A Scoping Review of Social Media Use in Social Work Practice.

PubMed

Chan, Chitat

2016-01-01

The trend of using social media in social work is increasing, but research which systematically reviews and evaluates their uses in actual practice is limited. This article reviews the social work literature to identify the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media in social work practice, and identifies current gaps in the literature to provide recommendations for future social work research. Articles in 64 social work journals published between 2000 and 2014 were screened and analyzed. The included articles (n = 20) were analyzed with particular reference to their level of evidence and ways of social media use. The methodological quality of the studies in this review was low, and this was consistent with the findings of recent systematic reviews of social media use in medical healthcare. The findings initially suggested that social media can potentially contribute to various social work processes, including: service user engagement, need assessment, intervention, and program evaluation. Limitations include lack of quality control, reliability, confidentiality, and privacy. In social work, the dominant research concern in social media is more about professional ethics than their application in intervention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Teaching Note--Incorporating Social Innovation Content into Macro Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitt-Catsouphes, Marcie; Cosner Berzin, Stephanie

2015-01-01

The practice of social innovation offers promising approaches for addressing social issues. Although many social innovation strategies are congruent with macro social work theory and practice, some of the insights and tactics that have emerged in the social innovation field have the potential to strengthen current macro practice. Based on our…

Feminist Social Work: Practice and Theory of Practice.

PubMed

Eyal-Lubling, Roni; Krumer-Nevo, Michal

2016-07-01

Although feminist social work has been practiced in Israel since the 1970s, little has been written about it. This qualitative study aims to fill this gap by documenting and conceptualizing feminist theory of practice and actual practice based on interviews with 12 feminist social workers. Findings reveal that the interviewees perceive feminist practice as significantly different from traditional social work practice based on four analytical principles: (1) gender analysis, (2) awareness of power relations, (3) analysis of welfare services as structures of oppression, and (4) utilization of feminist language, as well as 10 principles of action. The principles are discussed in the context of feminist social work in Israel and in light of feminist principles described in international literature.

An Intensive Continuing Education Initiative to Train Social Workers for Military Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith-Osborne, Alexa

2015-01-01

Specific standards exist for social work practice with service members, military families, and veterans, whether in civilian or military practice settings. Based on these standards, a continuing education certificate for practitioners was designed with companion military social work coursework in the advanced graduate curriculum and field…

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to School Social Work Practice: A Mixed-Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teasley, Martell; Canifield, James P.; Archuleta, Adrian J.; Crutchfield, Jandel; Chavis, Annie McCullough

2012-01-01

Understanding barriers to practice is a growing area within school social work research. Using a convenience sample of 284 school social workers, this study replicates the efforts of a mixed-method investigation designed to identify barriers and facilitators to school social work practice within different geographic locations. Time constraints and…

Advancing Hospice and Palliative Care Social Work Leadership in Interprofessional Education and Practice.

PubMed

Blacker, Susan; Head, Barbara A; Jones, Barbara L; Remke, Stacy S; Supiano, Katherine

2016-01-01

The importance of interprofessional collaboration in achieving high quality outcomes, improving patient quality of life, and decreasing costs has been growing significantly in health care. Palliative care has been viewed as an exemplary model of interprofessional care delivery, yet best practices in both interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional practice (IPP) in the field are still developing. So, too, is the leadership of hospice and palliative care social workers within IPE and IPP. Generating evidence regarding best practices that can prepare social work professionals for collaborative practice is essential. Lessons learned from practice experiences of social workers working in hospice and palliative care can inform educational efforts of all professionals. The emergence of interprofessional education and competencies is a development that is relevant to social work practice in this field. Opportunities for hospice and palliative social workers to demonstrate leadership in IPE and IPP are presented in this article.

Implementation Science: Why it matters for the future of social work.

PubMed

Cabassa, Leopoldo J

2016-01-01

Bridging the gap between research and practice is a critical frontier for the future of social work. Integrating implementation science into social work can advance our profession's effort to bring research and practice closer together. Implementation science examines the factors, processes, and strategies that influence the uptake, use, and sustainability of empirically-supported interventions, practice innovations, and social policies in routine practice settings. The aims of this paper are to describe the key characteristics of implementation science, illustrate how implementation science matters to social work by describing several contributions this field can make to reducing racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care, and outline a training agenda to help integrate implementation science in graduate-level social work programs.

Implementation Science: Why it matters for the future of social work

PubMed Central

Cabassa, Leopoldo J.

2016-01-01

Bridging the gap between research and practice is a critical frontier for the future of social work. Integrating implementation science into social work can advance our profession’s effort to bring research and practice closer together. Implementation science examines the factors, processes, and strategies that influence the uptake, use, and sustainability of empirically-supported interventions, practice innovations, and social policies in routine practice settings. The aims of this paper are to describe the key characteristics of implementation science, illustrate how implementation science matters to social work by describing several contributions this field can make to reducing racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care, and outline a training agenda to help integrate implementation science in graduate-level social work programs. PMID:28216992

Training MSSW Students for Military Social Work Practice and Doctoral Students in Military Resilience Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DuMars, Tyler; Bolton, Kristin; Maleku, Arati; Smith-Osborne, Alexa

2015-01-01

The demand for social workers with military-related practice and research experience exceeds the current supply. To advance military social work education, we developed an interlevel master's of science in social work (MSSW) field practicum and doctoral research practicum that provides military social work field experiences and contributes to…

Catalyzing Innovation in Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Traube, Dorian E.; Begun, Stephanie; Okpych, Nathanael; Choy-Brown, Mimi

2017-01-01

Social innovation is defined by novelty and improvement. This definition requires social work practice to be more effective or efficient than preexisting alternatives. Practice innovation is accomplished by leveraging technical, social, and economic factors to generate novel interventions, diffusion or adoption of the interventions into broader…

Social work, technology, and ethical practices: a review and evaluation of the national association of social workers' technology standards.

PubMed

Lopez, Amy

2014-10-01

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are becoming essential to social work practice by providing increased treatment possibilities and reducing barriers to service. While recognizing the importance of ICTs in practice, social work practitioners have had concerns about ethical use. In response, NASW compiled the Standards for Technology and Social Work Practice. While the guidelines set the groundwork, they were not embedded in a process that would allow them to adapt to the swift pace of ICT changes. This article reviews the current Standards, evaluates how these have been implemented by practitioners, and offers suggestions for updates.

The Reflective Practitioner: A Contemporary Paradigm's Relevance for Social Work Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papell, Catherine P.; Skolnik, Louise

1992-01-01

A discussion of the role of reflective thinking in the social work professional's training and practice looks at theories on the relationship of reflection and skilled action and at contemporary social work theories. It is suggested that Donald Schon's reflection-in-action model has applications in social work education and practice. (MSE)

The Place of Community in Social Work Practice Research: Conceptual and Methodological Developments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coulton, Claudia

2005-01-01

Community is widely acknowledged as a fundamental aspect of social work practice, and this formulation distinguishes social work from other professions. Because of this long-standing tradition, social work needs to make a greater investment in producing scientific knowledge to enable community change and to incorporate community context into…

Examining Inclusion of Evidence-Based Practice on Social Work Training Program Websites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wike, Traci L.; Bledsoe, Sarah E.; Bellamy, Jennifer L.; Grady, Melissa D.

2013-01-01

Websites represent a visible medium for social work programs to communicate information about social work research, academics, and professional training priorities, including evidence-based practice (EBP). However, few studies have examined the content of social work program websites. This exploratory study aimed to answer the question: Are EBP…

Social Work's Role in Medicaid Reform: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Bachman, Sara S; Wachman, Madeline; Manning, Leticia; Cohen, Alexander M; Seifert, Robert W; Jones, David K; Fitzgerald, Therese; Nuzum, Rachel; Riley, Patricia

2017-12-01

To critically analyze social work's role in Medicaid reform. We conducted semistructured interviews with 46 stakeholders from 10 US states that use a range of Medicaid reform approaches. We identified participants using snowball and purposive sampling. We gathered data in 2016 and analyzed them using qualitative methods. Multiple themes emerged: (1) social work participates in Medicaid reform through clinical practice, including care coordination and case management; (2) there is a gap between social work's practice-level and systems-level involvement in Medicaid innovations; (3) factors hindering social work's involvement in systems-level practice include lack of visibility, insufficient clarity on social work's role and impact, and too few resources within professional organizations; and (4) social workers need more training in health transformation payment models and policy. Social workers have unique skills that are valuable to building health systems that promote population health and reduce health inequities. Although there is considerable opportunity for social work to increase its role in Medicaid reform, there is little social work involvement at the systems level.

A Critical Assessment of Evidence-Based Policy and Practice in Social Work.

PubMed

Diaz, Clive; Drewery, Sian

2016-01-01

In this article the authors consider how effective social work has been in terms of evidence-based policies and practice. They consider the role that "evidence" plays in policy making both in the wider context and, in particular, in relation to social work. The authors argue that there are numerous voices in the policy-making process and evidence only plays a minor role in terms of policy development and practice in social work.

Social Work Practice with Pagans, Witches, and Wiccans: Guidelines for Practice with Children and Youths

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yardley, Meg

2008-01-01

This article introduces social workers to the beliefs and practices associated with Paganism, Witchcraft, and Wicca and describes how social workers can help to create a welcoming environment for children and youths belonging to these religious minority groups. Drawing on social science research, social work literature, and a case example, the…

Foundations of Social Work Practice: A Graduate Text.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattaini, Mark A., Ed.; Lowery, Christine T., Ed.; Meyer, Carol H., Ed.

As social work enters its second century, dynamic developments in practice and theory, the richness offered by multiple cultures and groups, and changing political and economic climates are potent forces driving advances in social work knowledge and practice. In the context of this professional evolution, this textbook wrestles with and builds on…

Teaching to Transform? Addressing Race and Racism in the Teaching of Clinical Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varghese, Rani

2016-01-01

Faculty members are key stakeholders to support social work students' learning about race and racism in practice and to promote the professional standards established by the field. This qualitative study examines how 15 clinical social work faculty members teaching advanced practice in the Northeast conceptualize and incorporate their…

Greening Social Work Education: Teaching Environmental Rights and Sustainability in Community Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Androff, David; Fike, Chris; Rorke, John

2017-01-01

Green issues such as protecting environmental rights and promoting sustainability are growing in importance to social work practice but are largely ignored in social work curricula. This article uses comparative case studies of three student-led community practice projects to demonstrate how environmental rights can be incorporated into social…

Life Story Reflection in Social Work Education: A Practical Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spector-Mersel, Gabriela

2017-01-01

Drawing from the practice-oriented conception of reflection in social work, its applications in social work education typically focus on students' encounters with the field. Recognizing the value of practice-oriented reflection yet aware of its limitations, complementing it with life story reflection (LSR) is urged. The importance of LSR in social…

Factors affecting social workers' inclusion of animals in practice.

PubMed

Risley-Curtiss, Christina; Rogge, Mary E; Kawam, Elisa

2013-04-01

Experts suggest that social work practitioners can improve their client service with a more thorough understanding of the impact of other animals on individuals and families. Studies indicate that some social work practitioners are including animals in their practices through assessment and interventions. Little is known about what factors contribute to this inclusion, especially because there is a lack of attention in social work education and research to animal-human relationships. This study used logistical regression to examine the impact of certain demographic, knowledge, and practice variables on the inclusion of animals in social work practice. Findings include that knowing other social workers who include animals in practice and primary client population served were significant for inclusion of animals in assessment, animal-assisted intervention, and treating clients for animal abuse or loss of an animal. Although practitioners' having a companion animal was positively related to including animals in interventions and treating clients for loss of an animal, contributing to animal welfare through volunteering at shelters or financially contributing to animal groups did not have an effect on inclusion of animals in practice. Implications for these and other findings are discussed, and recommendations for social work research, education, and practice are offered.

Leadership, Literacy, and Translational Expertise in Genomics: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work.

PubMed

Werner-Lin, Allison; McCoyd, Judith L M; Doyle, Maya H; Gehlert, Sarah J

2016-08-01

The transdisciplinary field of genomics is revolutionizing conceptualizations of health, mental health, family formation, and public policy. Many professions must rapidly acquire genomic expertise to maintain state-of-the-art knowledge in their practice. Calls for social workers to build genomic capacity come regularly, yet social work education has not prepared practitioners to join the genomics workforce in providing socially just, ethically informed care to all clients, particularly those from vulnerable and marginalized groups. The authors suggest a set of action steps for bringing social work skills and practice into the 21st century. They propose that good genomic practice entails bringing social work values, skills, and behaviors to genomics. With education and training, social workers may facilitate socially just dissemination of genomic knowledge and services across practice domains. Increased genomic literacy will support the profession's mission to address disparities in health, health care access, and mortality. © 2016 National Association of Social Workers.

Exploring the Relationship between Self-Awareness and Student Commitment and Understanding of Culturally Responsive Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bender, Kimberly; Negi, Nalini; Fowler, Dawnovise N.

2010-01-01

This study explores the relationship between self-awareness and social work students' commitment and understanding of culturally responsive social work practice. Data consisted of assigned papers (N = 23), submitted by graduate social work students, which asked them to describe their ethnic/racial background and ancestors' process of assimilation,…

Problem-Based Learning in Social Work Education: Students' Experiences in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monrad, Merete; Mølholt, Anne-Kirstine

2017-01-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) constitutes a promising way of integrating academia and social work practice because PBL fosters engagement with real-life problems and enhances important skills needed in social work practice. However, little attention has been given to social work students' experiences of PBL. In this article we address this gap by…

Trends of Empirical Research in South Korean Mental Health Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, In Han; Lee, Eun Jung

2017-01-01

Since the introduction of evidence-based practice in South Korea, it has gained significant attention for its potential to promote the efficacy of social work services and to integrate knowledge and practice in mental health social work. In order to see how empirical research in South Korean mental health social work has changed, we examined…

Pargament's Theory of Religious Coping: Implications for Spiritually Sensitive Social Work Practice

PubMed Central

Xu, Jianbin

2016-01-01

This article proposes that Pargament's theory of religious coping can be a theoretical beacon to spiritually sensitive social work practice. It begins with a discussion of the raison d'être of spiritually sensitive social work, which is examined as being able to cast a holistic and positive glow on social work. Then it provides an overview and a critique of Pargament's theory, emphasising that the theory offers a fuller and more impartial picture of religious coping. In addition, it explores the implications of Pargament's theory for spiritually sensitive social work practice with religious clients in terms of engagement, assessment and intervention. This article concludes by discussing how social work practitioners can avoid the pitfalls and limitations of Pargament's theory. PMID:27559234

Exploring cultural tensions in cross-cultural social work practice.

PubMed

Yan, Miu Chung

2008-10-01

Discussion of cultural tension in the social work literature is piecemeal. As part of a grounded theory study, this article reports some major findings on cultural tensions experienced by 30 frontline social workers. Cultural tensions caused by cultural similarities and differences among social workers, clients, organizations, and society are multifaceted. Social workers, however, are always at the center of the tensions. Findings indicate that the social work profession may need to consider the neutrality claim of the profession, the different experience of ethnic minority social workers, and the need of critical reflexivity for reflective practitioners. Implications for social work practice, social work education for ethnic minority social workers, and social work research are discussed.

School Social Work in Louisiana: A Model of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richard, Laura A.; Villarreal Sosa, Leticia

2014-01-01

Although the role of the school social worker has historically been inconsistent, fragmented, and contextual, concerns about the need to advocate for school social work positions, demonstrate the effectiveness of school social work practice, understand the consequences of role ambiguity, and respond in a proactive way to policy changes has…

Evaluation Development and Use in Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gervin, Derrick W.; Davis, Sarita K.; Jones, Jenny L.; Counts-Spriggs, Margaret S. E.; Farris, Kimberly D.

2010-01-01

Background: Social workers entering the profession typically receive little, if any, content or training on evaluation practice. This is, in part, due to limited course offerings outside of the typical courses in most schools of social work. In addition, practicing social workers who often serve in the role as field instructors have not fully…

Empowerment in Social Work Practice. A Sourcebook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutierrez, Lorraine M., Ed.; Parsons, Ruth J., Ed.; Cox, Enid Opal, Ed.

Empowerment as a philosophy, approach, or method of practice provides a way to rethink social work practice and to achieve needed social change, personally and politically, in ways that meet human needs. Part One, "An Introduction to Empowerment Practice," written by the editors, describes the elements and process of the model in the first…

Leadership, Literacy, and Translational Expertise in Genomics: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work

PubMed Central

Werner-Lin, Allison; McCoyd, Judith L. M.; Doyle, Maya H.; Gehlert, Sarah J.

