Evaluation of a Distance Learning,Post Graduate Advanced Award in Social Work Programme for Child and Family Social Work Supervisors and Mentors

This paper discusses open and distance learning and supervision in child and family social work, and presents the results of an evaluation by students of a distance learning, post graduate certificate programme for first‐line managers and supervisors in child and family social work. The programme also leads to an Advanced Award in Social Work. Eighteen students returned a postal questionnaire designed to gain their experiences of studying on the programme and their views about its different elements and its outcomes for themselves, their work, their organisations and service users. Most respondents thought that there were more advantages than disadvantages to studying by distance learning and to studying part‐time while working full‐time, but that self‐discipline is required and that workload constraints and difficulties in taking study time away from work impinged on their studies. More than half rated as good or very good the support provided by their mentors. Reported outcomes of studying on the programme included increased self‐confidence, enhanced supervisory practice, greater involvement of service users in service provision, and increased attention to gaining service user feedback. Key messages regarding the organisation of distance learning programmes are outlined, and pedagogical issues in post qualifying social work education are discussed, including the role of the mentor and the training needs of experienced staff or those working in specialised roles.     

Practice Learning and the Development of Students as Critical Practitioners—Some Findings from Research

This article reports some findings from an ESRC‐funded research project which has been examining the development of criticality in undergraduate students, taking social work and modern languages as contrasting disciplines. This twin‐track study aims to develop the conceptualisation of ‘criticality’ in the context of empirical research. This article examines the development of criticality in final year social work students, where the practice learning experience is predominant. The analysis is framed by the project's developing theoretical conceptualisation of criticality.     

Social Work Academics as Humboldtian Researcher‐Educators: Discussion of a Survey of Staff Profiles from Schools in Denmark,England and Germany

A survey of social work academics' education profiles in Denmark, England and Germany is discussed. Material was collected in 2004, mainly from schools' Internet websites. Findings were classified by highest achieved level of qualification, using British terminology: ‘diploma’, ‘degree’ and ‘doctoral’. Findings are discussed with reference to the status of social work knowledge and social work education. This discussion is framed by drawing on the model of the teacher‐researcher developed by Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835). The German sample showed the highest proportions of social work academics with doctoral qualifications, with the lowest levels being found in the Danish sample and the English sample being situated in‐between.     

Reduction of Face‐to‐Face Contact Hours in Foundation Research Courses: Impact on Students' Knowledge Gained and Course Satisfaction

This study investigated the impact of reducing the number of face‐to‐face contact hours in a Masters of Science in Social Work (MSSW) foundation research course in an urban school of social work on students' knowledge gained and course satisfaction. A quasi‐experimental pretest/posttest comparison group design was used to test the following hypothesis: reducing the number of face‐to‐face contact hours will not negatively impact knowledge gain and course satisfaction in a foundation research course. The findings of this study suggest that reducing the number of face‐to‐face contact hours does not negatively affect student learning as both the comparison and the experimental group demonstrated an increase in foundation research knowledge. The level of course satisfaction was influenced by the number of hours completed in the program, age, and the number of hours worked in paid employment. Students who are especially vulnerable are younger students who have completed less course hours. They tend to struggle at the beginning to get used to new technology as part of their educational experience. This paper demonstrates that it is no longer ‘if’ web‐based and distance learning technologies are appropriate for social work education but rather ‘when’ and the degree to which their integration yields greatest educational value.     

The Impact of Ethnicity and Phase in Training on Israeli Social Work Students' Satisfaction with the Field Instruction

Students' evaluations of their satisfaction with their field instruction including their field instructors, agency, and learning opportunities have been the focus of earlier and more recent studies. However much less is known about students' satisfaction in non‐English speaking countries. Even rarer are studies on how satisfaction differs among diverse ethnic groups and phase of training. This study focuses on the impact of ethnicity (Jewish and Israeli Arabs), and phase of training (second or third years) on the satisfaction of Israeli social work students with their field instruction. Some 742 second and third year students reported their satisfaction on a self‐administered questionnaire. Third year students who had already completed two academic years of training were more satisfied with their field instruction than second year students. Arab students were significantly less satisfied with their field placement agencies. Second year Arab students were also less satisfied with their field instructors and their field instruction in general than second year Jewish students. The lower satisfaction might be true for other minority groups in Western countries and should be further investigated. We recommend increasing cultural sensitivity in the curriculum of social work education as well as preparatory workshops before the beginning of field practice.     

