Switching Hats

Abstract

One of the most problematic issues in the field of social work is the gap between practice and research. This paper describes the roles of the social work clinical practitioner and the social work researcher, and explores the role discontinuity that occurs as social work doctoral students' transition between these roles. A model illustrating the three possible routes that are taken during this role transition is introduced. Understanding the process of change that occurs as social work doctoral students shift roles has important implications for social work. Investigating these two roles can help doctoral programs support students during the difficult transition. Discovering how doctoral students bridge the gap between practice and research in their own experience may provide insight into how the field of social work as a whole can successfully address this gap.     

Engaging the Student in the Field Instruction Relationship

Abstract

BSW and MSW students' evaluations of their field instructors and these individuals' use of various supervisory skills and assignments were assessed early in the field placement. Skills that directly enhanced students' learning in the field were most influential. Supervisory activities that introduced students to the agency and what would be expected of them were particularly helpful. Differences in first-time and second-year students' reactions suggest that students' learning needs vary, based on their prior experience with and understanding of the field. The findings also suggest the need for training to help field instructors make the transition from social work practitioner to social work educator.     

Diversity and Difference in the Online Environment

ABSTRACT

The online environment challenges social work educators in their approach to developing students’ cultural awareness and culturally competent skills. To develop student competencies, it is important for accredited social work programs to consider both their explicit and implicit curricula. Although research has focused on the influence of multicultural classrooms and engaging diverse students, scant literature has been focused on teaching about diversity and difference in the online environment. This article hopes to fill this gap in knowledge by providing recommendations for social work programs to consider as they look to teach diversity and difference in the online environment.     

You've Got to Be Taught

ABSTRACT

The Council on Social Work Education's Handbook on Accreditation and Procedures (1991) reiterates the council's previous mandate for incorporation of knowledge of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity throughout both the undergraduate and graduate social work curriculum. This article presents an integrative cognitive and affective learning framework for multicultural social work education. The model encourages students' addressing the significance of their racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage and emphasizes the effects of this education and enrichment in developing an ethnic-sensitive social work practice.     

Challenges Faced by Canadian Social Work Field Instructors in Baccalaureate Field Supervision

ABSTRACT

This article examines the challenges faced by social work field instructors in two Canadian provinces. The results are based on the responses from 239 field instructors to a questionnaire survey. Findings highlight student difficulties, administrative issues with the social work schools, and practicum setting challenges. These demands hinder the optimal implementation of social work field education, reveal the concerning gatekeeping role of schools of social work, and discourage some social workers from taking on (or continuing) as field instructors. Implications for social work student placements, supervision of students, academic programs, and directions for future research are presented.     

Non-Traditional and Traditional Social Work Students

ABSTRACT

Drawing on a sample of undergraduate social work students from four mid-western social work programs, this study compared perceptions of field instructors regarding non-traditional and traditional students. Field instructors rated their perceptions of the successful fulfillment of the demands of field practicum and the impact of several life characteristics for traditional and non-traditional students.

Non-traditional students were rated significantly higher on a variety of measures as assessed by field instructors. This study has implications for social work education that involves differential recruitment, retention, and support of traditional and non-traditional students.     

Digital Ethics in Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

Attention has been given to the revised National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics that guides social worker use of technology. The revision of the NASW Code of Ethics has signaled a transition in the profession toward ethical online practice using modern techniques and contemporary tools. Practicing social workers are applying these new ethical standards, and many social work educators are doing so when using information and communication technologies with students. However, little research focuses on teaching social work students about digital ethics and professional online conduct. This paper explores the importance of preparing social work students for ethical online behavior.     

Education for the Group Worker's Reality

Abstract

Within the social work profession, one's world view, one's beliefs and values based on one's experiences, strongly influences one's practice and comfort with groups.

This paper will examine some of the different ways of viewing the world held by practitioners and students in relation to the likelihood that they will be able to work effectively with groups. Such examination, and the identification of the differences among social workers that results from it has implications for both teaching and supervision in social work. These implications will be discussed and specific principles and techniques for teaching social workers, in education and in supervision, based on their world views will be described. This paper aims to enrich education for group work so that the community of social group work practitioners can grow and continue to thrive.     

