scholarly journals A Transformative Approach to Social Work Education

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liza Lorenzetti ◽  
Rita Dhungel ◽  
Diane Lorenzetti ◽  
Tatiana Oschepkova ◽  
Lemlem Haile
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Learning Framework ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
Preparatory Course ◽  
Transformative Approach ◽  
Work Education

The paper presents an overview of “The Journey Guides Program” - a mentorship and experiencial learning framework developed by the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary in Canada. This program was implemented in an Advanced Graduate Seminar, a preparatory course for graduate Social Work students prior to entering their field placements. This article begins by discussing critical pedagogy, the theoretical framework that undepinned the “The Journey Guides Program”, followed by a description of the eight-step process we adopted to implement this program. The authors conclude by discussing the benefits of the Journey Guides program, and plans for ongoing development and transferability of this model. Keywords: Journey guides, transformative learning; mentorship; social work

scholarly journals Planning for learning and learning about planning in social work fieldwork

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-66
Author(s):  
David Hodgson ◽  
Heather Walford
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Learning Plan ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Learning Plans ◽  
Work Education

Fieldwork education is a crucial component of social work education. Many social work students regard their placement experiences as the most profound learning experiences of their studies. The students undertake their field placements in a diverse range of organisational contexts, and in so doing perform a myriad of tasks, adopt a variety of roles, implement a range of practices, and engage with numerous people. Needless to say, social work students have a rich set of learning opportunities within such diversity. An important part of the fieldwork process is the development of learning plans; these plans guide and direct the students’ roles, tasks and learning, and are often an important framework by which assessment of competency and learning takes place. However, learning plans presuppose a logical and conceptual clarity, which needs to be learned if they are to be functional and effective documents. This then poses many challenges in relation to how students might develop a learning plan for fieldwork. This paper explores some of the problems, and offers practical guidance, for students and fieldwork educators to develop rational learning plans in diverse and complex contexts.

scholarly journals Ethical dilemmas in field placements: The experiences of social work students in Norway and possible implications for social work education

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. SA85-SA111
Author(s):  
Heidi Lie Eriksen ◽  
Mikhail Gradovski
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Dialogical Approach ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Work Education

The study reported in this paper focuses on social work students’ experiences of ethical challenges, including dilemmas, during their field placements. Moreover, drawing on dialogical approach and the results of the thematic analysis, the authors discuss what ethical dilemmas the students experience during their in-field practice, and what implications the handling of these ethical dilemmas can have for the organization of social work education. The findings that are reported in this article are the results of the analysis of six sets of data collected with the help of interviews. The interpretive framework used in this study is a dialogical approach. The research strategy has been a qualitative approach, and the data collection has taken place in semi-natural settings. The thematic analysis of the data lead to four major themes of ethical challenges that the students experienced in their field placements. The first theme concerns structural conditions on a macro level that the students were confronted with when in practice. The second theme is about ethical challenges due to the students´ lack of knowledge and experience in the field. The third theme presents challenges in direct work with service users related to the students´ awareness of values and perspectives. The fourth theme concerns ethical challenges that occurred when students interacted with others in the organizations where the field placements took place. We argue that due to the fact that the authorial agency of any learner consists of personal attitudes, goals, values, knowledge, competences, and skills, it is important to organize supervision activities in a way that allows discussions in free and fearless environments so that the student could learn and unlearn knowledge and skills. This means that in-field placements should be viewed as learning arenas for various types of knowledge and skills, including knowledge on themselves, and not just places where the students can gain only strictly professional practical knowledge and try out their theoretical knowledge.

scholarly journals Relational Learning and Teaching with BME Students in Social Work Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Jean Dillon ◽  
Diana J Pritchard
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Student Relationship ◽  
Work Education

Given the imperative to redress the education inequalities between Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and White students, this contribution explores advances and challenges from within Social Work education (SWE) in relation to the experiences of Black social work students. Drawing on critical race theories and the concept of racial battle fatigue, it explores the impacts of race and racism on students’ academic experience and wellbeing. It proposes the significance of relational wellbeing which has been a constant strand within Social Work education and comprises a valuable approach to the decolonisation process within higher education (HE). Linking this to critical pedagogy, it highlights the role of staff to build safety, confidence and trust to support students to overcome prior education experiences of under-attainment, disadvantage and social marginalisation. Despite the pervasiveness of managerialism within HE, which compromises the teacher-student relationship and emphasises measured changes in student ‘outcomes’, Social Work educators are invited to nurture safe and transformational learning environments.

