significant because a vast number of social workers are already confronted with end-of-life issues on a daily basis in a variety of practice settings. Through the Project on Death in America, Social Work Leadership Development Awards initiative, many programs and models for professional social work education and training in end-of-life care have been developed and are presented in this article. These include: end-of-life care courses, symposia, training manuals, certificate programs and fellowships. Although the curricula continue to be refined, many of these programs are available to practitioners to advance their knowledge and skills and their curricular models are available to social work educators for possible replication.     

Education for the Group Worker's Reality: The Special Qualities and World View of Those Drawn to Work with Groups

SUMMARY

Within the social work profession, one's world view, one's beliefs and values based on one's experiences, strongly influences one's practice and comfort with groups. This paper will examine some of the different ways of viewing the world held by practitioners and students in relation to the likelihood that they will be able to work effectively with groups. Such examination, and the identification of the differences among social workers that results from it has implications for both teaching and supervision in social work. These implications will be discussed and specific principles and techniques for teaching social workers, in education and in supervision, based on their world views will be described. This paper aims to enrich education for group work so that the community of social group work practitioners can grow and continue to thrive.     

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。     

Self-reflection in Reflective Practice: A Note of Caution

In reflective practice, social work students are encouragedto undergo self-reflection. It is a process of self-analysis,self-evaluation, self-dialogue and self-observation. Under appropriateconditions, social workers’ self-reflection can be veryconstructive, resulting in self-enhancement. However, underinappropriate conditions, social workers’ self-reflectionin reflective practice can be destructive and create problemsfor their professional and self-development.     

Organizational Insight and the Education of Advanced Group Work Practitioners

SUMMARY

This article is the second piece about a group work course designed for advanced work-study students who are not in field placement. It discusses how group workers can use organizational analysis to improve group work practice in agencies with both social conflict and social transition functions. Practice examples illustrate how students promote group work principles in settings where the method has historically had limited currency.     

Supervision in Social Work with the Aged and Their Families

This paper focuses on the educational and supportive functions of the long-standing practice tradition of supervision in social work with the aged and their families. It examines the way in which educational supervision extends the clinician's knowledge and deepens his or her perceptions, feelings, and self-understanding of geriatric practice. It also explores supportive supervision as a means of helping supervisees cope with job-related stress and the ethical issues and value conflicts that are likely to occur in geriatrics. A case study illustrating some of these conflicts is included.     

Building professional competence – the new focus of social work education in Taiwan

This article aims at introducing social work education in Taiwan with the emphasis of required field work practicum in the programmes. The first section is an introduction with numbers and facts, using the passage of the Professional Social Worker Act in 1997 as the watershed to look at the pace and direction of social work education developments in Taiwan; the second section is a summary of a social work professional competence study in Taiwan to analyse the differences between school faculty and field supervisors in comprehending students' core competence; thirdly is to illustrate the response from education programme of enhancing scheme of social work field practicum, using the case of the National Taiwan University, followed by a conclusion.

本文旨在介紹台灣社會工作教育及在课程中尤為著重的必修科目 – 社會工作實習。 文章的第一部分是附有統計數字及事实的简介， 利用1997年通過的社會工作者專业法案作為分水嶺， 以分析台灣社會工作教育的發展步伐及方向; 第二部份是台灣社會工作專業能力的研究總結， 以分析學院及前線社会工作督導在理解學生的核心能力上， 有何差別; 第三部份主要引用台灣大學为例子， 說明在教育课程如何作出回应， 改善社会工作实习的课程， 最後是论文的结论。     

Demographics and Reality

Abstract

Social work education has neglected gerontology at the same time that the demand for aging-competent practitioners has increased. Surveys, focus groups, and other sources of data from the John A. Hartford Foundation SAGE-SW project at the Council on Social Work Education indicate a lack of current curriculum content, little encouragement for students, limited gerontological expertise among faculty, and more interest by students in gaining gerontological knowledge than expected. Suggested actions for practitioners and field agency supervisors are provided.     

Auspicious Experience in Social Work

Abstract

This personal narrative recounts the experiences of one psychodynamic practitioner as she grew over the course of her social work career. It follows the development of her therapeutic awareness as she first worked with adolescents in a wilderness therapy program, and later with low-income clients in several large urban areas. While discussing the role of her Masters and Doctoral education, it explores particularly the role supervision played in developing her therapeutic awareness and skills. Overall, it is directed toward explaining her professional growth as a psychodynamic practitioner and the components involved in that growth.     

Spirit of Aging Rising

Summary

To enrich an urban generalist MSW program serving a diverse aging community, an innovative approach was initiated. A team of students, faculty and a field instructor collaborated in creating and evaluating 3 sets of cross-cutting thematic modules. An overview of the thematic modules (addressing elder abuse, family caregiving, and mental health), integrated across multiple curriculum areas (Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Macro/Policy, Practice and Research), is presented along with results of a faculty focus group evaluating the process of coordinating module content for one full week of class per foundation area (one topic per quarter).     

“I Am So Glad That I Am a Group Worker”

This article explores the ominous consequences of the profession of social work and its schools’ gradual drift away from a long tradition of valuing practice and education that is community based and addresses private troubles and public issues. A series of pointed questions are offered that suggest what needs to happen to reverse course, in schools of social work, against the currents of corporatism and crude individualism infecting our politics, economy, social relations, and broad culture. The article concludes with a “modest proposal for the free school of social work.”     

Transforming Social Group Work Learning into Competencies for Interprofessional Teams

This article describes how social work and social group work strategies are used to enhance social work student participation in an interprofessional education program (IPE) that includes social work and five health care disciplines. Concurrently, social work students take part in a small group to assist them in the application of their social group knowledge to their IPE experience. Interprofessional collaborations between social work and health care can work toward alleviating health inequalities and poor access to health services. Social work has a crucial and significant role within these teams because of the profession’s focus on individual well-being, within the context of their social environment and support systems.     

Globalization and Social Work: International and Local Implications

Globalization can seem a remote process, related only to theeconomic and commercial world. However, it impacts (differentially)on the work opportunities and living conditions of populationsaround the world and has also influenced thinking about welfarepolicies, including through state provision. It thus has implicationsfor the practice and education of social and community workersin both affluent and poverty stricken states. In addition tosocial professionals who seek opportunities to work internationally,globalization is also affecting the practices of those who wouldpreviously have seen their work as essentially rooted in localconditions and community needs. This paper therefore gives someexamples of the ways in which local practice may have cross-borderand international dimensions, drawing on experiences in thechild-care field, particularly in the UK and European context.The author indicates how international social work courses areaiming to equip specialist international social workers, whilealso arguing for the development of educational programmes whichprepare ‘local’ social workers for practice in aninterdependent world.