2016-01-01

The transdisciplinary field of genomics is revolutionizing conceptualizations of health, mental health, family formation, and public policy. Many professions must rapidly acquire genomic expertise to maintain state-of-the-art knowledge in their practice. Calls for social workers to build genomic capacity come regularly, yet social work education has not prepared practitioners to join the genomics workforce in providing socially just, ethically informed care to all clients, particularly those from vulnerable and marginalized groups. The authors suggest a set of action steps for bringing social work skills and practice into the 21st century. They propose that good genomic practice entails bringing social work values, skills, and behaviors to genomics. With education and training, social workers may facilitate socially just dissemination of genomic knowledge and services across practice domains. Increased genomic literacy will support the profession’s mission to address disparities in health, health care access, and mortality. PMID:29206948

Ability of Social Work Students to Determine the Appropriateness of Solutions to Problems Encountered in Social Work Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sturges, Jack; Yarbrough, Roy D.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was an association between the amount of formal social work education completed and ability of students to judge the degree of appropriateness of proposed solutions to problems frequently encountered in social work practice, and secondarily to determine whether students' judgments of problem…

Is Social Work Evidence-Based? Does Saying So Make It So? Ongoing Challenges in Integrating Research, Practice and Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gambrill, Eileen

2016-01-01

The integration of research and practice is of concern in all helping professions. Has social work become an evidence-based profession as some claim? Characteristics of current-day social work are presented that dispute this view, related continuing concerns are suggested, and promising developments (mostly outside social work) are described that…

Preparing School Social Work for the Future: An Update of School Social Workers' Tasks in Iowa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peckover, Christopher A.; Vasquez, Matthew L.; Van Housen, Stephanie L.; Saunders, Jeanne A.; Allen, Larry

2013-01-01

The authors begin this article by highlighting clinical social casework as a historic trend in school social work practice. They then identify two major shifts in current education policy related to school social work practice. One shift is an emphasis on a multilevel intervention approach, and the other is the differentiation between academic and…

Service user integration into social work education: lessons learned from nordic participatory action projects.

PubMed

Angelin, Anna

2015-01-01

Service users have lacked substantial influence, access, and participation in social work education in Norway and Sweden. In this article the author presents comparative analyses of two participatory projects that have developed and implemented practices that integrate service users into academic social work education and empower service users. The Norwegian HUSK project and the Social Work as Mobilization and Entrepreneurship course, also known as the "Mobilization course," at Lund University in Sweden demonstrate collaboration between research, social work education, and service users. The conclusions focus on the importance of the empowering processes by including recognition and dialogue, co-learning in practice, and the use of neutral venues to ensure effective user participation. The inclusion of service users in social work education can improve both practice and education.

Partner Violence and Survivors' Chronic Health Problems: Informing Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macy, Rebecca J.; Ferron, Joelle; Crosby, Carmen

2009-01-01

Although most social work professionals may expect that women who experience partner violence will sustain acute physical injuries, social workers may be less knowledgeable about the chronic health problems with which violence survivors often struggle. To inform social work practice, we reviewed and synthesized the recently published research on…

The Social Work Ethics Audit: A Risk-Management Strategy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reamer, Frederic G.

2000-01-01

Article integrates current knowledge on social work ethics and introduces the concept of a social work ethics audit to aid social workers in their efforts to identify pertinent ethical issues; review and assess the adequacy of their current ethics-related practices; modify their practices as needed; and monitor the implementation of these changes.…

Exploring the Sacred-Secular Dialect in Everyday Social Work Practice: An Analysis of Religious Responses to Managerialism among Outreach Social Workers in Hong Kong

PubMed Central

Groves, Julian M.; Ho, Wai-Yip; Siu, Kaxton

2016-01-01

We examine the recent proliferation of religious discourses among front line social workers in the former British Colony of Hong Kong in order to explore the nature of ‘re-enchantment’ in modern social work practice. In-depth qualitative interviews with twenty social workers who identify as ‘Christian social workers’ in a variety of social work organisations (both religious and secular) reveal the adoption of religious identities and discourses to navigate the encroachment of managerialism. A systematic analysis of these narratives suggests that Christian social workers evoke religion to reclaim feelings of authenticity in their work, to facilitate more personalised relationships with their clients, and to empower themselves following the introduction of managerialist policies. We illuminate the dialectical relationship between religious discourses and managerialism to critique claims in the literature about a ‘re-enchantment’ in social work, and to understand the essence of religion in modern social work practice. PMID:27559235

Exploring the Sacred-Secular Dialect in Everyday Social Work Practice: An Analysis of Religious Responses to Managerialism among Outreach Social Workers in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Groves, Julian M; Ho, Wai-Yip; Siu, Kaxton

2016-07-01

We examine the recent proliferation of religious discourses among front line social workers in the former British Colony of Hong Kong in order to explore the nature of 're-enchantment' in modern social work practice. In-depth qualitative interviews with twenty social workers who identify as 'Christian social workers' in a variety of social work organisations (both religious and secular) reveal the adoption of religious identities and discourses to navigate the encroachment of managerialism. A systematic analysis of these narratives suggests that Christian social workers evoke religion to reclaim feelings of authenticity in their work, to facilitate more personalised relationships with their clients, and to empower themselves following the introduction of managerialist policies. We illuminate the dialectical relationship between religious discourses and managerialism to critique claims in the literature about a 're-enchantment' in social work, and to understand the essence of religion in modern social work practice.

Developing Social Work Professional Judgment Skills: Enhancing Learning in Practice by Researching Learning in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rawles, Joanna

2016-01-01

The aims of this article are twofold: to discuss the value of practice-based research as a basis for enhancing learning and teaching in social work and, as an illustration of this, to present the findings of a preliminary qualitative research study into social work students' development of professional judgment skills. The research was conducted…

The Emergence of Social Work Practice Research in the Peoples' Republic of China: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sim, Timothy; Lau, Victor C. Y.

2017-01-01

Objective: In China where social work is a fledgling profession, practice research is still a novelty. This article aims to provide an overview of the development of social work practice research in mainland China. Methods: This review analyzes the content of 206 Chinese journal articles published in the Peoples' Republic of China since 1915 using…

Social Work Intervention Research With Adult Cancer Patients: A Literature Review and Reflection on Knowledge-Building for Practice.

PubMed

Pockett, Rosalie; Dzidowska, Monika; Hobbs, Kim

2015-01-01

The results of a literature review of social work intervention research with adult cancer patients found only a small number of studies conducted by social work researchers. The findings of the review are presented followed by a reflective discussion on the nature of knowledge-building and research knowledge for practice. Knowledge building is considered as a continuous, negotiated process within communities of practice focused on psychosocial perspectives that draw on a range of knowledge sources. Epistemology, worldviews and research orientations are considered along with the values and stance of social work, all of which create the domain of the practice-researcher.

Embodied practice: claiming the body's experience, agency, and knowledge for social work.

PubMed

Tangenberg, Kathleen M; Kemp, Susan

2002-01-01

Although social work practice typically is concerned with physical conditions and experiences such as poverty, addiction, and violence, relatively little attention has been given to the body in professional literature. Emphasizing both physical and sociocultural dimensions of the body, this article argues for an invigorated, more complex understanding of the body in social work theory, practice, and research. Drawing from scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and social work, a framework involving three dimensions of the body is proposed for integration with accepted ecological practice models. The nature and implications of three primary dimensions of the body for multiple domains of social work practice are explored, citing examples from narratives of mothers living with HIV disease: (1) the experiencing body, focused on the physicality of daily life; (2) the body of power, focused on the physicality of oppression and marginality, typically based on race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, physical appearance, and illness; and (3) the client body, reflecting the bodily experiences of those identified as clients who participate in relationships with social workers.

Responding to the global economic crisis: inclusive social work practice.

PubMed

Strier, Ron

2013-10-01

The present global economic crisis raises new concerns for social workers. One of its most visible results is the further socioeconomic decline and marginalization of excluded populations. This article suggests that the current circumstances require a much more engaged, egalitarian, and reflexive practice-a practice, based on social rights, that matches the magnitude of the crisis and its negative impact on traditional social work constituencies. Consequently, the article suggests the concept of inclusive social work practice (ISWP), a conceptual framework whose main principles respond to four processes of social exclusion closely related to the present global crisis: extreme social isolation, growing dependency, multiple deprivation, and internalized oppression. The author describes the impact of the global crisis on patterns of social exclusion and presents the methodological foundations of the ISWP framework.

Reentry Program and Social Work Education: Training the Next Generation of Criminal Justice Social Workers.

PubMed

Franke, Nancy D; Treglia, Dan; Cnaan, Ram A

2017-01-01

Social work plays a marginal role in opposing the trend of mass incarceration and high rates of recidivism, and social work education offers limited opportunities for students to specialize in working with people who are currently or were previously incarcerated. How to train students of social work to work against mass-incarceration is still challenging. The authors devised and implemented an in-school social service agency devoted to working with people pre and post release from a prison system. The agency is a field practicum setting where interested students study and practice reentry work. In this article, the authors describe and assess the educational merit of this in-school agency. Findings from surveys of students and alumni suggest that the program attained its educational goals of connecting classroom education to practice experience and training students for careers in the criminal justice system. The authors also discuss pending challenges. The experience of the Goldring Reentry Initiative suggests that by developing their own social work agencies, the authors may be able to heighten their students educational experience and expand their contribution to social work practice broadly.

"Working with COW": Social Work Supporting Older Women Living in the Community.

PubMed

Rawsthorne, Margot; Ellis, Kayleigh; de Pree, Alison

2017-01-01

Australia, like all developed Western countries, is experiencing a demographic shift resulting in an increasing proportion of the population being over the age of 65 years. Contrary to stereotypes, the vast majority of older people live independently in communities. This article explores the potential of social work practice informed by community development principles to enable socially disadvantaged older women to live in vibrant and supportive communities, in which they feel safe and are able to access the support services they need. It argues that participation in social action not only builds older women's well-being but also enables them to become (or continue to be) agents for social change in local communities. Adopting a community-based research methodology, this article draws on a decade of community development practice with the Concerned Older Women's (COW) Group. This data suggests that community development practice based on participation, empowerment, and social action founded on respectful relationships may accrue significant benefits to individuals and the broader community. This social work practice creates the social conditions to facilitate older women's capacity to work collectively to achieve social change, challenging ageist stereotypes.

Multiracial competence in social work: recommendations for culturally attuned work with multiracial people.

PubMed

Jackson, Kelly E; Samuels, Gina M

2011-07-01

According to the 2010 U.S. census, approximately 9 million individuals report multiracial identities. By the year 2050, as many as one in five Americans could claim a multiracial background. Despite this population growth, a review of recent empirical and theoretical literature in social work suggests a disproportionate lack of attention to issues ofmultiraciality. Instead, social work practice models remain embedded in traditional societal discourses of race and culture that often exclude or marginalize the experiences of multiracial individuals and families.This article summarizes recommendations following the domains of awareness, knowledge, and skills in the NASW Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice to support culturally attuned social work practice with multiracial people. The authors argue that a culturally attuned practice approach--one that is inclusive of multiraciality--is not only timely, but also consistent with the profession's ethical obligation to provide culturally relevant services to all consumers and clients.

Applying Randomized Controlled Trials and Systematic Reviews in Social Work Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soydan, Haluk

2008-01-01

This article elaborates on the centrality of interventions for social work practice and the importance of understanding the effects of interventions for a more efficient, harmless, transparent, and ethical social work practice. Low-bias research designs and meta-analyses are important means of generating the best possible evidence on what works in…

Research-Practice Integration in Real Practice Settings: Issues and Suggestions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheung, Monit; Ma, Anny K.; Thyer, Bruce A.; Webb, Ann E.

2015-01-01

At the National Bridging the Research and Practice Gap Symposium to discuss evidence-based practice (EBP) in social work, 150 participants attended five breakout groups to address real practice setting applications. These participants from social work academia and practice communities addressed issues and looked for solutions to promote…

An Inclusive Definition of Spirituality for Social Work Education and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senreich, Evan

2013-01-01

A formidable body of recent literature advocates the incorporation of spirituality into the bio-psycho-social framework of social work education and practice. No consistent conceptualization of spirituality has been developed, however, that can be used with all clients and that is fully consonant with social work values as taught in schools of…

Advancing Social Work Practice Research Education--An Innovative, Experiential Pedagogical Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwong, Kenny

2017-01-01

Achieving practice research competency is an essential pillar of social work practice. However, research material is often associated with dry lectures and incomprehensible statistical applications that may not reflect real life issues. Teaching research course is often antithetical to the pedagogical approach commonly used in social work…

Recent Social Work Practitioners' Understanding and Use of Evidence-Based Practice and Empirically Supported Treatments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grady, Melissa D.; Wike, Traci; Putzu, Caren; Field, Sara; Hill, Jacqueline; Bledsoe, Sarah E.; Bellamy, Jennifer; Massey, Michael

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate how [the Council on Social Work Education's] (CSWE's) 2008 shift placing more emphasis on research have affected newly trained social workers' use of evidence-based practice (EBP). This qualitative study examined the educational and practice experiences of newly trained social workers and how those experiences…

Fundamental contradictions in cultural competence.

PubMed

Johnson, Yvonne M; Munch, Shari

2009-07-01

Cultural competence (CC) is considered highly relevant to social work practice with clients belonging to ethnic and racial minority groups, as the burgeoning literature and creation of practice standards on CC attest. However, examination of the conceptual underpinnings of CC reveals several major anomalies. The authors argue that several aspects of CC contradict central social work concepts or are at odds with current, standard social work practice. These contradictions extend to the epistemological foundations of CC and the rights and dignity of the individual. To further stress the conceptual tensions at the heart of CC, the authors incorporate recent philosophical work addressing collective identities and group rights. The question of whether culturally competent practice is achievable is also addressed. The authors urge academicians and practitioners to thoroughly examine the theoretical and ethical bases of CC because of their highly important ramifications for social work practice.

Neuroscience in the HBSE Sequence: Mandate and Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Combs-Orme, Terri; Lefmann, Tess; Pilkay, Stefanie; Strong, Joe; Thompson, Phyllis; Veerman, Tara

2017-01-01

Important findings from neuroscience research provide valuable knowledge for social work practice, and although these findings are already being incorporated into practice in many other disciplines, social work has been slow to integrate this content into foundation professional education. This article describes how one social work program…

A History of Social Work in Public Health

PubMed Central

Ruth, Betty J.

2017-01-01

Social work is a core health profession with origins deeply connected to the development of contemporary public health in the United States. Today, many of the nation’s 600 000 social workers practice broadly in public health and in other health settings, drawing on a century of experience in combining clinical, intermediate, and population approaches for greater health impact. Yet, the historic significance of this long-standing interdisciplinary collaboration—and its current implications—remains underexplored in the present era. This article builds on primary and contemporary sources to trace the historic arc of social work in public health, providing examples of successful collaborations. The scope and practices of public health social work practice are explored, and we articulate a rationale for an expanded place for social work in the public health enterprise. PMID:29236533

A History of Social Work in Public Health.

PubMed

Ruth, Betty J; Marshall, Jamie Wyatt

2017-12-01

Social work is a core health profession with origins deeply connected to the development of contemporary public health in the United States. Today, many of the nation's 600 000 social workers practice broadly in public health and in other health settings, drawing on a century of experience in combining clinical, intermediate, and population approaches for greater health impact. Yet, the historic significance of this long-standing interdisciplinary collaboration-and its current implications-remains underexplored in the present era. This article builds on primary and contemporary sources to trace the historic arc of social work in public health, providing examples of successful collaborations. The scope and practices of public health social work practice are explored, and we articulate a rationale for an expanded place for social work in the public health enterprise.

The person-in-environment approach: professional ideology and practice of social workers in Israel.

PubMed

Weiss-Gal, Idit

2008-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which the person-in-environment approach is part of the professional ideology of social workers in Israel and the degree to which they actualize it in their professional practice. The study examines the perceived importance of various goals of the social work profession and the perceived fittingness of diverse social work activities, actual professional activities, practice levels, and perceived attainment of social work goals. Based on the responses of 400 social workers from a wide variety of social services agencies in Israel, the results indicate that ideologically, the workers place a dual focus on the individual and society, with focus on the individual somewhat stronger. However, in practice the social dimension is marginal and the person-in-environment approach is hardly evident.

