| Abstract: | In preparing students to function as competent social workers, educational establishments have to be mindful both of the need to communicate the ideals and values of the profession and the requirement to produce practitioners who are capable of functioning productively within the organisational environment. It cannot be assumed that these two tasks are necessarily complementary. Feedback from former students suggests they feel less well prepared for the latter. This paper explores the way in which one Diploma in Social Work programme attempts to prepare its students for the realities of the organisational context of their work with service users. It focuses on a module which aims to teach students about some of the key tensions inherent in social welfare organisations by arranging for them to interview managers and practitioners in their chosen pathway setting. Their findings are analysed in relation to the theoretical teaching given at the start of the module. The positive feedback from the students suggests the overall learning experience for the student group is very positive. |
