scholarly journals Social work education: Reflections during Covid-19 lockdown

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-48
Author(s):  
Kelly J. Glubb-Smith ◽  
Tania Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Student Resilience ◽  
The Face ◽  
To Come ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Impact

Teaching social work students in Aotearoa New Zealand during the Covid-19 crisis produced an acute awareness of the impact of lockdown levels 3 and 4 on student wellbeing. Students were required to rapidly adapt to study in a fully online environment without the face-to-face support of university campus life. Normal social and academic pressures were immediately intensified, with no immediate relief in sight. Student resilience was tested further due to multiple factors such as: suddenly reduced incomes, parenting during lockdown, caring for whānau both within and external to their “bubble”, and being unable to come together with loved ones to celebrate life events or mourn those who had passed.

scholarly journals Quality social work placements for Māori social work students

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-67
Author(s):  
Hannah Mooney ◽  
Michael Dale ◽  
Kathryn Hay
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Pasifika Students ◽  
Work Education

INTRODUCTION: Māori perspectives should be genuinely represented and integrated into social work education to ensure Māori and non-Māori social work students alike are prepared for working effectively in Aotearoa New Zealand. In field education, Māori students may have particular needs and expectations that should be considered by academic staff and placement host organisations. Consequently, the placement experience for Māori students should reflect these needs and expectations.METHOD: As part of a wider research project which aimed to advance the quality of social work placements for Māori and Pasifika students, a hui was undertaken with a roopu (Māori branch) of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Work (ANZASW) in late 2014. This article focuses on their views of what constitutes a quality placement for Māori social work students. The project explored two key areas: what does a quality placement look like for Māori social work students and what can tertiary institutions do to better support Māori students to have a quality placement?FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Participants emphasised the usefulness of placement preparedness, clear expectations and open communication prior to, and during, placement. The placement should also be culturally safe and adequately challenge the student. Tertiary providers should support the student’s placement by being in regular face-to-face contact; preparing the student for the placement environment; supporting external cultural supervision; and by critically reviewing their curriculum.

Evaluating the Impact of a Hartford Gero-Rich Project on a Bachelor of Social Work Program

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (sp1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Barton ◽  
Harriet L. Cohen ◽  
Cecilia L. Thomas ◽  
Mark H. Sandel
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
State University ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Bachelor Of Social Work ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Social Work Program ◽  
The Impact

In response to the greater need for professionally educated Bachelor of Social Work social workers to work with older adults, a multipronged approach was developed and implemented to infuse gerontology content into the undergraduate social work curriculum at a large state university in Texas. Efforts were made to help ensure that curricular and organizational changes would be sustained for the long term. These initiatives were funded by and were part of the national Hartford Geriatric Enrichment in Social Work Education Program. A quasiexperimental evaluation was conducted involving four cohorts of social work students. Findings demonstrate success in changing students' 1) career aspirations, 2) perceptions of faculty's knowledge of issues concerning older adults, 3) perceptions of their own knowledge of issues concerning older adults, and 4) perceptions of older adults.

scholarly journals Cultural support workers in the Aotearoa New Zealand healthcare setting: Challenge and opportunity for health social work

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maree Goh
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Healthcare Setting ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Cultural Support ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Impact

INTRODUCTION: In Aotearoa New Zealand, as elsewhere in the world, healthcare providers are seeking better ways to engage with increasingly ethnically and linguistically diverse communities. The use of cultural support workers (CSWs) to act as a bridge between services and such communities is proving to be an effective strategy for achieving this. For the social work profession, the advent of CSW roles presents both challenges and opportunities.APPROACH: A review of literature outlines the challenge of delivering culturally responsive and appropriate services to migrant and refugee communities and describes the role played by CSWs to increase the cultural understanding of healthcare providers and improve health outcomes for these communities. The impact of such roles on health social work is explored and how current social work education prepares practitioners for practice in an increasingly multicultural society.CONCLUSIONS: This article outlines the key issues that arise from the introduction of CSWs, the potential for collaboration and the opportunity that exists for health social work to refocus and redefine its role in the healthcare setting.

scholarly journals ‘Resilient when it comes to death’: Exploring the significance of bereavement for the well – being of social work students

2020 ◽  
pp. 147332502096773
Author(s):  
Denise Turner ◽  
Marie Price
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Free Association ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Training And Support ◽  
The Impact

This article describes a pilot qualitative research study, exploring the impact of bereavement experiences, on pre-qualifying social work students in two UK Universities with diverse demographics. The research study took place in the context of general concern about the mental health of UK University students and suggests that social work students may be at particular risk of developing emotional wellbeing issues linked to bereavement. Interviews followed a free association narrative technique, with analysis of the data highlighting four main themes. Firstly, bereavement is associated with practical problems which may trigger wellbeing issues. Secondly, there is an increased need for specific bereavement training and support to be embedded within social work programmes, alongside skills and knowledge of cultural diversity and the part this plays in the bereavement process. Lastly, the study demonstrated that bereavement experiences are not isolated but linked to other losses and therefore students may need effective support to process these before they can effectively support others. The study appears to be distinctive in its focus on the impacts of bereavement on social work students and has significant implications for the ways in which students are supported by social work education programmes, as well as paving the way for further research in this area.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the involvement of service users in post-qualifying social work education: Expected and unexpected results

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 44-56
Author(s):  
Helen M Burrows
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Service User ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
East Midlands ◽  
Making A Difference ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Impact

