Development Of Social Work Education Research Articles

Professional identity and local realities: social work education in Ethiopia

ABSTRACT The three historical eras of social work education in Ethiopia are examined in this article, with particular attention devoted to how each era began, was contextualized, and was integrated with service delivery. Interviews with 28 social work graduates and faculty members were conducted as part of the qualitative research study. Additionally, unpublished documents from ministerial offices and universities were examined. The data are arranged and presented chronologically to offer the experiences in the three periods. The analysis found that various contextualizing strategies for social work education were used through curriculum development, fieldwork, community engagement, and obtaining research outputs. Making social work education more responsive to the national context has been challenging due to a lack of country-specific reading materials and policy frameworks that define professional social work and standards of practice. Further, the absence of social work for 30 years has erased the profession’s identity from public memory. The continued development of social work education and practice in Ethiopia will benefit from the creation of local educational resources and policy frameworks.

Development of Social Work Education in Nepal: A Historical Review

Social work is not a new discipline in Nepal. However, it is slowly expanding professionally and currently faces various challenges. Including need to rely on modern techniques, cultural distancing from the environment and strategies because there is not a professional social work model in Nepal. In addition, difficulties include a lack of training, guidelines, and instruction at the governmental level; absence of functioning associated social organizations’ ethics, and accountability on the part of social workers. This study seeks to address issues impeding professionalism to protect service users. The search engines Google, Google Scholar, Google Book, ProQuest, and Eric, etc. were used in this study. Two primary themes were studied: the challenges and implications of social work education in Nepal. To discuss findings, content analysis of the themes was employed. This study finds that social work practice needs to be properly regulated and accredited. The social worker should promote social work practice and instruction. Social workers ought to be recognized by the government to increase funding in the field. The Nepalese social work model can be developed with the help of practitioners and even service users. The vision for Nepalese social work should be to get the profession recognized and strengthen the association of social work.

A chronology of the history and development of social work education in Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT This article presents a detailed history of the development of social work education in Northern Ireland from 1962 to 2020 as a chronology spanning 58 years. Policy mapping was used as a model to build the chronology. A brief examination of the social, political and geographical context of Northern Ireland outlining the distinctive nature of social work in a post-conflict context are discussed. The chronology is presented as a table detailing the development of social work education in Northern Ireland over the last five decades. This culminates in a discussion which highlights some key shifts in policy and practice developments as they relate to social work education in Northern Ireland at pre and post qualifying levels.

News from our societies – IASSW: Supporting development of social work education around the world: Still a contemporary challenge

News from our societies – IASSW: Supporting development of social work education around the world: Still a contemporary challenge

EXPERIENCES OF SERVICE USER INVOLVEMENT IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION IN ENGLAND AND SLOVENIA

In this article we discuss the nature of service user involvement in Higher Education (HE) social work programmes in both England and Slovenia. This discussion is based on our experiences of supporting such programmes alongside evidence derived from the literature. Firstly, we present a discussion of the effective development of service user involvement in the respective HEIs in our two countries. Secondly, we explore how the involvement of experts-by-experience in HEIs benefits the learning of social work students. Thirdly, we investigate how the emergence of Covid-19 has influenced the delivery of social work education and the involvement of service users in our respective social work programmes. We conclude by noting that our social work programmes have been forced to adapt to the needs of students in an online community and have embraced inclusive education. As a result of this, we suggest that the needs of experts-by-experience should inform the development of social work education and that they should be consulted on how they choose to be involved in educational practice. Key words experiential knowledge, expertise-by-experience, service user involvement, England, Slovenia

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF TRAINING DOCTORS OF PHILOSOPHY IN SOCIAL WORK

The article analyzes the international experience of training doctors of philosophy in social work.The author analyzed the models of training and certification of scientific personnel in different countries of the world (Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland).The activity of international structures, professional communities on the popularization of scientific and methodical experience, theory and practice of doctoral education is characterized (European University Association, Council for Doctoral Education, Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work, The International Association Of Schools Of Social Work, Realising the potential of researchers). Among the tasks of the activities of the above and other international structures, institutionalized global professional communities (associations, organizations, programs, etc.) is the coordination of activities related to the development of social work education: development of standards to improve the quality of education; organizing and holding forums for exchange of research; popularization of scientific and methodological experience, theory and practice of doctoral education in social work.An analysis of the state of using the experience of foreign programs in the training of doctors of philosophy in social work in Ukraine was carried out. In order to generalize the level of use of foreign experience in the training of doctors of philosophy in Ukraine, the state of taking into account the experience of foreign programs during the formulation of goals and program results of training in domestic educational and scientific programs in social work was analyzed. The main source is information on the self-assessment of the ONP from the specialty 231 Social work, formed by higher education institutions, by scientific institutions during the accreditation of educational and scientific programs by the National Agency for Quality Assurance of Higher Education.