The Teaching of Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work Higher Education--Living by the Charlie Parker Dictum: A Response to Papers by Shlonsky and Stern, and Soydan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, David W.

2007-01-01

This article, as a response to two papers, identifies five critical issues and themes related to the teaching of evidence-based practice (EBP) in social work higher education. These five themes are: defining EBP; modeling the complexity of EBP in teaching; examining social work curriculum; coordinating social work professional organizations; and…

Indigenous People in a Landscape of Risk: Teaching Social Work Students about Socially Just Social Work Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Hilary; Congress, Elaine

2009-01-01

The need for social justice in social work practice is particularly apparent in work with indigenous populations. In spite of the social work profession's commitment to social justice, social workers have often done significant harm in their work with indigenous peoples. Social work educators are ideally positioned to close this gap between social…

Online Training for Working with Student Veterans: A Social Work Elective Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selber, Katherine; Biggs, Mary Jo Garcia; Chavkin, Nancy Feyl; Wright, Micah C.

2015-01-01

This article describes one school of social work's innovative online elective course to prepare Masters of Social Work (MSW) students for practice with the military, veterans and their families. Developed as part of a university-wide Veterans Initiative, this online course keeps the focus on the student veteran and uses the best practices of…

Practicing as a Social Work Educator in International Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butterfield, Alice K., Ed.; Cohen, Carol S., Ed.

2017-01-01

The editors offer Six Promising Principles to guide successful practice by social work educators in international settings, including research, travel and study programs, technical assistance and training, and interdisciplinary efforts. These principles inform the content, which illuminates the specific role of U.S. social work educators in…

Integrating Women's Issues in the Social Work Curriculum: A Proposal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Carolyn; And Others

1994-01-01

Social work faculty revising courses at Arizona State University's School of Social Work attempting to integrate content on women propose that development of new models reflecting women's experiences are required. Examples of curricular changes made using this approach are offered. They address direct practice, family practice,…

A Study To Increase Computer Applications in Social Work Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucero, John A.

The purpose of this study was to address the use of computers in social work practice and to survey the field for tools, concepts, and trends that could assist social workers in their practice. In addition to a review of the relevant literature, information was requested from the Social Work Service and Ambulatory Care Database Section at Walter…

The role of relationships in connecting social work research and evidence-based practice.

PubMed

Jones, Johnny M; Sherr, Michael E

2014-01-01

Critics of evidence-based practice (EBP) often challenge the efficacy of applying social work research in practice. Such skepticism underscores the historic chasm that still exists between social work researchers and practitioners. If taught and implemented consistently, the EBP model can mend the connection between researchers and practitioners by merging their roles. Merging their roles, however, requires a renewed emphasis on relationships in the research process. This article explores the role of relationships in social work research. Using a researcher/practitioner continuum, we assess the types of interactions faculty have with stakeholders. We then offer strategies for cultivating relationships with stakeholders that lead to community-derived and implemented research that is critical to advancing the widespread use of EBP in social work.

Environmental Justice Is a Social Justice Issue: Incorporating Environmental Justice into Social Work Practice Curricula

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beltrán, Ramona; Hacker, Alice; Begun, Stephanie

2016-01-01

Social justice education for social work practice is concerned with addressing issues of power and oppression as they impact intersections of identity, experience, and the social environment. However, little focus is directed toward the physical and natural environment despite overwhelming evidence that traditionally marginalized groups bear the…

Social work in health care: do practitioners' writings suggest an applied social science?

PubMed

Rehr, H; Rosenberg, G; Showers, N; Blumenfield, S

1998-01-01

There are two sources of literature in social work-one from academics and the other from practitioners. Each group is driven by different motivations to write. Academics seek a 'scientific rationality' for the field, while practitioners assume practical and intuitive reasoning, experience aligned with theory, and the 'art of practice' to guide them. It has been said that practitioners do not write and that 'faculty' are the trustees of the knowledge base of the profession, and are responsible for its promulgation via publication. Practitioners, however, do write about their practice and their programs, and analyze both, but publish much of their work in non-social work media. Their work tends not to be referenced by academic writers. One department's social workers' publications are described. We learn, from their practice writings, what concerns clinicians. Theirs is case-based learning, theoretically supported, in which the organization of services calls for their participation in multi-professional decision-making. There is the growing realization among social workers that practice wisdom and scientific technologies need to be reassessed together to find ways to enhance social work services. Clinicians' knowledge can lead to continuing refinement of practice and enhanced institutional services. If practitioners' writings can be assessed, they may lead to a written practice knowledge base, subject to timely change. Academic and practitioner separateness hampers progress in the field. They need each other, and a shared professional literature. There is beginning indication they are getting together.

Field Supervisor Perspectives on Evidence-Based Practice: Familiarity, Feasibility, and Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heffernan, Kristin; Dauenhauer, Jason

2017-01-01

The Council on Social Work Education has designated field education as social work's signature pedagogy, putting field supervisors in a key role of preparing students as competent social workers. This study examined field supervisors' Evidence Based Practice (EBP) behaviors using a modified version of the Evidence-Based Practice Process Assessment…

Group Work Education in Social Work: A Review of the Literature Reveals Possible Solutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaRocque, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

This article examines the growing concerns in the literature that traditional group work education in social work is not providing the foundational knowledge, skills, evidence-based practice, professional uses of self, and adherence to practice standards necessary for effective group practice. An exploration of the best available evidence on group…

Social Work Practice with LGBT Elders at End of Life: Developing Practice Evaluation and Clinical Skills Through a Cultural Perspective.

PubMed

Arthur, Darren P

2015-01-01

This article focuses on culturally sensitive clinical issues related to best practices with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) elder patients at end-of-life (EOL) at key points in the therapeutic relationship. Vital concepts, including practice evaluation and clinical skills, are presented through a cultural and oncology lens. There is a paucity of LGBT research and literature as well as a shortfall of MSW graduate school education specific to social work palliative and end-of-life care (PELC) practice with LGBT elders. The content of this article is designed to be adapted and used as an educational tool for institutions, agencies, graduate programs, medical professions, social work, and students. Learning the unique elements of LGBT cultural history and their implications on EOL care can improve social work practice. This article provides an examination from assessment and engagement basics to advance care planning incorporating specific LGBT EOL issues.

The proper contributions of social workers in health practice.

PubMed

Huntington, J

1986-01-01

Current and potential future contributions of social workers to health practice are considered at the three levels of direct service to patients, influence on the processes and procedures of the health setting and influence on its future planning and service development. The capacity of U.S.A. and U.K. social work to contribute at these levels is compared in the light of their contrasting relationships to the health system. U.S.A. social work in health care is practised as employees of the health setting or as private practitioners and contains the majority of U.S.A. social workers. It remains a specialism that sustains a major body of published work, commitment to knowledge-building, standard setting and performance review, and a psycho-social orientation shared by a growing number of medical and nursing professionals. Its approach to the health system is that of the pursuit of professional credibility in the secondary setting by adopting the professional-technical practice model of the clinician. U.K. social work since the early 1970s has been committed to generic education and practice and to the development of its own primary setting in social services departments which now employ almost all U.K. social workers. Area team social work in these departments, typified by statutory work with the most deprived sections of the population, has become the dominant culture of British social work, with implications for the occupational identity and career prospects of those social workers who are outposted or attached to health settings but no longer employed by them. British social work and its management now approach the health system from a position of organizational independence which should strengthen their capacity to influence the health system. The cultural differences between social work and medicine, however, are experienced more keenly than ever as many social workers adopt a socio-political practice model that is at odds with the professional-technical model of the clinician. Provision of social work services to the health system has become a questionable priority and raises the issue of whether much of what is now termed "health care' could more appropriately be termed "social care' and provided in a primary social work setting to which medicine and nursing would make their "proper contributions'.

A Model of Comparative Ethics Education for Social Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pugh, Greg L.

2017-01-01

Social work ethics education models have not effectively engaged social workers in practice in formal ethical reasoning processes, potentially allowing personal bias to affect ethical decisions. Using two of the primary ethical models from medicine, a new social work ethics model for education and practical application is proposed. The strengths…

Agency-University Partnership for Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bellamy, Jennifer L.; Bledsoe, Sarah E.; Mullen, Edward J.; Fang, Lin; Manuel, Jennifer I.

2008-01-01

Little is known about evidence-based practice (EBP) in social service agencies beyond studies of researcher, practitioner, and educator opinions. The Bringing Evidence for Social Work Training (BEST) Project involved 16 participants from 3 social service agencies. The experiential training, delivered by 2 doctoral students, focused on a…

Clinical social work practice and technology: personal, practical, regulatory, and ethical considerations for the twenty-first century.

PubMed

Dombo, Eileen A; Kays, Lisa; Weller, Katelyn

2014-10-01

The world that social work exists in is no longer defined by traditional physical settings and boundaries, such as schools, agencies, or even offices. With the advent of the Internet and digital communications, social work now exists in a far more complex reality, with clients and social workers engaging across multiple platforms, and sometimes even unintentionally and without one another's awareness. The implications of this can be ethical, practical, regulatory, and personal. This article explores these areas of concern and suggests strategies professionals can use to navigate these complex issues related to technology and clinical practice.

What Makes Social Work Students Implement Evidence-Based Practice Behaviors?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shapira, Yaron; Enosh, Guy; Havron, Naomi

2017-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to recognize the factors influencing social work students' evidence-based practice (EBP) behaviors. The authors sought to examine the roles of attitudes, EBP feasibility, and familiarity with EBP in implementing EBP behaviors. Social work students (161 in total) completed a self-report questionnaire measuring…

An Innovative Program in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peleg-Oren, Neta; Aran, Ofra; Even-Zahav, Ronit; Macgowan, Mark J.; Stanger, Varda

2007-01-01

This paper is a report of an innovative program in social work education to enrich field supervisors and students with the latest theories and practices related to social work practice in health care settings. This program consists of a study day organized jointly by academic faculty, field supervisors, and students, conducted once a year between…

Implementation Science: Why It Matters for the Future of Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cabassa, Leopoldo J.

2016-01-01

Bridging the gap between research and practice is a critical frontier for the future of social work. Integrating implementation science into social work can advance our profession's effort to bring research and practice closer together. Implementation science examines the factors, processes, and strategies that influence the uptake, use, and…

Ethical Issues in Social Work. An Annotated Bibliography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, Martha W., Comp.

Designed as a practical aid to social work students and practitioners interested in approaching the ethical issues inherent in social work practice, this annotated bibliography lists over 500 books and articles, most of which were published between 1970 and 1983. The bibliography has two main parts, of which the first consists of selections from…

Exploring critical youth media practice: connections and contributions for social work.

PubMed

Johnston-Goodstar, Katie; Richards-Schuster, Katie; Sethi, Jenna K

2014-10-01

Youth media is emerging as an interdisciplinary field of practice and subject of study. Over the last two decades, there have been many efforts within communities to engage in media, especially within the fields of youth work and education. Despite the increase in practice, we found surprisingly little attention to the potential for youth media within the social work literature. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of program descriptions from 49 youth media groups, the authors attempt to examine the current field of youth media. Using a critical media literacy framework, the authors analyze the practice of these youth media groups and apply those findings to social work practice, education, and research.

Challenges to Bridging Field and Classroom Instruction: Exploring Field Instructors' Perspectives on Macro Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mehrotra, Gita R.; Tecle, Aster S.; Ha, An Thi; Ghneim, Staci; Gringeri, Christina

2018-01-01

Field education and macro practice have been highlighted as central educational domains in social work education; however, little scholarship has looked at how macro social work practice competencies have been integrated into field-based learning. This exploratory study aimed to gain perspectives from field instructors regarding macro social work…

Putting Principles into Practice: Addressing Historical Trauma, Mistrust, and Apprehension in Research Methods Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Zuleka; Acquaye-Doyle, Lucinda A.; Waites, Shayna; Howard, Tyriesa

2016-01-01

The social work profession has articulated commitments to acknowledging and affirming how diversity and culture shape the human experience and to developing social workers who can competently engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. However, there remains a need in social work education for more widespread use of…

Learning about Practice from Practice: A Peer-Based Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanley, Tony

2014-01-01

A recommendation from the Social Work Task Force was that all employers of social workers should conduct a regular "health check" of the social work profession to learn from practice as part of a continuous cycle of improvement. This article documents how the London Borough of Tower Hamlets has gone about this. I describe the…

The evolution of social work education in England: a critical review of its connections and commonalities with nurse education.

PubMed

Manthorpe, Jill; Hussein, Shereen; Moriarty, Jo

2005-07-01

Social work education in England underwent significant change in its move to degree status in 2003. It is hoped that the result will be increased professional standing for social workers, an improvement in the current widespread problems with recruitment, and assurance that all newly qualified social workers meet the National Occupational Standards for Social Work (Available from: http://www.topssengland.net/files/cd/). This change has pre-occupied social work educators and debate within the profession has concentrated on the practicalities and expectations of reform. This paper suggests that those working in nurse education may observe a number of similarities with its own earlier reforms and with current debates on whether nursing should move to an all-graduate profession. It then highlights three aspects of the new requirements for social work training: service user involvement, the place of research-minded practice, and the primacy of practice--that may be of interest and relevance to nursing colleagues.

Why Macro Practice Matters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reisch, Michael

2016-01-01

This article asserts that macro practice is increasingly important in today's rapidly changing and complex practice environment. It briefly explores the history of macro practice in U.S. social work, summarizes its major contributions to the profession and to U.S. society, and provides some suggestions for how social work programs can expand…

Toward Mentoring in Palliative Social Work: A Narrative Review of Mentoring Programs in Social Work.

PubMed

Toh, Ying Pin; Karthik, R; Teo, Chia Chia; Suppiah, Sarasvathy; Cheung, Siew Li; Krishna, Lalit

2018-03-01

Mentoring by an experienced practitioner enhances professional well-being, promotes resilience, and provides a means of addressing poor job satisfaction and high burnout rates among medical social workers. This is a crucial source of support for social workers working in fields with high risk of compassion fatigue and burnout like palliative care. Implementing such a program, however, is hindered by differences in understanding and application of mentoring practice. This narrative review of mentoring practice in social work seeks to identify key elements and common approaches within successful mentoring programs in social work that could be adapted to guide the design of new mentoring programs in medical social work. Methodology and Data Sources: A literature search of mentoring programs in social work between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2015, using Pubmed, CINAHL, OVID, ERIC, Scopus, Cochrane and ScienceDirect databases, involving a senior experienced mentor and undergraduate and/or junior postgraduates, was carried out. A total of 1302 abstracts were retrieved, 22 full-text articles were analyzed, and 8 articles were included. Thematic analysis of the included articles revealed 7 themes pertaining to the mentoring process, outcomes and barriers, and the characteristics of mentoring relationships, mentors, mentees, and host organizations. Common themes in prevailing mentoring practices help identify key elements for the design of an effective mentoring program in medical social work. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings upon clinical practice in palliative care and on sustaining such a program.

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK IN WISCONSIN, A DESCRIPTION OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK, GUIDELINES FOR A SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM. SOCIAL WORK IN OUR SCHOOLS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

STAPLES, RICHARD M., COMP.

THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK DEVELOPMENT, PRACTICE, AND BASIC PRINCIPLES, THE ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMS IS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF--(1) THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMS, (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS, AND (3) EXISTING SCHOOL PROGRAMS. REFERRAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE COVERED. THE MANY ROLES OF THE…

The Role of Radical Imagination in Social Work Education, Practice, and Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnetz, Zion

2015-01-01

This article addresses the role of imagination in social work education, practice, and research. Following a brief discussion of terms, the author attempts to identify the various contributions of human imagination to social change processes. The second part presents the argument that the cultural structure known as Social Darwinism significantly…

Social Work Field Instructors' Integration of Religion and Spirituality in Clinical Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oxhandler, Holly K.

2017-01-01

This article describes a national sample of social work field instructors' responses to a cross-sectional survey of social workers' orientation toward integrating clients' religion and spirituality into practice and compares their responses with those of nonfield instructors. Four hundred sixty-nine social workers, including 69 MSW field…

Bi-directional Exchange: the Cornerstone of Globally Focused Social Work.

