Work Education In China Research Articles

Challenges to theory-practice integration of social work education in China: theory learning

ABSTRACT Theory-practice integration is vital in social work education. This study examines China’s social work education system, focusing on challenges and solutions in theory-practice integration. Data from 90 participants (faculty, administrators, and students) across 7 schools in different regions were gathered via focus groups and individual interviews. Challenges include faculty lacking social work training and practice experience, limited teaching materials, systemic higher education constraints, and a lack of indigenous social work theory. Faculty overcome these challenges through dedication, acquiring relevant knowledge, and establishing new practice agencies. University-level recognition of social work’s practice-oriented nature and the development of indigenous theories are crucial.

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.

Comparative View on Social Work Education and Practices as Art and Science for China and the USA

Abstract This article provides a comparative view about the current state of social work education in China and the USA. Social work was established in the USA in 1898 and 1920 in China. In the USA, social work has been revolving in the last 122 years while in China, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, social work was abolished from all higher education institutions. The official year that the Master of Social Work programme was reinstituted in China was 2009; and the first graduate cohort began in 2010. In this globalised twenty-first century, this article also includes how the USA and China can make social work education and its practices as art and science.

An Imbalanced professional identity: the experience of being social work educators in Mainland China

ABSTRACT This study explored the lived experience of social work educators in China (SWECs). Eleven SWECs participated in individual interviews to describe their experiences under the expansion of social work education in China, particularly related to research-practice-teaching collaborations. SWECs still questioned their social work attributes when facing challenges in social work education as connected to the country’s policy and practise development. They expressed that their faculty identity is much preferred over that of a social worker. They felt that they must weigh the pros and cons of engaging in practice versus research. They emphasised that social work education aimed to help students build personal capacity, while only three mentioned the importance of developing students’ commitment to the profession. Their inputs informed an essential structure for understanding social work as a profession and a discipline in China where there is a need and demand for its population.

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.

Achieving MSW Students’ Learning Success: A National Survey of All MSW Degree Programmes in China

Abstract Master of Social Work (MSW) training is important for professional development and has created high expectations for social work education in China. However, few studies have evaluated MSW students’ learning outcomes and how students engage in the learning process. To gain insight into MSW students’ learning success, this study focusses on the relationship between students’ learning process and learning outcomes—namely, professional competence and identity—under the guidance of student engagement theory. This study involved MSW students (n = 1,201) from all 104 MSW degree programmes in China in 2017. The data analysis was based on theory-guided structural equation modelling. The results show that student engagement in academic learning is indirectly and positively related to professional competence and professional identity through the full mediating role of field learning. In addition, students’ BSW background and university resources played moderating roles in the relationships between engagement in academic learning and professional identity and between engagement in field learning and professional competence. Field education strengthens students’ achievements. These results could lead to a better understanding of the characteristics of students’ learning engagement and aid the design of adaptable teaching plans. These results may also lead to new ideas for the further modification of social work education in China.

Reconstruction of social work education in China through transformative partnership: Case study of the 30 years’ partnership between The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Peking University

ABSTRACT Social work education, first introduced to the Chinese mainland in the 1920s, was eliminated from all universities in the early 1950s, but was restored to higher education institutions to respond to the growing demand for social workers in the end of 1980s to resolve escalating social problems triggered by the open-door economic policy. In this paper, the authors will present the concept of transformative partnership and discuss the evolvement of the partnership relationship between The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Peking University during the past thirty years in fostering the reconstruction of social work education in Mainland China from 1988 to 2018 and beyond. The authors will illustrate the gradual deepening of our partnership from one which was transactional to one that is transformative in nature. The authors believe that our partnership has not only transformed the traditional paradigm of professional education in China but has also transformed all the key stakeholders involved, particularly the educators, students and service-users through the partnership process.

Transfer Is Not Enough: A Case Study From a Western-Style MSW Program in Beijing

Objective:The main purpose is to empirically investigate the outcomes of a Western-style Master of Social Work program that was designed by School of Social Work, University of Southern California and contextually implemented in School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University.Method:A three-wave panel study was used and a focus group discussion was conducted to evaluate the program.Results:Students reported a significant improvement in professional competence and satisfaction and a moderate decline in professional commitment after classroom training. However, after field training, there was almost no significant difference in professional competence and satisfaction, but there was a decline in professional commitment.Conclusions:The results come down to gaps between organizational development and students’ personal development, between education and practice, and between students’ expectation and reality. This study highlights the importance to fill in the gaps and sheds light on the way to indigenize social work education in China.

