scholarly journals Failing to fail students in the caring professions

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Mike Shapton
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Personal View ◽  
Practice Teaching ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Practice Assessment ◽  
Practice Teacher

This article represents a personal view of the phenomenon of professionals ‘failing to fail’ students of questionable competence. It is mainly drawn from the author’s experience first as a practice teacher, then as a lecturer and manager of a social work qualifying programme and recently as tutor of a programme preparing social workers and others to become practice teachers and assessors. The article first examines aspects of the process of practice assessment and then argues that the turnover amongst those given this responsibility means that the expertise appropriate to undertaking such a complex task is difficult to accumulate. It then offers some remedies that focus more on organisational responses than simply on the individual professionals who take on this essential responsibility.Much of the recent concern about social work practice teaching and assessing has focussed on the question of quantity. Getting enough practice learning opportunities is a perennial problem in itself- but this article addresses an issue of quality, namely ensuring that both pass and fail decisions are made with confidence.As the author’s background is social work in England, the article will use social work terminology and refer to social work and other documents from the English context, but he hopes that readers from other professions and countries will find the debate useful.This article is developed from a talk given by the author at the fifth International Conference on Practice Teaching and Field Education in Health and Social Work, York, 10-12 July 2006.

An exploration of issues affecting the assessment of social work students on practice placement in England

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Caffrey
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Practice Teaching ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Training And Support ◽  
The Impact

Abstract;This PN explores issues affecting assessment of social work students on practice placements in England.  The authors have many years of experience in this area of social work and aim to highlight concerns about the complexity of assessment in practice settings. The PN reports on research presented by (author) at the 12th International Conference on Practice Teaching and Field Education in Health and Social Work, September 2018 to consider student perspectives. These highlight a sense of feeling powerless and judged. The PN also explores the wider issues potentially impacting on the assessment of students practice. Acknowledging the challenges of all assessments the PN considers how assessment of student practice may be further complicated by factors including the role and demands of universities, the impact of training and support for practice educators and pressures within current social work practice. The PN highlights longstanding inequalities within social work assessment on placements for some student groups, including BAME students. The authors draw on Brookfields (1998) reflective lenses and encourage the social work profession to reflect and consider how current practice might be improved. The authors invite ideas and feedback to stimulate a professional debate and new ideas.

On a Wing and a Prayer! An Exploration of Students’ Experiences of External Supervision

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Cleak ◽  
Ines Zuchowski ◽  
Mark Cleaver
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Supervisory Relationship

Abstract Field education is a core component of social work courses globally and has been recognised as providing significant learning opportunities to develop professional practice. Evidence highlights the strong correlation between student satisfaction with their supervisory relationship and their satisfaction with placement, but current practices have resulted in more reliance on placements with a variety of supervisory arrangements, which may be compromising a quality and supportive supervisory relationship. This article reports on an Australian online survey of 284 social work students about their experience of supervision, focusing on 119 students who received external supervision. Both quantitative ratings and qualitative comments showed that students generally described their external supervision as valuable and offered space to reflect critically on practice. Nevertheless, many felt disadvantaged without a social work presence onsite and not being observed or observing social work practice. Concerns were raised about task supervisors who offered supervision ‘on the run’ and had limited understanding of social work roles and values. Many students struggled on placement and felt that, once placement was confirmed, they received minimal support from University staff. Findings should alert field education programmes that students require consistent and ongoing involvement.

The Portfolio Approach for Generalist Social Work Practice: A Successful Tool for Students in Field Education

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona S. Schatz ◽  
Sarah Simon
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Evaluation Instrument ◽  
Field Instructors ◽  
Portfolio Approach ◽  
Field Setting

This article introduces the use of a portfolio approach for integrating the generalist educational experience for baccalaureate students. To assess the benefit of this type of educational tool, students and field instructors completed an evaluation instrument. Responses from students and field instructors revealed that the portfolio was an excellent approach to enhance the integrative aspects of learning needed for students in a generalist social work field experience. Though the sample is limited to one social work undergraduate program, these findings further illustrated that the portfolio helped students demonstrate learning outcomes tied to the generalist social work approach and improved the quality and depth of the learning experience in the field setting.

scholarly journals Empowerment i velfærdsarbejde fordrer professionel læring

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Maja Lundemark Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Relational Work ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
The Individual