PubMed

Parker, Gary; Ali, Samira; Ringell, Kassia; McKay, Mary

2014-03-01

Social work holds a unique place relative to other professions in that it prioritizes the elimination of human suffering as its primary goal. The roots of the profession are firmly planted in Western theories, historically and culturally specific perspectives, and knowledge. History has repeatedly demonstrated an association between the arrival of Westerners and the subsequent control of natural resources. Some argue that the development of global social work practice has serious pitfalls, including diverting needed resources away from local contexts and inadvertently spreading western world-views, paradigms and practices. However, the social work profession is uniquely positioned to offer expertise and collaborate with those experiencing the serious consequences of social inequity and the dearth of economic and social resources locally and across the globe. Grounded in anti-oppressive theory, guided by the difficult, yet acute awareness of western privilege and racism, and drawing from social/collective action and collaborative paradigms, a bi-directional exchange and action are detailed as the foundations for globally focused social work. The skills and knowledge base for global social work are essential as populations locally and worldwide are impacted by a global economic system that innately increases serious social inequity. Comprehensive training and preparation for globally focused social work, critical to successful engagement in global practice are outlined.

Bi-directional Exchange: the Cornerstone of Globally Focused Social Work

PubMed Central

Ali, Samira; Ringell, Kassia; McKay, Mary

2014-01-01

Social work holds a unique place relative to other professions in that it prioritizes the elimination of human suffering as its primary goal. The roots of the profession are firmly planted in Western theories, historically and culturally specific perspectives, and knowledge. History has repeatedly demonstrated an association between the arrival of Westerners and the subsequent control of natural resources. Some argue that the development of global social work practice has serious pitfalls, including diverting needed resources away from local contexts and inadvertently spreading western world-views, paradigms and practices. However, the social work profession is uniquely positioned to offer expertise and collaborate with those experiencing the serious consequences of social inequity and the dearth of economic and social resources locally and across the globe. Grounded in anti-oppressive theory, guided by the difficult, yet acute awareness of western privilege and racism, and drawing from social/collective action and collaborative paradigms, a bi-directional exchange and action are detailed as the foundations for globally focused social work. The skills and knowledge base for global social work are essential as populations locally and worldwide are impacted by a global economic system that innately increases serious social inequity. Comprehensive training and preparation for globally focused social work, critical to successful engagement in global practice are outlined. PMID:25346884

Reference Accuracy among Research Articles Published in "Research on Social Work Practice"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilks, Scott E.; Geiger, Jennifer R.; Bates, Samantha M.; Wright, Amy L.

2017-01-01

Objective: The objective was to examine reference errors in research articles published in Research on Social Work Practice. High rates of reference errors in other top social work journals have been noted in previous studies. Methods: Via a sampling frame of 22,177 total references among 464 research articles published in the previous decade, a…

Student Affairs Case Management: Merging Social Work Theory with Student Affairs Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Sharrika D.; Hazelwood, Sherry; Hayden, Bruce

2014-01-01

Case management is a functional area in higher education and student affairs that emerged after the mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. Although new to higher education, case management emerged from established social work practice. This article compares social work theory and case management standards with a new case management model for…

Reconceptualizing Culture in Social Work Practice and Education: A Dialectic and Uniqueness Awareness Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alvarez-Hernandez, Luis R.; Choi, Y. Joon

2017-01-01

This article examines the definitions and implementations of the concepts of culture and cultural competence in social work education and practice. We take a look at the history and evolution of diversity and cultural competence in the social work curriculum. This article also identifies four theories and models of cultural competence taught in…

Simulating Real Life: Enhancing Social Work Education on Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osborne, Victoria A.; Benner, Kalea; Sprague, Debra J.; Cleveland, Ivy N.

2016-01-01

Social work students typically use role play with student colleagues to practice clinical intervention skills. Practice with simulated clients (SCs) rather than classmates changes the dynamics of the role play and may improve learning. This is the first known study to employ the SC model in substance use assessment in social work education. Social…

Social Work in the Engaged University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Elisa M.; Pyles, Loretta

2013-01-01

This article identifies the importance of educating social work students and enlisting social work faculty to embrace the university-community engagement arena as a critical subfield of community practice. Through the lens of social work knowledge, values, and skills, the authors present three case studies of social workers who are working in the…

Innovative Approach to the Organization of Future Social Workers' Practical Training: Foreign Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polishchuk, Vira; Slozanska, Hanna

2014-01-01

Innovative approaches to practical training of future social workers in higher educational establishments have been defined. Peculiarities of foreign experience of social workers' practical training in higher educational establishments have been analyzed. Experience of organizing practice for bachelor students studying at "Social Work"…

Promoting Election-Related Policy Practice among Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pritzker, Suzanne; Burwell, Christianna

2016-01-01

Political involvement is an integral component of the social work profession, yet there is no explicit reference to social work participation in election-related activities in either the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics or the Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Social work…

Interprofessional leadership training in MCH social work.

PubMed

Pecukonis, Edward; Doyle, Otima; Acquavita, Shauna; Aparicio, Elizabeth; Gibbons, Maya; Vanidestine, Todd

2013-01-01

The need to train health social workers to practice interprofessionally is an essential goal of social work education. Although most health social workers have exposure to multidisciplinary practice within their field work, few social work education programs incorporate interprofessional learning as an integrated component of both course work and field experiences (McPherson, Headrick, & Moss, 2001; Reeves, Lewin, Espin, & Zwaranstein, 2010; Weinstein, Whittington, & Leiba, 2003). In addition, little is written about the kinds of curricula that would effectively promote interdisciplinary training for social work students. These findings are particularly puzzling since there is increasing and compelling evidence that interdisciplinary training improves health outcomes (IOM, 2001). This article describes a social work education program that incorporates an Interprofessional education and leadership curriculum for Maternal and Child Health Social Work (MCHSW) at the University of Maryland's School of Social Work. The University of Maryland's Interprofesisonal Training Model is described along with the components needed to formulate an interdisciplinary learning experience. Various outcomes and lessons learned are discussed.

Teaching Research and Practice Evaluation Skills to Graduate Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Stephen E.; Vakharia, Sheila P.

2012-01-01

Objective: The authors examined outcomes of a graduate course on evaluating social work practice that required students to use published research, quantitative measures, and single-system designs in a simulated practice evaluation project. Method: Practice evaluation projects from a typical class were analyzed for the number of research references…

Significant Issues in Rebuilding the Social Work Profession in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shu, Cai

2013-01-01

The author traces the origin of social work to the Confucian concept of Great Unity and social organization of traditional Chinese society. While professional social work started in 1921, its development was interrupted in 1952, but the practice of social work never stopped. Social work was revived as a discipline and profession in 1979 and has…

The Empowerment Model: A Critical Reflection of Empowerment in Chinese Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yip, Kam-shing

2004-01-01

The empowerment model has long dominated social work practice in Western countries. Many social workers in Hong Kong use this model regardless of the social or cultural context. In this article the author shares local social work practice experiences in Hong Kong and suggests that the empowerment model may need adaptation in Chinese communities.…

Trayvon Martin: Racial Profiling, Black Male Stigma, and Social Work Practice.

PubMed

Teasley, Martell Lee; Schiele, Jerome H; Adams, Charles; Okilwa, Nathern S

2018-01-01

To address a critical gap in the social work literature, this article examines the deleterious effects of racial profiling as it pertains to police targeting of male African Americans. The authors use the Trayvon Martin court case to exemplify how racial profiling and black male stigma help perpetuate social inequality and injustice for black men. A racism-centered perspective is examined historically and contemporarily as a theoretical approach to understanding the role that race plays in social injustice through racial profiling. Implications for social work research design and practice aimed at increasing the social work knowledge base on racial profiling are discussed. The authors call for attention and advocacy by major social work organizations in the reduction of black male stigma and racial profiling. © 2017 National Association of Social Workers.

A postgraduation follow-up of social work students trained in "SBIRT": Rates of usage and perceptions of effectiveness.

PubMed

Senreich, Evan; Ogden, Lydia P; Greenberg, Joy Pastan

2017-01-01

Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence-based modality that can help social workers work with substance-using clients as part of an integrated health care approach. This study reports the findings of a post-graduation one-year follow-up survey of 193 master's and bachelor's social work students trained in SBIRT in practice courses at a Northeast urban college. Forty-three percent of the trainees who were practicing social work after graduation were using SBIRT. A content analysis of participants' comments found that the vast majority found SBIRT to be a valuable practice modality, with barriers to utilization of SBIRT identified.

Social work perspectives on human behavior.

PubMed

Wodarski, J S

1993-01-01

This manuscript addresses recent developments in human behavior research that are relevant to social work practice. Specific items addressed are biological aspects of behavior, life span development, cognitive variables, the self-efficacy learning process, the perceptual process, the exchange model, group level variables, macro level variables, and gender and ethnic-racial variables. Where relevant, specific applications to social work practice are provided.

Using Student Group Work in Higher Education to Emulate Professional Communities of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fearon, Colm; McLaughlin, Heather; Eng, Tan Yoke

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the value of social learning from group work that emulates a professional community of practice. Design/methodology/approach: A thought piece that first, examines the role of group-work projects as part of social learning, then outlines key arguments for social learning based upon applying a…

Student Assessment of Self-Efficacy and Practice Readiness Following Simulated Instruction in an Undergraduate Social Work Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Kimberly; Swanke, Jayme; Stonich, Jessica; Taylor, Stephanie; Witzke, Morgan; Binetsch, Michael

2018-01-01

The use of simulated instruction is a growing trend in social work education. This study examined the effectiveness of simulated instruction with undergraduate social work students. In this mixed methods study, the extent to which simulated instruction improved self-efficacy and practice readiness was assessed. Results of the study suggest that…

Improving social connection through a communities-of-practice-inspired cognitive work analysis approach.

PubMed

Euerby, Adam; Burns, Catherine M

2014-03-01

Increasingly, people work in socially networked environments. With growing adoption of enterprise social network technologies, supporting effective social community is becoming an important factor in organizational success. Relatively few human factors methods have been applied to social connection in communities. Although team methods provide a contribution, they do not suit design for communities. Wenger's community of practice concept, combined with cognitive work analysis, provided one way of designing for community. We used a cognitive work analysis approach modified with principles for supporting communities of practice to generate a new website design. Over several months, the community using the site was studied to examine their degree of social connectedness and communication levels. Social network analysis and communications analysis, conducted at three different intervals, showed increases in connections between people and between people and organizations, as well as increased communication following the launch of the new design. In this work, we suggest that human factors approaches can be effective in social environments, when applied considering social community principles. This work has implications for the development of new human factors methods as well as the design of interfaces for sociotechnical systems that have community building requirements.

Faith-Based Human Services Initiatives: Considerations for Social Work Practice and Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tangenberg, Kathleen M.

2005-01-01

Faith-based human services initiatives present numerous challenges to professional social work. This article explores ways a theoretical integration of ecosystems and structuration perspectives may help social workers navigate complex ideological and practical implications of changing service delivery policies. The article highlights diversity…

Teaching Evidence-Based Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mullen, Edward J.; Bellamy, Jennifer L.; Bledsoe, Sarah E.; Francois, Julia Jean

2007-01-01

A complete and mindfully developed blueprint for implementing evidence-based practice (EBP) in social work should include a full complement of coordinated goals and strategies for all stakeholders, including future social workers. To this end, schools of social work should teach students to be lifelong learners; teach students what is currently…

Guiding Social Work Doctoral Graduates through Scholarly Publications and Presentations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Cynthia L.; Tomal, Daniel R.

2015-01-01

Disseminating the work of social work doctoral graduates aligns with the Council on Social Work Education's National Statement on Research Integrity in Social Work publication practices and the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. Publications and presentations are essential to their future success, yet little support is provided…

Military Social Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wooten, Nikki R.

2015-01-01

Military social work is a specialized field of practice spanning the micro-macro continuum and requiring advanced social work knowledge and skills. The complex behavioral health problems and service needs of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans highlight the need for highly trained social work professionals who can provide militarily relevant and…

State Definitions of Social Work Practice: Implications for our Professional Identity.

PubMed

Hill, Katharine; Fogel, Sondra; Plitt Donaldson, Linda; Erickson, Christina

2017-01-01

For over a century, the social work profession has been concerned with describing the unique and specific characteristics that define its core functions in society; however, the profession has yet to agree to a single definition of social work. In the absence of a unifying definition, 51 different statutory definitions of social work have been created by each state and the District of Columbia. Using qualitative methods, each statutory definition of social work was analyzed to gain an understanding of how social work is defined and understood across the United States. Findings indicate that 57% of the statutory language blend the full range of micro to macro social work practice skills into their definition. However, even within these and those remaining, there are vast differences in definitions. Implications for state licensing laws, are considered, along with how this impacts education, the work force, and professional identity.

Teaching Efficacy and Context: Integrating Social Justice Content into Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Funge, Simon Peter

2013-01-01

Social work education programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) are expected to cultivate the knowledge and skills students require to competently challenge social injustices and advance social and economic justice in their professional practice (CSWE, 2008a). Because social work educators play a key role in this effort…

Study Abroad Ghana: An International Experiential Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boateng, Alice; Thompson, Abigail Mercy

2013-01-01

The global nature of social problems indicates how important it is for social workers to be involved in international issues. For example, overseas experience in social work programs is in consonance with the Council on Social Work Education's emphasis on global context of social work practice. In view of this, some schools of social work are…

Racial Equity and School Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Susan

2017-01-01

This manuscript outlines the beginning contours of a racial justice and equity framework for school social work. It briefly summarizes prior social work scholarship related to social and racial justice and race, outline forces related to school social work professional practice that likely shape limited explicit attention to conceptions of racial…

Practical Life from the Second Plane to Third Plane: Orientation to History and Social Organization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webster, James

2015-01-01

In lyrical prose, Jim Webster lays out his view on the universal human use of tools and how "humans meet the practical demands of life." Webster lauds physical work and the work of the hand as they both support engagement, social cooperation, a deepening of relationships, and sustainability. Practical work is valuable and is plentiful as…

Empowerment in Social Work Practice with Older Women.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Browne, Colette V.

1995-01-01

Discusses and contrasts varying definitions of empowerment from social work and feminist literature. Describes what is problematic in the definitions of empowerment practice with older women and suggests reasons for broadening the definition and concept of empowerment so that social welfare professionals can meet the needs of this growing…

Incorporating Integrative Health Services in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gant, Larry; Benn, Rita; Gioia, Deborah; Seabury, Brett

2009-01-01

More than one third of Americans practice complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Social workers continue to provide most first-line health, mental health, and psychological referral and direct practice services in the United States, despite a lack of systematic education and training opportunities in CAM. Schools of social work are…

Factors Affecting Social Workers' Inclusion of Animals in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Risley-Curtiss, Christina; Rogge, Mary E.; Kawam, Elisa

2013-01-01

Experts suggest that social work practitioners can improve their client service with a more thorough understanding of the impact of other animals on individuals and families. Studies indicate that some social work practitioners are including animals in their practices through assessment and interventions. Little is known about what factors…

Informed Consent Agreements: Standards of Care for Digital Social Work Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattison, Marian

2018-01-01

The inclusion of remote digital practices (e-mail, texting, blogging, social media) to deliver social work services raises unique ethical and legal challenges for client and practitioner. Competent care necessitates providing clients with information that would materially affect clients' decisions whether to assume the risks, benefits, and…

Civilian Social Work: Serving the Military and Veteran Populations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savitsky, Laura; Illingworth, Maria; DuLaney, Megan

2009-01-01

This article discusses social work practice areas for civilian social workers who provide services to military service members, veterans, and their families. These practice areas include education, child welfare, domestic violence, mental health, health care, substance abuse, and criminal justice. The authors examine the impact of the contemporary…

A New Perspective: The Common Factors Model as a Foundation for Social Work Practice Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Mark; Keenan, Elizabeth King

2009-01-01

Foundation social work practice education is critical to the preparation of BSW practitioners for professional practice and the establishment of a theoretical and skill base upon which graduate students may build competencies in the advanced curriculum. Issues in the foundation practice curriculum may hinder this development. The common factors…

Theoretical Issues in Clinical Social Group Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randall, Elizabeth; Wodarski, John S.

1989-01-01

Reviews relevant issues in clinical social group practice including group versus individual treatment, group work advantages, approach rationale, group conditions for change, worker role in group, group composition, group practice technique and method, time as group work dimension, pretherapy training, group therapy precautions, and group work…

A cross-national comparison of Hong Kong and U.S. student beliefs and preferences in end-of-life care: implications for social work education and hospice practice.

PubMed

Reese, Dona J; Chan, Cecilia L W; Chan, Wallace C H; Wiersgalla, Diane

2010-01-01

In this mixed methods study, the authors explored differences and similarities in beliefs about death and dying as well as end-of-life care preferences among social work students in Hong Kong and the United States. A convenience sample of 176 social work students from Hong Kong and 58 from the United States was recruited to complete a quantitative questionnaire with three open-ended questions. Findings revealed differences as well as similarities in beliefs about death and dying and that a larger proportion of Hong Kong students as compared to U.S. students preferred curative rather than palliative care. Implications for social work education and hospice practice in both countries include the need for social work student and practitioner self-awareness in order to prepare for culturally competent practice and policies that are relevant across cultures.

