Social Work Students' Changing Perceptions of Social Problems After a Year of Community Intervention

This paper aims to throw light on the emotional and cognitive processes of students within social change-oriented field work as they develop over a year, as described through a projective and phenomenological art medium drawn and discussed at the beginning and at the end of the year. The literature on social work points to a discrepancy between the cognitive structural explanations of social problems that are taught to social work students, and their tendency to prefer focusing on individual rather than on societal levels of intervention. The aim of this examination of the students' processes over the year is to increase our understanding of the students' experience and understanding of their social change mission, so as to better prepare them for the challenges it entails, and to see where they get ‘lost’. Findings from this paper point to the gradual internalization of social change as a complex process, combined with the reframing of this complexity into tangible results.     

Social Work Students' Pre-placement Anxiety: An International Comparison

This paper compares the degree and nature of anxiety experienced by American and Israeli social work students as they anticipate beginning field placement. Despite having greater prior exposure to social work through relevant coursework and experience, American students were significantly more anxious than Israeli ones. Overall, Americans reported a slightly higher sense of preparedness, but this difference was not statistically significant. While there were some shared worries, notably regarding the quantity and quality of field instruction, and their capacity to meet both field and academic obligations, specific concerns regarding field agencies, clients, and social work education differed between the groups, likely reflecting the distinct social, cultural, historical and educational contexts. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed.     

Project Discovery: Social Work Research @ Southern Health

Abstract

The health sector uses a “person-in-environment” perspective reflected in multidisciplinary teamwork to understand and influence human lives. This standpoint accords closely with social work's knowledge and theory base, recognising that material, economic, political, organisational, and social structures interact, creating a complex array of factors impacting on individuals and families. Practice research activities are an effective way of exploring social work's particular contribution to health service provision. We describe and critique various models of practice research reported in the literature. A unique model of practice research that we are developing is discussed. Called Project Discovery: Social Work Research @ Southern Health 18 June 2011, this model demonstrates ways in which practice research may exemplify theoretically-driven and service-based research and in so doing advance social work's knowledgebase.     

Backing Australia's Future: Teaching and Learning in Social Work

Abstract

It is universally expected that universities will strive for quality in teaching and learning. Over the past 25 years, massive changes to higher education have impacted on these institutions. We now have a mass higher education system, a knowledge-based economy, increased technology, and the internationalization of education accompanied by increased student enrolments and political expectations of enhanced graduate outcome measures. These changes pose challenges to developing, updating, and improving the quality of teaching and learning. This new policy environment confronts social work educators as they determine how best to deliver quality professional education. The present paper discusses the concepts underpinning the Australian government's paper Our Universities: Backing Australia's Future as a background to exploring the tensions arising in current professional expectations and criteria for social work programs as they make the transition from old to new paradigms in classroom teaching and field education.     

Teaching the Child Perspective in Social Work Education: Ethical Principles and Classroom Strategies

Aimed at graduate and undergraduate social work instructors, this article identifies the problem of inadequate attention to children in social work education in the US. The authors argue that social work ethics require social work educators to address children as a vulnerable population. They argue that children will be more central in social work education if instructors adopt a child perspective defined by three knowledge categories, development, well‐being and hope, that serve as reference points in teaching. A triangular strategy of position, attitude and action is provided to guide the day‐to‐day use of a child perspective in the classroom. The authors examine sources of the problem, describe its effects on students' education and future practice and provide classroom examples and teaching techniques.     

Imagining Social Work: A Qualitative Study of Students' Perspectives on Social Work in China

Social work education in China has expanded rapidly since it was reintroduced in 1988. This has led to a growing body of English language literature on the development of social work education in China. However, thus far, this literature lacks an empirical foundation and little research on students' perspectives has been done. To fill this gap, this paper reports on a qualitative study of a group of graduating social work students (n = 32) from four social work programmes in Jinan, the provincial capital of the Shandong Province. Three major findings are reported. Firstly, the students liken their social work learning experience to a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs. Secondly, the cultural compatibility of western social work in China has not yet been conclusively established, while an ‘indigenized’ social work needs to be compatible with Chinese family values, referred to as ‘familism’ in direct Chinese to English translation, and with the dominant socialist political ideology. Thirdly, the future of social work is bright given increasing government support for its development.     

