Social Work Field Educators' Views on Student Specific Learning Needs

Each year a significant proportion of students withdraw from placement in time to avoid penalty, while others fail. This article reports on a small field education research project that identified common learning issues for first placement students. Eighteen experienced supervising field educators (FEs), participated in semi structured focus groups, and identified repeat areas of difficulty in student learning that they had managed as supervisors. They also identified strategies that had been efficacious in supporting student learning. The research undertaken in 2010–2011 identified three specific themes relating to difficulties in student learning: specific student characteristics that required additional support; the university/FE partnership; student proficiency in using supervision. The findings suggest that a students' right to privacy must be considered in the provision of educational support, and that support is most effective when there is a strong partnership between the FE and university. In addition, further development of field education pedagogy may be needed to embed theory and skills related to the use of supervision and reflective learning.     

Claiming a Space for International Social Work: Voices From the Field

Despite the rise in interest in international social work, surprisingly little empirical evidence exists outlining the knowledge, values, and skills required of social workers to succeed in the global arena. This qualitative study conducted from the spring through winter months of 2013 involved 10 semi-structured interviews with experienced international social workers triangulated with a content analysis of 52 international job postings. Findings suggest that social work professional perspectives including eco-systemic thinking, social justice principles, strength-based analyses, and foundational skills, such as developing empowering person-centered relationships, exhibiting cultural humility, implementing participatory approaches to research and practice, and demonstrating reflexivity, are not always valued by international colleagues nor sought in job advertisements. Furthermore, upon graduation, MSW social workers may lack key areas of expertise expected of international workers such as program monitoring and evaluation, grant writing, policy development, and communicating with media and high-level officials. Ultimately, the invisibility of foundational social work skills and lack of other technical expertise may not only challenge social workers' competitiveness on the global market but also threaten their maintenance of a professional social work identity over time. The authors provide guidance for schools of social work and accrediting bodies to improve social workers' readiness for international work and strengthen their presence in the international arena.     

The Struggle for the Soul of Social Work in England

There is a debate or struggle for the nature and future of social work in England. This tension is between a narrow or limited type of practice and a broader and emancipatory social work, grounded in the International Federation of Social Work and the wider conception of the profession in other European states. The limited model of social work seems to provide a dominant paradigm, which may result in the loss of a more visionary and humane social work. This is a qualitative study of an undergraduate social work programme in England. There were 48 participants, comprised of academics, students, service users and practice educators. Interviews and focus groups were used and a thematic analysis was undertaken. The key finding of this study is that the paradigm of state or statutory social work in England threatens to replace a broad conception of social work as understood in such definitions as the International Federation of Social Work and social work in other European states.     

The Integration of Personal and Professional Selves: Developing Students' Critical Awareness in Social Work Practice

How social work students incorporate personal and professional selves in the contexts of field education represents a cornerstone of effective and sustainable practice. This paper presents a qualitative component of a study that tracked 15 third-year bachelor of social work students across their first field placement to document their use of self, critical reflections and experiential learning. The project examined students' assessed ‘use of self’ assignments to understand their capacity for and development of critical awareness across this placement. Students were most articulate in being able to identify stressful situations that arose from placement in terms of what they were thinking (mind) and feeling (emotion) and to a much lesser extent to what they were sensing (body). Over time, students demonstrated a growing critical awareness to better identify and respond to their self-reported tensions. The findings provide developmental insights into how students integrate personal and professional selves and potentially shift from reflective and reflexive practices to incorporating praxis in their work. Through considering the linkages between self and practice, this paper explores student experiences whilst on placement and the associated developmental tasks of critical awareness.     

应用型人才培养目标下思想政治教育专业实践教学体系的构建

实践教学是培养应用型人才的必由之路。目前思想政治教育专业实践教学面临的主要问题是教育教学观念不能适应应用型人才培养的需要,实践教学体系不完善,实践教学缺乏保障。改革实践教学体系,必须更新观念、调整结构、完善标准、整合资源。     

省际高等教育均衡发展的问题与对策——基于公共财政投入视角

中国高等教育在取得了长足发展的同时,省际间高等教育的发展也存在明显不均衡。其直接原因是各级政府对高等教育的公共财政投入差异。从1999年至2012年,河南普通高校财政性经费投入虽逐年增长,但与先进省份相比,存在较大差距;同期,河南省高等教育财政性教育经费占GDP的比例增速落后于其他国家;河南省普通高校的生均预算内教育经费与各省份最高值的差距,有逐渐拉大的趋势;河南省普通高校预算内教育经费占地方财政支出的比重虽多数年份高于全国均值,但与先进省份相比,仍存在较大差距;河南省普通高等学校预算内教育经费占总预算内教育经费的比重多数年份低于全国均值。因此,从高等教育均衡发展的目标出发,国家要对高校进行合理布局,各级政府要增加对高校经费的投入,建立经济增长与高等教育共同发展的联动机制,建立多渠道高等教育经费筹措机制,加强监管避免无效的资金投入。     

冯梦龙情教思想的逻辑分析

冯梦龙的情教思想以情本为逻辑起点,视情为万物生成之本;在此框架内,冯梦龙仔细分析了情本的内核,即情感、情欲、人本思想等,这是情本论的逻辑发展;最后以情教为旨归,与宋明理学殊途同归,构筑一个完整、系统的情教体系.     

解读大学“绿色教育”

大学“绿色教育”已经得到教育界、学术界的高度重视。尽管它现在处在萌芽阶段 ,但是具有科学的、准确的内涵 ,是现代教育理念的突出体现。它所追求的是以人为中心的 ,由人、自然与社会的一切可持续发展要素共同构成的复合生态系统的总体的运作状态和发展趋势 ,培养目标是身心全面和谐发展 ,具有可持续发展观念、意识和能力 ,能够正确处理人与自然、人与人、人与社会的各种复杂关系的人。大学“绿色教育”对于改进教育模式和方法也是一种新的探索。     

论离校学生的可雇佣性和可雇佣性技能

对于可雇佣性和可雇佣性技能的关系不能简单地理解,需要从其概念内涵中进行具体分析和把握。可雇佣性本身是抽象概念,可雇佣性技能是可雇佣性概念的操作化指标,二者具有共同的核心。我国关于这方面的研究还很薄弱,我们需要参照国际研究结合中国现实构建切实可行的中国高校离校生的可雇佣性模型,运用可操作化指标体系对我国高校离校生的可雇佣性水平和高校的建设状况进行量化评估,从而为可雇佣性开发和建设提供依据。     

大学之道在文化殖民?

我们的大学教育和大学生活正在经历着深刻的文化殖民化过程。大学这种精英层面文化的殖民化 ,对包括大众文化在内的整个民族文化体系都有着十分深刻的侵蚀作用。大学教育的殖民化有其复杂的社会心理根源 ,泛滥的殖民心态和知识分子对文化增势的寻求是其中的重要原因。大学教育的去殖民化和社会文化去殖民化是相辅相成的同一过程的两个方面 ,“本土生长”是其根本的出路