Core Competency Education of Social Work Students: An Empirical Assessment Through Scale Development

This study investigates how competency-based education and assessment prepare social work students to become competent professionals, with a quantitative examination of Chinese students’ (n=332) core competencies. Factor analysis suggests that core competencies can be grouped into conceptual and professional dimensions. The regression results demonstrate that curriculum content satisfaction, preference for the social work major, field experience, and knowledge of career outlook are positively related to students’ conceptual, professional, and comprehensive competencies. Gender and willingness for further study also relate positively to both conceptual and comprehensive competencies, and grade is positively associated with professional competency. These findings carry important implications for the competency-based approach to social work education in China.

Geographical Variation and Social Work Students’ Job Intentions in China: A Geographic Information Systems Approach

Social work education in China is undergoing far-reaching development. However, an important issue, low professional commitment, has been identified. Why do social work graduates-especially master's level graduates-take jobs unrelated to social work? To answer this question, it is important to take into account that the professionalization of social work is happening unevenly across China as a result of uneven social and economic development. Models used in past research do not consider the possibility that the low intention for social work jobs and its potential predictors may vary across regions. To address this problem, Geographic Information Systems software is being adopted to explore the varying degrees of social work graduates' job intention, its predictors across China, and the association between job intention and predictors at both national and regional levels. Authors of this study found substantial geographic variation in predictors of social work graduates' job intention across regions. Their findings also suggest some heterogeneity in the association between job intention and specific correlates that would be masked in the traditional nationwide model. Policymakers aiming to improve the job intention of social work graduates should consider regional variation as part of their approach.

Realities and Realizations: Reflections on a Social Work Exchange Program between the United States and China

China has a long and complex history of political, economic, and educational shifts that have resulted in and from changing cultural values. Over time, the significance and format of social work education in China has changed, as has the need for professionally educated social workers that can support the ever-evolving social needs of China. To this end, some Chinese schools have begun to partner with schools in the U.S. to support the professionalizing of social work in China. This article presents the reflections of faculty and students involved in an exchange program for Chinese students to study in a U.S.-based master of social work program. Expectations, realities, needs, and recommendations of both faculty and students are discussed.

Student perceptions of the learning process during undergraduate field practicum: a qualitative study

As social work education in China expands rapidly since 2000, field practicum is one of the most challenging areas. This qualitative study explored the field learning experiences of 27 students from a pioneer social work undergraduate program. Analysis resulted in six major themes revealing the students’ perspective on the process of learning by performing various practice events during 4-week summer block placements. Discussion focuses on the key features of this learning process. Suggestions for future research and implications for field instruction are included.

Competency‐based Education: Evidence from Social Work Postgraduates from Five Universities in China

Social work education in China has undergone rapid development during last two decades. However, methods to define, measure, and evaluate social work students' competency remain largely unexplored. In this study, we evaluated competency in graduate social work students in China and examined factors that impacted competency, based on learning theory. Findings indicated that knowledge and skills learned in class, field placement, and social context all have effects on competency. How students think about individual development and the social work profession has the most significant effect. These findings carry implications for social work education in the Chinese context. The rapid development of social work education in China requires the effective measurement and evaluation of students' core competencies.

Social work education in Cyprus: prospects and challenges in developing an indigenous character

ABSTRACTThe evolution of the social work education and welfare system in Cyprus is inextricably linked to the country’s recent turbulent history. Social Work in the Republic of Cyprus, although shaped by the country’s turbulent political past and present, is also influenced by Western theory as in many other countries in the Asian and African continent [Gray, M., & Fook, J. (2004). The quest for a universal social work: Some issues and implications, Social Work Education, 23(5), 625–644; Rankopo, M. J., & Hwedie, K. O. (2011). Globalization and culturally relevant social work: African perspectives on indigenization. International Social Work, 54(1), 137–147; Yip, K. S. (2007). Tensions and dilemmas of social work education in China. International Social Work, 50(1), 93–105]. In contrast with social welfare which has a long history (since late nineteenth century), social work education is still at an early stage of development in Cyprus. A non-surprising situation given that social work practice and education, in its early stages, is essentially a modernist Western invention which has a history of silencing marginal voices and importing, into diverse cultural contexts across the world, Western thinking primarily from the UK and the USA (Gray & Fook, 2004). However, if an indigenous social work character is to be developed in Cyprus, and a more distinctive identity with regard to the social work academic curricula is to be demonstrated, then Payne’s [(2001). Knowledge bases and knowledge biases in social work. Journal of Social Work, 1(2), 133–136] views on social work knowledge need further exploration.