Seventeen years of human trafficking research in social work: A review of the literature.

PubMed

Okech, David; Choi, Y Joon; Elkins, Jennifer; Burns, Abigail C

2018-01-01

The trafficking of persons around the world is a serious violation of human rights and manifestation of social injustice. It disproportionately affects women and children worldwide. Given the values of the social work profession and the prevalence of trafficking, it is essential to understand the current literature on human trafficking in social work journals. Using the PRISMA method, this systematic review (n = 94 articles) of human trafficking in social work journals found the following: more focus on sex trafficking than other forms of trafficking; a lack of a clear conceptualization and definition on the entire spectrum of trafficking; a lack of evidence-informed empirical research to inform programs, practice, and policy; and a dearth of recommendations for social work education. Specific implications for social work policy, research, practice, and education are highlighted and discussed.

Mission Impossible? Social Work Practice with Black Urban Youth Gangs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Jerry R.

1985-01-01

Describes the adaptation of social work practice skills to serve black urban youth gangs. Presents a model for practice which respects youths' right to self-determination and community needs. Model stages discussed include contact, rapport, setting goals, assigning roles, procuring resources, and evaluation. Model applicability is suggested. (NRB)

Social Work Education and Global Issues: Implications for Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Beverly L.

2011-01-01

If social workers are to become more effectively involved in international organizations and global issues, the international dimension of social work education must be strengthened. Educational programs for social workers around the world give only limited attention to social issues that extend beyond national boundaries. Schools of social work…

Making home visits: Creativity and the embodied practices of home visiting in social work and child protection.

PubMed

Ferguson, Harry

2018-01-01

Although the home is the most common place where social work goes on, research has largely ignored the home visit. Drawing on a participant observation study of child protection work, this article reveals the complex hidden practices of social work on home visits. It is argued that home visits do not simply involve an extension of the social work organisation, policies and procedures into the domestic domain but the home constitutes a distinct sphere of practice and experience in its own right. Home visiting is shown to be a deeply embodied practice in which all the senses and emotions come into play and movement is central. Through the use of creativity, craft and improvisation practitioners 'make' home visits by skilfully enacting a series of transitions from the office to the doorstep, and into the house, where complex interactions with service users and their domestic space and other objects occur. Looking around houses and working with children alone in their bedrooms were common. Drawing upon sensory and mobile methods and a material culture studies approach, the article shows how effective practice was sometimes blocked and also how the home was skilfully negotiated, moved around and creatively used by social workers to ensure parents were engaged with and children seen, held and kept safe.

Hospital social workers in Saudi Arabia: characteristics and functions.

PubMed

Albrithen, Abdulaziz; Yalli, Nadir

2015-01-01

Social work practitioners are important members of the health care team and the hospital sector has been a traditional employer of social workers. Social work practitioners have become increasingly involved in hospital work as a result of the growing recognition of the important link between the biophysical aspects of health and the surrounding psychosocial circumstances, which require multidisciplinary interventions and demand the involvement of specialized social work personnel to deal with such issues. The article has been carried out in order to contribute to the literature by exploring to see if the characteristics and functions of contemporary professional social workers (who practice in the health sector in western Saudi Arabia) are achieving best practice.

Clinical Social Work Practice and Education: What Would Flexner Think Now?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tosone, Carol

2016-01-01

A century has passed since Abraham Flexner posed the question on whether social work is a profession. This article attempts to answer that question, and considers several definitions put forth by global and national social work professional organizations, including a definition of clinical social work. Addressing the current state of social work…

Future trends in health and health care: implications for social work practice in an aging society.

PubMed

Spitzer, William J; Davidson, Kay W

2013-01-01

Major economic, political, demographic, social, and operational system factors are prompting evolutionary changes in health care delivery. Of particular significance, the "graying of America" promises new challenges and opportunities for health care social work. At the same time, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, evolution of Accountable Care Organizations, and an emphasis on integrated, transdisciplinary, person-centered care represent fundamental shifts in service delivery with implications for social work practice and education. This article identifies the aging shift in American demography, its impact on health policy legislation, factors influencing fundamentally new service delivery paradigms, and opportunities of the profession to address the health disparities and care needs of an aging population. It underscores the importance of social work inclusion in integrated health care delivery and offers recommendations for practice education.

Human Rights: Its Meaning and Practice in Social Work Field Settings.

PubMed

Steen, Julie A; Mann, Mary; Restivo, Nichole; Mazany, Shellene; Chapple, Reshawna

2017-01-01

The goal of the study reported in this article was to explore the conceptualizations of human rights and human rights practice among students and supervisors in social work field settings. Data were collected from 35 students and 48 supervisors through an online survey system that featured two open-ended questions regarding human rights issues in their agency and human rights practice tasks. Responses suggest that participants encountered human rights issues related to poverty, discrimination, participation/self-determination/autonomy, violence, dignity/respect, privacy, and freedom/liberty. They saw human rights practice as encompassing advocacy, service provision, assessment, awareness of threats to clients' rights, and the nature of the worker-client relationship. These results have implications for the social work profession, which has an opportunity to focus more intently on change efforts that support clients' rights. The study points to the possibilities of expanding the scope of the human rights competency within social work education and addressing the key human rights issues in field education. © 2016 National Association of Social Workers.

Social Policy in Social Work PhD Programs in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lightfoot, Elizabeth; Gal, John; Weiss-Gal, Idit

2018-01-01

While there has been a long-standing concern about the role of policy within social work education and social work practice, most of the emphasis has been on social work education at the BSW and MSW levels. This article examines policy education at the PhD level. It first explores how policy is taught in social work PhD programs in the United…

Moderators and Mediators in Social Work Research: Toward a More Ecologically Valid Evidence Base for Practice

PubMed Central

Magill, Molly

2012-01-01

Summary Evidence-based practice involves the consistent and critical consumption of the social work research literature. As methodologies advance, primers to guide such efforts are often needed. In the present work, common statistical methods for testing moderation and mediation are identified, summarized, and corresponding examples, drawn from the substance abuse, domestic violence, and mental health literature, are provided. Findings While methodologically complex, analyses of these third variable effects can provide an optimal fit for the complexity involved in the provision of evidence-based social work services. While a moderator may identify the trait or state requirement for a causal relationship to occur, a mediator is concerned with the transmission of that relationship. In social work practice, these are questions of “under what conditions and for whom?” and of the “how?” of behavior change. Implications Implications include a need for greater attention to these methods among practitioners and evaluation researchers. With knowledge gained through the present review, social workers can benefit from a more ecologically valid evidence base for practice. PMID:22833701

Social Work Home Visits to Children and Families in the UK: A Foucauldian Perspective.

PubMed

Winter, Karen; Cree, Viviene E

2016-07-01

The home visit is at the heart of social work practice with children and families; it is what children and families' social workers do more than any other single activity (except for recording), and it is through the home visit that assessments are made on a daily basis about risk, protection and welfare of children. And yet it is, more than any other activity, an example of what Pithouse has called an 'invisible trade': it happens behind closed doors, in the most secret and intimate spaces of family life. Drawing on conceptual tools associated with the work of Foucault, this article sets out to provide a critical, chronological review of research, policy and practice on home visiting. We aim to explain how and in what ways changing discourses have shaped the emergence, legitimacy, research and practice of the social work home visit to children and families at significant time periods and in a UK context. We end by highlighting the importance for the social work profession of engagement and critical reflection on the identified themes as part of their daily practice.

Social Work Home Visits to Children and Families in the UK: A Foucauldian Perspective

PubMed Central

Winter, Karen; Cree, Viviene E.

2016-01-01

The home visit is at the heart of social work practice with children and families; it is what children and families' social workers do more than any other single activity (except for recording), and it is through the home visit that assessments are made on a daily basis about risk, protection and welfare of children. And yet it is, more than any other activity, an example of what Pithouse has called an ‘invisible trade’: it happens behind closed doors, in the most secret and intimate spaces of family life. Drawing on conceptual tools associated with the work of Foucault, this article sets out to provide a critical, chronological review of research, policy and practice on home visiting. We aim to explain how and in what ways changing discourses have shaped the emergence, legitimacy, research and practice of the social work home visit to children and families at significant time periods and in a UK context. We end by highlighting the importance for the social work profession of engagement and critical reflection on the identified themes as part of their daily practice. PMID:27559221

A Practical Method for Collecting Social Media Campaign Metrics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gharis, Laurie W.; Hightower, Mary F.

2017-01-01

Today's Extension professionals are tasked with more work and fewer resources. Integrating social media campaigns into outreach efforts can be an efficient way to meet work demands. If resources go toward social media, a practical method for collecting metrics is needed. Collecting metrics adds one more task to the workloads of Extension…

Evidence-Based Practice at a Crossroads: The Timely Emergence of Common Elements and Common Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barth, Richard P.; Lee, Bethany R.; Lindsey, Michael A.; Collins, Kathryn S.; Strieder, Frederick; Chorpita, Bruce F.; Becker, Kimberly D.; Sparks, Jacqueline A.

2012-01-01

Social work is increasingly embracing evidence-based practice (EBP) as a decision-making process that incorporates the best available evidence about effective treatments given client values and preferences, in addition to social worker expertise. Yet, social work practitioners have typically encountered challenges with the application of…

Educating Social Workers for Practice in Integrated Health Care: A Model Implemented in a Graduate Social Work Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattison, Debra; Weaver, Addie; Zebrack, Brad; Fischer, Dan; Dubin, Leslie

2017-01-01

This article introduces a curricular innovation, the Integrated Health Scholars Program (IHSP), developed to prepare master's-level social work students for practice in integrated health care settings, and presents preliminary findings related to students' self-reported program competencies and perceptions. IHSP, implemented in a…

Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the Professional Suitability Scale for Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tam, Dora M. Y.; Twigg, Robert C.; Boey, Kam-Wing; Kwok, Siu-Ming

2013-01-01

Objective: This article presents a validation study to examine the factor structure of an instrument designed to measure professional suitability for social work practice. Method: Data were collected from registered social workers in a provincial mailed survey. The response rate was 23.2%. After eliminating five cases with multivariate outliers,…

The Hero(ine) on a Journey: A Postmodern Conceptual Framework for Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dybicz, Phillip

2012-01-01

Narrative therapy, the strengths perspective, and solution-focused therapy are 3 prominent examples of social work practices heavily informed by social constructionism. Yet getting students from understanding theory to applying theory can often be challenging. This article offers a conceptual framework to aid students in the application of social…

Explorations in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tie'er, Shi

2013-01-01

Social work education leans toward the applied approach emphasizing the practical and experiential. At present, many schools still offer social work education in the traditional academic model emphasizing textual learning. This approach is not suitable to the knowledge, student or teacher orientation in social work, and its pedagogy. To develop…

Making the invisible visible: are health social workers addressing the social determinants of health?

PubMed

Craig, Shelley L; Bejan, Raluca; Muskat, Barbara

2013-01-01

This study explored the ways in which health social workers (HSW) address the social determinants of health (SDH) within their social work practice. Social workers (n = 54) employed at major hospitals across Toronto had many years of practice in health care (M = 11 years; SD = 10.32) and indicated that SDH were a top priority in their daily work; with 98% intentionally intervening with at least one and 91% attending to three or more. Health care services were most often addressed (92%), followed by housing (72%), disability (79%), income (72%), and employment security (70%). Few HSW were tackling racism, Aboriginal status, gender, or social exclusion in their daily practice.

Social Worker Identity: A Profession in Context.

PubMed

Forenza, Brad; Eckert, Caitlin

2018-01-01

Social work is a broad field encompassing micro, mezzo, and macro areas of practice. Consequently, the field lacks a unifying professional identity due to the expansiveness of the profession. Professional identity is conceptualized as an extension of social identity, vis-à-vis the embodiment of three qualities: connectedness, expansiveness, and effectiveness. This study used 12 in-depth, individual interviews with practicing social workers to explore these qualities. Findings from interviews reveal six primary themes and 21 subthemes pertaining to social worker identity. Themes and subthemes are organized according to three broad families (social work in context, professional trajectories, and external influences). Implications for policy, practice, and future research are presented. © 2017 National Association of Social Workers.

Framing Education for a Science of Social Work: Missions, Curriculum, and Doctoral Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fong, Rowena

2012-01-01

Social work education has historically been grounded in professional practice but recent discussions have urged a reconsideration of social work as a science. Social work is progressively doing more intervention work, service systems research, implementation research, and translational research which are elevating research standards to new levels…

Emotions, Social Work Practice and Supervision: An Uneasy Alliance?

PubMed Central

Ingram, Richard

2012-01-01

This paper examines the place of emotions within social work practice. The perceived tensions between emotions and rational decision making are explored and it is argued that their relationship is compatible and necessary. A model for the co-creation of emotionally intelligent supervision is developed to support this vision of practice. PMID:24764612

A Framework for Teaching Practice-Based Research with a Focus on Service Users

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Michael J.; Isokuortti, Nanne

2016-01-01

The integration of research and practice in social work education and agency practice is both complex and challenging. The analysis presented here builds upon the classic social work generalist framework (engagement, assessment, service planning and implementation, service evaluation, and termination) by developing a three-part framework to…

Teaching Organization Theory and Practice: An Experiential and Reflective Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Mark; Turkiewicz, Rita M.; Holdaway, Britt A.; Bill, Jacqueline S.; Goodman, Jessica; Bonner, Aisha; Daly, Stacey; Cohen, Michael D.; Lorenz, Cassandra; Wilson, Paul R.; Rusk, James

2009-01-01

The organization is often the overlooked level in social work's ecological perspective. However, organizational realities exert a profound influence on human development and well-being as well as the nature and quality of social work practice. This article describes a model of teaching organization theory and practice which requires master's…

Emotions, Social Work Practice and Supervision: An Uneasy Alliance?

PubMed

Ingram, Richard

2013-03-01

This paper examines the place of emotions within social work practice. The perceived tensions between emotions and rational decision making are explored and it is argued that their relationship is compatible and necessary. A model for the co-creation of emotionally intelligent supervision is developed to support this vision of practice.

Promoting recovery through peer support: possibilities for social work practice.

PubMed

Loumpa, Vasiliki

2012-01-01

The Recovery Approach has been adopted by mental health services worldwide and peer support constitutes one of the main elements of recovery-based services. This article discusses the relevancy of recovery and peer support to mental health social work practice through an exploration of social work ethics and values. Furthermore, it provides an exploration of how peer support can be maximized in groupwork to assist the social work clinician to promote recovery and well-being. More specifically, this article discusses how the narrative therapy concepts of "retelling" and "witnessing" can be used in the context of peer support to promote recovery, and also how social constructionist, dialogical, and systemic therapy approaches can assist the social work practitioner to enhance peer support in recovery oriented groupwork. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Social work and gender: An argument for practical accounts

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

This article contributes to the debate on gender and social work by examining dominant approaches within the field. Anti-discriminatory, woman-centered and intersectional accounts are critiqued for reliance upon both reification and isolation of gender. Via examination of poststructural, queer and trans theories within social work, the author then presents accounts based upon structural/materialist, ethnomethodological and discursive theories, in order to open up debates about conceptualization of gender. These are used to suggest that social work should adopt a focus on gender as a practical accomplishment that occurs within various settings or contexts. PMID:26273228

Practicing Policy, Pursuing Change, and Promoting Social Justice: A Policy Instructional Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heidemann, Gretchen; Fertig, Ralph; Jansson, Bruce; Kim, Hansung

2011-01-01

Schools of social work are mandated to train students for policy practice. A new instructional approach is needed so that social workers skillfully engage in policy change to address the growing economic, social, and cultural problems that affect our clients. This article presents the Practicing Policy, Pursuing Change, and Promoting Social…

Practical Reason within and across Disciplinary Borders: A Response to Longhofer and Floersch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemp, Susan P.; Nurius, Paula S.

