Whiting & Birch (E-Journals)
Not a member yet
1165 research outputs found
Sort by
Promoting conscious competence by introducing mindfulness to social work students
Get PDFGiven the emotive context of social work practice, acquiring competence can be challenging. Professional aptitude involves prowess in analytical thinking and controlling emotions, however, this can create conflict within the therapeutic relationship. For trainees, analytical thinking and managing emotions are difficult skills to attain and are not always directly taught, leaving individuals to their own devices to develop possibly ineffective, strategies for dealing with complex emotions and resulting stress. As evidence suggests social workers are vulnerable to burnout, thus managing work-related stress becomes a career-long necessity and, if not managed, has serious consequences for organisations and service users and workers themselves. To address this gap, we piloted mindfulness sessions based on Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme (MBSR) with final year social work students. These sessions are being increasingly and successfully used in a wide variety of organisations across the globe and there is an increasing body of research evidencing numerous benefits for those involved. Feedback from our students suggests these sessions produced a number of personal and professional benefits and includes promoting their resilience and conscious competence
Editorial: In defence of progressive social work
No full textEditorial to SWSSR 18(2) discusses concerns about the narrow focus of current British Government plans to reform social work educatio
Epistemology and social work: Integrating theory, research and practice through philosophical pragmatism
No full textDebates regarding theory and practice in social work have often avoided detailed discussion regarding the nature of knowledge itself and the various ways this can be created. As a result, positivistic conceptions of knowledge are still assumed by many to be axiomatic, such that context-dependent and practitioner-oriented approaches to knowledge creation and use are assumed to lack epistemological rigor and credibility. By drawing on epistemology, this theoretical paper outlines the case for a renewed approach to knowledge definition, creation and use within social work by reference to pragmatism. Pragmatism has the potential to act as an organizing theoretical framework, taking account of the role of both ontology and epistemology, acting as a functional methodology for the further enhancement of practice-based knowledge
Challenges for social work Education in Vietnam: Voice of social work students
No full textIn the early 1990s, some academic institutions in Vietnam introduced the subject of social work into their curricula and began training students in related programs. The training was, however, not internally coherent, and social work education in Vietnam only really emerged in Vietnam in 2004, when the Ministry of Education and Training approved the national curriculum in the field. In 2010, the government of Vietnam recognized the urgent need for social work professionals to solve various social problems and build public welfare, democracy, and the socialist state. Since then, Vietnam’s social work education has developed rapidly. Currently there are around 55 universities and colleges at the national and provincial levels with active social work programs. But social work education in Vietnam faces many challenges. This paper gives voice to social work students on some of those challenges, including different layers of educators, licensing, materials, and practicum. The paper is based on a survey of, and interviews with, students from 17 universities in Vietnam, and includes concrete recommendations for improving the professional training of social work students
Supporting families: A historical lens on the contradiction of support and neoliberal objectives
No full textAbstract: An increased focus on ‘family’ has developed as part of the social investment state in many countries. In the particular case of England, an intensive state gaze on so-called Troubled Families has developed, where the emphasis is on families with more complex issues that draw on the financial resources of the state. Taking a historical perspective, an exploration of literature across several decades shows some continuity in the ideas of the troubled or problem family: interesting similarities across the decades are highlighted. Along with these portrayals, ideas about how such families can be supported are presented through this historical lens. Thus, contemporary support to families is then problematized, as arguably such support now occupies a space where the retrenched rights (to support) and the vigorously emphasised responsibilities (of individual behaviour and labour market activation) intersect. This article adds to debates on the discourse surrounding troubled families and the neoliberal policy management of the family, providing a discussion of the role of support in such a context
Review
Get PDFA review of Educating Anglicans. Investigating Groupwork in the Church of England by Roger Grainge
Keeping MANDELA alive: A qualitative evaluation of the MANDELA supervision framework four years on
Get PDFFour years after the development of the MANDELA model by Prospera Tedam, an independent evaluation of its effectiveness was conducted in 2014 with 45 social work students and 6 practice educators. The framework was incorporated into the University of Northampton (UN) Social Work Practice Learning Handbook as a recommended practice placement supervision tool for use by students and practice educators. This article summarises the process, findings and recommendations arising from the evaluation. The project sought to evidence the justification for the model’s continued use in social work practice placements. Though the intended audience for this publication are primarily social work students and practice educators in practice placement settings, the model’s underpinning ethos as a strengths based anti-oppressive tool and its unique attributes as a framework that proactively promotes and permits in-depths discussions on pertinent issues of difference, life experiences, individuality and diversity would be of benefit to any university lecturer and other stake holders in the fields of health and social care. The model can also be adapted and used in field education in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and the USA and in other countries where cultural and ethnic diversity in higher education is resulting in differential experiences and outcomes for students from minority backgrounds
Clinical psychology trainees should routinely obtain service user feedback as part of their clinical experience and assessment during training: Why and how?
Get PDFThis study aimed to provide evidence based recommendations to the course team at the University of Birmingham on how to formally obtain and incorporate service user feedback (SUF) into trainee Clinical psychologists placement assessment and clinical experience. Focus groups were held separately with four stakeholders. This included the course team, adult mental health services users, supervisors and trainees. Interestingly, trainees, service users and the course team thought SUF for trainees is for the assessment and development of trainees than it also being useful for the service user and therapy. Supervisors thought SUF for trainees is no different to SUF used as part of routine clinical practice and is, additionally, being used in the assessment of trainees. Many of the stakeholder choices and concerns were influenced by their understanding of SUF for trainees. The results were discussed in a working group of representatives from each stakeholder group and recommendations were made
Learning from child protection Serious Case Reviews in England: A critical appraisal
No full textThis article explores the key role of Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) in the English child protection system. After exploring the relevant regulation and guidance it is argued that the impact of these reviews on the child protection system has been largely negative. Research and empirical data contradict the dominant narrative that the child protection system is ‘failing’. An alternative approach is proposed which would allow for learning from child deaths whilst avoiding the negative and damaging impact of the current system