Whiting & Birch (E-Journals)
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How social work students develop the skill of professional judgement: Implications for practice educators
Get PDFThis article is based on findings of research into how social work students begin to develop expertise in professional judgement during their practice placements and what enables, facilitates and supports them to do so. The research sought to understand the ‘authentic professional learning’ that took place for social work students who were at the point of qualification. The findings indicate that the optimal environment for the development of the skill of professional judgement is one in which there is the presence and positive inter-relationship of three domains of learning: professional responsibility, the facilitation of the professional voice and learner agency. The role of the practice educator was pivotal to this development but the findings go beyond merely re-articulating the positivity of the student/educator relationship to illuminating what it was about the practice educators’ pedagogical approach that facilitated the development of the skill of professional judgement. This article has a particular focus on implications for practice educators and others who support professional work-based learning. The research indicates the benefits of adopting an autonomy-support approach and the article provides ideas for how this might be incorporated into practice placements.
Defining diversity in groupwork: A relational exploration
Get PDFOne of the basic assumptions underlying all traditional definitions is that diversity is a characteristic of an individual or a group, which is a problematic to groupwork. This paper explores Phases 1 and 2 of a multi-method research project exploring groupworkers’ understandings of diversity and how their perceptions impact their approach to group processes, with implications for group practice advancement. The project consists of sequential phases following a mixed-methods design. In the initial phase, in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted individually with 24 groupworkers. While the second phase (phase two) consisted of 4 focus groups involving theoretical and criterion sampling strategies to interview experienced therapeutically-oriented groupworkers in Western and Eastern Canada. The analysis was guided by Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) constant comparative method involving open-coding, followed by axial coding, and concluded with selective coding.
Groupworkers reported feeling overwhelmed and, in some cases, “paralyzed” by the complex diversity present in their groups. These findings suggest attention to group diversity renders it potentially more relevant and salient. We also found the levels and complexity of diversity increased as the reflection by groupworkers deepened. In keeping with the traditional aims of groupwork, attending to diversity goes beyond the group to include responses to diversity in the organizational and community contexts. Dialogue and change in organizational responses to diversity is important in the areas of organizational climate, allocation of resources, and agency policy and procedures. Accordingly, offering groupworkers and members tools to attend and navigate diversity in situ is a first step towards recognizing its presence and importance. A critical step in moving forward is to examine the nuances of diversity and move beyond thinking of diversity in terms of demographic variables
Digital social work practice through social networking sites. Case study with users of Social Services Community Centre from Malaga (Spain) on Facebook
No full textIsolation is a clear indicator of social exclusion. To tackle it, we wondered if it would be possible to improve digital skills and strengthen bonds through online groups on a social networking site. This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out in Malaga (Spain) with unemployed users of social care services. From the perspective of social work practice with groups, this study aims at strengthening bonds and mutual help through improving digital skills. This was carried out using a Facebook group as a shared space for community empowerment. To know the impact of these interactions, netnography and social network analysis were conveyed, as well as algorithms to identify communities and assess cohesion. Results showed that Facebook groups may be effective tools to promote active learning and mutual support and which can be used effectively by social workers
Supervising fast track social work students on placement: examining the experiences of trainee practice educators
No full textThe last decade has seen the introduction of fast track (FT) social work training programmes as an alternative to 2-year postgraduate courses: Step Up to Social Work began in 2010, joined by Frontline in 2014 and finally Think Ahead, a mental health-focussed social work training programme, in 2016. With the popularity of these courses (Skills for Care analysis of HESA data, 2018), and the uncertainty around the continuation of bursaries, X University validated its own FT social work programme in 2017.
While there have been evaluations of the impact of the aforementioned FT training programmes, there is nothing publicly available examining the experiences of the practice educators who assess these students. Using end-of-placement feedback data from a sample of 14 trainee practice educators, this article will discuss their experience of assessing FT students, including how the students performed on placement and the educators’ views of their own training programme.
Some educators noted a physical and emotional impact on students and a struggle with some to engage in reflective practice. Comments regarding the fast pace of both the FT and practice education programme were also made. Recommendations for the training and support of practice educators supervising FT students will be identified and discussed.