There is a long policy and tradition of service users being involved in the education of social work students and post-qualifying candidates, and they are recognised as educators in their own right, however there appears to have been limited measurement of the impact of service user educator involvement in post-qualifying education on practice, and ultimately on outcomes for end service users. A collaborative partnership between service user educators, practitioners and academics carried out research in this area in four local authorities in the English East Midlands (Equally Experienced Research Group, 2011); whilst it was found that direct service user educator input had a positive impact on candidates’ practice, some unexpected and somewhat surprising responses arose. Interviews with candidates’ line managers identified that there appeared to be significantly less active evaluation of outcomes for service users than we had assumed would be the case.This paper initially sets the context for considering these responses by outlining the research undertaken, and considering how post-qualifying education as a whole might be evaluated as making a difference to practice. The second part of the paper looks at wider issues of evaluating practice and organisational service delivery. Methods used for measuring service user outcomes will be considered, alongside consideration of the active participation of service users in developing individual practice and agency service provision.

scholarly journals Improving practice learning

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Linda Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Personal Impact ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Student Demand ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Impact

Undertaking practice placements (fieldwork instruction, agency-based practice learning) is an integral part of professional social work education and training across the United Kingdom. Scottish universities and partner social work service providers have however experienced long term challenges in an effort to ensure that an adequate number of practice placements were available to meet the student demand. Particularly well documented are the problems associated with a shortfall in the number of active practice teachers (fieldwork educators and practice learning facilitators) and agency settings willing to take a student.Less is known however about the impact of a shortfall of practice placements has on social work students themselves. This article outlines the findings of a survey, involving 164 social work Students, which explores the personal impact of a delayed start to a practice placement and describes one University’s attempt to eliminate these negative consequences for students by implementing new approaches to the organisation and delivery of practice learning.

scholarly journals Developing Kia Tene/Off the Cuff – A resource for field educators in social work in Aotearoa New Zealand

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jude Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Teaching Excellence ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Tertiary Teaching ◽  
Work Education

Kia Tene denotes something to hand, something easily picked up and used. It is the name for a resource set of 14 learning and teaching activities designed specifically for field educators working with social work students in the field in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is available for viewing and use under the Creative Commons 3.0 share-alike licence at http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/kia-tene. The Kia Tene/Off the Cuff resource was completed during 2009 and 2010 and funded by Ako Aotearoa National Centre of Tertiary Teaching Excellence. The project was a collaboration between 12 schools of social work led by Jude Douglas. Students, field educators and fieldwork coordinators were involved with its development. This paper outlines the context of field education in social work education in Aotearoa New Zealand and then describes some key challenges and how this project serves as a response to them. 

scholarly journals A matter of degrees: The role of education in the professionalisation journey of social work in New Zealand

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Beddoe
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
History Of ◽  
A Site ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Impact

Social work in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ) is a contested profession on a journey of professionalisation in an era where contradictory forces impact on its position and strength. Social work education reflects these tensions, being influenced by economic and political forces. The delineation of a benchmark qualification for entry is a core feature of professional status and so the inception of professionalregistration has impacted on social work education in ANZ as it has elsewhere. The aim of this paper is to explore dimensions of the history of social work education in ANZ, the impact of the Social Workers Registration Act (2003) (SWRA) and to examine some current constraints and consider the challenges professional education faces in the next 50 years. It is argued that social work education has been, is and will remain a site of struggle.

Balancing Clarity, Rigor, and Access: Academic Transfer in Social Work Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Michele Belliveau ◽  
Kathy Schank ◽  
Sheila Roth
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
Program Transfer ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Seamless Transfer ◽  
The Impact

Given the rising cost of higher education, many students begin their academic career in community college. For social work students, this can be a more affordable path to a BSW degree and potential eligibility for advanced standing. This administrative note describes the impact of one state's program-to-program transfer articulation agreement on three social work programs that created a viable transfer pathway for students. Statewide agreements can facilitate a seamless transfer for economically vulnerable students, many of whom come from the communities they will eventually serve. They also present challenges for program autonomy and raise questions for accredited social work education. The authors conclude with recommendations for social work education to promote a more diverse student body and clearer pathways for students who transfer.

scholarly journals Learning Effectiveness of Social Work Methods With Groups, in Online and Face-to-Face Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicoleta Neamţu ◽  
Cristina Faludi
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Full Time ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Face

During the last three decades, thousands of highly qualified social workers who graduated from Romanian universities were employed in the public systems of social work of the European Union. Social group work is studied as a compulsory discipline for undergraduate students. The major focus of our study was the effectiveness of the learning of Social Work Methods with Groups (SWMG) of students, using workshops in a full-time undergraduate program from Romania. We were interested in finding out the perceptions of students about their learning processes and outcomes in the context of teaching the same discipline exclusively in the online medium, due to the pandemic, and in the face-to-face environment via traditional classroom instruction. This study had a mainly quantitative design, covering two academic years between 2018 and 2020 for the two cohorts of social work students. The core analysis was focused on the activities of students at the SWMG laboratories: 50 students in 2020 and 92 students in 2019. Descriptive, inferential statistics and thematic content analysis were applied to two types of deliverables of students: the self-assessment sheet and the group plan. The results of our study showed that training of cognitive and self-awareness skills prevailed among the students who learned online in 2020, while the acquisition of interpersonal skills was reported at a significantly higher level by students who learned in the face-to-face medium in 2019. The students in the traditional classrooms favoured the training of other professional skills, too, like problem-solving skills. However, students who studied exclusively online attributed a significantly greater overall usefulness of SWMG workshops for professional practise than their peers who participated in the face-to-face laboratories. A remarkable result was that more therapeutic and support groups were preferred in the online environment, maybe related to the concerns generated by the pandemic. Remote education forced most students to return to their original places of residence, mostly in the countryside and brought negative psychological effects caused by social isolation due to the pandemic. Remote learning is not the most desirable educational option. Students gain most from blended teaching-learning vehicles: face-to-face and online medium.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document