Race, Adoption and Tomorrow's Social Workers

1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
Derek Kirton
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Derek Kirton summarises responses from student social workers to a questionnaire on attitudes to race and adoption. The respondents were mainly second-year Social Work (DipSW) students specialising in work with children and families. Two key findings emerged from the survey. Firstly, questions of race and adoption evoke very diverse responses, with an overall tendency towards ‘soft’ support for same-race adoption. Secondly, perspectives are significantly divided according to ethnicity, with minority ethnic social work students markedly more in favour of same-race adoption than their white counterparts. In conclusion, Kirton outlines the possible implications of these findings for adoption policy and practice.

Secondary Traumatization Among Social Work Students—The Contribution of Personal, Professional, and Environmental Factors

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anat Ben-Porat ◽  
Shahar Shemesh ◽  
Ronit Reuven Even Zahav ◽  
Shelly Gottlieb ◽  
Tehila Refaeli
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Explained Variance ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Self Differentiation

Abstract This study examined the rate of secondary traumatic stress (STS) among social work students and the contribution of background variables, personal resources (mastery and self-differentiation) and environmental resources (supervision satisfaction and peer support) to STS. The sample consisted of 259 social work students at three social work schools in Israel. The findings indicated that the mean level of STS was mild. Of the students, 36 per cent suffered STS to a mild extent, 19 per cent to a moderate extent and 18 per cent reported a ‘high to extreme extent’. A significant contribution was made by the student’s year of study, students in their second year of social work school suffered more severely from STS than did students in their first or third years. A positive contribution was made by the student’s level of exposure and a unique contribution was made by mastery and supervision satisfaction to the explained variance of STS. The findings highlight the importance of raising awareness of STS and its implications for social work students, as well as the necessity of helping students cope with this phenomenon. In addition, the study emphasises the significant role of supervisors in the training agencies and the importance of increasing students’ sense of mastery.

scholarly journals Video Intervention to Increase Knowledge About and Interest in Palliative Care Among MSW Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 70-70
Author(s):  
Cathy Berkman
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Video Intervention ◽  
Msw Students ◽  
The Mean

Abstract As the population ages and more people live longer with chronic and life-limiting illnesses, more healthcare professionals with palliative care skills are needed. Social workers are part of the palliative care team, but there is little, if any, content on palliative and end-of-life care in MSW programs. A 24-minute video featuring nine palliative and hospice social workers was produced with two goals: 1) increase knowledge of social work students about palliative and end-of-life care; and 2) interest social work students in a career in palliative social work. MSW students from three schools, in NY and Alabama, viewed the video. After viewing the video, 94 students participated in the mixed methods study, completing the brief, anonymous, online survey. The mean level of understanding about what palliative social workers do, rated from 1 (no understanding) to 5 (very good understanding), was 2.96 (SD=.99) before viewing the video and 4.31 (SD=.61) after, for an increase of 1.35 points (95% CI=1.14, 1.55) (p<.001). The mean level of interest in a career in palliative care social work and working with seriously ill persons and their family members, rated from 1 (Not at all interested) to 5 (Extremely interested), was 2.52 (SD=.99) before viewing the video and 3.45 SD=.80) after, for an increase of .91 points (95% CI=.79, 1.07) (p<.001). Qualitative data supporting the quantitative findings will be presented. This study suggests that a video intervention may be an effective tool to increase knowledge and interest in palliative and end-of-life care among social work students.

scholarly journals Using Portfolios: Integrating Learning and Promoting for Social Work Students

10.18060/59 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Schatz
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Educational Tool ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Graduate Social Work

Portfolios are a valuable educational tool to aid in the integrative experience for graduate social work students. Forty-one graduate students were asked to evaluate their portfolio experience. A Pearson correlation shows that graduate students find the experience of developing a portfolio to be reflective of their second year MSW program (r=.511; p

Australian social work students: Balancing tertiary studies, paid work and poverty

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Len Baglow ◽  
Susan Gair
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Financial Strain ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Life Study ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Study Experience ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
The Impact

Summary It is commonly understood that enrolment in higher education means inevitable financial strain. In an online national survey in 2015, a sample of 2320 current students from 29 Australian social work programs reported on their experiences of juggling life, study and work. Findings This article details preliminary findings regarding the impact of low levels of income on the lives and study success of an Australian student cohort, and offers a considered comparison to relevant available data. Students in this study reported regularly going without necessities, and identified that a lack of finances and long hours in employment were adversely affecting their study experience. These problems became acute during compulsory field placements. Applications The purpose of this study was to illuminate social work students’ complex study realities in order to inform future education, policy and practice. The findings identify that for these students adverse outcomes including poverty and disruption to studies may be increasingly difficult to avoid. This situation may not be confined to this cohort or the Australian experience. There appears to be an urgent need for national bodies, universities and students to join together in advocating for increased support for tertiary social work students.

