Assessment of social work students: Standpoint and strong objectivity

The aim of this paper is to consider epistemological issues relating to the assessment of social work students. It will review the development of social work education and in particular the changes that have occurred in assessing the practice of social work students in England and Wales. It explores models of practice assessment. Factors relating to maintaining professional standards, whilst taking into consideration issues of justice, are addressed. It explores the potential benefits of using a second opinion in the assessment of marginal or failing students on practice placement. Assessment is linked to how students may perform as qualified practitioners; this raises issues related both to the nature of objectivity, and standpoint in assessment.     

Consultancy to groupwork programmes for adult male sex offenders: some reflections on knowledge and processes

Summary This paper, drawing on the author's own experience, exploresthe role of consultancy in developing groupwork programmes foradult male sex offenders. It reviews models of consultancy andconsiders their applicability to this particular area of work.It considers what knowledge and experience are relevant to thisarea of work. It addresses issues relating to values, knowledge,gender and race both in developing programmes and in selectingconsultants. It considers how the focus and style of a consultancycan change during a period of work. Additionally, issues specificallyrelated to groupwork with sex offenders and how it may affectworkers are considered. In conclusion, the positive potentialfor this work is asserted.     

Masking Hegemonic Masculinity: Reconstructing the Paedophile as the Dangerous Stranger

Summary This paper reviews the social constructions of the paedophileas these are embodied in clinical and journalistic discourses.It considers how these discourses have influenced communityperceptions of risk and professional responses to the concernsthey portray. It then locates these professional constructionswithin a context of hegemonic masculinity and unsafe families.It concludes that community safety is not adequately addressedby professional assessments of risk that focus primarily onthe problems posed by known paedophiles. It is important toconsider the problem of sexual violence in a much wider contextthat problematises the context in which sexual abuse occurs.