Social Work Education

Abstract

Migration across national borders has resulted in demographic changes in the United States, causing the country to become more multi-ethnic. This presents considerable challenges for graduate level educators who need to be responsive to the unique academic needs of diverse populations by considering students' previous experiences, values, and beliefs. This change requires educators to incorporate various teaching styles and to create a classroom atmosphere where security, trust, and openness can be achieved. Developing cultural competence and creating a transformative learning environment is essential for social work educators teaching in multicultural environments in the 21st century. This article provides a brief overview of Burchum's (2002) Evolutionary Perspectives that will help to assist readers in obtaining a clear understanding of cultural competence. It also presents Blunt's Model of Cultural Competence for Transformative Education, which can promote both transformative learning and assist social work educators in fostering a transformative learning environment.     

"多元文化教育"探究

多元文化教育是当今世界的一个教育思潮，目前人们对于多元文化教育的理解逐步从狭义的理解发展到更广义的理解，本文介绍分析了它的内涵、理论基础，以及在西方产生和发展的背景和主要内容等，目的在于对我国实现全民教育和教育全球化能有一定的积极作用。     

Jewish Ethnic Needs in Multicultural Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

CSWE established a variety of standards regarding minority populations and diversity (CSWE, 1992). Some minority groups, although covered by CSWE standards, in practice are not dealt with in social work education. One in particular, Jewish students, is recommended for attention. This article focuses on what students of all backgrounds need for working effectively with Jewish clients, coverage of Jewish topics in the curriculum, and students' level of comfort in expressing their religion within the context of social work education.     

Teaching Interprofessional Practice: An Exploratory Course Assignment in Social Work and Speech Language Pathology

The professions of social work (SWK) and speech language pathology (SLP) often involve the provision of services to a diverse group of client populations in a variety of settings; this is particularly true when meeting the complex needs of children and their families. It is widely accepted that collaborative treatment approaches utilizing multidisciplinary teams is an effective method of practice when serving children who are developmentally delayed or challenged, yet there is little information in the literature regarding the quantity, quality, and efficacy of collaboration among professional disciplines serving child populations. This article addresses the identified gap in the pedagogical literature regarding collaborative case management approaches between social workers (SWKs) and speech language pathologists (SLPs) using a case example describing a child in need of early intervention services. Following the case study, sample assessment questions are provided (utilizing the professional standards from both SWK and SLP) as a measure of professional competency and practice behavior. Finally, a discussion of the practical ways SWKs and SLPs can be trained in order to be mutually supportive in meeting the needs of children requiring multidisciplinary services through a collaborative or trans-team approach is provided.     

An Introduction: Reimagining Social Work Education for the Digital Age

ABSTRACT

Despite the recent publication of a number of articles, along with current presentations at professional conferences, and a scholarly text all on the topic of distance learning and online social work education, many believe that the subject has not received the level of recognition among academics in our profession that it needs and deserves. This Introduction to a special double issue of a prominent peer-reviewed journal serves to welcome the reader to the contents of the seventeen articles that follow, and to provide both an overview and conceptual framework for the special issue as a whole. Underscoring both the opportunities and quandaries, support and resistance, most of the authors would appear to conclude that social work educators must rapidly become more agile in embracing the unique opportunities presented by the technology that we now have at hand.     

多元文化教育论争及其实质探析

多元文化教育自产生起,就饱受纷争,褒贬俱存。争论焦点主要是多元文化教育是否以特殊利益对抗公众利益;是否制造国家分裂、掩盖阶级矛盾;是否有利于提升学业成就。通过反对者与倡议者的论争探析,可以得出结论,多元文化教育遵循了教育公平的平等、差异、补偿原则,实质是促进教育机会均等,虽不能直接改变社会结构,但最终会通过促进教育公平的实施促进整个社会的公平。     

Occupational Social Work Education for Employee Assistance Practice

ABSTRACT

This article explores the current state of Occupational Social Work/Employee Assistance (OSW/EA) education. It examines the relationship between social work curricula, field placement experiences, and entry-level employment opportunities in the OSW/EA field. It is based on an educational initiative called the Partnership for Employee Assistance Education. Drawing on the OSW/EA literature, surveys, and focus group materials, the article concludes that the nature of OSW/EA is being reshaped by information technology, shifting demographics, globalization, and evolving terms and conditions of employment. The authors discuss how the graduate-level OSW/EA curriculum and field placements are being transformed to reflect these trends. Concepts such as Organizational Social Work and organizational intelligence are discussed. Innovative educational strategies are recommended. Finally, the authors argue that the contemporary workplace offers potential opportunity for innovative social work practice and education.     

Development of a Model for Evaluating Social Work Curriculum

Abstract

This paper describes an internal evaluation performed on the BSW curriculum of the School of Social Work of Tel Aviv University, Israel. It focuses on the inductive, participatory method by which the evaluation was designed, and on the measure that was developed. The aim of the paper is to encourage internal evaluation of social work curricula and to provide a model for doing so that others can adopt.     

Socialization of Doctoral Students: Implications for Social Work Education

Recent discussions on social work education increasingly have drawn attention to doctoral education. The purpose of this article is to consider these discussions that debated some of the ways of improving doctoral student education and professional development, using professional socialization as a conceptual framework. Issues such as research, teaching, and research assistantship, and conferences are considered as key components of the process of preparing doctoral students for knowledge building through teaching and research. Finally, the paper discusses some implications for social work education.     