ResuméDet sociale og pædagogiske velfærdsarbejde i Danmark har udviklet sig, så der kan iagttages to modsatrettede tendenser, hvor den ene handler om mere kontrol og sanktioner i velfærdsarbejdet, og den anden handler om at øge borgernes deltagelse og ejerskab i egen sag. Denne artikel diskuterer om – og hvordan – det er muligt at øge borgernes deltagelse og ejerskab i egen sag gennem en kommunikativ kompetenceudvikling hos de professionelle. Artiklens fokus er en undersøgelse af, hvordan et praksisforskningsprojekt kan bidrage til refleksion og læring i den professionelle praksis, som kan medvirke til et øget samarbejde mellem borger og professionel. Observationer og direkte supervision af praksis kan danne en frugtbar akse, hvor organisation, profession og forskning spiller sammen i en kritisk konstruktiv optik, der kan omsættes i læring og konkrete produktive forandringer i mødet mellem system og borger. AbstractEmpowerment within modern welfare requires professional skills. Power and power relations are dominant concepts in any form of social and relational work in modern welfare. In order to create an empowering partnership between service users and social workers it is necessary to research the production of power and to make power relations visible and negotiable. Service users’ perspectives and democratic principles could strengthen empowerment processes and develop social work practice. This article discusses how practice research as a process of collaboration is able to inform professional competence building and reflection to further cooperation between the professionals and the service users. Paying attention to details and micro processes in the individual meetings between service user and professional makes it obvious to understand how professionals can learn to communicate and work with empowerment in cooperation with the service users. On this basis the article concludes that it is possible for practice research – based on a close collaboration between research, social work and user perspectives – to inform new learning processes among professionals, and this in turn can contribute to a more empowering perspective in the collaboration between professionals and service users.

Gaps between academia and practice: Perspectives on new graduates’ readiness for social work practice in Georgia

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282110263
Author(s):  
Inga Saitadze ◽  
Darejan Dvalishvili
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Academic Program ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
New Graduates ◽  
Readiness For Practice

The study explores the perspectives of social work students, faculty, and the main employer of social workers with regard to new graduates’ readiness for social work practice in Georgia. The results of focus groups and in-person interviews revealed significant gaps and tension between academic programs and professional practice contributing to students’ low levels of readiness for practice. Participants identified various concerns regarding academic program curricula, field education, and professional practice; although, reasons for new graduates’ lack of readiness for practice highlighted by the main employer and academic program faculty were conflicting and pointed need for further actions.

Practice makes perfect: Designing Integrated Learning Experiences in Social Work Education using Laurillard’s ‘Conversational Framework’ for Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-65
Author(s):  
Alison Domakin
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
Work Education

Providing an integrated curriculum in social work education is a complex task and the profession has long struggled with how best to link knowledge and practice in qualifying studies.  This prompted the author to design a unit of study inspired by Laurillard’s seminal ‘Conversational Framework’ for learning, which suggests that opportunities for questioning and dialogue with an expert provide a pivotal mechanism for integrating learning.  In this model discussions need to be hard wired into experiential learning opportunities; both of which must occur simultaneously.    Bespoke e-learning curriculum materials were, therefore, developed to be studied alongside an experience of social work and dialogue with practitioners.   The unit was located on a Step up to Social Work (child and family) qualifying programme, delivered jointly with partner local authorities, which meant that greater access to practitioners was possible. Realist evaluation analysis of student feedback suggests that being able to synchronously draw on learning from experiencing practice and bespoke academic input, in dialogue with practitioners, can help students to develop more integrated understandings of the skills and knowledge required for social work practice.   

Keeping MANDELA alive: A qualitative evaluation of the MANDELA supervision framework four years on

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-58
Author(s):  
Prospera Tedam ◽  
Millicent Munowenyu
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The University

Four years after the development of the MANDELA model by Prospera Tedam, an independent evaluation of its effectiveness was conducted in 2014 with 45 social work students and 6 practice educators. The framework was incorporated into the University of Northampton (UN) Social Work Practice Learning Handbook as a recommended practice placement supervision tool for use by students and practice educators. This article summarises the process, findings and recommendations arising from the evaluation. The project sought to evidence the justification for the model’s continued use in social work practice placements. Though the intended audience for this publication are primarily social work students and practice educators in practice placement settings, the model’s underpinning ethos as a strengths based anti-oppressive tool and its unique attributes as a framework that proactively promotes and permits in-depths discussions on pertinent issues of difference, life experiences, individuality and diversity would be of benefit to any university lecturer and other stake holders in the fields of health and social care. The model can also be adapted and used in field education in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and the USA and in other countries where cultural and ethnic diversity in higher education is resulting in differential experiences and outcomes for students from minority backgrounds.

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