Are Graduating Students Ready for Financial Aspects of Social Work Practice?

ABSTRACT

Graduating students must be prepared with knowledge and skills for the financial aspects of social work practice. This study examines graduating students’ attitudes and perceptions about client finances, as well as their financial knowledge. Internet survey results (n = 116) of BSW and MSW graduating students indicate that respondents (a) perceive a limited function for discussing client financial circumstances in practice, (b) understand the relevance, however, of client finances, (c) are unprepared to address this aspect, and (d) are supportive of integrating this content into required policy and practice courses. Teaching and curricular implications, along with programmatic recommendations, are included.     

Queering the Social Work Classroom: Strategies for Increasing the Inclusion of LGBTQ Persons and Experiences

ABSTRACT

The inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) perspectives and experiences in the social work classroom is necessary to adequately include LGBTQ students and prepare graduates to practice effectively. Drawing from queer theory as a theoretical framework and the authors’ experiences in practice and teaching/learning spaces with LGBTQ youth, this article offers practical strategies for creating classrooms inclusive of LGBTQ persons. Queering the classroom builds skills in students beyond practice with LGBTQ people and communities, thereby enhancing their capacity to engage diversity in practice more generally and to advance human rights and social justice.     

Structuralism’s relevance in a post-structural era: Re-visiting research on multicultural curricular studies

At the current historical juncture in which differences and inequalities are surfacing greater than ever in the world, societies, and schools, the main goal of this essay is to revisit the aspects of structuralism that can potentially contribute productively to understanding the invisible structures and forces that everyone carries (mostly unknowingly) with them at all times and in all places including in multicultural curricular and social justice work. By doing so, this essay also attempts to dispute with liberal humanistic notions of the self (teachers and students) in multicultural curricular studies that continues to support the dominant framework of curriculum. This essay is grounded on the idea that progressive change is predicated on (although never guaranteed by) uncovering and understanding as fully as possible the social, political, and economic organization of the world, which is always mediated by individual selves who are located within the world in specific ways.     

Teachers and Field Instructors as Student Role Models

Abstract

The social work literature often mentions the value and importance of faculty and field instructors serving as role models for students. Unlike allied disciplines, the influence of role models in social work education remains relatively unexplored. This article includes a search of two electronic databases on role models and social work education, identifies the various conceptual references the social work literature makes to the topic, and then discusses its inclusion as a variable in empirical studies. It argues that more qualitative investigation is needed into role modeling as an inextricable component of social work students' socialization to the profession.     

Clinical Practice and the Decline of Community

Abstract

Many social workers consider praxis central to their practice. The concept, developed by Paulo Freire to capture the interaction between action and reflection, can be challenging to apply. PRACSIS is a framework represented in grid form that can help social work students understand and use the concept of praxis in a thoughtful and explicit way. This paper describes the rationale for and application of PRACSIS: Practitioner Reflection on Actions, Characteristics and Situation, by Impact and Strategies. Results indicate that use of PRACSIS can help develop critical consciousness, including implications for practice, and can thus benefit social work educators, students, practitioners, and-ultimately-consumers.     

Social Work Students Go to Camp

Abstract

This study explored the effects of an intensive, service learning course on the perceived self-efficacy of participating MSW students. A self-efficacy scale was developed following Bandura's (1977) model, based on the goals and objectives of the MSW program and was administered pre and post. The findings indicated a statistically significant increase in perceived self-efficacy (p< .001) following completion of the course. In addition, the students demonstrated significant increases in self-efficacy related to mezzo (p< .001) and macro-level skills (p< .001). These results suggest that service learning, underutilized in social work education, may be an effective learning approach in master's level programs.     

Student Assessment of Self-Efficacy and Practice Readiness Following Simulated Instruction in an Undergraduate Social Work Program

ABSTRACT

The use of simulated instruction is a growing trend in social work education. This study examined the effectiveness of simulated instruction with undergraduate social work students. In this mixed methods study, the extent to which simulated instruction improved self-efficacy and practice readiness was assessed. Results of the study suggest that simulated instruction helps improve key practice skills and increases recognition of diversity in practice. Moreover, students self-reported increased mastery in interviewing, managing emotions, and engaging in culturally competent practice.     

