scholarly journals Even When No One Is Looking: Students’ Perceptions of Social Work Professions. A Case Study in a Northern Ireland University

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Denise MacDermott
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Word Clouds ◽  
Professional Social Worker

Public perceptions, increased scrutiny and successive governments’ reshaping and attempting to define what is and what is not social work has eroded the progressive and radical force of the profession. This article explores how students’ perceive the profession and presents evidence from a small-scale study conducted in a Northern Ireland University with 37 undergraduate social work students and 25 postgraduate student social workers (training-as-practice educators) on their perceptions of the characteristics of a professional social worker. A quantitative research design was used, consisting of a face-to-face survey distributed to respondents following an input on the Place Model, (Clarke, 2016). Respondents also shared their perceptions in relation to Freidson’s (2001) three logics: professionalism, bureaucracy and the free market, with Ternary graphs and word clouds used as a novel way to present this data. Several themes emerged as important characteristics of social work professionals including reliability, accountability, ethics and appearance. At the other end of the scale, respondents identified unprofessional, de-personalised and cynical as the least aspirational qualities of the profession.

scholarly journals Citizens as social work educators in a post-conflict society: reflections from Northern Ireland

2009 ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Joe Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Core Knowledge ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Impact

This paper examines how service users and carers can contribute to social work education in a post conflict society. A small-scale study undertaken in Northern Ireland is used as a case study to show how such citizens can potentially critically contribute to social work students’ understanding of the impact of conflict on individuals, groups and communities. The need to appreciate the effects of such community division is now a core knowledge requirement of the social work curriculum in Northern Ireland. The article reports on research findings with service users, carers and agency representatives which points to ways in which social work students can achieve a critical understanding of the impact of conflict. Northern Ireland, in this way, is presented as a divided society, still in a state of adjustment and evolution, following a period of protracted community strife and violence. The author suggests that individuals who have been directly affected by conflict can contribute in an informed and critical way to social work students’ developing knowledge and experience in an important area of their professional competence and understanding of anti-oppressive practice more broadly.

scholarly journals ‘I hope to find myself’ Social work students’ initial encounter with practice explored in the context of professional identity

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-38
Author(s):  
Ian Mathews ◽  
Austin Griffiths ◽  
Rachel Hunt ◽  
Kellye McIntyre ◽  
Diane Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Master's Level ◽  
Professional Career ◽  
Education Professional Development ◽  
Professional Social Worker

Abstract: This paper is based on a small scale research study which explores the perceptions and understandings of Master’s level students on the same professional career path but from different national backgrounds; England and the United States. In particular, this study identifies and discusses issues raised by students prior to their first experience of practice education, and explores their evolving understanding of what it means to be, or to become, a professional social worker. In order to provide a theoretical framework for our discussion we adapt and use the work of Eliot Freidson, widely regarded as one of the first theorists to consider the evolution of professions and the acquisition of professionalism.Keywords: social work; practice placements; fieldwork education; professional development; professionalism

scholarly journals A small scale project that involved citizens in the education of social work students during their placement in Northern Ireland

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-138
Author(s):  
Paul McCafferty
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Educational Impact ◽  
Teaching Process ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The University ◽  
Education Process

This article outlines my attempt to create a small scale project, with the aim of involving citizens in the education of student social workers whilst on their placement in Northern Ireland. The article outlines the literature on the subject, describes how the project evolved and discusses how citizens were involved in the direct teaching process. The article continues by describing how the teaching input of the citizens was then transferred into educating five students. The article evaluates the educational impact on the students and discusses the value of involving citizens in the education process during placement. This project was part of my dissertation for my Joint Advanced MSc in Social Work, presented to The University of Ulster and Queens University Belfast.

Social work mobility in Europe: a case study from Ireland

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trish Walsh ◽  
George Wilson ◽  
Erna O’Connor
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Worker Mobility ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The Uk ◽  
National Governments

Social work has been viewed as one of the most nation-specific of the professions, ‘being closely tied up with national traditions, mentalities and institutions’ (Kornbeck, 2004, p 146). In addition, the political imperatives of national governments, austerity measures and managerialism drive approaches to service delivery which may supersede social work’s professional priorities. This militates against an automatic or easy transfer of professional knowledge from one country to another. In spite of this, there has been an enduring interest in developing international forms of social work that transcend national borders (Gray and Fook, 2004; Lyons et al, 2012). In this chapter, we present a case study of social worker mobility as it has evolved from the establishment of the first national social work registration body in the Republic of Ireland in 1997 with a particular focus on data from 2004-13 capturing the years leading up to, and in the aftermath of, the global financial crisis of 2008. We contrast this with the situation in Northern Ireland (NI), part of the UK and a separate and distinct political and legal entity with its own policies and practices. We draw on statistical and descriptive data provided by Irish social work registration bodies (NSWQB 1997-2011; CORU established in 2011 and NISCC, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council established in 2001) to illustrate (i) how sensitive contemporary mobility patterns are to changing economic and political factors; (ii) how rapidly patterns of mobility change and (iii) how much more mired in complexity European social work mobility is likely to be if the European project itself fractures, as is possible following the Brexit referendum vote in the UK.

scholarly journals Online and face-to-face role-play simulations in promoting social work students’ argumentative problem solving

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kati Vapalahti ◽  
Miika Marttunen ◽  
Leena Laurinen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Teaching Experiment ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Alcohol And Drug Abuse ◽  
Role Play Simulation

This paper reports on a teaching experiment in which social work students (n=38) practiced problem solving through argumentative tasks. A teaching experiment was carried out at a Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences in Finland in connection with a course concerning preventative work against alcohol- and drug abuse. This quasi- experimental study investigated whether role-play simulation conducted either online (15 students) or face-to-face (14 students) improved students’ problem solving on social issues. As a pre-test, the students wrote an essay after having watched a dramatization of problematic cases on elderly people’s use of alcohol. The students also attended lectures (30 x 45 min) on the effect of substance abuse and preventive work, and after the role-play simulation they wrote another essay (post-test). Nine controls wrote an essay without participating in the role-play simulation. Lastly, the students filled out feedback questionnaires.

Israeli-Palestinian social work encounters

2020 ◽  
pp. 146801732094936
Author(s):  
Edith Blit-Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Cultural Challenges ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
East Jerusalem

Summary This study deals with the encounters of Arab social work students who are citizens of Israel, with Palestinian clients from East Jerusalem. The study was based on interviews with social work students who carried out their field work in East Jerusalem. This article discusses a special kind of transcultural practice in social work on the basis of a case study analysis of the dynamics and strategies reported by 15 Arab Israeli citizens students regarding their practice with Palestinian Arabs from East Jerusalem. Findings The findings indicate two themes: (1) The encounters aroused inner-personal conflicts regarding the students’ identity. (2) The students noted the importance of creating a dialogue with the clients as a way of coping with the difficulties entailed by their work. Applications This case study calls attention to the importance of embracing a transcultural perspective in practice theory. A transcultural perspective needs to go beyond the conceptualization of culture and ethnicity to include other relevant contextual variables such as structural factors, power relations, and an understanding of the political context. In addition, academic institutions need to develop culturally sensitive training programs while creating a safe space to discuss cultural challenges and while clarifying different identities faced by social work students from minority groups who share similar backgrounds with their clients.

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