Interprofessional Education for Practice: Some Implications for Australian Social Work

Abstract

Social workers work with many other professionals in the workplace and being able to work in a team is both a practice standard for professions and a desirable graduate attribute of most universities. However, student learning about teamwork is often inconsistent and serendipitous, albeit some attention may be given to it as part of field education and work preparation. Students and new graduate social workers usually adopt the teamwork approach that prevails in the agency in which they work and teamwork behaviour is often a result of socialisation and acculturation. Internationally, over the last two decades, interprofessional education for interprofessional practice has achieved prominence in social work curricula. This article covers recent Australian initiatives in interprofessional education and the involvement of the social work program at a leading Australian university in an interprofessional education project. Implications for social work student education and social work practice are discussed.     

Developing Advanced Practitioners in Mental Health Social Work: Pedagogical Considerations

Advanced social work practitioners in mental health services daily face the challenges of working alongside the more powerful professions of psychiatry and psychology. Advanced post-qualifying programmes in mental health social work equip practitioners with the knowledge, skills and expertise to confidently work alongside both psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in multi-disciplinary teams. This includes training in empirical research methods, which are used to develop the evidence base for psychiatry and psychology, although social work practitioners find this particularly challenging. This paper explores the importance of research methods teaching in the development of advanced practitioners in mental health social work. Using learning theory to explore possible reasons why practitioners find it so difficult, it offers some solutions which may enhance the learning and teaching of research methodology to experienced social workers.     

Students' Experiences of University and an Australian Social Work Program: Coming,Going, Staying

Student engagement, retention, and professional commitment is strongly influenced during the early stages of the university experience. However, a number of factors can undermine engagement, which has implications for the individual, the professional workforce, and university funding and reputation. This paper reports on cooperative inquiry research that explored the beginning experiences of 17 social work students from one regional Australian university. In-depth, qualitative data were collected during six discussions that focused on understanding the experiences that influenced university retention, enjoyment, and success. Data analysis revealed three primary themes: (i) purpose and timing, (ii) balancing commitments, and (iii) a sense of belonging. Findings suggested that students often struggled to balance life, work, and family commitments, while appreciating university processes that reduced stressors and contributed to a sense of belonging.     

Social Work Research in the Field of Disability in Australia: A Scoping Review*

Although in Australia disability is receiving unprecedented attention with the rollout of major reforms, the body of research on disability to inform policy and practice has been found “not fit for purpose”. This scoping review of empirical research papers published by Australian social work authors between 2007 and 2015 investigated the quantity, nature, and scope of social work research on disability in Australia. We found a steady growth, an annual average of 13.8 papers, and a total of 124. Social work disability research makes a distinctive contribution; it is contextualised in service systems or policy, has a greater focus on community and civic participation and social relationships, and concentrates on adults, with either intellectual disability or traumatic brain injury. These research strengths provide foundations for building the profession’s research capacity and informing its practice and contribution to the multidisciplinary field of disability.

IMPLICATIONS

• Service system reform is increasing engagement of social workers with people with disabilities, yet disability has a low profile in the profession.

• Social work disability research has strengths in understanding service systems, social relationships, and strategies for social and civic participation, particularly with adults with cognitive disabilities.

• Increased attention to disability in qualifying and higher degree programs will better prepare students for complex practice and develop the distinctive contribution of social work research in this interdisciplinary field.

     

A Pedagogical Approach to Engaging Social Work Students in Research

Attitudes of US-based students in graduate-level social work master's in social work (MSW) toward required research courses often appear ambivalent, but developing an effective pedagogical approach to research could have lasting implications on students, educators, and the field. This article uses Bandura's social learning theory (SLT) to provide a framework for successfully engaging MSW students in the content of an introductory research class. This article outlines the thinking behind and the strategies used to engage students in the course content.     

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.     

Collaborating to Focus on Children in Australian Social Work Education

Social work educators across the world are engaged in developing a curriculum that prepares students to be effective practitioners in a range of settings that involve working with children. This paper reflects on collaborative strategies and research that have influenced the child wellbeing content of social work courses in Australia. It presents a critical analysis of the tensions and challenges that can occur in (this) collaborative work. It then discusses an outcome of this advocacy to influence the child wellbeing content of social work education, an undergraduate module aimed at increasing students' knowledge and skills in communicating with children. This paper argues that Indigenous children (such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children) are over-represented in child protection systems and out-of-home care services, and that this needs to be acknowledged and given increased attention in the education of social work students internationally.     

