Implications For Social Work Education Research Articles

Noticing ‘them things that may have gone amiss otherwise’: exploring social work placements in schools in England

ABSTRACT Schools play a crucial in the lives of children, families and communities and are increasingly used by social work programmes in England for practice learning. This qualitative study involved in-depth semi structured interviews with ten social work students who had undertaken at least one placement in a school in England. The aim of this study was to understand social work students’ experiences of placements in schools and to explore the benefits and challenges associated with school-based placements. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, manually coded and analyzed for broad themes. The findings indicate a lack of clarity about the roles and tasks expected of student social workers in schools and highlights some benefits for children and families. Implications for social work education and practice are identified.

Gender Sensitivity in Social Workers: Implications for Social Work Education

Gender Sensitivity in Social Workers: Implications for Social Work Education

MSW Student Perspectives on Facilitators and Barriers in Learning About Social Justice in Social Work Practice

ABSTRACT Social work is a practice-based profession with social justice as a core value and ethical principle. Social work programs incorporate social justice into both the explicit and implicit curricula. However, there has been a longstanding divide in how to address social justice at systemic levels while fostering socially just and competent practice. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine how MSW students describe their learning about social justice and social work practice. To explore this area of inquiry, we conducted three focus groups (N = 16) with current MSW students or recent MSW graduates from Canadian social work programs. Participants described the following five themes that either facilitated or created barriers in their learning about social justice and social work practice: 1) reflection on practice, 2) negotiating discomfort, uncertainty, and safety, 3) learning from lived experiences, 4) learning how to embody social justice in practice, and 5) receiving support, supervision, and coaching. We discuss the implications for social work education and practice.

LGBTQ+ People’s Perceptions of Interactions with Outgroup Members: Implications for Social Work Education and Practice

Abstract Engaging respectfully with individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, genderqueer, or gender-nonconforming (LGBTQ+) is an ethical imperative. To help social workers fulfill this obligation, this study explored the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people regarding their interactions with people outside the LGBTQ+ community, and what LGBTQ+ people desire for future interactions. Narrative interviews were conducted with 11 LGBTQ+ social work graduate students and alumni to explore (a) their self-reported experiences engaging in one-on-one and small group interactions with outgroup members throughout their lives and (b) the meaning they gleaned from their life experiences across various domains (e.g., work, family, education) that might improve future interactions. Analysis produced six storylines that can be summarized as (1) unbalanced depictions of difference, (2) avoiding interactions, (3) managing positive treatment of an identity, (4) restricting certain perspectives, (5) focusing on differences, and (6) the importance of seeing humanity. The findings suggest several strategies for interacting with LGBTQ+ people in a more culturally sensitive way including discussing the LGBTQ+ community in a nuanced manner (as opposed to monolithically) and considering the level of attention paid to individuals’ sexual orientation and gender identity.

Canadian social workers’ attitudes toward immigrants with different legal statuses in Canada

Summary This study contributes to the ongoing efforts to address systemic inequality within social work by examining Canadian social workers’ attitudes toward immigrants who are permanent residents (PR), refugees, temporary residents (TR), or undocumented immigrants. Using a cross-sectional design with a convenience sample (n = 653), we explore how social workers’ attitudes toward immigrants vary in relation to (a) respondents’ demographics, (b) contact with immigrants, (c) perceptions of equal opportunities among immigrants, (d) perceptions of deservingness for immigrants with different legal statuses, and (e) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these attitudes. Findings While Canadian social workers generally express positive attitudes toward immigrants, there is a slightly stronger endorsement for PR and refugees to access public services compared to nonstatus (NS) immigrants and TR. Social workers who identify as conservative or have limited contact with immigrants are more likely to perceive NS immigrants as potential criminal threats or burdens on the healthcare system. Significantly, a majority of respondents feel that their social work training inadequately prepares them to work effectively with immigrants. Applications Canadian social workers advocate for principles of diversity, inclusion, and commitment to social justice. However, perceptions regarding which immigrants deserve access to social services vary based on legal status, suggesting a limitation in social workers’ professional mandate. The study discusses implications for social work education and training, emphasizing the need to address and unsettle systemic racism within the profession.