2014-01-01

Longhofer and Floersch argue for more expansive thinking about the modes of social science research predominant in contemporary social work science. This commentary concurs with aspects of their article that we see as compatible both with social work aims and with current trends and imperatives in research and practice, including mixed methods and…

The Impact of Public Housing Policy on Family Social Work Theory and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarty, Dawn

2008-01-01

Social workers are the professionals most engaged with families living in low-income and subsidized housing and most familiar with the problems associated with inadequate housing. Yet the discussion of public housing policy has been left largely to economists and housing activists and the clear implications for family social work practice have not…

Preparing Social Work Students for Rural Child Welfare Practice: Emerging Curriculum Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riebschleger, Joanne; Norris, Debra; Pierce, Barbara; Pond, Debora L.; Cummings, Cristy

2015-01-01

Multiple issues that are unique to child welfare social work practice in rural areas markedly affect workforce recruitment and retention, yet little attention is given to the proficiencies needed to equip emerging social workers for this growing area of the field. Curriculum content is needed that provides students with the opportunity to master…

Change between Entry and Graduation in MSW Student Views on Social Work's Traditional Mission, Career Motivations, and Practice Preferences: Caucasian, Student of Color, and American Indian Group Comparisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Limb, Gordon E.; Organista, Kurt C.

2006-01-01

The current study builds on a previous study that examined change in student views on social work's traditional mission, career motivations, and practice preferences between entry into and graduation from master of social work programs. Results from 6,987 students at entry and 3,451 students at graduation showed that students at graduation…

HIV/AIDS Course Content in CSWE-Accredited Social Work Programs: A Survey of Current Curricular Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowan, Diana; Shears, Jeffrey

2011-01-01

The authors surveyed program directors at all bachelor of social work and master of social work programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education using an online tool that assessed whether and how their respective social work programs are covering content related to HIV/AIDS. Of the 650 program directors, 153 (24%) participated in the…

Adopting a Social Marketing Mind-Set in School Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beauchemin, Pat; Kelly, Michael S.

2009-01-01

School social workers often conduct their business behind closed doors because much of their work is confidential. Even when they are not working in their offices, school social workers often blend into the fabric of the school culture, typically working behind the scenes and rarely taking credit for the valuable work they perform. However, if…

Assessing the Development of Cultural Proficiency among Upper-Level Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rahill, Guitele J.; Joshi, Manisha; Lucio, Robert; Bristol, Brittany; Dionne, Ariele; Hamilton, Alexis

2016-01-01

Graduate social work pedagogy is challenging to diverse faculty and students who work with diverse clients, often in international practice. We discuss the development, outcomes, and assessment of an assignment designed to stimulate students' research on proverbs as cultural resources for practice and to promote attainment of six competencies…

Results of the 2010 Statewide New Mexico School Social Work Survey: Implications for Evaluating the Effectiveness of School Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittlesey-Jerome, Wanda

2013-01-01

Today's school social workers are facing unique challenges in the workplace. The results of the 2009 New Mexico School Social Work Survey reinforced the idea that school social workers must be able to prove their effectiveness. Building on the school social work literature on practice outcomes evaluation, a more extensive statewide survey of…

Committing to Breastfeeding in Social Work.

PubMed

Hurst, Carol Grace; Reno, Rebecca; Lefmann, Tess

2018-04-27

This article addresses the importance of breastfeeding for the social work profession. Because breastfeeding is a critical component of maternal and child health, persistent racial and socioeconomic breastfeeding inequality is a social justice issue in need of social work commitment. Even while breastfeeding rates have been increasing in the United States there are some groups of mothers who initiate breastfeeding less frequently or have trouble with sustaining breastfeeding for recommended lengths. These mothers and their babies thus miss out on the ample benefits of this nurturing interaction. Using social work's unique disciplinary perspective and commitment to social justice, the authors place essential understanding of breastfeeding health benefits within the core values of the National Association of Social Work ethical code. The practice context for early breastfeeding intervention with mothers and families is discussed with acknowledgment of the maternal-child health focus at the root of the profession. Recognition of the potential of contemporary social work to advance breastfeeding equity through practice, scholarship, and action positions breastfeeding support activities as integral to meeting the grand challenges of the social work profession.

Social work and end-of-life decisions: self-determination and the common good.

PubMed

Wesley, C A

1996-05-01

Client self-determination is the key element of NASW's policy statement about social work intervention in end-of-life decisions. However, both self-determination and the common good must be respected in social work practice and policy regarding end-of-life decisions. This article discusses self-determination in end-of-life decision making, ethical decision making and the NASW Code of Ethics, and professional ethics based on a balanced view of both self-determination and the common good. Recommendations for professional practice and social policy are offered.

The Role and Challenges of School Social Work: An Examination from Practice in Osaka

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yamano, Noriko

2011-01-01

This article describes the development of school social work in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan. The article focuses on micro, mezzo, and macro levels of school social work and documents the growth and development of school social work since 2005. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

What Good Is Soft Evidence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murdach, Allison D.

2010-01-01

Along with other helping professions, social work is today struggling to become a more "evidence-based" activity. This article explores some of the issues raised by this reevaluation of social work, especially as it relates to the issue of direct social work practice. Despite the current push to base social work helping methods on scientific…

Graduate Social Work Students' Attitudes toward Research: Problems and Prospects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgenshtern, Marina; Freymond, Nancy; Agyapong, Samuel; Greeson, Clare

2011-01-01

This study examines the attitudes of graduate social work students toward research in the contexts of academic study, professional social work practice, and students' personal lives. The authors collected quantitative and qualitative data from MSW students (n = 102) at a major Canadian school of social work. Findings suggest that MSW students…

A Scientific Framework for Social Work Doctoral Education in the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guerrero, Erick G.; Moore, Hadass; Pitt-Catsouphes, Marcie

2018-01-01

The emerging discourse about the science of social work has urged doctoral social work programs to reexamine assumptions about conducting research and responding to new expectations for scholarship. This article examines three promising models to guide scientific research in social work (evidence-based practice, team science, and multi- and…

A Meta-Analysis of Approaches to Engage Social Work Students Online

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrel, Dorothy; Ray, Kateri; Rich, Telvis; Suarez, Zulema; Christenson, Brian; Jennigs, Lisa

2018-01-01

With an increase in social work courses being offered in online and hybrid formats, it is imperative that social work programs understand the new teaching tenets and engagement mediums employed to meet the new Council on Social Work Education's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. This meta-analysis explores best-practices pedagogy for…

Research Note--Engaged Scholarship: A Signature Research Methodology for Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delavega, Elena; Lennon-Dearing, Robin; Neely-Barnes, Susan; Soifer, Steve; Crawford, Cicely

2017-01-01

Social work has a rich tradition of engagement. Throughout its history, social work scholars have taken up questions that link knowledge production to its application in practice. Recently, other higher education fields have expressed interest in engagement. Yet, social work scholars have remained relatively silent about what they have to offer…

Adjuncts in Social Work Programs: Good Practice or Unethical?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearlman, Catherine A.

2013-01-01

Social work education programs rely heavily on adjunct instructors, as do most academic institutions. This article adds to existing literature on adjuncts by focusing on the unique issues in social work education, using social work values and ethics as a focus. The benefits and detriments for adjuncts, programs, and students in schools of social…

Social Work Practice in the Digital Age: Therapeutic E-Mail as a Direct Practice Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattison, Marian

2012-01-01

The author addresses the risks and benefits of incorporating therapeutic e-mail communication into clinical social work practice. Consumer demand for online clinical services is growing faster than the professional response. E-mail, when used as an adjunct to traditional meetings with clients, offers distinct advantages and risks. Benefits include…

Implementation of Evidence-Based Models in Social Work Practice: Practitioners' Perspectives on an MST Trial in Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gustle, Lars-Henry; Hansson, Kjell; Sundell, Knut; Andree-Lofholm, Cecilia

2008-01-01

The implementation of new treatment methods in social work practice is warranted. Moreover, little is known about professionals' attitudes toward the introduction of evidence-based practices into their communities. Therefore, this article reports on the implementation of a Swedish research project that evaluated Multisystemic Therapy (MST). All…

Giving Our Students Professional Voice: Development and Implementation of a BSW Course on Writing for Agency Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Jeanne L.; Schuster, Elizabeth O.; Fuller, Alison R.

2016-01-01

In social work practice, writing is a tool for advocacy, communication with clients, and other professionals, and accountability. In virtually all practice settings, workers at every organizational level invest significant time and effort in writing. However, the social work education literature reveals little attention to teaching BSW students to…

Recognizing the Importance of Aging Skills and Knowledge in Generalist Social Work Practice: Effective Strategies for MSW Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonifas, Robin P.; Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I.; Bailey, Kathleen A.

2009-01-01

This article examines the impact of a curricular infusion strategy aimed at integrating gerontological practice issues into social work education. Findings (N = 83) illustrate that student interest, knowledge, and skills in aging practice increased immediately following implementation of a three-tiered infusion approach; however, ongoing exposure…

Making home visits: Creativity and the embodied practices of home visiting in social work and child protection

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Although the home is the most common place where social work goes on, research has largely ignored the home visit. Drawing on a participant observation study of child protection work, this article reveals the complex hidden practices of social work on home visits. It is argued that home visits do not simply involve an extension of the social work organisation, policies and procedures into the domestic domain but the home constitutes a distinct sphere of practice and experience in its own right. Home visiting is shown to be a deeply embodied practice in which all the senses and emotions come into play and movement is central. Through the use of creativity, craft and improvisation practitioners ‘make’ home visits by skilfully enacting a series of transitions from the office to the doorstep, and into the house, where complex interactions with service users and their domestic space and other objects occur. Looking around houses and working with children alone in their bedrooms were common. Drawing upon sensory and mobile methods and a material culture studies approach, the article shows how effective practice was sometimes blocked and also how the home was skilfully negotiated, moved around and creatively used by social workers to ensure parents were engaged with and children seen, held and kept safe. PMID:29276431

Mind the Disconnect: Social Work Faculty Experiences with Relational Teaching and Diversity Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, LaShawn C.

2017-01-01

Cultural competence is one of many concepts taught by social work faculty. It enhances the ability of social workers to build rapport with clients in targeted populations. It is a skill in social work practice that promotes the profession's ethics and values. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the National Association of Social…

Men's mental health: a call to social workers.

PubMed

Shafer, Kevin; Wendt, Douglas

2015-04-01

Substantial attention is paid to the mental health needs of women and children by social work researchers, educators, and practitioners--and with good reason, as these are two vulnerable populations in U.S. society. However, the status of men's mental health; its resulting effect on individuals, families, and communities; and the various challenges associated with it are often overlooked by social workers. The authors document the prevalence of common mental health issues among men in the United States, the unique problems that men face, and help-seeking behaviors. They also discuss how social work is in an exceptional position to help men, and the systemic effects that social work practice with men can have. The authors assert that helping improve men's mental health is critical for social work, particularly given its values recognizing the dignity and worth of all individuals. Their goal is to raise awareness and spark an open dialogue about social work practice with men.

The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: Commitment to Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Social Work Education, 2012

2012-01-01

This Global Agenda is the product of a three-year collaborative initiative undertaken by three international organisations representing social work practice, social work education, and social development. All three of these international bodies were founded in 1928 and have held formal consultative status for many decades with the United Nations…

Social Justice and the Capabilities Approach: Seeking a Global Blueprint for the EPAS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Juliana; Nguyen, Hoa; Reinardy, James

2016-01-01

The concept of social justice shapes several of the competencies and practice behaviors of the Council of Social Work Education's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). Furthermore, a global perspective guides the social work profession and influences its educational programs. A number of social work scholars have adopted the…

Living better with dementia: strengths-based social work practice and dementia care.

PubMed

McGovern, Justine

2015-01-01

This article first argues that quality of life is possible despite the onset of dementia in late life. It also demonstrates how core concepts of social work practice, such as family systems theory, the strengths perspective, and use of self, can be applied to practice with dementia-affected persons. In addition, it provides practical suggestions for supporting care partners in nurturing "we-ness", focusing on what remains rather than was is lost, and remaining authentic. When strengths-based social work practice is integrated into dementia care protocols, wellbeing can increase. As a result, the more than 40 million persons worldwide who are affected by dementia do not have to resign themselves to the despair, devastation and inevitable demise of quality of life that dominate perception of the illness.

Family-Centered Practice in the 1990s: A Multicultural Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Joseph D.

1992-01-01

Outlines sensitizing concepts to prepare students for family-centered multicultural social work practice. Discusses the family "cultural reality" (world view) and value orientations of various ethnic groups and implications for social work with dysfunctional family systems. Contains 25 references. (SV)

Rural Mental Health in North Carolina: Social Work Practice and Ethnocultural Issues. Conference Proceedings (Chapel Hill, North Carolina, May 20, 1983).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dedmon, Rachel, Ed.; Saur, William, Ed.

These 11 papers begin by discussing the delivery of mental health services to non-urban black consumers, focusing on traditional education for practice, ethnocultural sensitivity, and geography and victimization. The expanding clinical social work roles in nontraditional approaches to rural aging are discussed also, and mental health, social work…

When Duty Calls: The Implications of Social Justice Work for Policy, Education, and Practice in the Mental Health Professions. Reactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiselica, Mark S.

2004-01-01

In reaction to the pioneering model of social justice education in counseling psychology described by Goodman, Liang, Helms, Latta, Sparks, and Weintraub, several implications of social justice work for policy, education, and practice in the mental health professions are suggested. Specifically, it is recommended that mental health scientists and…

Financial Capability in Early Social Work Practice: Lessons for Today.

PubMed

Stuart, Paul H

2016-10-01

During the profession's first decades, social workers tried to improve their clients’ financial capability (FC). This article describes the methods used by early social workers who attempted to enhance the FC of their clients, based on contemporary descriptions of their practice. Social workers initially emphasized thrift, later adding more sophisticated consideration of the cost of foods, rent, and other necessities. Social work efforts were furthered by home economists, who served as specialists in nutrition, clothing, interior design, and other topics related to homemaking. Early home economists included specialists in nutrition and family budgeting; these specialists worked with social services agencies to provide a financial basis for family budgets and assisted clients with family budgeting. Some agencies engaged home economists as consultants and as direct providers of instruction on home budgets for clients. By the 1930s, however, social work interest in family budget problems focused on the psychological meaning of low income to the client, rather than in measures to increase client FC. Consequently, social workers’ active engagement with family budget issues—engagement that characterized earlier decades—faded. These early efforts can inform contemporary practice as social workers are once again concerned about improving their clients’ FC.

Medical social work practice in child protection in China: A multiple case study in Shanghai hospitals.

PubMed

Zhao, Fang; Hämäläinen, Juha; Chen, Yu-Ting

2017-01-01

With the rapid development of the child welfare system in China over recent years, medical social work has been increasingly involved in providing child protection services in several hospitals in Shanghai. Focusing on five cases in this paper, the exploratory study aims to present a critical overview of current practices and effects of medical social work for child protection, based on a critical analysis of the multidimensional role of social work practitioners engaged in the provision of child protection services as well as potential challenges. Implications and suggestions for future improvements of China's child protection system are also discussed.

Social Work’s Role in Medicaid Reform: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Wachman, Madeline; Manning, Leticia; Cohen, Alexander M.; Seifert, Robert W.; Jones, David K.; Fitzgerald, Therese; Nuzum, Rachel; Riley, Patricia

2017-01-01

Objectives. To critically analyze social work’s role in Medicaid reform. Methods. We conducted semistructured interviews with 46 stakeholders from 10 US states that use a range of Medicaid reform approaches. We identified participants using snowball and purposive sampling. We gathered data in 2016 and analyzed them using qualitative methods. Results. Multiple themes emerged: (1) social work participates in Medicaid reform through clinical practice, including care coordination and case management; (2) there is a gap between social work’s practice-level and systems-level involvement in Medicaid innovations; (3) factors hindering social work’s involvement in systems-level practice include lack of visibility, insufficient clarity on social work’s role and impact, and too few resources within professional organizations; and (4) social workers need more training in health transformation payment models and policy. Conclusions. Social workers have unique skills that are valuable to building health systems that promote population health and reduce health inequities. Although there is considerable opportunity for social work to increase its role in Medicaid reform, there is little social work involvement at the systems level. PMID:29236537

Improving Scientific Inquiry for Social Work in South Korea: The Center for Social Welfare Research at Yonsei University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Jae-Sung; Choi, Soochan; Kim, Yujin

2009-01-01

This article examines current social issues and welfare needs in South Korea and discusses societal efforts to respond to these needs through social welfare systems nationwide. It also reviews how social work scholars, major contributors to the creation of a Korean welfare state, have contributed to the conditions of social work practice by…

A Composite Review of Social Work Research Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, George T.