Online Teaching in Social Work Education: Understanding the Challenges

There is a rapidly growing industry of online learning and distance education programs at the Master of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work levels both within Australia and globally. A number of best practices have emerged from the literature that warrant consideration when delivering social work programs in online learning and distance education modes. Given the significant advancements in technology that are likely to continue into the next decades, social work academic leaders and accrediting bodies must be prepared to address the changing landscape of higher education, including limited financial resources. Social work academics need to become aware and implement best practices in online learning and distance education e-teaching environments to ensure positive student outcomes, student retention, and student engagement to meet the flexibility needs of students in higher education settings. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the challenges and benefits of distance education and online learning for consideration when providing a social work program in these delivery models.

IMPLICATIONS

• Given the significant advancements in technology that are likely to continue into the next decades, social work academic leaders and accrediting bodies must be prepared to address the changing landscape of higher education.

• Social work academics need to become aware and implement best practices in the distance education and online teaching environment to ensure positive student outcomes, student retention, and student engagement to meet the flexibility needs of students in higher education settings.

     

A Comparative International Analysis of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work: A Survey of UK and US Social Workers

As service populations have changed, the social work profession in the UK and the US has attempted to respond to the needs of diverse cultures, which often include issues of religion and spirituality. This can be problematic, however, due to the extrication of religious and spiritual concerns from the public social services that resulted from the process of secularization. Members of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in the US were sampled to explore the attitudes and perceptions of social workers regarding the placement of religion and spirituality in practice and education. In general, US social workers in this sample were more accepting of religion and spirituality than their UK counterparts, even among those respondents who expressed non‐religious world views (e.g. atheism). A majority of the respondents in the UK (76%) and the US (73%) indicated that their training programs lacked content on religion and spirituality. In the UK, 57% of the respondents believed that social workers should increase their knowledge on spirituality, compared with 90% of the US respondents. The lower level of acceptance of religion and spirituality among UK social workers may be related to higher levels of secularism in UK society.     

Social Work within a Community Discourse: Challenges for Teaching

This paper considers the continuing debate about the relationship between social work and community work. We write about our collaboration as educators, one from a social work background and the other from a community work background and discuss the challenge of teaching community work to social work students in a way that is relevant for contemporary practice, and that embraces community work principles and values. Our paper explores Ife's framework of competing discourses of human services and discusses how it has helped us to articulate our thinking and teaching practice in the Irish context. For us, the framework integrates social work and community work within a community discourse that provides a language transcending disciplinary boundaries. This approach represents a means of familiarising students with the community work process and enabling them to take action on issues of social justice. The framework represents four competing models of human service delivery: the managerial, the market, the professional and the community. We discuss how we use this conceptualisation to teach and engage students in a process of critical reflection. The paper discusses methods we use to undertake this process, and the development of our teaching practice over the last two years.     

Grappling with Realities: Policy and Practice in HIV Social Work

In 2012 the NSW HIV Strategy 2012–2015: A New Era was released, with a goal of eradicating Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) by 2020. This new policy, prioritising biomedical treatment, has raised challenges for social work practitioners working in the HIV field. We undertook a research project exploring the implications of the Strategy on social work clients and practice. A questionnaire was sent to 57 HIV social workers and 32 (56.1%) responses were received. Thematic analysis identified five main themes affecting social workers and their clients. These were a new stigma, treatment benefits, the complexity of people's lives, the psychosocial voice, and ethical and professional tensions. We propose that a more holistic HIV strategy including the psychosocial realities that inform HIV transmission, testing and treatment options, and adherence be adopted.     

Social Work Doctoral Education in Australia: The Case for Further Development

ABSTRACT

Social work education in Australia has been based in universities since the 1940s. There are now 32 higher education providers offering social work programs across Australia. The significant growth in master’s level qualifying programs in Australia, along with recent higher education policy changes, has increased the need for social work academic faculty members with doctoral qualifications. This paper presents the findings of a scoping review of literature on social work doctoral education. Despite a growing literature on social work doctoral education in international contexts, the review found that there is a lack of Australian research and evidence on social work doctoral pedagogy, the number and diversity of doctoral students, the doctoral student experience, and doctoral graduate employment intentions and outcomes. Addressing the lack of Australian research in this area would be an important step to enabling Australian social work to address future research training and capacity needs and directions.

IMPLICATIONS

• There is a lack of research on Australian social work doctoral education and this is a neglected aspect of social work scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) research.

• Research into social work doctoral education would provide baseline information on the number and diversity of students, doctoral student experiences, graduate outcomes, and employment intentions.

• Development of social work SOTL about doctoral education would support future research capacity and enable the advancement of social work research knowledge and skills.