scholarly journals Professional Socialization and Attitudes Towards Interprofessional Collaboration Among Graduate Social Work and Health Professions Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison West ◽  
Shari Miller ◽  
Judith Leitch
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Professional Socialization ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Implicit Curriculum

Although there is an aggressive push towards interprofessional collaboration in higher education as well as in practice, the traditional culture and organization of higher education, as well as the need for and history of disciplinary distinction, may impede these efforts. Using an online survey, this study explored the relationship between professional socialization of 157 graduate students in four disciplines and their perceptions and attitudes about interprofessional collaboration. Results indicate that first year students had more positive perceptions and attitudes about interprofessional collaboration than more advanced students. Furthermore, social work students perceived themselves as having lower prestige than graduate-level nursing, pharmacy, and medical students. These findings suggest that, unless managed strategically, professional socialization may diminish positive perceptions and attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration. Thus, social work educators should pay careful attention to the role of professional socialization and how it is manifest in both the explicit and implicit curriculum.

scholarly journals Towards Soft Skills Framework for Social Work Educators

2019 ◽  
pp. 1091-1096
Author(s):  
Fuziah Shaffie ◽  
Ruzlan Md-Ali ◽  
Fahainis Mohd Yusof
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Professional Socialization ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Helping Skills ◽  
To Come

Social workers must be competence with their helping skills and need to be guided to acquire relevant soft skills. Hence, Social Work students need to have significant role models that they can look up to in order to become professionally and socially competent. Within the formal Social Work Education at the higher institutions, they can actually learn much from their lecturers or educators as their role models. This paper discusses conceptualizations of the soft skills which educators, currently as well as in the years to come, would need in order to sustain their competence as educators. In an exploratory study recently carried out, a Social Work expert was asked to describe the experiences of and viewpoints on, soft skills as part of the professional socialization of Social Work educators to become professionally and socially competent. It is important to raise awareness of soft skills competencies among Malaysian Social Work educators to help them in assessing themselves, and identify where and how they could actively improve themselves as educators within the context of their workplace. Embedding the soft skills competencies into their career as social workers is assumed as one of the effective and efficient method of achieving both professional and social competence. The propose soft skills, perhaps, provide early ideas and initiatives towards the construction of a ‘soft skill-framework for Social Work educators’, which can serve as guideline when facilitating and guiding future qualified social workers in Malaysia.

The Key to Learning: Engaging Undergraduate Students in Authentic Social Work Research

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 47-62
Author(s):  
Carol Hostetter ◽  
Sabrina Williamson Sullenberger ◽  
Leila Wood
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Millennial Students ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Student Grades

Social work educators highlight the value of research skills, and students often resist. Millennial students seek social connection and relevance in their educational experiences. The results of a study designed to investigate whether engaging students in authentic research increases their research knowledge and skills are reported. Forty-eight undergraduate social work students in a research method class conducted a study of adolescents’ views on poverty. In addition, students worked in teams to conduct quantitative surveys on a poverty-related topic of their choice. Three types of data were collected to evaluate the research question: student grades, a midterm evaluation of the team aspect, and an end-of-course reflection. Students’ grades were high, their perceptions of the course at midterm were predominantly positive, and their final reflection showed that the large majority (86%) thought the course design helped them improve their research knowledge and skills.

scholarly journals Applying anti-oppressive approach to social work practice in Africa: reflections of Nigerian BSW students

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Amadasun ◽  
Tracy Beauty Evbayiro Omorogiuwa
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose As the next generation of social workers in a continent bedecked by oppressive customs, it is cardinal that the voices of social work students be heard. This study aims to share the reflections of Nigerian BSW students about anti-oppressive approach to professional practice. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted among fourth-year social work students at one of the elite universities in the southern region of Nigeria. Findings Results reveal that, although willing to challenge oppressive practices, social work students are ill-equipped to apply anti-oppressive approach to social work practice in Nigeria. Research limitations/implications This study makes an important contribution to the field and to the existing literature because the findings have broader implications for social work education in Nigeria. Practical implications In enforcing the suggestions of this study, it is expected that social work education will become able to produce competently trained students who are only knowledgeable about anti-oppressive social work but are equally prepared to address Nigeria’s myriad oppressive practices that have long undermined the nation’s quest for social development. Social implications The application of the anti-oppressive approach to social work practice is integral to ridding society of all forms of overt social injustice and other forms of latent oppressive policies. Originality/value Suggestions are offered to Nigerian social work educators toward ensuring that students are not only well equipped in the understanding of anti-oppressive social work but also ready to apply this model to professional social work practice following their graduation.

People First: A Case Study in Partnering with the Community

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas D. Bordelon
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Community Organization ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Macro Practice ◽  
People First

This case study demonstrates the process by which a class composed of senior social work students learns macro practice values and skills by partnering with a community organization. The products of this collaboration emerge from the real-life problem scenario in which students, community partners, and the social work educator collaborate to develop the skills necessary to resolve problems. Through community partnership, social work educators are in the position to expand the opportunities for students to develop critical thinking skills, and provide opportunities to practice community organization within the classroom setting.

Performance Evaluation Using a Rubric: Grading Student Performance in Practice Courses

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-125
Author(s):  
Eileen Widerman
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Use Of Self ◽  
Performance Expectations ◽  
Social Work Educators

This article promotes performance evaluation using a rubric as a useful approach to assessing the extent to which social work students meet the complex learning objectives of practice courses. This approach permits assessment of qualitative competencies, such as use-of-self, and facilitates the reduction of multiple evaluation criteria to a single grade. It guides students in completing assignments, details performance expectations, and provides meaningful feedback to both student and instructor. Using a process recording as an example, the article describes how to construct, introduce, apply, and evaluate a rubric. The importance of grounding the rubric in the knowledge base of the course and submitting its content for student and peer input are stressed as a means to enhance its validity and address some of the disadvantages associated with its use. The author encourages social work educators to develop, explore, and empirically assess this, and other, nontraditional approaches to assessment.

Fluency in social work essays

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63
Author(s):  
Robbie Duschinsky ◽  
Sue Lampitt ◽  
Jamie Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Written Communication ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
The One

As Paltridge (2004, p.90) has claimed, ‘there is no such thing as the one-size-fits-all academic essay that can be written in all areas of study’. Yet research on academic writing by scholars such as Ivanič and Lillis and ideas from social theory offer useful insights, which can be applied to the specific demands of essay-writing on pre-qualifying social work degrees. By failing to clarify how students may succeed, social work educators may misdirect their efforts to improve students’ written communication skills or make students feel falsely that they personally are not smart or hard working enough to meet the requirements of higher education. We close the article by proposing 22 unspoken requirements for success in social work essay-writing, and drawing out the implications of our analysis for social work educators.

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