2010-01-01

Social work educators require textbooks and other teaching materials that can be used in research courses to enhance student learning. Likewise, social work practitioners require resource books that can be used to enhance practice. This article provides an essay review of four recently published books representing diverse viewpoints on social work…

Science, Innovation, and Social Work: Purpose: Clash or Convergence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flynn, Marilyn L.

2017-01-01

Social work as a human services profession has been distinctive for its inclusion of research as a required element of practice and instrument in instigating reform. At the present time, the relationship of social work to science and a redefinition of social work as a science have reentered our national dialogue with new force. This expansion of…

A Historical Perspective on the Future of Innovation in Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okpych, Nathanael J.

2017-01-01

Changing social work from a profession with innovators to a profession that innovates will likely require an innovation movement. This article draws on lessons from a prior movement in social work to suggest implications for a future innovation movement. Empirical clinical practice (ECP), a movement in social work in the 1970-1990s, sought to…

After the Biomedical Technology Revolution: Where to Now for a Bio-Psycho-Social Approach to Social Work?

PubMed Central

Healy, Karen

2016-01-01

In the late twentieth century, the bio-psycho-social framework emerged as a powerful influence on the conceptualisation and delivery of health and rehabilitation services including social work services in these fields. The bio-psycho-social framework is built on a systems view of health and well-being ( Garland and Howard, 2009). The systems perspective encourages medical and allied health professions, including social work, to recognise and to respond to the multiple systems impacting on individual health and well-being ( Engel, 2003). This paper analyses how advances in biomedical technology, particularly in the fields of neuroscience and human genomics, are challenging the bio-psycho-social approach to practice. The paper examines the pressures on the social work profession to embrace biomedical science and points to the problems in doing so. The conclusion points to some tentative ways forward for social workers to engage critically with biomedical advances and to strengthen the bio-psycho-social framework in the interests of holistic and ethical approaches to social work practice. PMID:27559237

After the Biomedical Technology Revolution: Where to Now for a Bio-Psycho-Social Approach to Social Work?

PubMed

Healy, Karen

2016-07-01

In the late twentieth century, the bio-psycho-social framework emerged as a powerful influence on the conceptualisation and delivery of health and rehabilitation services including social work services in these fields. The bio-psycho-social framework is built on a systems view of health and well-being ( Garland and Howard, 2009). The systems perspective encourages medical and allied health professions, including social work, to recognise and to respond to the multiple systems impacting on individual health and well-being ( Engel, 2003). This paper analyses how advances in biomedical technology, particularly in the fields of neuroscience and human genomics, are challenging the bio-psycho-social approach to practice. The paper examines the pressures on the social work profession to embrace biomedical science and points to the problems in doing so. The conclusion points to some tentative ways forward for social workers to engage critically with biomedical advances and to strengthen the bio-psycho-social framework in the interests of holistic and ethical approaches to social work practice.

Military Social Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Social Work Education

PubMed Central

Wooten, Nikki R.

2015-01-01

Military social work is a specialized field of practice spanning the micro-macro continuum and requiring advanced social work knowledge and skills. The complex behavioral health problems and service needs of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans highlight the need for highly trained social work professionals who can provide militarily-relevant and culturally-responsive evidence-informed services. Responding to the military behavioral health workforce and service needs of recently returned veterans presents both opportunities and challenges for military social work education. This article discusses the rationale for a military social work specialization, the need for military social work education, and opportunities and challenges for social work education. An integrated model of intellectual capital is proposed to guide strategic planning for future military social work education. PMID:26089628

[Social Security Needs Social Medicine: Self-image of Physicians Practicing Social Medicine in Statutory Health Insurances and Social Security Systems].

PubMed

Nüchtern, E; Bahemann, A; Egdmann, W; van Essen, J; Gostomzyk, J; Hemmrich, K; Manegold, B; Müller, B; Robra, B P; Röder, M; Schmidt, L; Zobel, A; von Mittelstaedt, G

2015-09-01

In January, 2014, the division "Social Medicine in Practice and Rehabilitation" of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention established a working group on the self-image of the physicians active in the field of social medicine (medical expertise and counseling). The result of this work is the contribution presented here after consensus was achieved by specialists of social medicine from different fields and institutions (social security etc.) and in good cooperation with Prof. Dr. Gostomzyk and Prof. Dr. Robra. Based on the importance of an up to date social medicine for claimants and recipients of benefits on the one hand and the social security system on the other, and also on a description of the subjects, objectives and methods the following aspects are presented: · The perspective of social medicine. · Qualification in social medicine, concerning specialist training and continuing medical education. · The fields of duty of experts in social medicine. · The proceedings in social medicine. The working group identified challenges for the specialists in social medicine by a narrowed perception of social medicine by physicians in hospitals and practice, accompanied by an enlarged importance of expertise in social medicine, by the demand for more "patient orientation" and gain of transparency, and concerning the scientific foundation of social medicine. The working group postulates: · The perspective of social medicine should be spread more widely.. · Confidence in experts of social medicine and their independency should be strengthened.. · The not case-related consulting of the staff and executives should be expanded.. · Social medicine in practice needs support by politics and society, and especially by research and teaching.. · Good cooperation and transfer of experiences of the different branches of social security are essential for the impact of social medicine.. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Iowa Journal of School Social Work, 1993-1995.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andreasen, Sara A., Ed.; Froyen, Gary, Ed.; McCullagh, Cheryl, Ed.; Harrington, Danette, Ed.

1995-01-01

This annual serial publication of the Iowa School Social Workers' Association is dedicated to extending knowledge and improving practice of social work in educational settings. Volume six contains the following articles: (1) "A Self-Report Questionnaire For Group Work: Monitoring the Outcome of Group Work Intervention with Special Education…

Training Social Work Students for Practice with Substance Abusers: An Ecological Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Wormer, Katherine

1987-01-01

The following questions are addressed: Why should general social work students need to know about alcoholism/addiction, chemical dependency? What skills are required for assessment of chemical dependency intervention? How can the social work curriculum provide adequate training for work with substance abusers? (Author/MH)

[Micro and Macro Social Work Practice in the Context of Tuberculosis].

PubMed

Moya, Eva M; Chavez-Baray, Silvia M; Martínez, Omar

2017-07-01

The study of tuberculosis (TB) in the U.S.-Mexico border involves the consideration of three key components, which are complex and interrelated: the difficulty tracking and providing appropriate TB care due to the epidemiological and pathological characteristics of TB; the border itself is a geographical and epidemiological area that interweaves two nations, two cultures, two health systems and different laws; and the need for prevention and treatment approaches to TB that involve comprehensive clinical care and prevention while also taking into consideration stigma, social context and knowledge. This manuscript describes the work of ten studies conducted in Mexico and in the U.S.-Mexico border region from 2006 to 2013. It also provides an understanding of the social and public health implications of TB, the environment and communities, as well as the identification and application of advocacy and social mobilization practices. The work presented provides an understanding of different interventions related to adherence, stigma reduction, person-centered approaches, and effective micro and macro practices in social work.

Social Work and Evaluation: Why You Might Be Interested in the American Evaluation Association Social Work Topical Interest Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wharton, Tracy C.; Kazi, Mansoor A.

2012-01-01

With increased pressure on programs to evaluate outcomes, the issue of evaluation in social work has never been so topical. In response to these pressures, there has been a growing interest in evidence-based practice and strategies for the evaluation of social work programs. The American Evaluation Association (AEA) is an international…

Enhancing MSW Students' Efficacy in Working with Trauma, Violence, and Oppression: An Integrated Feminist-Trauma Framework for Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkin, Leslie; Hillock, Susan

2014-01-01

Social work is uniquely situated among helping professions, as the clinical practice is an extension of ethical responsibility to pursue social justice. Whether in mental health, addictions, child protection, intimate partner violence services, youth and adult homelessness programs, or any number of social work services, the individuals, families,…

Social responsibility: conceptualization and embodiment in a school of nursing.

PubMed

Kelley, Maureen A; Connor, Ann; Kun, Karen E; Salmon, Marla E

2008-01-01

This paper describes how a school of nursing has conceptualized and embodied social responsibility in its core values, curricular design, admission standards, clinical practice, and service learning opportunities. The school's engagement in the process of practicing social responsibility and clarifying its meaning and application has made apparent the natural linkage between social responsibility and professionalism and the deep and complex relationship between social responsibility and nursing itself. It has also revealed how a commitment to social responsibility impacts and determines for whom nurses care. Claiming social responsibility as a core value and working to refine its meaning and place has increased the school's commitment to it, concomitantly impacting education, practice, and recruitment and evaluation of faculty and students. The school views the conceptualization of social responsibility as a deepening and unfolding evolution, rather than as a formulaic understanding, and expects that its ongoing work of claiming social responsibility as a core value will continue to be enriching.

Social Action among Social Work Practitioners: Examining the Micro-Macro Divide.

PubMed

Mattocks, Nicole Olivia

2018-01-01

Social work is a profession that seeks to enhance the well-being of all people and promote social justice and social change through a range of activities, such as direct practice, community organizing, social and political action, and policy development. However, the current literature suggests that the profession's focus on social justice and social action are weakening, replaced by individualism and therapeutic interventions. This article examines data derived from a survey of 188 National Association of Social Workers members from Maryland; Virginia; and Washington, DC, to explore levels of social action participation among social workers and determine whether identifying as a macro-level practitioner would predict higher levels of social action activity compared with being a micro-level practitioner. Findings indicate that social workers in this sample engage in only a moderate level of social action behavior. In addition, identifying oneself as a mezzo- or macro-level practitioner predicts increased frequency of social action behavior. Implications include emphasizing the importance of social action in schools of social work and practice settings and adequately preparing social work professionals to engage in social action. © 2017 National Association of Social Workers.

Access to Intersectionality, Content to Competence: Deconstructing Social Work Education Diversity Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jani, Jayshree S.; Pierce, Dean; Ortiz, Larry; Sowbel, Lynda

2011-01-01

This article provides an assessment of the current situation in social work education regarding the teaching of content on diversity, with a focus on implications for social work theory, practice, and education. The article provides a critical analysis of the historical development of approaches to teaching diversity content in social work…

Qualities and Practices of Professional Social Work Leadership in an Interdisciplinary Mental Health Service: An Action Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNabb, David; Webster, Michael

2010-01-01

Since the mid-1980s, health service restructuring in New Zealand has strengthened managerialism, arguably detracting from professional considerations. Professional leaders without line-management responsibilities have replaced social work departments headed by a professional social worker. An emerging social work contribution to interdisciplinary…

Integrating Education on Addressing Health Disparities into the Graduate Social Work Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Jamie Ann

2012-01-01

The purpose of this article is to propose an elective social work course as a means of better preparing social workers entering practice in healthcare to meet the challenges of promoting health and reducing health disparities in minority and underserved communities. Course offerings specifically targeting health or medical social work training…

Statistics and Data Interpretation for Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenthal, James A.

2011-01-01

Written by a social worker for social work students, this is a nuts and bolts guide to statistics that presents complex calculations and concepts in clear, easy-to-understand language. It includes numerous examples, data sets, and issues that students will encounter in social work practice. The first section introduces basic concepts and terms to…

When Failing Doesn't Matter: A Narrative Inquiry into the Social Work Practice Learning Experiences of Black African Students in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tedam, Prospera

2014-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale empirical study into the practice learning experiences of black African students of social work in England. Undertaken in the form of a pilot study, the findings reveal that practice learning experiences can be beneficial in enhancing skills and knowledge but can also cause distress, lower…

MSW Programs: Gatekeepers to the Field of Developmental Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russo-Gleicher, Rosalie J.

2008-01-01

This article presents qualitative insights into the roles of master of social work programs in developing student practice interests in working with people with developmental disabilities (DD). Semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 MSW social workers practicing in the field of DD in the northeastern United States. Participants…

Early Career Patterns for Social Work Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Mi Jin; Urbanski, Paul; Fortune, Anne E.; Rogers, Crystal

2015-01-01

This study examines master's of social work graduates' early careers. Six cohorts graduating from 2002 through 2007 (N = 246) completed a questionnaire 9-15 months after graduation. Most reported adequate or exceptional preparation on both generalist and advanced concentration practice behaviors. Almost all direct practice graduates and 2/3 of…

Teaching Macro Practice: An Experiential Learning Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carey, Lois A.

2007-01-01

This paper presents a model for teaching an undergraduate social work macro practice course utilizing an experiential learning paradigm. The model provides a campus-based project with social work majors in simultaneous dual roles of students and grassroots leaders, focusing on rape and sexual assault prevention training for college students. This…

Reconciling Paternalism and Empowerment in Clinical Practice: An Intersubjective Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bransford, Cassandra L.

2011-01-01

The focus of this article is on illustrating how the differences between the paternalistic and empowerment approaches embedded within social work have unnecessarily evolved into competing approaches to practice. Tracing the historical evolution of both paternalistic and empowerment approaches, the article posits that social work is more amenable…

Gender-Sensitive Social Work Practice: A Model for Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norman, Judith; Wheeler, Barbara

1996-01-01

Although women comprise the majority of social work clients, most psychological models of assessment and intervention are based on male psychological development. Feminist theories and therapies have turned attention to female development and its differences from male progression. A psychotherapeutic model for practice and education that allows…

Construction and Validation of a Professional Suitability Scale for Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tam, Dora M. Y.; Coleman, Heather

2009-01-01

This article reports on the construction and validation of a professional suitability scale, designed for assessing students' suitability for social work practice. Data were collected from 188 field supervisors who provided usable questionnaires, representing a response rate of 74%. Construct validation by exploratory factor analysis identified a…

Validation of the Evidence-Based Practice Process Assessment Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin, Allen; Parrish, Danielle E.

2011-01-01

Objective: This report describes the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of a scale that assesses practitioners' perceived familiarity with, attitudes of, and implementation of the evidence-based practice (EBP) process. Method: Social work practitioners and second-year master of social works (MSW) students (N = 511) were surveyed in four sites…

Identifying Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Culturally Competent Practice for School Social Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teasley, Martell; Gourdine, Ruby; Canfield, James

2010-01-01

This study presents descriptive findings from self-reported qualitative and quantitative data on barriers and facilitators to culturally competent school social work practice. The study highlights the need for the development of evaluative methods for the purpose of examining how elements within the practice environment affect school social work…

Experiences and Implications of Social Workers Practicing in a Pediatric Hospital Environment Affected by SARS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gearing, Robin Edward; Saini, Michael; McNeill, Ted

2007-01-01

This phenomenological study's purpose was threefold: to detail the experiences of social workers practicing in a hospital environment affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), to describe essential themes and structures of social work practices within this crisis environment, and to explore recommendations for better preparedness to…

School Social Work with Students with Mental Health Problems: Examining Different Practice Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McManama O'Brien, Kimberly H.; Berzin, Stephanie C.; Kelly, Michael S.; Frey, Andy J.; Alvarez, Michelle E.; Shaffer, Gary L.

2011-01-01

School social workers frequently serve as the primary mental health providers to youths with mental health problems. Although school social workers play a primary role in care, many students also receive outside counseling services. Previous research has not examined whether practice approaches differ when considering mental health practice with…

Educating Today's School Social Workers: Are School Social Work Courses Responding to the Changing Context?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berzin, Stephanie Cosner; O'Connor, Sarah

2010-01-01

School social work takes place within the dynamic context of the educational landscape, yet research indicates that school social work practice has been slow to adjust to the demands of that landscape. Little research has assessed whether school social workers are being adequately prepared to address the educational shifts that underlie today's…

Technology-based Interventions in Social Work Practice: A Systematic Review of Mental Health Interventions

PubMed Central

Montgomery, Katherine

2014-01-01

Despite concerns around the use of technology-based interventions, they are increasingly being employed by social workers as a direct practice methodology to address the mental health needs of vulnerable clients. Researchers have highlighted the importance of using innovative technologies within social work practice, yet little has been done to summarize the evidence and collectively assess findings. In this systematic review, we describe accounts of technology-based mental health interventions delivered by social workers over the past 10 years. Results highlight the impacts of these tools and summarize advantages and disadvantages to utilizing technologies as a method for delivering or facilitating interventions. PMID:25321935

Technology-based interventions in social work practice: a systematic review of mental health interventions.

PubMed

Ramsey, Alex T; Montgomery, Katherine

2014-10-01

Despite concerns around the use of technology-based interventions, they are increasingly being employed by social workers as a direct practice methodology to address the mental health needs of vulnerable clients. Researchers have highlighted the importance of using innovative technologies within social work practice, yet little has been done to summarize the evidence and collectively assess findings. In this systematic review, we describe accounts of technology-based mental health interventions delivered by social workers over the past 10 years. Results highlight the impacts of these tools and summarize advantages and disadvantages to utilizing technologies as a method for delivering or facilitating interventions.