Who is the ‘I’? An exploration of social work professional written discourse and implications for social work education

ABSTRACT This paper brings together two areas of importance to social work education, professional identity and professional writing; identity is often viewed as central to social work practice and education, whilst writing as marginal. However, given that social work is a ‘writing intensive’ profession, writing is a key site of the enactment of professional identity and practice, meriting significant attention. Using the notion of ‘voice’ this paper explores professional identity in writing by analyzing two datasets: 1) a corpus of 1 million words of professional social work writing, exploring the use of I and my perspectival phrases; 2) interviews with 71 social workers exploring perspectives on professional voice in written discourse. Textual analysis indicates six key functions of the social worker I, with an emphasis on the professional voice as reporter, rather than evaluator or analyst. Thematic interview analysis offers insights into the complexity of voice, indicating the contested positioning of the social worker I. We call for critical attention to be paid to voicing in written discourse in social work education and ongoing professional development, indicating ways in which findings and data from this article could be used as resources for pedagogy and debate.

From food security to food sovereignty: preparing social workers to effectively intervene in food systems

ABSTRACT Globally, conventional food systems are failing to produce enough high quality, nutritious food for the world’s population. For those in the helping professions, the most typical entry point into this crisis is emergency food assistance services. However, current food systems are also threaded through with legacies of racialized violence, ongoing exploitation of land and labor, the effects of pollution and climate change, the crisis of hunger, and the desire of peoples across the globe to choose how to nourish their communities. As such, social work education must pay greater attention to the complexity of food systems to prepare future practitioners to effectively intervene in this arena. This paper introduces a conceptual model that distinguishes between food security, food justice, and food sovereignty—examining the model’s utility to social work education and practice. To explore opportunities to integrate course content and practice in food systems, we offer a case study of a community-engaged project to advance food sovereignty efforts in Oregon, tracing contributions to student learning as well as to the community partner. We conclude with implications for social work education so that future practitioners can intervene more effectively and intentionally in food systems.

Online Education: A Scoping Review Examining Learning and Satisfaction Outcomes in Social Work, Medicine, and Nursing

ABSTRACT Social work has a proliferation of online courses. Both nursing and medicine have been using online technology for years with noted success within a variety of subjects. The current scoping review examined empirical research of online learning and satisfaction outcomes in social work, while also comparing results with nursing and medicine. Results showed that most social work studies that examined learning outcomes between online and traditional courses found differences, whereas approximately half of the studies in nursing and medicine reported no differences. Satisfaction results were more varied in each discipline. Taken together, both learning and satisfaction outcomes remain inconclusive due to documented limitations related to study designs. Implications for social work education are discussed and recommendations are provided.

Mental health struggles of social work students: Distress, stigma, and perseverance

Growing evidence reports that social work students experience financial hardship and negative impacts on their health and wellbeing as they juggle study, paid work, and family commitments. Social work qualifying programmes require extended compulsory field placements, which increase students’ financial stress and potentially exacerbate mental health vulnerabilities. A national survey of social work students and recent graduates in Aotearoa New Zealand, was conducted in 2019, gaining 353 responses, augmented by 31 semi-structured interviews. We report the analysis of both open-question survey and interview data related to students’ experience of mental distress. The survey revealed that 58.4% of respondents had sought medical advice on mental health while a social work student. At the same time, 60% of participants who experienced significant anxiety, stress, or depression chose not to seek medical advice for their mental health. Cost and access were among the main reasons for not seeking help. However, more than one in four (28%) identified stigma and fear of career consequences as reasons for not seeking help. This finding has implications for social work education and needs further research and policy development.

Graduate Student Experience Learning About Racism: “You’re going to Feel Uncomfortable… That’s When You’re Going to Learn”

ABSTRACT Although the social work profession has focused on becoming an anti-racist profession, social work students report being insufficiently prepared to challenge and dismantle racism. Current recommendations for educating social workers on racism use findings from White students and omit the voices of individuals who experience racism. However, this phenomenological qualitative study described graduate students from historically excluded racial and ethnic groups in research along with White students’ experiences learning about the influence of historical and contemporary racism upon Black adolescents. Twelve Black, Latinx, multiracial, and White students participated in either individual interviews or a focus group. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Key themes included: feeling uncomfortable as an important aspect of learning about racism, the reason for feeling validated in the course differed for Black and White students; and Black students had concerns about participating in a course on racism. Further, as students discussed how learning influenced their behaviors and perceptions of racism, the following themes emerged: a deeper understanding of racism, enhanced understanding of historical and contemporary racial trauma, greater reflection on policies and procedures, a better understanding of barriers to care, and the importance of trust and genuineness when providing care. Implications for social work education then are presented.

