An Emerging Resource in U.S. Social Work—Professional Education of Bachelor Degree Personnel

1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-33
Author(s):  
Allie C. Kilpatrick ◽  
Gary L. Shaffer

Baccalaureate social work personnel in the United States have gone through a significant transformation during the past decade. Always a significant part of the social work labour force, they are now being prepared to assume a profes sional role. The two studies discussed in this paper highlight some of the current trends in Batchelor of Social Work programmes which have been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education since 1974. As this transition continues into the 1980's, the Baccalaureate practitioner will play an increasingly important role in the delivery of social services in the U.S.

2012 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 566-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaime Marcuello-Servós

The aim of this article is to analyse and describe social work education and its professional context in Spain. Specifically, it analyses new degree implementation as a consequence of the Bologna Process over the last 10 years. It posits some ideas about the social sciences beyond the dominant paradigms with the aim of overcoming corporatism. It concludes that social sciences could be used as a toolkit where several instruments and techniques may be useful in tackling social problems in a transdisciplinary way and in systems thinking. What one is able to solve and learn in the present is more interesting than remaining in the past and asking about one’s background.


2019 ◽  
pp. 83-88
Author(s):  
Spencer James Zeiger

Former social work educators, and social work educators standing on the threshold of The Next Chapter, have wisdom to share regarding the future of social work education. We must pay attention to their ideas; our profession is at stake. Topics covered in this chapter include doctoral preparation (with the growth of social work education programs in the United States and a large wave of social work educators retiring, attracting well-prepared new faculty has never been greater); online concerns (most study participants were reluctant to give online programs a ringing endorsement); and the need for increased content on aging (as baby boomers progress through their lifespan, and as life expectancy increases with medical advances, the number of older adults requiring social services will continue to rise).


Author(s):  
Arati Maleku ◽  
Richard Hoefer

This chapter examines the engagement of social work academics in the policy process in the United States. It begins by presenting an overview of social policy and the welfare state in the United States and by discussing the emergence of the social work profession in that country. The development of social work education in the United States and its contemporary features are then depicted. Following these, the methodology and the findings of a study of the policy engagement of American social work academics are presented. The findings relate to the levels of engagement in policy and the forms that this takes. The study also offers insights into various factors that are associated with these, such as perceptions, capabilities, institutional support and the accessibility of the policy process. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the findings and their implications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 158-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh MacAlister

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to expose and dispel some outdated dilemmas and straw men that have drawn attention away from debates of substance in social work. The paper presents what Frontline believes to be the substantive dilemmas facing the social work profession, as it looks into the future. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the insights and experiences of the past four years during which Frontline has been innovating in the field of social work education and leadership development. Findings Building a better social work system requires addressing several important questions, namely, whether social work; first, is a practical or intellectual task; second, is a generic or specialist profession; third, focuses on social or therapeutic change; fourth, requires bureaucrats or change agents; and fifth, involves measuring inspections or measuring outcomes. Originality/value The paper sets out the key dilemmas facing the social work profession, which must be debated and addressed in order to build a better social work system.


Author(s):  
Zeinab Abulhul

The Libyan government urgently needs a professional social workers’ mission to help decrease social problems that have emerged and been aggravated due to civil war and political conflicts. However, the present social work community in Libya cannot mitigate social problems or simplify social services effectively to meet people’s needs. Thus, teaching and learning methodologies need to be developed inside and outside educational institutions so that the challenges presently facing Libyan society can be overcome. The purpose of this paper is to suggest adopting an American social work curriculum experience in Libyan social work education according to Libyan ideology. The researcher depicts nine social work competencies (e.g., knowledge, professional values, skills, and professional processes and practices), as well as a set of behaviors that reflect social workers’ competencies that relate to the social work curriculum applied in colleges in the United States. The author’s goal is to encourage Libyan social work professionals to take advantage of this knowledge and these experiences to develop the Libyan social work education curriculum. This could ensure that graduates of social work programs are qualified to help people deal with social problems when they enter the workforce.


2003 ◽  
Vol 37 (01) ◽  
pp. 41-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
继 同 刘

中 国 内 地 社 会 工 作 教 育 的 恢 复 和 发 展 已 走 过 年 辉 煌 历 程, 取 得 令 人 注 目 的 成 就。 在 经 济 市 场 化 和 福 利 社 会 化 处 境 下, 中 国 内 地 社 会 工 作 教 育 发 展 面 临 诸 多 争 论 议 题 和 两 难 选 择。 本 文 从 文 献 回 顾 角 度, 明 确 提 出 中 国 内 地 社 会 工 作 教 育 发 展 的 十 个 重 要 课 题, 简 要 回 顾 每 个 重 要 课 题 的 历 史 发 展, 客 观 描 述 各 种 重 要 课 题 中 的 争 论 议 题, 全 面 分 析 不 同 重 要 课 题 面 临 的 两 难 选 择, 理 论 概 括 中 国 社 会 工 作 教 育 发 展 基 本 关 系 的 理 想 类 型。 本 文 的 主 要 结 论 是, 中 国 社 会 工 作 教 育 应 更 为 及 时 有 效 地 回 应 独 特 的 中 国 社 会 环 境 和 变 迁 的 社 会 需 要, 建 立 与 政 府 决 策 部 门、 正 规 社 会 福 利 服 务 机 构 和 非 政 府 组 织 之 间 的 制 度 性 伙 伴 关 系。 The revival and development of the social work education in China underwent a brilliant process and attained evident achievements in the past 20 years. In the contextual moves towards market orientation and welfare towards socialisation, the social work education faces debatable issues and dilemmas. In terms of literature review, the article clearly shows ten critical issues on the social work education development in China, briefly review their historical development, objectively describes all kinds of the debatable issues about them, comprehensively analyses the dilemmas in dealing with them and theoretically summarises the ideal category for them. The conclusion of the article is that the social work education in China must timely and effectively respond to the special environments and varying needs of Chinese society and establish the partnership with the policy-making governmental departments, official welfare organisations and NGO in Chinese society.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110103
Author(s):  
Susanny J Beltran ◽  
Vivian J Miller ◽  
Tyrone Hamler