Empowering Students in a Feminist Social Work Practice Course

Abstract

Since 1993, a faculty collective has team-taught a feminist social work practice course. The course, designed to heighten student knowledge of feminist practice, was expected to empower students. An overview of the course is presented with an analysis of its impact on student perceptions of personal and professional power. Pre and post measures of empowerment were analyzed and used to derive outcome measures of change in student views of themselves as empowered persons and practitioners. Findings indicate that students had significantly higher perceptions of their personal and professional power upon completion of the feminist practice course than before. Implications for social work students and practitioners are discussed.     

Utilizing Actors to Simulate Clients in Social Work Student Role Plays

Abstract

The social work education literature contains limited discussion of the use of role play in the classroom. This article discusses the logistics of recruiting and utilizing professionally-trained actors to simulate clients in social work role plays. Promising results from assessments of BSW and MSW students with actor-simulated clients are presented. Students described their experiences with the actor-simulated clients in very positive terms. These responses did not statistically vary by program, age, gender, or race.     

Roles and Tasks of Field Instructors as Perceived by Chinese Social Work Students

ABSTRACT

From its inception, social work education has consistently embraced the position that field learning is an essential element of professional education. It is through field work that the student has the opportunity to apply knowledge gained in the classroom and to learn the skills necessary for effective social work practice

A study conducted by Fortune et at. (1985) on student satisfaction with field placement revealed that the field instructor or supervisor was a link to student satisfaction with the field practicum. Much has been written on the concept and principles of field education, with discussions on the field instructor's functions in field instruction. However, it seems that such discussions vary greatly in their degree of specificity in spelling out the field instruction tasks. On the other hand, relatively little has been reported on how social work students perceive the roles and tasks of field instructors. It seems obvious that students, with first hand experiences in field work practice, can contribute much to the formulation of knowledge in field instruction

Hence, it is vital and essential to study what social work students actually expect of the roles and behaviors of field instructors as contrast to what is written in the theories of field instruction.

This paper attempts to identify the set of behaviours and tasks perceived by students as important to the work of a field instructor. In the process, it is also envisaged that the “anatomy of field instruction” can be better understood through a clear specification of the activities involved.     

Comparing Student Evaluations of Distance Learning and Standard Classroom Courses in Graduate Social Work Education

Abstract

This study compared the student course evaluations of standard education and distance learning courses in the school of social work of one southern university. The sample included 14 distance learning (DL) and 122 standard education courses. A 20-item quantitative student course evaluation and a 7-item qualitative questionnaire were used to compare differences between social work courses taught in a standard classroom setting with those taught using distance learning technology. Comparisons of identical courses taught in both formats found that students rated distance learning higher than the standard classroom for a course having predominantly lecture content. Conversely, ratings for clinical practice courses were just the opposite with lower ratings for distance learning than the standard classroom. Results of a qualitative survey (n = 39) of students conducted at the end of a course taught by distance learning found that 73% of the students felt that distance learning technology interfered with class participation. However, 73% of the students felt the instructor handled technological problems in a professional and patient manner. Although 54% of the students reported that they would take another course by distance learning, more research is needed to determine what social work courses can be most effectively taught by distance and classroom formats.     

“What Do I Do Now?”

ABSTRACT

Recent advances made by medicine and psychiatry in the development of practice guidelines and evidence-based interventions are spreading to social work and other helping professions. As the movement toward evidence-based practice grows, more demands for the use of tested interventions will be placed on practitioners. In this paper, we argue that social work practice education must change to respond to this demand. Specifically, evidence-based interventions must be incorporated into the teaching of the middle phase of social work practice more than it is now. Social work training has traditionally relied on untested interventions that have come from the tacit knowledge of accumulated practice wisdom. Although tacit knowledge has an important place in social work practice, instructing students about evidence-based, empirically derived interventions provides them with critical knowledge and skills they will need to enter the competitive world of social work practice. Moreover, this approach amplifies the importance of launching practitioners with skills of evidence-based thinking; that is, the identification, evaluation, and selection of interventions with demonstrated effectiveness.