‘Say it with a photograph!’ exploring Greek and Italian students’ opinions and feelings about social work and migration through photovoice

ABSTRACT Continuous refugee crises have led to increasing numbers of social workers working in the migration field, yet the subject is under-represented in social work curricula in many European countries. This international research project aimed to investigate undergraduate social work students’ opinions and feelings about social work practice and migration through photovoice in two Universities in Italy and Greece. Two focus groups took place and subsequently two events about social work practice with migration were co-organized for the whole student cohorts in each University with the participation of social work professionals in the migration field and migrants as experts by experience. Data were analyzed based on qualitative thematic analysis. The findings revealed that social work in migration field is an unknown, fascinating but also unattractive theme for social work students, resulting in shallow understandings and negative representations of the migrant identity as well as their own professional role. Several implications for social work education are highlighted such as the need to prioritize content on social work practice and migration as well as the value of using creative and participatory approaches in class, such as photovoice.

How COVID-19 and Racial Justice Protests Influenced Social Workers’ Perceptions of Policy and Political Participation

Abstract Drawing on political opportunity theory, this study examined how the political context created by the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests influenced social workers’ perceptions about social welfare policy and political participation in the summer of 2020. Authors conducted a thematic analysis of the open-ended survey responses of 120 social work practitioners. Regarding perceptions of policy, respondents reported that they experienced new awareness about the breadth and depth of structural racism in the United States; that they held pessimistic views of the government’s ability to mitigate harm associated with the pandemic or racial injustice; and that structural change, including the expansion of the social safety net, was needed. Regarding participation, respondents described how they used new forms of political engagement in part because of social distancing, but even more so because they were motivated by highly visible acts of racial injustice. At the same time, they experienced barriers to participation including a fear that they were not adequately prepared and asked for additional support from social work professional organizations. Respondents believed that more education is needed about racial justice and political action. These findings have important implications for social work education and practice, especially work to promote social justice.

Decolonizing Social Work Education and Practice with Students and Community Stakeholders: A Case Example from University of Calgary

ABSTRACTSocial work education in Canada has struggled to identify and disrupt systems of oppression and marginalization, rooted in a history of colonialism and slavery, that continues to reverberate through neocolonial policies, pedagogy, and practice. Universities and social work programs remain white spaces that uphold white supremacy, while actively excluding nonwhite members and their ways of knowing and being in the world. It wasn’t until the deepened retrenchment of anti-Black racism during the pandemic, punctuated by the killing of George Floyd, that a group of educators seized an opening to teach an anti-racist and anti-colonial praxis course for the Bachelor of Social Work students in spring of 2021, the first one of its kind in our faculty. Students were encouraged to engage with Indigenous and racialized community youth to imagine and integrate anti-racist and reconciliatory actions as part of their assignments. This paper shares our experiences co-designing and co-teaching this course together with community partners. We emphasize lessons from the applied pedagogical approaches as well as its implications for social work education and social work practice.

Understanding social work education in China - a field snapshot

ABSTRACT Social work education in China has undergone rapid development and faced its multiple growth constraints since the 2000s. This study is an attempt to understand the social work educator’s perspectives on the development of social work, its challenges and prospects in China. Based on the results of qualitative interviews (n = 33) across five schools of social work in three regions (Beijing, Shanghai and Shandong) of China, the study found that social work academia in China is still in the process of organizing and is currently facing numerous practical challenges. This study addresses the definition of the profession in contemporary China, explores the unorganized school curriculum and examines the need for localization to develop China’s own models. Drawing on participants’ testimonies, insight into implications for social work education, pedagogy and practice are outlined in this article.

Behavioral Health Service Use Among Licensed Social Workers: A Qualitative Inquiry

ABSTRACT This paper presents qualitative data collected from 996 licensed social workers in the United States who reported mental health and/or alcohol and other drug problems and indicated the types of services they used to address these issues. Outpatient therapy was the most commonly accessed modality to treat mental health issues. Regarding problems with alcohol and other drugs, self-help groups were the most frequently utilized intervention. Qualitative findings suggest that behavioral health service use has influenced respondents’ work with clients, personal and professional development, and career trajectories. Barriers to service use, such as stigma and limited access to care, were also identified. Implications for social work education and professional practice are discussed.