Keywords: fast track, social work education, practice educator, placemen
Virtue epistemology and epistemic humility: national and international implications for social work
No full textThis paper adopts an original approach to social work by using virtue epistemology to analyse critically contemporary social work knowledge and practice. There is an epistemic danger that social workers are using knowledge in an overconfident and uncritical way. It is argued that this epistemic confidence is linked to the narrow and at times authoritarian practices of contemporary social work. The paper reviews the concept of virtue ethics and connects it to epistemology and the virtues needed to apply knowledge ethically. Epistemic humility is seen as a key epistemological virtue in social work and its implications for social work nationally and internationally are considered. The key message of this paper is that virtue epistemology provides a way to explore how we can be before we decide what to d
The place of child development in evaluations related to custody in Turkey
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to examine the reports prepared in the process of deciding the custody of children in divorced families in the context of child development. The reports evaluated in the scope of the research were evaluated by the method of document review and the results were found in the context of child development and the best interest of the child. In this context, a total of 107 reports related to custody were examined. The results from findings show that while evaluations regarding custody are expressed in many places with the emphasis on the development of the children, the reports contain little information about the development of the child. When the child's best interest is considered to be the most important component of child development, it is seen that as a result of these depictions, developing a new system in order to protect the best interest of the child, which is one of the top principles of the law related to custody, and carrying out an evaluation that focuses on child development is necessary
Sustaining a plurality of imperatives: an institutional analysis of knowledge perspectives in Swedish social service policies
Get PDFSocial services are among the public policy areas criticized for lacking a reliable knowledge base to support professional as well as political ambitions and actions. This article contributes to the literature on knowledge perspectives in social service policies by studying and analyzing mechanisms that sustain a plurality of perspectives in the policies. The empirical material consists of knowledge perspectives in social service policies at the national level for child and family care and substance abuse treatment in Sweden between 1992 and 2015. Mechanisms that sustain a plurality of perspectives are identified with the support of an institutional logics framework. The main findings are that a plurality of knowledge perspectives. such as professional, scientific, and organizational, seems to be a permanent rather than temporary configuration; and that this permanent plurality is sustained by a set of mechanisms, including assimilation, blending, segregation, and contradiction. Despite this pluralism, there are few comments or guidelines in policy regarding the relationship between different knowledge perspectives. The findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the relationship between different knowledge perspectives and its impact on social work practice. In this, research and practice together need to support a development towards a more transparent professional acting
Twelve tips to facilitate Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice with students on placements in healthcare settings
Get PDFIt is acknowledged that the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be long-lasting on healthcare organisations. Consequently, healthcare teams will need to work more collaboratively, supporting each other better in the post-pandemic period. Pre-registration clinical placements in healthcare settings provide an ideal opportunity to instil Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) skills, values, and competencies in students early-on. It is a common belief that teams need to have students from two or more professions to facilitate IPECP. Whilst this may be the ideal scenario, healthcare settings were struggling even prior to the pandemic to orchestrate such placement opportunities given the complicated logistics and their resource-intensive nature. This 12 tips paper provides clinical educators with practical tips to facilitate IPECP across the whole continuum from a single student on placement, to several students from two or more professions on placement at the same time. These tips, by promoting IPECP in all student placements, have the potential to re-energise IPECP in healthcare settings, thereby contributing to better outcomes for healthcare professionals, organisations, and service users
Development and psychometric testing of Indonesian clinical assessment tool (In-Cat) for student nurses
Get PDFIn clinical nursing, students apply knowledge gained from classroom experience to real life situations. This educational model is experiential in nature, where patient learning experiences are selected based on the successful learning process. Hence, the competencies anticipated at a certain level are achieved in accordance with the objectives of knowledge.
Purpose: This study was, therefore, aimed at developing a valid clinical assessment tool to guide the education system, and evaluate nursing students’ performance during practice in Indonesia. Methods: This research employed an exploratory sequential mixed method research design. Result: The transcripts generated from Focus Group Discussions and in-depth interviews showed three major areas of competence to be achieved while undergoing clinical practice. These ought to be combined with learning outcomes on the Competency-Based Curriculum in Indonesia, and subsequently reprocessed, to establish the final results, comprising 37 items. The study shows IN-CAT as acceptable (Scale-CVI= 0.9), indicating the agreement is adequate (Cohen’s kappa= 0.795), and satisfactory (The Cronbach’s alpha= 0.949). Conclusion: The results initially specify the scale as a reliable and valid measurement tool, with the potential for use in the assessment and evaluation of clinical competence amongst nursing students. Based on the feedback from teachers and students, The assessment tool demonstrates clarified learning objectives, improved focus, and enhanced the evaluation objectivity