Student-Directed Behavioral Community Interventions in Social Work Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Bördlein
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Behavior Analysis ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Community Interventions ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Social Work Interventions ◽  
Work Education

Behavioral social work is the application of behavior analysis to the field of social work. There are behavioral social work interventions for individuals, groups, and communities. Nevertheless, behavioral social work is far from a widely adopted approach among social work practitioners. A reason for the underuse might be seen in the fact that most interventions in behavioral social work aim at individual clients and groups. Social work could further benefit from the application of methods taken from behavioral community interventions. Behavioral community interventions modify the behavior of a larger group of people (e.g., pedestrians using a crosswalk, cafeteria patrons, students using a university building) with antecedent- and consequence-focused interventions. The article describes a training program for social work students in behavioral community interventions. Results of two projects, undergraduate students designed and performed, are presented. Behavioral community interventions are recommended as a valuable part of the education of social workers.

Recruiting and Engaging Men as Fathers in Social Work Practice

2014 ◽  
pp. 235-260
Author(s):  
Joseph Fleming ◽  
Andrew King ◽  
Tara Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Engaging Men ◽  
Current Knowledge Base

Evidence in the research literature suggests that men are usually not engaged by social workers, particularly in child welfare and child protection settings. Mothers also tend to become the focus of intervention, even when there is growing evidence that men can take an active and important role in a child's development in addition to providing support to the mother and family. Whilst there have been some promising developments in including men in social work practice internationally, there remains a gap in the research regarding the engagement of men as fathers in Australia. Given the growing relevance of the topic of fathers, the purpose of this chapter is to add to the current knowledge base, to support social work students and practitioners to engage with men in their role as fathers, and to offer an evidence-based practice model that may assist social workers in their work with men as fathers.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and the Five Stages Model In Selected Social Work Textbooks

2020 ◽  
pp. 105413732093230
Author(s):  
Charles A. Corr
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Provision Of Care ◽  
Hospice Palliative Care

Professional social work is a discipline in which practitioners often find themselves engaged in addressing issues related to illness, crises, and loss. Professional social work is also a discipline with links to many associated disciplines, especially those in the social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and gerontology, as well as provision of care in such fields as hospice/palliative care, bereavement support, and counseling. Exploring some aspects of educational programs for professional social workers may help illuminate how professionals are prepared to function in many of these disciplines and areas of human services. This article offers a critical analysis of one limited but important aspect of the education offered to social work students, namely how the work of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and her five stages model are presented in five recent social work textbooks. In each case, there is a description and critical analysis of what authors of these five books write about these subjects. These analyses lead to suggestions concerning how these subjects should or should not be presented in educational programs for students and as guidelines for practice in social work, associated disciplines, and related areas of human services.

Keeping the Boss Happy: Black and Minority Ethnic Students’ Accounts of the Field Education Crisis

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 2168-2186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinthu Srikanthan
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Racial Categories ◽  
Accredited Schools ◽  
School Of Social Work ◽  
Ethnic Students ◽  
Social Work Field Education ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Abstract Social work field education, the mandatory, practice-based component of accredited schools of social work, is in a state of crisis. Welfare state retrenchment has reduced the social and health service sectors’ capacity to provide field education placements. Concurrently, increasing student enrollment in and the expansion of social work programmes in the academy have increased the demand for field education. Whilst the service and academic sectors have developed a range of formal and informal relationships to cope with the crisis that often benefit workers in both domains, the implications for students, especially those who are Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), remain largely unknown. This article reports findings from institutional ethnographic research based on textual analyses and interviews with five BME students from a school of social work in Southern Ontario who were engaged in securing field education placement. A central finding of the study was that racial categories and hierarchies are reproduced across placement settings and in the sorting process of students into placement settings itself, adding to the work of BME social work students. The findings implicate the institutional practices and context of field education in the production of a racially stratified labour market in social work field education.

Positioning Social Justice: Reclaiming Social Work’s Organising Value

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1652-1668
Author(s):  
Dassi Postan-Aizik ◽  
Corey S Shdaimah ◽  
Roni Strier
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Core Value

Abstract This article explores the value of social justice as a shared ethical ground for social workers worldwide. Constructions and interpretations of social justice are deeply affected by different perspectives, contested positions and unequal power dynamics. As societies become ever more diversified, these may hinder the centrality of social justice as a core value. Drawing on data collected from participants in a binational interprofessional seminar on social justice in multi-cultural societies, this qualitative study is based on interviews and visual analysis with 16 American and 15 Israeli social workers and social work students. Findings suggest that social justice remains a core value although it is both an organising and disorganising, unifying and dividing concept. The study explores the positive contribution of positionality to help gain a broader understanding of social justice and navigate challenges in implementation, practice and education in diverse and conflicted settings. Practical implications for social work practice and education are discussed.

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