Does Chinese Social Work Students’ Career Intention Match Their Professional Identity? The Role of Background Factors

Abstract Professional identity is essential for the career choice of social work. Exploring social work students’ perceptions of professional identity and career intention is necessary to understand the phenomenon of major-to-occupation mismatch in China. The present study involved a national sample of 2,018 social work undergraduates and postgraduates to investigate whether students displayed matching levels of professional identity and career intention and the association with their personal and educational background. To differentiate between social work as a discipline and an occupation, the concept of professional identity was split into two variables: disciplinary and occupational identity. Three groups of students were identified and labelled as having matching perceptions (49.8/44.1 per cent), lower disciplinary/occupational identity and higher career intention (7.8/5.6 per cent) and higher disciplinary/occupational identity and lower career intention (42.5/50.3 per cent), respectively. Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that students’ residential area, family economic status, degree programme, grade of study, university category and university location were significantly associated with whether they reported matching levels of professional identity and career intention. The findings can be explained by the imbalanced development of social work education and practice in China, implying the necessity of promoting social work employment benefits and cooperation between academic institutions and service organisations.

The development of social work education in South Korea: a historical review

ABSTRACT Social work education is a major institutional mechanism for providing trained and capable professionals who can ensure the profession’s accountability to public interests. In many countries, through enacting laws and issuing policies, the state plays an important role in shaping the training and preparation of professional social workers. Despite the significant role of the state in shaping social work education, this topic has attracted little attention in the literature. Informed by an historical institutionalism perspective, in this paper, we examine how the state shapes social work education in South Korea, a systematic introduction which is rarely found in the English literature. Looking at its development process, we suggest that social work education in South Korea has been shaped by and positioned as an institutional mechanism to support the development of its welfare regime.

Social work education in Nigeria and the search for enhanced local relevance: perspectives from social work academics

ABSTRACT Social work education should be responsive to local practices. This qualitative study, based on interviews with six social work academics, in four Nigerian universities, explored the development of social work education in Nigeria, and the integration of local content into counter-hegemonic Western knowledge. A Key Informant Interview (KII) guide based around key themes was used for data collection. The findings reveal local content is being integrated into social work programmes. However, the dearth of locally relevant literature to inform and support contextually relevant social work education/practice means students are receiving indigenous, local knowledge largely through the experiential knowledge of academics, students, and community representatives; case examples; field practicum; and the creative use of languages and cultural diversity. We offer recommendations for sustainable approaches for integrating indigenous knowledge into Nigerian/African social work education. First, we build the empirical foundation of Nigerian social work through further research and publication of existing research to generate new knowledge and understanding, including transferring existing experiential knowledge into an accessible published format. Second, there are regular staff development workshops, seminars, and training for social work educators (both academics and practitioners). Third, we open up the curriculum review process to be inclusive of practitioners, service users/community representatives, and early-career academics. What is crucial in relation to each of the three recommendations is embedding local knowledge into social work curricula.

The contribution of Western pedagogy and knowledge in the development of social work education in Nigeria: a coin of two sides

ABSTRACT Historically, the development of social work education in most African countries has been strongly influenced by and modeled upon Western knowledge and pedagogy. Social work education has not been the product of a progressive indigenous social transformation but rather that of foreign practices imposed on African societies. This paper, therefore, examines the contribution of western pedagogy and knowledge in the development of social work education in Nigeria. In-depth interviews were used to collect data from eight purposively selected social work educators and thematically analysed. Findings show that the curriculum that is used in Nigerian social work education is designed in line with European culture and orientation. Also, most textbooks used for social work education in Nigeria are from the Western context and thus, have not been able to aptly address the unique issues, culture, and behavioural patterns of Nigeria. Therefore, there is the need for transformation of Nigerian social work education from being Western-centric to being Afro-centric while accommodating the relevance of its Western-centric origin. It is recommended that indigenous knowledge and culture should be incorporated and integrated into social work education in Nigeria to reflect and stimulate services that are culturally and nationally compatible.

The factors affecting curriculum design of social work degree programs in Mainland China: Accounts of social work educators

This study aims to fill the research gaps on the general and specific socio-cultural factors that influence social work curriculum design in Mainland China through semi-structured telephone interviews with 23 social work educators in 23 cities across different Chinese regions. They reveal the factors that influence the curriculum and measures that could be used to improve the existing curriculum for positive impacts. An influence map is proposed which provides the groundwork for further developments in social work education in Mainland China. This study also alerts social work educators to the importance of flexibility in adapting social work curricula to societal needs.

Professional development of social work education and practice in Pakistan within a global context

ABSTRACT Issues such as lack of licensure and registration, a dearth of standards, and lack of defined job descriptions and job titles are some obstacles that create challenges to the expansion of the field of social work internationally. The purpose of this article is to provide insight on the challenges of implementation and professional development of social work education and practice in Pakistan. This article is divided into five sections: the historical development and characteristics of social work education, the development of social work practice, the professional development of social workers, the need to improve social work education, and professionalizing social work practice and education using indigenous social work education and practice in Pakistan.

