scholarly journals When Teacher Becomes Student: Unveiling Contradictions within Australian Social Work Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Michelle Newcomb
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Dual Roles ◽  
Master Of Social Work ◽  
Australian Association ◽  
Mixed Messages ◽  
Msw Student ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
Work Education

Social work education in Australia is bound by a range of rules and assumptions supported by both higher education institutions and the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). This autoethnography explores a range of contradictions within social work education from the unique perspective of someone who was simultaneously a student and academic in social work. This experience occurred because, although PhD qualified in social work, rulings set down by the AASW lead to me being excluded from consideration in permanent roles. The position led me to becoming an online Master of Social Work (MSW) student whilst still being a social work educator allowing me to explore a range of contradictory rules and processes within social work education. Analysis of my reflections, journals, assignments and conversations with colleagues unveiled a range of mixed messages in relation to social inclusion, technical rationalism, self-care and field placement supervision. My findings contribute to current debates about how neoliberalism currently impacts on inclusion in social work education and development of a professional identity. In exploring my dual roles, this autoethnography unveils contradictions within social work education and accreditation that question the social justice mission of the profession.

scholarly journals Using creativity, co-production and the common third in a communication skills module to identify and mend gaps between the stakeholders of social work education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Reith-Hall
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Social Pedagogy ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Work Education

The involvement of stakeholders – academics, service users and carers, students and practitioners – is thought to improve the quality of social work education, although few approaches and strategies for achieving this have been articulated. Even service-user and carer involvement, which is firmly embedded within social work courses in the UK, would benefit from being better theorised and researched. This paper considers how creativity, co-production and the common third helped social work academics from an English university and service users and carers from a local user-led organisation to design, deliver and evaluate a communication skills module for social work students. In spite of some challenges, effective and supportive relationships have developed, with a range of benefits becoming increasingly apparent. However, the strengths of this partnership highlighted gaps in the relationships with other stakeholders. In a conscious effort to overcome paternalistic traditions of transmission-oriented teaching, some gap-mending strategies were developed to involve students in the module’s design, delivery and evaluation. It is proposed that social pedagogy, with its focus on social inclusion and social justice, might help fulfil a current aim of British higher education, to work with students as partners and increase meaningful involvement and collaboration.

scholarly journals Uprooting (Our) Whiteness

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 954-977
Author(s):  
William Frey ◽  
Noelia Mann ◽  
Alex Boling ◽  
Parker Jordan ◽  
Karma Lowe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
White Students ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
First Year ◽  
Msw Student ◽  
Work Education

Social work education reinforces hegemonic Whiteness through pedagogies and practices that rely on an entitlement to and harvesting of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color’s lived experiences for the purpose of its tacit audience: White students. Despite this exploitative and harmful reliance on objectified lived experiences, White students continue to lack critical understanding of their racial positionality and connections to racism. Uprooting Whiteness requires sitting with what it means for White people to be “a White problem.” Drawing on the work of Yancy, we (group co-facilitators; our dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and three MSW student participants) describe the creation, organization, facilitation, and experiences of the first year of the Space for Uprooting Whiteness—a biweekly space where White social work students examine and uproot their relationship to White supremacy and domination. We argue for White social workers to take collective responsibility for racism in and beyond our institutions—requiring interrogation of our everyday practices and their (inter)dependence with and on systems of domination. This paper ends with three experiential narratives from student participants in the space and implications of critical intragroup dialogic pedagogy among White students in social work education and beyond.

Social Work Education and Regulation in Australia

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Healy
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Professional Standards ◽  
Limited Government ◽  
Australian Association ◽  
Practice Standards ◽  
Professional Body ◽  
Work Education

This article provides an overview and analysis of social work education and professional standards in Australia. The professional education and practice standards are set and monitored by a single, professional body, the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). In Australia, there is no legislation protecting the title of social worker, and there is limited government involvement in regulating educational standards and professional practice. In this article, I outline the characteristics of the educational and professional standards for social workers set by the AASW. I will explain the Australian regulatory environment for health and human service professions and discuss how this contributes to conditions in which the AASW plays a central role in the regulation of social work education and practice standards in Australia. I will outline the opportunities and challenges posed by the highly deregulated environment and the consequent central role of the AASW in standard setting and monitoring. The article concludes with a discussion of the strategies currently being pursued via the AASW to achieve government authorized regulation of social workers.

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