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 A Mentor’s PATH: Evaluating how service users can be involved as mentors for social work students on observational practice placements

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 46-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill MacSporran
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Service User ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The University

This paper will explore the experience of service user involvement in social work education, examining the challenges of involving ‘seldom heard’ service user voices. Over a six month period, a group of four people with learning disabilities were supported and enabled to take on an assessment role as Mentors for four first year BA(Hons) Social Work students at the University of the West of Scotland. The article will focus on an evaluation of this pilot project and will outline the partnership work between the university and placement agency in planning, preparing, and supporting the mentors to carry out their role in supporting students on placement and assessing their communication skills, value base and readiness to practise. Central to the planning process was the use of PATH – a person centred planning tool. The evaluation will detail the crucial role played by the support staff in the placement agency, without whom this project would not have been possible.The evaluation was carried out using a mixed methods approach and embraced the principles and values of participatory action research. The evaluation provides insight into the experiences of the mentors, the students and support staff, and demonstrates that with the right support in place, and with commitment to thorough planning and preparation, seldom heard service users can be meaningfully involved in social work education.

Establishing working relationships in online social work

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido van de Luitgaarden ◽  
Michelle van der Tier
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Service User ◽  
Psychosocial Problems ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Working Relationship ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Work Education

Summary This article reports on an empirical case study into the process of establishing a working relationship between social workers and service users in an online social work service. Workers were using an online chat application to interact with young people, who sought professional help for various types of psychosocial problems. Two chat conversations and one interview of each of five research participants were analysed in terms of the way in which the working relationship between the service user and the online social worker was established. Thus, a total of 10 chat conversations and five interviews were included in this study. Findings Subjects were shown to be particularly focused on the process of addressing the issues with which the service users were trying to cope. As a consequence, limited effort was observed with regard to shaping the working relationship in such a way that the service user gained control over the course of the conversation. Applications As the medium influences the process of establishing a positive working relationship, it is argued that the worker should be able to understand the implications for the manner in which online conversations are conducted. Social work education is called upon to facilitate the acquiring of the knowledge and skills needed for such. It is suggested that more research into service users’ expectations regarding the working relationship within online social work could provide additional insights for the further improvement of these types of services.

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 Using creativity, co-production and the common third in a communication skills module to identify and mend gaps between the stakeholders of social work education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Reith-Hall
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Social Pedagogy ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Work Education

The involvement of stakeholders – academics, service users and carers, students and practitioners – is thought to improve the quality of social work education, although few approaches and strategies for achieving this have been articulated. Even service-user and carer involvement, which is firmly embedded within social work courses in the UK, would benefit from being better theorised and researched. This paper considers how creativity, co-production and the common third helped social work academics from an English university and service users and carers from a local user-led organisation to design, deliver and evaluate a communication skills module for social work students. In spite of some challenges, effective and supportive relationships have developed, with a range of benefits becoming increasingly apparent. However, the strengths of this partnership highlighted gaps in the relationships with other stakeholders. In a conscious effort to overcome paternalistic traditions of transmission-oriented teaching, some gap-mending strategies were developed to involve students in the module’s design, delivery and evaluation. It is proposed that social pedagogy, with its focus on social inclusion and social justice, might help fulfil a current aim of British higher education, to work with students as partners and increase meaningful involvement and collaboration.

scholarly journals Political Primacy and MSW Students' Interest in Running for Office

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 276-289
Author(s):  
Patrick Meehan
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Study ◽  
Helping Professions ◽  
Making A Difference ◽  
Msw Students ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Elected Office

Although social workers are understood to participate in politics more than the general public, little is known about their interest in running for office. To understand how individuals in “helping” professions like social work may think about running for office, this study introduces the concept of political primacy. Political primacy refers to the value individuals assign to elected office’s ability to make a difference, relative to alternative ways of making a difference. Using data from the Michigan Law & Social Work Study, representing a sample of 545 MSW and 200 JD students across Michigan, political primacy was shown to significantly predict MSW students’ interest in running for office at the local level. Consequently, the more MSW students see elected office as a more effective way of making a difference than alternatives, the more interested they will be in running for office. Implications for social work education are discussed, including the socialization of social work students into politics.

scholarly journals ‘Making It Real’: Evaluating the Impact of Service User and Carer Involvement in Social Work Education

2015 ◽  
pp. bcv121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Tanner ◽  
Rosemary Littlechild ◽  
Joe Duffy ◽  
David Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Service User ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Utilising the ‘common third’ to enhance social work education

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth McCreadie
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Service Users ◽  
The Common ◽  
Work Education

This article considers the utilisation of the common third to prepare social work students for practice by engaging with education in the broadest sense of the term ( Jackson and Cameron, 2011 ). Quality social work practitioners need fully developed reflective capacities to assist with the complex issues faced by individuals who experience marginalisation, discrimination, and inequality. In order to help develop autonomous and critical thinkers, which is of the utmost importance for social work, this article considers the value of the common third as part of the learning process. The common third, using activities to strengthen relationships, enhances social work practice and this article evaluates a three-day residential experience of outdoor pursuits in partnership with students, service users, practice educators, and teaching staff. This experience has been undertaken for several years at the University of West London, funded by the Education Support Grant from the Department of Health. Until now only anecdotal accounts were available; however, in 2018 staff sought written and verbal feedback from participants to assist in the writing of this article. This is based on the 2018 experience of 45 first-year social work students, six academic staff members, three service users, and two social work practice educators. The findings support the positive anecdotal accounts given to date and highlight the benefits of the common third in social work education.

Social Work Education: Multiculturalism

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Rosegrant Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Different Cultures

Despite many debates about the meaning and implications of multiculturalism, it remains an important concept within social work and other professional and academic disciplines. The basic idea of multiculturalism in social work education is that social work students need to learn to work effectively with people from many different cultures, and that this will have a positive impact on their social work practice and on outcomes for those with whom they work. It has been linked to issues of power, oppression, and social change. Future directions include focus on intersectionality and continued development of the implementation and implications of multiculturalism within social work education.

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 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.

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