The Perspective of Social Work Education Development in Malaysia and Australia

This article explored the development of social work education in Malaysia and Australia focusing on three areas; professions, standards and education. The findings indicated that social work programmes and courses should be more entrepreneurial, research-oriented, and more efficient in its teaching methodology. Additionally, social work programmes should emphasise on the development of social work as a profession, strengthen the governance of social work education, and develop programs that focus on the global agenda. In Malaysia, the social work education began in 1975 whereas in Australia, it started in 1940 with the launch of Social Work Degree Program in the University of Sydney. In Australia, social work programmes are accredited by a professional body known as the Australian Association for Social Work (AASW), while in Malaysia, there is no established or authorised professional body to accredit the programmes. Without it, the path for social work profession to develop may be affected or compromised. This could be the contributing factor causing the delay in the development of social work education in Malaysia when compared to Australia.

Discussion on the Universalization of Social Work Education

With the development of the times and the continuous reform and deepening of education in China, it has become a new trend to introduce general education into social work education. The general education of social education can not only improve the basic quality of social workers and enhance their adaptability at work, but also help to solve the difficulties they encounter in social life. In recent years, with the popularization of the concept of general education, many colleges and universities also began to learn from the concept of general education to carry out general education for college students, which is of great significance to the general development of social work education. This paper studies and discusses the universalization of social work education.

The History of Social Work Education in Turkey

Since the early years of the 20th century, following the educational studies carried out by Charity Organization in England and New York Philanthropy School in the USA, social work education has been introduced and this kind of education has spread to many other countries in the world. One of those countries including social work education is Turkey. For more than 50 years, thanks to the education act in Turkey, there have been many social workers and conductors. By cooperating with various disciplines and under the leadership of the United Nations, the first school of social work education “Social Services Academy” was launched in 1961 in Turkey. Offering 4-year occupational education following high school, Social Services Academy has been the foundation of social work education, especially Hacettepe University Department of Social Work and contributed to the foundation of other schools in Turkey. This study aims to discuss historical development of social work education in Turkey.

Venturing into the unknown with the use of ICTs in social work education during COVID-19

ABSTRACT This paper reports on a case study of Hong Kong based on the authors’ participatory observations and analysis of a university delivering qualifying social work programmes during COVID-19. Some background is provided for responses to COVID-19 in Hong Kong, with particular attention paid to the evolving responses of the university under study. The paper then reviews and discusses (i) the strategies deviating from traditional face-to-face meetings that have been adopted during different waves of the pandemic in the local context; (ii) the responses of teachers to using information and communication technology (ICT) in their teaching and their concerns about the new methods; (iii) the opportunities and challenges offered by the use of ICT in social work education; and (iv) the implications of this sudden uptake in ICT for teaching for the future development of social work education in response to social uncertainties.

The International development of social work education: The Vietnam experience E Cohen, A Hines, L Drabble, H Nguyen, M Han, S Sen and D Faires

The International development of social work education: The Vietnam experience <i>E Cohen, A Hines, L Drabble, H Nguyen, M Han, S Sen and D Faires</i>

Challenges for social work education in China: findings from three metropolises

ABSTRACT Social work education was reintroduced into China in 1988 by the Communist Party of China. Since then, many research studies have been initiated both in Chinese and English aimed at understanding the development of social work education and practice in Mainland China. However, a growing body of literature has not focused much on the students’ perspective and the challenges they face in social work education in contemporary China. In order to contribute to addressing this gap, the present study reports on qualitative interviews with a group of social work postgraduate (n = 33) students from five schools of social work covering Shandong, Shanghai and Beijing provinces in the country. The study finds that there are four major challenges for social work education in China: (i) the use of Western concepts in the Chinese context; (ii) a journey from the unknown to the known; (iii) first-generation learners; and (iv) the lack of professional identity.

The sub-structure and subjectivity construction of social work development in China

ABSTRACT Under the structural changes during the reform and opening-up, social work education has been re-established for 30-year in China with the efforts from different actors. It develops rapidly, and even the effects may be unbalanced. As the re-established subject and career, social work education and practice are sub-structures in nature. Their developments are affected strongly by the economic-social transformation and political system. The process is a sub-structural development. The re-establishment of social work is a process of multi-subjects construction: It is led by government policies while the government and academic groups collaborate for it. The groups of social work educators and practitioners facilitate the process. The overseas academic groups support and cooperate for it. These actors facilitate the development of social work education and profession. The social work develops the path with its characteristics. It is compatible with reform and development. The reflection on professional development is also be required.

Social work education in Albania: a developing landscape of challenges and opportunities

ABSTRACT The social work profession in Albania is relatively young and social services in the country continue to develop. But over the past three decades, Albania has experienced significant growth and transformation in its social work education programmes. Nevertheless, there is very little published work on the Albanian social work education system and its implementation on the ground. Currently, the main sources of social work graduates are three Schools of Social Work in Tirana, Shkodra, and Elbasan. Programmes at the bachelor's and master's level all incorporate policy, research, and practice education. The social work curriculum, originally transplanted from the United States, has gone through reforms following the Bologna process and continues to be revised to meet local needs. Drawing from a multi-country study of the social service workforce in southeast Europe, this paper presents baseline data on social work education in Albania. 62 participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, case stories, and focus group discussions with consensus-building exercises. The findings highlight both the opportunities and challenges of this relatively young profession in Albania. Besides increasing understandings of social work education in Albania, this research adds to emerging regional and global themes in the development of social work education and practice.