A Preliminary Evaluation of the 1-2-3-Magic Parenting Program in an Australian Community Services Setting

Cognitive-behavioural parenting programs provide caregivers with alternative strategies to harsh disciplining practices but the choice of programs that are evidence-based in Australia is limited. Australian community service workers suggest that having a choice of evidence-based programs is important when matching programs to client needs, and that 1-2-3 Magic is a program used widely in Australia despite its small Australian evidence base. The efficacy of the 1-2-3 Magic program has previously been shown in a controlled trial in an Australian university research setting but little is known about its effectiveness in a “real-world” setting. This study examined a three-session group-format of the Australian 1-2-3 Magic & Emotion Coaching program in a typical metropolitan community service setting. Thirty-eight caregivers with children aged 2–6 years reported a significant decrease in disruptive child behaviour (ECBI), permissive parenting (PS), and parental depression and stress (DASS) from pre- to post-intervention, with results maintained at 3-month follow-up. While these findings suggest that a brief 1-2-3 Magic program is beneficial, it is important to note that methodological limitations (intervention-group only study design and possible confounding variables) do not allow ruling out alternative causes for these improvements. Further research will be needed to confirm that this program can generalise to “real-world” settings.     

The Resilient Survivor—A Student Social Worker's Journey on Placement

This paper represents the continuation of my ‘personal and professional journey’ from social work student to social work practitioner focusing on my first Practice Learning Opportunity (PLO). Recognising the potential impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in a classroom environment is as important as the potential impact on actual practice learning and practice. This is salient in the real world of social work practice as the potential misuse of a painful childhood experience has greater ramifications. Utilising the ideas and assumptions of social constructionism (including context and multivocality) the significance of silence from social work educators shall be examined in relation to self-disclosure as a means of aiding PLO learning and practice. This paper will also focus on the concept of critical reflection and its significance in exploring the transferability of a childhood experience such as CSA and personal and professional dilemmas regarding self-disclosure. This paper concludes by highlighting areas for consideration for both students and social work educators and conveys an important message regarding the importance of communication between students and social work educators.     

Notes on contributors

Ethics is a central area for professional education in social work. The main educational strategies for the ethics component in social work programmes are often a combination of explicit attention to principles and implicit grounding in practice examples (such as ‘case study’ vignettes). These approaches equip students to recognise and respond to the complexities of ethics in practice. However, they may also encourage students to understand ethics as ‘rules of conduct’, in which there are ‘correct answers’ that can be learned and applied. This paper advances the view that it is more helpful to consider ethics as a ‘framework for thinking’ about the means/ends relationship in practice. It is argued that, as a consequence, the goal of ethics education should be to enable student social workers to grasp the inherently moral nature of practice and the ambiguities that follow from this. Such a position points to the paradox of social work education, that it involves teaching about things that cannot ‘exist’ separately from their being created in action. To explore this paradox in teaching ethics, the paper considers inductive approaches in learning as a way of responding to the ambiguities that are inherent not only in the subject but also in the experience of professional education.     

Social work values,anti-discriminatory practice and working with older lesbian service users

It has been suggested that social workers are not adequately meeting the needs of lesbians and gay men. This paper explores some of these concerns with reference to social work's theoretical underpinnings and value-base in relation to working with older, non-heterosexual women. The paper considers some of the particular issues that affect the lives and needs of older women whose primary relationships are or have been with other women. It concludes with a discussion of ways in which such issues may be addressed in social work education, training and practice.     

Young People Leaving Care: Participatory Research to Improve Child Welfare Practices and the Rights of Children and Young People

Abstract

This paper discusses participatory research with young people who are leaving public care in Finland to begin independent lives. The aim of the research, organised by SOS Children's Villages International, was to bring about change in alternative care arrangements, particularly those involving young people's transition to independence. The project used a participatory research design based on employing care-leaving peers as co-researchers. This paper adheres to the methodological principles of empowerment in analysing the personal experiences of young people leaving alternative care with the goal of informing good practice. The findings suggest that the peer research method can be an effective means of empowering young people to develop research skills and to be involved in knowledge production, as well as serving as a means of promoting improved services for “care-leavers”, those young people who are leaving either foster care or institutional care. The participatory and peer research method challenges the traditional understandings of expertise and knowledge production. Although the hierarchy between adult researchers and young people as co-researchers is still evident, the method provides possibilities for better understanding the social- and health-service systems and their challenges and pitfalls from a user's perspective.     

Perspectives on Intergenerational Aspects of Aging and Diversity

Abstract

This paper considers a number of interrelated dimensions that are crucial to the developing intergenerational field: research, policy, practice and theory. The paper argues first, that research (and indeed evaluation) underlies, and is fundamental to, facilitating and understanding the linkages between practice, policy and theory. It further argues that breaking down the barriers between research, policy, practice and theoryparticularly in terms of the language we use- is key if we are to fully realize the potential of this developing field. An early intergenerational study undertaken by the author is used as a tool to illustrate some of the ways in which the field has progressed over the last twenty years. The paper concludes with thoughts and suggestions about the dilemmas and challenges remaining for those in the field.     

专业生产实习方式和人才培养的探索

高等院校工科教育从精英教育阶段发展到大众普及阶段,相应地,教学也从以知识传授为主向以能力培养为主转变。建筑环境与设备工程专业培养的是面向工程应用的专门人才,如何与时俱进,合理安排生产实习,配合理论教学的需要,是一个非常重要的问题。从几个方面论述了生产实习教学环节的必要性以及实习内容、时间安排、能力培养问题,并提出了相应的改进措施。     

高校人力资源专业教学改革刍议

针对目前高校人力资源管理专业人才培养与社会需求之间存在的脱节现象,分析了该专业教学现状及存在问题,并从重新定位培养目标和设置课程结构、尝试多种教学方法、建立科学合理的教师绩效考核方法、建立并完善人力资源实验室和实习基地、探索多种社会实践模式5个方面提出了教学改革的措施和建议.     

中国法学实证研究客观性难题求解——韦伯社会科学方法论的启示

以实证研究方法为特色的中国法治实践学派日益受到关注。中国法学研究方法正处于转型之中,实证研究方法将成为法学研究的常规范式。一些学者对法学实证研究的客观性提出质疑。求解实证研究的客观性难题可以从马克斯·韦伯那里得到启发。韦伯对社会科学的客观性研究具有代表性,认为人文社会科学可以做到“价值无涉”。韦伯主张的客观性以价值关联为前提,以客观可能性为基础,以对理想类型的应用和超越为实现路径。在法学研究中,运用指向客观性的社会科学研究方法具有必然性,这是由法学研究对象的广泛性以及法学对法律的批判功能决定的。法学实证研究并不排斥主流的规范研究,两者应互相补充,这也是中国法治实践学派的基本立场。中国法学实证研究要实现客观性,需要兼顾证实与证伪,注重文献的积累、理解的逻辑以及实践。中国法治实践学派的目标是要在韦伯方法论基础上实现创新和超越。     

基于创新人才培养的大学生创新训练活动改革

大学生课外创新训练活动是创新人才培养的重要方式,结合我校在学生创新训练项目开展过程中的具体实践,从实践教学体系优化、创新课程建设、创新平台构建、指导教师队伍建设、管理制度落实等五个方面提出了大学生创新训练改革措施。