The Dawn is Too Distant: The Experience of 28 Social Work Graduates Entering the Social Work Field in China

Nurturing new, competent social work professionals requires multilevel preparation extending from school to the workplace. However, not much has been done to understand this school-to-work transition process in countries where the social work profession is still in an early stage of development. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory qualitative study of 28 new social workers in China, where social work is an emerging profession, on how they entered the field and what challenges they encountered. Their stories indicate that what they learned in school did form a foundation for the establishment of their professional identity in the workplace. However, due to workplace politics and to the lack of recognition of their professional status, they experienced an unsettling induction process. Coupled with the challenges of inadequate financial compensation, the careers of these new social workers may face an early end despite the great future for the profession promised by the government. Implications of this study for social work education in China are also discussed.

Social Work Education in China: A Brief History and Contemporary Developments

Social work and social work education have gone through a rough and bumpy road after it was first introduced into China in the early twentieth century. This paper reviews the four phases of historical development of social work education in China, and its rapid development in the recent ten years. The author introduces Chinese government’s policies and strategies to expand social work services and social work education in recent years, and .also argues that social work education in China is still in a weak position and there are a number of potential problems and challenges standing in the way, but professional training and education are likely to be consolidated, increased, and improved.

Humanitarian welfare values in a changing social environment: A survey of social work undergraduate students in Beijing and Shanghai

• Summary: Internationally accepted social work values are based on ideas about rights, social justice and equitable resource distribution. Does social work education in China embody similar values? Are these values influenced by culture and the current political/economic environment? The research posed three questions. Do social work students studying in metropolitan China support humanitarian welfare values? Are values affected by demographic backgrounds? Does social work education enhance humanitarian values? A self-administered, standardized questionnaire was distributed in 26 classes of social work students studying in seven universities in Beijing and Shanghai ( n = 1328).• Findings: Students do not support humanitarian welfare values strongly; and a decrease in these values was observed in senior students. Significant differences in values were found based on gender and on rural/urban origins. Female students were more likely to agree with humanitarian value statements; rural and urban students tended to agree more with values from which they had potential to benefit.• Applications: Social work knowledge and skills rather than values maybe more immediately relevant to Chinese society. However, independent professional practitioners need a solid foundation of professional values to inform practice and standardize the social work role. There needs to be an ongoing debate in China involving social work educators and practitioners about values and their relation to Chinese society, the ways in which they are influenced by non-Chinese cultures; and how to infuse these consistently into social work curricula in Chinese universities.

Imagining Social Work: A Qualitative Study of Students' Perspectives on Social Work in China

Social work education in China has expanded rapidly since it was reintroduced in 1988. This has led to a growing body of English language literature on the development of social work education in China. However, thus far, this literature lacks an empirical foundation and little research on students' perspectives has been done. To fill this gap, this paper reports on a qualitative study of a group of graduating social work students (n = 32) from four social work programmes in Jinan, the provincial capital of the Shandong Province. Three major findings are reported. Firstly, the students liken their social work learning experience to a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs. Secondly, the cultural compatibility of western social work in China has not yet been conclusively established, while an ‘indigenized’ social work needs to be compatible with Chinese family values, referred to as ‘familism’ in direct Chinese to English translation, and with the dominant socialist political ideology. Thirdly, the future of social work is bright given increasing government support for its development.

News and Views...from IASSW: Social work education in China

Exploring the involvement of men who use intimate partner violence in social work education: Student and service user views

Development of Social Work Education in China in the Context of New Policy Initiatives: Issues and Challenges

Social work education in China has experienced a very rapid expansion in recent years. Top Chinese leaders have advocated strongly for social work and in 2006, the government launched a series of new social policy initiatives aimed at professionalizing social work. This has provided an opportunity for researchers and educators to think about the possible impact and future challenges confronting the civil affairs sector and social work educators. In this paper, the authors will provide an analysis of the recent development of social work education in China, and also highlight the major challenges that social work educators and the social services sectors will encounter in the context of the professionalization of social work.