The Construction of Social Class in Social Work Education: A Study of Introductory Textbooks

Social work introductory textbooks reflect myriad practical interests, pedagogical concerns, and theoretical considerations. However, they also present students with accepted views, dominant perspectives, and main discourses of knowledge. In light of this centrality, the present article examines the representation of the concept of “social class” in introductory textbooks as a way to look at the construction of the concept in social work education. Based on the content analysis study of 50 introductory textbooks, the article suggests that social work education has overlooked or even denied the relevance of social class. Class differences, as part of other categories of power such as race, ethnicity, and gender are crucial factors in explaining diversity and inequality. As social justice is one of the main premises of social work, the question of how to prepare students to deal with class issues as future practitioners seems to be very important, especially in light of increasing social class gaps.     

学校文化冲突的源起、表现与缓和——多元文化教育的视角

文化差异在日益多元化的世界语境中获得了“必然性”的特质。基于文化差异而生的文化冲突,同样具有“必然性”和“不可避免性”。过激的文化冲突会祸及文化所赖以存在的根基——文化背景及其之下的个体。学校文化冲突也有其必然性与不可避免性,但需要一定的缓和机制以减少其危害性。多元文化教育可以为此而做出一种新的尝试。     

美国跨文化模式的多元文化教师教育课程分析

在教学过程中,教师对引导学生的发展发挥着重要的作用。如果教师负责为多元文化学生创造高效的文化回应式教育体验,那么在教师教育课程中就应该培养教师与多元文化学生和谐共处的能力。随着全球化视域下多元文化教育的凸显,以及美国中小学生种族、族群、文化和语言结构的多元化日益增强,美国中小学教育更需要擅长多元文化教育的教师。针对现实中孤立的多元文化教师教育课程的设置及其低效问题,美国提倡设置基于全球观培养教师跨文化能力的多元文化教师教育课程,使教师具有广泛的多元文化知识基础、态度,形成持续的跨文化教学能力。     

人性视域下的多元文化教育研究

多元文化教育作为一种跨越文化边界的教育,在当今全球化语境下对文化、人性的影响日益扩大,它投射与印证着在世界新格局下人们对教育与文化、人性等的新认识与新追求。多元文化教育理应承担起全球化时代的新使命,在教育领域实现民族性与国际性的统一,推进世界文化的多元发展,促进人性的日益完善。     

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.     

Distinguishing Between Multicultural and Global Education: The Challenge of Conceptualizing and Addressing the Two Fields

This qualitative study examines how a group of social studies teachers working in a suburban middle school with a predominantly affluent and white student body conceptualize multicultural and global education. The data reveals that several of the teachers experienced difficulties conceptualizing multicultural and global education, used them interchangeably, and did not articulate their importance to their students. In addition to interviews with teachers, classroom observations were conducted to see how they addressed multicultural and global education in class. The outcomes of this study indicate that pre-service and in-service teacher education should pay attention to delineating the distinct purposes of multicultural and global education and how these concepts can be infused into a social studies curriculum.     

Safety Training in Social Work Education

Abstract

Social workers are particularly vulnerable to violence due to the type of clients they serve, the preponderance of involuntary service relationships, the settings in which they work, and cutbacks in services. A national survey was conducted of field directors to discern their perceptions about danger to interns, schools' and agencies' practices and responsibilities for student safety, safety standards and policies, training personnel and content, and recommendations for change. Field directors believe that there is a need for more attention to student safety and that risks to students are increasing. There is dissonance between concern about violence and the lack of safety policies and training in schools of social work. Strategies for violence prevention are presented.     

A Call for Self-Compassion in Social Work Education

Many social work students approach the end of their formal training unprepared to utilize self-care approaches to prevent burnout. Providing students more comprehensive self-care training can help address this issue. One approach to fostering self-care and addressing stress and burnout in social work students is the attitude and practice of self-compassion (SC; i.e., compassion directed inward). Training in SC can be helpful, as it has been shown to be effective in addressing stress and burnout, as well as enhancing practice. This article explores the benefits of integrating an SC approach within professional social work education. A definition, review of the SC literature, and a conceptual sketch for integrating SC approaches in social work education are presented.     

Activating a Teaching Philosophy in Social Work Education: Articulation,Implementation, and Evaluation

This article describes how to develop a comprehensive teaching philosophy from articulation through implementation to evaluation. Using literature and teaching-learning experiences, we discuss pragmatic steps for using a teaching philosophy to inform, engage, and evaluate teaching-learning. We promote an integrated teaching philosophy to ensure competent practice in social work education.     

Approaches to Multicultural Education in Preservice Teacher Education: Philosophical Frameworks and Models for Teaching

The authors in this article connect teacher education to multiple theoretical frameworks around the ongoing debate and issues of multicultural education. Connecting conservative, liberal, and radical theories of multicultural education particularly to preservice teachers, the authors argue that a more eclectic theoretical avenue must be striven and struggled for if there exists any hope in transforming schools, particularly, as they note, in urban environments. Practical avenues are discussed that promote such a multilayered interpretive/analytical approach to social change.     

Early Childhood Education and Care Content for the Social Work Curriculum

Social workers are poised to play an important role in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings; however, they need the knowledge and skills necessary to make a meaningful contribution. This article presents learning activities that infuse ECEC content, centered on the following four areas for social work education: (1) history of the profession, (2) observation of current practice, (3) culturally competent service delivery, and (4) advocacy to enhance social justice. Through this infusion of content, social work educators can better prepare their students for the growing field of ECEC practice and for social work practice more broadly.