Summary Involvement in the political process in the United States is critical for social work professionals, as social policies dictate funding and programming in social work practice. Yet, there is little to no focus given to the regulation writing process in the social work literature in the United States. This article contributes to the scant body of knowledge that addresses the regulatory process from a social work perspective. A brief overview of the regulation writing process is provided, followed by a case study using the regulations for the U.S. Older Americans Act Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to illustrate the process. Findings A total of 85 comments, submitted to the Federal Register docket, were analyzed using content analysis. Findings reveal that comment submissions varied greatly in terms of length, source, and input. Notably, findings indicate low participation from the social work profession. Application The open comment period of the regulation writing process offers a free, but effortful, window of opportunity for social workers to engage in post-legislative advocacy. There is a need to support the involvement of the social work profession in the regulation writing process, through practice and training enhancements.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eija Raatikainen ◽  
Leigh Anne Rauhala ◽  
Seija Mäenpää

PurposeThe main goal of the one semester long intervention for first-year Bachelor of Social Services students was to enable them to increase their awareness of a variety of cultures and practices encountered in social pedagogical work and to support the development of their ability to interact empathically with clients.Design/methodology/approachThe aim of this article is to describe an educational intervention focused on teaching Qualified Empathic skills to social work students in higher education at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Finland. We introduce the concept of Qualified Empathy to describe professional empathic working skills and define it as: Qualified Empathy requires compassion for empathic action and it includes the ability for professional self-reflection, emotional skills and a healthy set of boundaries. Qualified Empathy encompasses the ability to tell the difference between sympathy and empathy, as it includes the capacity to use compassion to act in an empathic way in professional contexts (Raatikainen et al., 2017). The study was a case study, designed to explore the students' experiences of their one semester long educational intervention (n = 20). Our research question was: How do students construct Qualified Empathy as a dimension of their own professional expertise?FindingsThe results of the study demonstrate the progress areas of the students' Qualified Empathy skills. The development stages in the three progress areas are: (1) from emotional reaction to emotional response, (2) from understanding to empathic acting and (3) from client perspective to a more systemic approach. Implications of the results for Social Services students are discussed.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, as in all studies, some limitations need to be taken into account. One limitation of this study is the size and “nature of data”. Secondly, challenges with the concept of Qualified Empathy need to be addressed and more research is needed to define it more concretely. Even so, as it is a new concept, we need more discussion on the differences in the definition of empathy and Qualified Empathy. However, this study offers one new perspective for discussion which is the need for empathy training, in social work education practices and in the field. An important ethical aspect of research emphasizes that its implementation must not be to the detriment of the people being researched (Juuti and Puusa, 2020, pp. 168).Practical implicationsOur findings demonstrate that educational interventions can improve students' empathy skills to more qualified skills. We emphasized that maintaining the skill demands continuous reflection as a lifelong process. This article provides an overview of an educational intervention to improve students' Qualified Empathy skills and suggests a definition for educators to frame the teaching of professional empathy or empathy in a professional context – especially in the social work context. Furthermore, with this educational intervention in social work, we offer a way to support the students to – not only – have a more professional approach to empathy but also to find a way to establish a more emotionally sustainable environment for professionals in social services. It is essential for social work education to focus on the growth of Qualified Empathy in students through supervision and guidance which supports their professional competence. By doing so, we contribute to the development of more sustainable working environments in the social work context.Social implicationsProfessional empathy is seen as an important factor in building a socially sustainable society from the perspectives of employees, clients and patients. We noticed that it is important to allow time and space for the learners to internalize the concept of Qualified Empathy. When we allow for this, students begin to recognize and assign more value to it and, as we suggest, they become more adept in their interactions and work with clients.Originality/valueThe study was a case study, designed to explore the students' experiences of their one semester long educational intervention (n = 20). Our research question was: How do students construct Qualified Empathy as a dimension of their own professional expertise? The results of the study demonstrate the progress areas of the students' Qualified Empathy skills. The development stages in the three progress areas are: (1) from emotional reaction to emotional response, (2) from understanding to empathic acting and (3) from client perspective to a more systemic approach. Implications of the results for Social Services students are discussed.


Author(s):  
Naila Iqbal Khan

To provide effective social services to different cultural groups requires cultural understanding which is often missed in recent social work education programs and textbooks. The use of fundamentally different social work knowledge and a different approach in every different cultural group is the key to effective social work in different areas. How to adopt social work in working with Muslim communities is an unresolved question so far. It can be done only by focusing on possible client characteristics, understanding the level of difficulties, and requirements from the perspective of the social workers. Issues of spirituality, different levels of understanding and working knowledge of working professionals, and understanding expectations of clients are relevant. All the educational institutions, agencies, and social workers must put up coordinated efforts to achieve the objective of localized social work for Muslim clients.


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