Relational Dimensions of Virtual Social Work Education: Mentoring Faculty in a Web-Based Learning Environment

Abstract

The increasing use of cyber technologies in graduate social work education mirrors the exponential growth of virtual educational strategies in education across fields. The social work emphasis on person-in-environment has led to intense questioning within the field regarding the impact of the virtual environment on teacher-student interactions and relationships in professional knowledge acquisition and development of practice skills. While some theorizing of faculty-student relationships in online education exists in the literature, there has as yet been little integration of a dynamic relational perspective, nor much attention to effects of the virtual environment on those who teach. This article discusses relational dimensions of teaching in a virtual environment in the context of an extensive virtual MSW program that is hybrid in design, and national and international in scope. An innovative program to provide instructional support and mentoring to faculty was created, combining pedagogical and clinical perspectives and techniques to meet the challenges of the new educational paradigm.