Social Work Education

Steen, J.T. (2012). Encountering compassion in substance abuse studies: Views from a doctoral student. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 12(2).

by Jeff T. Steen

Resilience and Resistance in Professional Identity Making: Gleanings from the Classroom Experiences of Devout Christian Social Workers

by Jonel Thaller

To what extent are social work students in England and Denmark equipped to deal with child sexual abuse? A comparative discourse analysis between …

by Kevin Perry

Jo Mensinga _The Feeling of Being a Social Worker

by Jo Mensinga

Evidence-based practice and decision analysis in social work

by Stephen Webb

Virtue Ethics and Social Work: Being Lucky, Realistic, and not Doing ones Duty

by Stephen Webb

British Journal of Social Work (2002) 32, 1015–1036

This article argues that in a complex socio-political world, social work ethics needs to re-cast the moral identity of... more This article argues that in a complex socio-political world, social work ethics needs to re-cast the moral identity of the social worker in terms of virtue ethics. We review virtue theory’s Aristotelian foundations and criticisms of Kantian and utilitarian theory and show how they apply to social work. Subsequently we offer an account of a virtue based social work that questions the validity of several models of practice currently fashionable. Virtue theory emphasizes the priority of the individual moral agent who has acquired virtues commensurate with the pursuit of a revisable conception of the good life—the well-being of all in a defined community. The virtues are the acquired inner qualities of humans—character—the possession of which, if applied in due measure, will typically contribute to the realization of the good life or ‘eudaimonia’. The role of the virtuous social worker is shown to be one that necessitates appropriate application of intellectual and practical virtues such as justice, reflection, perception,judgement, bravery, prudence, liberality and temperance.

This self-flourishing worker in bringing together the capacity for theoretical and practical action makes possible a hermeneutic or interpretive praxis best appraised in dialogue with fellow-practitioners and clients. With a social work remit increasingly routinized by accountability, quality control and risk management there is an emphasis on regulation and duties. This has produced a culture of following approved or typical processes resulting in defensive forms of social work wholly uncongenial to the development of human qualities likely
to promote social workers’ engagement in critique and revision of what counts as best practice. In sum, our core proposition is that social work practice and education, to fit an unpredictable, non-linear world, should develop means by which professionals nurture the virtues. This would reflexively enhance social work itself.

Moving the Boundaries of Feminist Social Work Education with Disabled People in the Neoliberal Era

by Karen Soldatic

PRACTICING POLICY, PURSUING CHANGE, AND PROMOTING SOCIAL JUSTICE: A POLICY INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH

by Gretchen Heidemann

Uneasy Dance

by Kevin Tan

Tan, K. (2007). Uneasy dance. In M.L. Tay (Ed.), Apart or a part: The social worker’s multiple journeys. Singapore: Students Care Service.

Example of self reflection in a social work clinical setting Example of self reflection in a social work clinical setting

Special Edition Editorial : Disability Studies and Social Work Education

by Hannah Morgan

Co-authored with Alan Roulstone.
Social Work Education 2012 31(2) pp137-141

The Social Model of Disability as a Threshold Concept: Troublesome Knowledge and Liminal Spaces in Social Work Education

by Hannah Morgan

Social Work Education 31 (2) Special Edition Disability Studies and Social Work Education pp215-226

This paper draws on the notion of threshold concepts to consider the way in which disability studies has the capacity... more This paper draws on the notion of threshold concepts to consider the way in which disability studies has the capacity to transform social work students' understandings of disability and therefore influence their practice. Most students enter social work programmes with the professed aim of ‘helping’ and so to be confronted by an approach (the social model of disability) and a body of research and theorising (disability studies) that challenges their taken-for-granted assumption that social work practice is ‘helpful’ is unsettling and can lead to resistance. The purpose of this article is to interrogate practice on a social work programme where a commitment to social model practice is explicated and embedded with the purpose of identifying what it is we want students to ‘get’, whether they find this troubling and how they can be effectively supported as they move through liminal spaces in social work education.

