Improving Field Instruction: An Evaluation of a Seminar for New Field Instructors

Abstract

The field work component of social work education plays an important role in fusing the knowledge, skills, and values of the profession. Moreover, field instructors must be competent to ensure the success of the educational process. Thus, the training of new field instructors is critical to this success. This article reports the findings of a study evaluating the impact of a training seminar for new field instructors on student perceptions of the field experience. A 10-session seminar in field instruction was offered to new direct practice field instructors as a requirement for continued supervision of students. Students' responses to a questionnaire about their field instruction indicated that seminar attendance was related to the degree of emphasis on teaching students from process recordings and also on discussion of student learning needs. Students with trained field instructors were more satisfied with the faculty field liaison. Overall, trained instructors demonstrated expected supervisory behavior more often than untrained instructors for 75% of the 83 supervisory activities studied, although only a limited number of comparisons reached statistical significance.     

Comparing the Utility of a Modified Diagnostic Interview for Gambling Severity (DIGS) with the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) as a Research Screen in College Students

The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) is compared in reliability to a modified version of the Diagnostic Interview for Gambling Severity (DIGS-S) for use as a pathological gambling (PG) screen in college students. Seventy-two undergraduates (83.3% male, mean age of 18.8) from the University of Georgia completed the measures, completing a longitudinal design with 3 sessions over a 2-month time period. The DIGS-S and the SOGS demonstrated good internal consistency over the 3 sessions, with Cronbach’s Alphas ranging from 0.73 to 0.89, as well as strong concurrent validity, with correlations of .50 to .80 (Ps < .001) between the 2 measures across the 3 sessions. Both Cronbach’s alpha and test–retest reliability were higher with the DIGS-S than the SOGS. Given this, and given that the DIGS directly measures symptoms of pathological gambling, future research could benefit from the use of the DIGS-S as a PG screening tool in a college-aged sample.     

Effects of an Integrative Field Seminar for MSW Students

Integrative field seminars can help students with the difficult task of integrating learning between field and class. Are the seminars effective? We compared one cohort of MSW students who were required to attend an integrative field seminar (n = 101) with another cohort that was not offered a seminar (n = 147). We questioned each cohort at the end of the generalist practicum about skills and attitudes we thought the seminar would enhance. Students who attended a seminar reported better critical thinking, more identification with the profession, and more satisfaction with their field education. However, they were similar to students without a seminar on 10 other skills, including evaluations by their field instructors.     

Working‐age people with disability and labour force participation: Geographic variations in Australia

To examine geographic variation in labour force participation rate (LFPR) of working‐age people with disability in Australia and associated factors. This study uses Australian Census 2016 data at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and engages multiple linear regression to explore the relationship between the dependent variable,= LFPR of people with disability, and diverse independent variables that reflect collective characteristics of people with disability and their non‐disabled peers within SA2. While LFPRs for people with disability varied greatly by SA2, people with disability had considerably lower LFPR than their non‐disabled peers in all areas. The LFPRs tended to be higher in SA2s with higher percentages of people with disability who had completed year 12 or gained post‐school education, with higher household income, and where a higher proportion of people with disability mainly spoke English at home. These results indicate that where people live matters. Geographic variation in LFPR for people with disability is associated with geographic variation in their educational attainment and other social and community characteristics of the areas in which they live. This study contributes towards gaining a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the factors that influence LFPR of people with disability in relation to their local community environment.     

Patterns of Field Learning Activities and Their Relation to Learning Outcome

Field practicum is an active learning process. This study explores the different learning stages or processes students experience during their field practicum. First-year master's of social work students in field practica were asked how much they had engaged in educational learning activities such as observation, working independently, process recordings, and conceptual linkage activities for their practice. Forty-eight students completed a questionnaire three times over the first-year field practicum. The results showed that observation and process recording decreased over the time points. However, most of the participatory activities and conceptual linkage activities increased. Conceptual linkage activities were more strongly related to learning outcomes than observational or participatory activities. The discussion includes suggestions for enhancing student learning over the course of the field practicum.     

EVALUATING FAMILY THERAPY: DIVERGENT METHODS, DIVERGENT FINDINGS

This study reports on a triangulation strategy for assessing family interaction, involving family members, their therapist and coders independently viewing videotapes. Utilizing a standardized scale, the Beavers-Timberlawn Model of Family Competence, the study found weak agreement between paired assessments within the family triad, and within the therapist-coder dyad. In addition, more complex scaling techniques such as composite "family scores" or discrepancy scores between family member dyads added no predictive power. The findings suggest that a "limit of concordance" may exist when comparing varying raters' assessments of a given family, and that methodological and/or scaling strategies designed to maximize agreement may be both fruitless and diversionary.     

Student perceptions of the learning process during undergraduate field practicum: a qualitative study

As social work education in China expands rapidly since 2000, field practicum is one of the most challenging areas. This qualitative study explored the field learning experiences of 27 students from a pioneer social work undergraduate program. Analysis resulted in six major themes revealing the students’ perspective on the process of learning by performing various practice events during 4-week summer block placements. Discussion focuses on the key features of this learning process. Suggestions for future research and implications for field instruction are included.     

Systems Analysis of Failures as a Quality Management Tool

Managers and quality practitioners are familiar with the linkage of the words quality and systems to denote a systematic approach to quality, as in BS5750 Quality Systems, say. There is, however, a more specialized use of the word systems that indicates the application of systems thinking and which gives rise to the adjective systemic (of, or pertaining to a system) rather than systematic (carrying out in a planned and orderly fashion). This paper examines the potential for applying systems thinking to the management of quality with particular reference to one branch of systems work: the study of failures. The paper draws comparisons between quality and systems analysis of failures and points out that some failures could equally well be described as quality problems and vice versa. The paper argues that problems at the system level are frequently overlooked or avoided by those undertaking quality improvement programmes, partly because individuals within an organization may experience only different, smaller aspects of a systemic problem and partly because the problem solvers may lack the means or motivation to tackle complex, poorly defined problem messes. It then goes on to suggest that use of a meta–method for problem analysis would enable such problems to be addressed. One such method that has been widely applied in the study of failures, the failures method, is described in detail and its application to a failure/quality problem is outlined.     

The dynamic,complex and diverse living and care arrangements of young New Zealanders: implications for policy

The living arrangements of young people in New Zealand are diverse and often complex. In this article we report the range of care and living arrangements of 209 15-year-old New Zealanders, 47 of whom identified as Māori. These young people were participants in the second generation of a cohort study. Data were collected from their parents via a life history calendar and analysed for variety and consistency of care arrangements, household membership and transitions. Few participants had a consistent pattern of parental care arrangements and most had experienced multiple changes in household composition and frequent changes of address. We conclude that the whānau/family lives of many young New Zealanders are complex and dynamic. These observations contrast with the conventional notions of family life that form the basis for New Zealand’s family policies. We argue that social policies and services impacting on young people need to reflect the lived reality of young people if they are to meet young people’s needs.     

The contribution of environmental,social, and governance disclosure to a sustainable economy

This article discusses ways that environmental, social, and governance disclosure can promote transition to a sustainable economy by paving the way for better business operations. It presents a conceptual analysis and identifies how environmental, social, and governance disclosures actuate corporate sustainability and contribute to a sustainable economy. It also offers a sustainability framework for companies transitioning to a sustainable economy.