Strengthening Social Work Skills and Competency Through Exposure to Diversity

ABSTRACT One hundred and fourteen (N=114) Master of Social Work students completed an online survey to explore whether demographic characteristics, prior international travel, and learning abroad program experience were associated with levels of CSWE competencies, racial attitudes, and attitudes toward mental health. Results indicate that multilingual students and students with prior international travel experience self-reported lower levels of policy skill development and lower overall competency development. Age and race were associated with students’ attitudes toward those experiencing mental health concerns, with younger or non-Hispanic White students reporting lower stigma toward those with mental health concerns. No association was found between demographic characteristics, learning abroad participation, prior international travel, and racial attitudes. Implications for social work education, practice, and research are offered.

Social Work Curriculum: Preparation for Sexuality and Sexual Well-being Practice

Abstract Social work—an anti-oppressive, practice-based profession focused on social justice—supports people’s access to and ability to create healthy lives. Therefore, social workers should not only understand and value a service user’s sexuality, but also be able to competently navigate this area of practice. This mixed method study explored the role of social work education in preparing social workers for practice in sexual health settings. Forty-one Australian social workers and allied health professionals participated in a survey, seven of whom participated in subsequent focus groups. A descriptive analysis of surveys was conducted, and inductive analysis of the focus groups resulted in five overarching themes. Theme 1: ‘Educational Journey’ focused on the absence of content in Social Work curricula, contrasting with rich learning from peers and community members. Theme 2: ‘Disease, Disaster and Dysfunction’ highlighted that sexuality content was often framed through a deficit lens in their social work programmes. Theme 3: ‘Placement/Practice Learning’ highlighted the importance of social work field education programmes. Theme 4: ‘Being “Askable”’ was seen as essential. Theme 5: ‘Barriers’ resulted in four sub-themes: (i) Curriculum, (ii) Medicalisation, (iii) Baggage and (iv) Positioning. An overall recommendation is that the social work curricula must prepare social work students to utilise a sexual well-being-informed practice lens and more specifically to be askable. Further, implications for social work education and research are discussed.

Engaging Antiracism Through Interdisciplinary Teaching

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of interdisciplinarity in strengthening social work’s commitments to antiracism at the macro level. We describe our experiences of designing and implementing an interdisciplinary workshop for undergraduate students focused on the use of public policy to aid in the dismantling of white supremacy. Engaging sociological theories of race and racism supported student learning about the systemic nature of racial inequality and the need to accompany individual-level interventions with structural change. The dialogic benefits of interdisciplinarity are discussed in terms of strengthening macro social work education and forwarding a robust and clearly defined antiracist social work epistemology and praxis. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.

Are Social Work Students Being Adequately Prepared to Intervene With Suicide?

Suicide is a major public health issue in the United States, but it is unknown how many social work programs have courses specializing in this topic. The purpose of this study was to establish baseline knowledge of suicide-focused course offerings in social work programs in the United States. A survey of CSWE-accredited programs (n=151) in the United States was used to collect data on social work programs’ suicide content in their curricula at three levels: baccalaureate, graduate, and continuing education. While only 6% of programs offered a required course on suicide, 13.9% offered an elective focused on suicide, and courses with substantial suicide content were available in 25.2% of programs. Continuing education offerings with a focus on suicide were present at 26.5% of programs. The implications for social work education are discussed, including the need for more courses specializing in suicide, especially within MSW programs, and for future research to better understand the factors which limit the development of such courses.

Social Work Students’ Definition and Practice of Self-Compassion as a Guide for Curriculum Enrichment

ABSTRACT Many factors within the social work profession can lead to empathic distress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. These concerns also apply to college students preparing for a career in social work. Compassion has been noted to be of benefit in connecting workers to clients, families, and communities. Likewise, self-compassion involves the skills of non-judgment, empathy, care for oneself, and social action, and has been studied as a preventative for burnout and distress among social workers. Given these benefits for established social workers, defining and practicing self-compassion is critical to the well-being of social work students and is worth examining for addition to social work curricula. In this exploratory qualitative research, using systematic content analysis, students were asked to define self-compassion and share how they engaged in self-care. Participants’ definition of self-compassion using empathy and non-judgment toward oneself reflected the concept of Mindfulness and Self Kindness, components of Neff’s Self-Compassion Scale. However, the element Common Humanity was missing in the students’ definition. Implications for social work education and curriculum development are discussed.