Social work education through open and distance learning in India: opportunities and challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 813-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bishnu Mohan Dash
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bishnu Mohan Dash

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the perception of the students towards the quality and effectiveness of social work education offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) through open and distance learning (ODL). Design/methodology/approach The sample size consisted of 150 students, 15 academic counsellors engaged in either teaching or development sectors, or faculty members of School of Social Work of IGNOU. The methods of data collection included interviews and content analysis. Interview schedule for students, interview guide for academic counsellors and interview guide for faculty members were used. Findings The study centres were allotted as per student’s choice. Students were satisfied with the counsellors because of their support, availability, contact, accessibility and assisting the students to clearing their doubts. The study found that the student’s attendance in counselling sessions was found to be negligible, even a large number of respondents were not aware of the ODL system. The study also shows that students face lots of problem with regard to their field work supervision and other components of field work as were also neglected. Practical implications The findings of the study are extremely relevant for formulating necessary guidelines for improving the social work education through ODL mode. The study recommends revision of course materials translated in Hindi language, holding of individual and group conferences regularly as well as proper evaluation of field work reports. Originality/value This is first such study conducted in India to examine the effectiveness of social work education through ODL.


1998 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elbert Siegel ◽  
Joanne G. Jennings ◽  
Jack Conklin ◽  
Shelly A. Napoletano Flynn

1998 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Thyer ◽  
Thomas Artelt ◽  
Martha K. Markward ◽  
Cheryl D. Dozier

Author(s):  
Chhabi Kumar

As the national Governments are grappling with the SDGs, they can get benefitted by the rich pool of knowledge which professional social work has generated. The social work organizations are therefore fast emerging as major role players in developing countries where resources are scarce and change is immediately needed. India is home to one third of the extremely poor population of the world. It is a major challenge as the communities to be addressed are diverse in terms of level of development, ethnicity, socio economic profile, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Social work professionals can immensely contribute to bring such communities to mainstream. This is the reason why capacity building of professional social workers is a matter of concern particularly in developing countries. The conventional systems of education find themselves very unfavorably positioned to meet such educational demands. This chapter identifies the issues involved in social work education, describes its role to accomplish SDGs and explores the role of Open and Distance Learning (ODL).


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