Critical Pedagogy in Online Social Work Education: Changing Conceptions of Time in the Neoliberal University

Somatechnics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Kristin Smith ◽  
Donna Jeffery ◽  
Kim Collins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
Work Education

Neoliberal universities embrace the logic of acceleration where the quickening of daily life for both educators and students is driven by desires for efficient forms of productivity and measurable outcomes of work. From this perspective, time is governed by expanding capacities of the digital world that speed up the pace of work while blurring the boundaries between workplace, home, and leisure. In this article, we draw from findings from qualitative interviews conducted with Canadian social work educators who teach using online-based critical pedagogy as well as recent graduates who completed their social work education in online learning programs to explore the effects of acceleration within these digitalised spaces of higher education. We view these findings alongside French philosopher Henri Bergson's concepts of duration and intuition, forms of temporality that manage to resist fixed, mechanised standards of time. We argue that the digitalisation of time produced through online education technologies can be seen as a thinning of possibilities for deeper and more critically self-reflexive knowledge production and a reduction in opportunities to build on social justice-based practices.

Social Work Students’ Experiences of Ethical Difficulties in Field Placements: A Qualitative Study in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wu ◽  
Yunong Huang ◽  
Qiang Chen ◽  
Yu Shi
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Field Staff ◽  
Professional Activities ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
Supportive Environment ◽  
In The Beginning

Abstract Field placements provide social work students with opportunities to learn to handle ethical difficulties in a professional manner. In many developed countries, field staff are generally employed to supervise social work students’ field placements. ‘Code of Ethics’ and other ethics documents have also been developed to guide students’ professional activities. However, there is a lack of field staff, ‘Code of Ethics’ and other ethics documents in China, which may lead to ethical difficulties amongst students during their field placements. Based on the interviews of twenty-four social work students who completed field placements in 2016 at a university in China, this research revealed that students encountered many ethical difficulties in field placements. They tried to handle the difficulties in the beginning, but gradually adapted to the difficulties passively due to the lack of support. Most students also reported that they adhered to social work values and ethics in field placements and learned from field placements. The findings suggested that social work profession associations, Departments or Schools of Social Work, social work agencies and social work academia in China need to collaborate to create a more professional and supportive environment for students’ field placements.

Training Second-Year MSW Students to Improve Cultural and Linguistic Competence

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. Neely-Barnes ◽  
Brittany G. Kirk ◽  
Susan Elizabeth Elswick ◽  
Laura C. Taylor ◽  
Elena Delavega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Linguistic Competence ◽  
Master Of Social Work ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Msw Students ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Cultural And Linguistic Competence

Purpose: Cultural competency is a critical construct in social work education. This study investigated whether a grant-funded training program completed in tandem with second-year field placement and second-year Master of Social Work (MSW) curriculum could improve the cultural competence of MSW students. Method: Ninety-nine trainees completed the program over the 3-year grant period funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. Cultural and linguistic competence was measured at the beginning and end of the training program for each cohort using a preexperimental design. Results: Findings suggest that MSW students saw improvement in their communication, values, and attitudes with respect to cultural and linguistic competence. Trainees did not report improvement on the Physical Environment subscale portion of the measure. Discussion: Results suggest that training can improve knowledge, values, and skills on cultural and linguistic competence. However, trainees may not have adequate authority to make an impact on the environment of their field placements.

Practice Note: Supporting Social Work Students with Additional Needs when on Field Placement

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 88-96
Author(s):  
Barry Fearnley ◽  
Sarah Farah ◽  
Roisin McNally ◽  
Jade Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Field Placement ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Further Development

This practice note focuses on work undertaken at a UK university to support social work students with additional needs when on their field placement. Following a brief introduction, it will provide an overview of social work field placements, illustrate some of the complexities surrounding field placements when social work students have additional needs, and highlight some of the work undertaken. It will conclude with some areas for further development and recommendations. It is hoped that the Practice Note will generate discussions about the importance of supporting social work students with additional needs when on placement and share good practice.  

Examining Social Work Students Knowledge of and Attitudes About Abortion and Curriculum Coverage in Social Work Education

Affilia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 088610992110682
Author(s):  
Heather Witt ◽  
Maha K. Younes ◽  
Erica Goldblatt Hyatt ◽  
Carly Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Affiliation ◽  
Reproductive Justice ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Abortion Attitudes ◽  
Curriculum Coverage ◽  
Work Education ◽  
And Training

Despite social work's stated commitment to abortion rights, research on this topic is not prolific within the discipline (Begun et al., 2016). If we are to live up to our ethical principles, this should be changed. The authors posit that increasing students’ exposure to and understanding of abortion is necessary in the preparation of competent social work practitioners. Using Begun et al.’s (2016) Social Workers’ Abortion Attitudes, Knowledge, and Training questionnaire, the authors expanded the survey by creating additional questions about social work curriculum coverage and training experiences, as well as further content on abortion. Findings indicate that most social work students believe abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances, and also that abortion laws should be less restrictive in the United States. Reported religion and political affiliation had significant effects on several of the abortion attitude statements. Only 7.2% of respondents indicated that abortion is regularly discussed in social work classrooms, and only 2.7% of respondents report they have received training on the topic of abortion in their field placement. The results suggest that social work curriculum coverage on reproductive justice is tenuous and inconsistent at best, leaving students to grapple without the necessary professional foundation.

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