'She didn't seem like a social worker': Practice Educators’ experiences and perceptions of assessing failing social work students on placement

by Jason Schaub

SWAP funded research project (2010/2011) exploring the experience of Practice Educators assessing students that are at risk of failing social work placements. Undertaken with Dr. Roger Dalrymple

This report seeks to investigate a key intersection of academic and practical learning in social work training: the... more This report seeks to investigate a key intersection of academic and practical learning in social work training: the assessment of students on placement and the challenges for practice-based assessors in assessing a failing student.  Department of Health (2002) requirements for social work education require that students spend at least 200 days in practice learning (in at least two settings); gain experience of undertaking 'statutory' social work tasks (involving legal interventions); and provide services to at least two different service user groups. These practice placements are assessed by practice educators, either placed within organisations, or by independent assessors. Whilst academy-based social work educators generally have recourse to such support mechanisms as collegial discussion, opportunities for moderation and codified assessment procedures when making assessment judgments, the experience of the practice assessor is potentially more isolated – and certainly less well documented. What are practice educators’ experiences and views of the ‘challenging’ or ‘failing’ student on social work placements? What strategies have proved productive in supporting a failing student and what outcomes have educators observed? The present study seeks to answer these questions and to capture and codify some key principles and practices accordingly. In line with recent discussions and concerns within the profession regarding assessment of social work students on placement (Basnett & Sheffield, 2010), the study proffers a sustained and specific focus on the experiences and perceptions of practice educators (PE) to determine their views of the ‘difficult student’, and their sense of the support they require from academic colleagues in order to reach judgments and to implement interventions.

Teaching about groups in a gendered world: Toward curricular transformation in group work education

by Lorraine Gutierrez

Empowering Students for the Future: A Power Perspective on Community Practice

by Lorraine Gutierrez

Teaching Community Practice, Educating Community Practitioners

by Lorraine Gutierrez

When God Became Poor

by Daniel Keeran MSW

by Daniel Keeran, MSW

When the Son of God was conceived in a young virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, God entered humanity in a poor unwed... more When the Son of God was conceived in a young virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, God entered humanity in a poor unwed mother who was delighted that the Lord had recognized the low status of His servant.

She declared that God has visited the poor and powerless and done the opposite of what was expected by the rich and powerful, in bringing His Messiah into the world. The theme of his life was to reach out to those in trouble and to the whole world separated from God by sin.

The hearer-reader is asked to be aware of thoughts and feelings that come up inside as God reaches out and acts in his and her experience.

An integrated and experience-based approach to social work education: The Newcastle model

by Mel Gray

A JOINT AFRICAN-EUROPEAN SOCIAL WORKERS TRAINING IN TANZANIA

by Joke Knockaert

This paper examines a joint African-European Social Workers Training in Tanzania, Kigoma and analyses how this... more
This paper examines a joint African-European Social Workers Training in Tanzania, Kigoma and analyses how this collaboration can be a surplus for both. Can European steppingstones be used in a specific African rural context? Can African experiences enrich the European curriculum?
This 3-year BSW-programme is the result of a sound collaboration between Brothers of Charity (Belgium), University College Arteldehogeschool (Belgium) and Newman Institute of Social Work (Tanzania).
The programme upholds to train competent generalist and critical reflective social workers who assist people to improve their quality of life by enhancing their problem-solving capacities and challenging barriers and inequalities. Belgian lecturers offer European frameworks. Students pick their choice from them. Assignments invite students to translate the theory into concrete regional practices and display creativity and inventiveness in the search for African solutions.  Group seminars are the place where deep discussions take place. These not only enhance student learning outcomes, students also learn to take responsibility for their own learning, reflect on theoretical frameworks and think more critical.
Dissertations and student integration reports show how students take up responsibility in their own immediate environment and help to build services. Graduates, launching projects independently and collaborating with existing initiatives, have a lot to offer to local organizations and people. Feedback from the Tanzanian accreditation commission proofs the innovative character of this training.  The gathered experiences are inspiring for what happens in the BSW-Training in Belgium and are enriching for the individual Belgian lecturer.

Words for Dying, Death, and Living

by Daniel Keeran MSW

by Daniel Keeran, MSW

Much of the content of this paper is from the chapter on Grief Counseling Skills in more Much of the content of this paper is from the chapter on Grief Counseling Skills in http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Counseling-Skills-therapeutic-statements/dp/1442177993

Areas of conversation between the living and the dying are listed and described in practical detail designed for sharing with family and friends.

The most common reaction to the subject of death and dying is to feel afraid and to avoid the discussion altogether, yet being able to talk openly about the end of life, is one of the most important conversations. For the living, unresolved grief is a major cause of poor mental health often resulting in chronic depression, relationship breakdown, addiction, physical illness, and sometimes suicide.

CURSOS DE SERVIÇO SOCIAL NO BRASIL

by Pedro Simoes