Courage to Teach for Social Work Educators

Teaching social work is a science, an art form and a passion. Within that context, the purpose of this article is to explore teaching as a science/art, and to integrate the work of Parker Palmer into the scholarship of teaching and learning for social work education. Using the narratives of two ‘still learning’ social work educators, Palmer's work will be described and its application experiences shared. The article concludes by making a link between Palmer's ideas and social work education.     

Preparation for Contact: An Aid to Effective Social Work Intervention

This article proposes that a pre‐contact phase of work which helps prepare the worker/social work student for face‐to‐face intervention is a prerequisite for effective practice. It builds on the original work by Douglas and McColgan in which preparation for contact was placed in the context of the Diploma in Social Work Competence requirements. In this revised article links are made to the new degree in social work while retaining the framework which provides for examination of essential knowledge, skills and values which underpin effective preparation for a social work encounter. The article discusses the Preparation for Contact exercise and explores its value as a learning tool for social work students, its usefulness as an assessment tool for university tutors and agency practice teachers in relation to testing the student's ‘readiness’ for contact and its place in providing practice learning evidence in relation to requirements of the degree in social work.     

Involving Services Users in Social Work Training on the Reality of Family Poverty: A Case Study of a Collaborative Project

In the last five years there has been an increased drive to include the perspectives and contributions of service users in social work education in the United Kingdom. In this paper we discuss the experience of one project that attempted to bring together service users, academics and practitioners to jointly develop and deliver a module that sought to examine the perspectives of families living in poverty who were in receipt of children and families social work services. Through doing this it was hoped that it would be possible to raise practitioners’ awareness of how poverty impacts on parenting and how they could develop an approach that was non‐punitive and genuinely supportive. The paper starts by exploring the context of service user involvement in social work education and then describes the development and process of this collaborative project. The paper concludes with recommendations for both projects seeking to engage service users in empowering and meaningful ways, as well as social work practice within an anti‐oppressive framework.     

A Broadened Horizon: The Value of International Social Work Internships

Globalization demands that social work educators initiate educational programs that promote understanding of global problems and country‐specific interventions to address transnational problems. Moreover, the global movement of peoples means that social workers must be increasingly adept at working with different cultural groups. This paper outlines an international social work internship jointly sponsored by San Diego State University and Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. The internship program sought to expose students to social work and social welfare practices different than those in the United States and to the impact of problems such as AIDS and child abuse in a different culture. Moreover, the internship program focused on cultural learning and promoted the development of ethnorelativism, a perspective that incorporates another culture's world view. The paper outlines the creation of the internships, student activities and learning, and skills gained.     

Experiences of Post‐Qualifying Study in Social Work

This article is based on a research project to explore the experiences of past and current candidates for post‐qualifying awards in social work in England. Also included in the study are the Leads of the post‐qualifying consortia in England. The study used questionnaire survey and nominal group techniques to gather data, which were coded and categorised into themes. The main findings relate to the perceived purposes of post‐qualifying study, motivations for undertaking post‐qualifying study, the factors that sustain and hinder study, the advice that those who have or who are experiencing post‐qualifying study would give to those about to start and future plans and hopes in this area.

Post‐qualifying study is generally valued, especially in relation to the opportunities it provides for professional development. The support of a mentor who has direct experience of the candidate's programme is highly prized, as are clear and consistent guidance from the programme and meaningful study time and workload relief from employers. There are also frustrations for some candidates who do not feel that their post‐qualifying study has stretched them beyond qualifying standards or who experience the teaching as divorced from the realities of daily practice. The appetite for a wider choice of post‐qualifying modules suggests that providers of post‐qualifying study will need to collaborate within and across regions in order to achieve a critical mass of candidates for more specialist or focused learning. The study suggests a need for further research to understand the impact of post‐qualifying study on candidates' social work practice.

The article concludes with two checklists of questions, one for individual candidates and another for agencies and programmes. These questions arise from the findings in the research.