The Therapeutic Process in Clinical Social Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siporin, Max

1983-01-01

Suggests that current outmoded and inadequate conceptions of the therapeutic process are a major obstacle to the advancement of clinical social work practice. Presents an integrative ecosystem model that expresses the distinctive social work concern with person, situation, and helping relationship, in their reciprocal psychodynamic and…

Knowledge Transfer in Social Work: The Role of Grey Documentation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berman, Yitzhak

1995-01-01

Discusses scholarly journals in the field of social work, information sources for social work practitioners versus researchers, and grey documentation as an alternative means of knowledge transfer. Highlights include research versus practice; grey documentation and scientific credibility; and dissemination of grey literature. (LRW)

Toward Transgender Affirmative Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Ashley; Craig, Shelley L.; McInroy, Lauren B.

2016-01-01

Social work has professional and academic standards consistent with transgender affirmative education and practice. Nevertheless, a growing body of research suggests that transgender issues are largely absent from social work education, resulting in practitioners who are uninformed or biased against transgender issues. The present study expands…

Nourishing People and Communities Through the Lean Years. Selected Papers of the National Institute on Social Work in Rural Areas (7th, Dubuque, IA, July 24-27, 1982).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobsen, G. Michael, Ed.

The papers selected for this reader represent the broad range of "practice oriented" interests, problems, populations, and interventions found in both rural social work and at the Seventh National Institute. Section 1 contains four papers which deal with program development and community practice, i.e., planning social services in a…

Exploration of joint working practices on anti-social behaviour between criminal justice, mental health and social care agencies: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Krayer, Anne; Robinson, Catherine A; Poole, Rob

2018-05-01

Although the police play an important role for people with mental health problems in the community, little is known about joint working practices between mental health, social care and police services. There is potential for tensions and negative outcomes for people with mental health problems, in particular when the focus is on behaviours that could be interpreted as anti-social. This study explores perceptions about joint working between mental health, social care and police services with regard to anti-social behaviour. We conducted a multi-method sequential qualitative study in the UK collecting data between April 2014 and August 2016. Data were collected from two study sites: 60 narrative police logs of routinely gathered information, and semi-structured interviews and focus groups with professionals from a range of statutory and third sector organisations (N = 55). Data sets were analysed individually, using thematic iterative coding before integrating the findings. We also looked at sequencing and turning points in the police logs. Findings mapped on a continuum of joint working practices, with examples more likely to be away from the policy ideal of partnership working as being central to mainstream activities. Joint working was driven by legal obligations and concerns about risk rather than a focus on the needs of a person with mental health problems. This was complicated by different perceptions of the police role in mental health. Adding anti-social behaviour to this mix intensified challenges as conceptualisation of the nature of the problem and agreeing on best practice and care is open to interpretations and judgements. Of concern is an evident lack of awareness of these issues. There is a need to reflect on joint working practices, including processes and goals, keeping in mind the health and welfare needs of people with mental health problems. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nursing in general practice: organizational possibilities for decision latitude, created skill, social support and identity derived from role.

PubMed

Merrick, Eamon; Duffield, Christine; Baldwin, Richard; Fry, Margaret

2012-03-01

This article is a report of a study to describe the factors that support organizational opportunities for practice nurse decision-making and skill development for nurses employed in general practice in New South Wales, Australia. Corresponding to the availability of subsidies from the Australian universal health insurer (Medicare), there has been an increase in the number of nurses employed in general practice. Currently, there is no Australian evidence as to the organizational possibilities for these practice nurses to make decisions, develop their own skills and abilities, derive identity from their role or how their role is influenced by social support. Over a 8-month period in 2008 practice, nurses employed in general practice in the State of New South Wales were invited to complete a 26-item self-administered online questionnaire utilizing constructs from Karaseks (1998) Job Content Questionnaire (valid n = 160). Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that all scales demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency. Sequential regression models revealed that social support exerts a weak influence on decision latitude (R(2) = 0·07); the addition of self-identity through work significantly improved the predictive ability of the model (R(2) = 0·16). Social support and self-identity through work exerted a negative influence on created skill (R(2) = 0·347), whereas social support was effective in predicting self-identity through work (R(2) = 0·148).   Collegial and supervisory support in the work environment predicts organizational possibilities for practice nurse decision-making. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Social Work Research Center at Colorado State University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winokur, Marc A.; Valentine, Deborah P.; Drendel, James M.

2009-01-01

The Social Work Research Center is an innovative university-community partnership within the School of Social Work in the College of Applied Human Sciences at Colorado State University. The center is focused on working with county and state child welfare agencies to generate applied research that translates into evidence-based practice for serving…

Best practices in social and behavioral research: report from the Enhancing Clinical Research Professional's Training and Qualifications project.

PubMed

Murphy, Susan L; Byks-Jazayeri, Christine; Calvin-Naylor, Nancy; Divecha, Vic; Anderson, Elizabeth; Eakin, Brenda; Fair, Alecia; Denton, Laura

2017-02-01

This article discusses the process of defining competencies and development of a best practices training course for investigators and clinical research coordinators who conduct social and behavioral research. The first project phase established recommendations for training in Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and was done in conjunction with representatives from 62 Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs. Diversity in behavioral clinical trials and differences in regulation of behavioral trials compared with clinical trials involving drugs, devices, or biologics necessitated a separate Social and Behavioral Work Group. This group worked with CTSA representatives to tailor competencies and fundamental GCP principles into best practices for social and behavioral research. Although concepts underlying GCP were deemed similar across all clinical trials, not all areas were equally applicable and the ways in which GCP would be enacted differ for behavioral trials. It was determined that suitable training in best practices for social and behavioral research was lacking. Based on the training need, an e-learning course for best practices is available to all CTSA sites. Each institution is able to track outcomes for its employees to help achieve standardized competency-based best practices for social and behavioral investigators and staff.

Listening to food workers: Factors that impact proper health and hygiene practice in food service.

PubMed

Clayton, Megan L; Clegg Smith, Katherine; Neff, Roni A; Pollack, Keshia M; Ensminger, Margaret

2015-01-01

Foodborne disease is a significant problem worldwide. Research exploring sources of outbreaks indicates a pronounced role for food workers' improper health and hygiene practice. To investigate food workers' perceptions of factors that impact proper food safety practice. Interviews with food service workers in Baltimore, MD, USA discussing food safety practices and factors that impact implementation in the workplace. A social ecological model organizes multiple levels of influence on health and hygiene behavior. Issues raised by interviewees include factors across the five levels of the social ecological model, and confirm findings from previous work. Interviews also reveal many factors not highlighted in prior work, including issues with food service policies and procedures, working conditions (e.g., pay and benefits), community resources, and state and federal policies. Food safety interventions should adopt an ecological orientation that accounts for factors at multiple levels, including workers' social and structural context, that impact food safety practice.

Social Work Practice with Groups: A Clinical Perspective. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, Kenneth E.

This guide is written for beginning and advanced social work students, as well as battle-weary social workers. It instructs practitioners in how to do social work with groups and how to integrate small-group theory and therapeutic principles in such a way that is therapeutic and life enhancing. The wide-ranging concepts and skills presented here…

Tearing down the Berlin wall: social workers' perspectives on joint working with general practice.

PubMed

Kharicha, Kalpa; Iliffe, Steve; Levin, Enid; Davey, Barbara; Fleming, Cass

2005-08-01

The arrangements for delivering social work and primary health care to older people in England and Wales are currently subject to rapid re-configuration, with the development of integrated primary care and social services trusts. To investigate perceptions of joint working in social services and general practice. The study setting was two London boroughs covered by one health authority, one NHS Community Health Services Trust, four Primary Care Groups and two social services departments. All social work team managers in both areas were interviewed together with a purposive sample of social workers with a high number of older clients on their caseloads. A sample of GPs was sought using a sampling frame of practice size in each borough. Structured interviews with open and closed questions were used. Tape-recorded interviews were transcribed and subject to thematic analysis. Analysis of emergent themes was aided by the use of Atlas-ti. Social workers and GPs agree on the need for joint working, but have different understandings of it, each profession wanting the other to change its organizational culture. Co-location of social and health care is seen as desirable, but threatening to social work. Concerns about differences in power and hierarchical authority are evident and explicit in social work perspectives. Conflict resolution strategies include risk minimization, adopting pragmatic, case-specific solutions rather than remaining consistent with policy, using nurses as mediators, and resorting to authority. Although this is a study from urban areas in England, its findings may have wider significance since we have found that resources and professional skills may be more important than organizational arrangements in collaborative working between disciplines. Primary Care Trusts in England and Wales should promote awareness of these different perspectives, perceived risks and conflict minimization strategies in their work on clinical governance and professional development.

Adopting and Teaching Evidence-Based Practice in Master's-Level Social Work Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drake, Brett; Hovmand, Peter; Jonson-Reid, Melissa; Zayas, Luis H.

2007-01-01

This article makes specific suggestions for teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) in the master's-in-social-work (MSW) curriculum. The authors use the model of EBP as it was originally conceived: a process for posing empirically answerable questions, finding and evaluating the best available evidence, and applying that evidence in conjunction…

Utilizing Video Conferencing to Introduce an International Perspective to Foundation Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forgey, Mary Ann; Loughran, Hilda; Hansen, Johna

2013-01-01

Video conferencing has much potential to enrich international social work education. In this educational initiative, video conferencing was used to deliver a joint foundation social work practice class to students attending an MSW degree program both in the United States and in Ireland. Student feedback indicated that they gained an appreciation…

Advancing Social Justice in Vocational Theory, Research, and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borgen, Fred H.

2005-01-01

David Blustein, Ellen Hawley McWhirter, and Justin Perry present a social justice agenda for action in vocational psychology in their article "An Emancipatory Communitarian Approach to Vocational Development Theory, Research, and Practice." They build on robust work in counseling psychology over recent decades by using the critical work of Isaac…

THE USE OF RESEARCH RESULTS IN TEACHING SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LAWRENCE, RICHARD G.

BECAUSE THE SUCCESS OF INTERVENTION DEPENDS UPON THE VALIDITY OF THE PROPOSITIONS EMPLOYED, AND BECAUSE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ASSURES VALIDITY BY PROVIDING THE MOST SYSTEMATIC AND RIGOROUS ATTENTION TO PROBLEMS, THE UTILIZATION OF RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT TO SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE. SEVERAL FACTORS LIMIT ITS USE--(1) ALTHOUGH CONCEPTS ARE CLEARLY DEFINED…

Reclaiming and Reimagining Macro Social Work Education: A Collective Biography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Netting, F. Ellen; O'Connor, Mary Katherine; Cole, Portia L.; Hopkins, Karen; Jones, Jenny L.; Kim, Youngmi; Leisey, Monica; Mulroy, Elizabeth A.; Rotabi, Karen Smith; Thomas, M. Lori; Weil, Marie O.; Wike, Traci L.

2016-01-01

The authors focus on a collective biography of 12 women social work educators, all either tenured or in tenure lines, from five different universities at the time of the study. The participants represent several aspects of macro practice including administration, planning, community practice, and policy. Beginning with reflections about coming…

Holistic Designs for Field Instruction in the Contemporary Social Work Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skolnik, Louise; Papell, Catherine P.

1994-01-01

Two models for social work field instruction are presented, both introduced in a university-based laboratory setting. Both models attempt to integrate field practice with content of the holistic practice curriculum. They were derived from a holistic/multimethod assignment and a holistic/generalist orientation. Issues in field teaching are…

Practice Change in Child Welfare: The Interface of Training and Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deglau, Ericka; Ray, Anasuya; Conway, Fiona; Carre-Lee, Nancy; Waldman, William; Cunningham, Katelyn; Harrison, Talisah; Bales, Heather; Powell, Tedecia

2015-01-01

This article examines perceptions of the relationship between professional education and workplace training among a select group of public child welfare employees who pursued graduate social work education during a period of major practice change at their agency. Focus groups were conducted with representative members of graduating cohorts as…

Historical and Theoretical Development of Culturally Competent Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohli, Hermeet K.; Huber, Ruth; Faul, Anna C.

2010-01-01

This article provides a detailed review of the historical and theoretical context in which culturally competent practice has evolved in the social work profession and enables educators and practitioners to see holistic connections between the past and present. Historical review of the inclusion of diversity content is followed by definitions of…

Concurrent Infusion of Integrated Behavioral Health Practice into Social Work Field and Classroom Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith-Osborne, Alexa; Daniel, Kathryn

2017-01-01

This administrative case study describes a concurrent infusion of integrated behavioral health (IBH) practice into social work field and classroom instruction using the same manualized IBH treatment as the core treatment content. The infusion was applied to youth/young adult and older adult populations in field instruction and classroom…

Graduate Social Work Education and Cognitive Complexity: Does Prior Experience Really Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simmons, Chris

2014-01-01

This study examined the extent to which age, education, and practice experience among social work graduate students (N = 184) predicted cognitive complexity, an essential aspect of critical thinking. In the regression analysis, education accounted for more of the variance associated with cognitive complexity than age and practice experience. When…

Are Graduating Students Ready for Financial Aspects of Social Work Practice?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birkenmaier, Julie M.; Loke, Vernon; Hageman, Sally A.

2016-01-01

Graduating students must be prepared with knowledge and skills for the financial aspects of social work practice. This study examines graduating students' attitudes and perceptions about client finances, as well as their financial knowledge. Internet survey results (n = 116) of BSW and MSW graduating students indicate that respondents (a) perceive…

Negotiating Practice Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Julkunen, Ilse; Uggerhoj, Lars

2016-01-01

The complexity of carrying out practice research in social service organizations is often matched by the complexity of teaching future social work practitioners to use and engage in practice research. To appreciate the scope of the teaching challenge, it is important to reflect on the evolving definition of practice research and issues involved in…

The why of practice: utilizing PIE to analyze social work practice in Australian hospitals.

PubMed

Nilsson, David; Joubert, Lynette; Holland, Lucy; Posenelli, Sonia

2013-01-01

This research used a collaborative approach to gain a comprehensive, quantitative understanding of the breadth and depth of the social work role in health care. Data was collected from individual interviews with all employed hospital social workers (N = 120) across five Melbourne, Australia health networks about their most recently completed case. This data was coded using a revised version of the Karls and Wandrei (1994) Person-in-Environment (PIE) tool to retrospectively analyze the reasons for social work involvement over the course of the case. The findings demonstrate that the hospital social work role is multidimensional across a number of domains but centers predominantly on assisting clients and their significant others with issues of altered social roles and functioning; particularly in relation to role responsibility, dependency, and managing associated role-change losses. The findings of this study will assist hospital social workers, managers, and academics to better describe and effectively undertake this complex work. These findings will also assist in the development of professional training and education to up-skill social workers who operate within this complex setting.

The Implicit Contract: Implications for Health Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoyd, Judith L. M.

2010-01-01

Identifying common patient dynamics is useful for developing social work practice sensitivity in health social work. This article draws on findings from a study of women who terminated desired pregnancies because of fetal anomalies and identifies dynamics that may be applicable to many health settings. Data suggest that women have expectations…

Practicing Professional Values: Factors Influencing Involvement in Social Work Student Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martindale, Dorothy; Olate, René; Anderson, Keith A.

2017-01-01

One of the most promising avenues for the development of professional values is involvement in professional student organizations. A convenience sample of baccalaureate social work students (n = 482) was drawn from 15 institutions. Regression analyses revealed several predictors of involvement in social work student organizations, including…

Determinism versus Creativity: Which Way for Social Work?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peile, Colin

1993-01-01

Contends that dominant cosmology within social work is determinism. Argues for creative cosmology that can synthesize deterministic and random processes. Sees this development made possible by reconceptualization of relative nature of time. Discussion is grounded in relation to small example of social work practice, and implications of creative…

Biosocial Research in Social Work Journals: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maynard, Brandy R.; Boutwell, Brian B.; Vaughn, Michael G.; Naeger, Sandra; Dell, Nathaniel

2018-01-01

Background: Despite an emphasis on a biopsychosocial understanding of human behavior and the relevance of biosocial research to social work practice, it is unclear whether social work is contributing to biosocial research and knowledge. Methods: Systematic review procedures were employed to locate studies that included biological variables (e.g.,…

Cultural Considerations for Social Service Agencies Working with Muslim Clients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, John R.; Bradshaw, Cathryn; Trew, Jennifer L.

2010-01-01

Social service agencies and practitioners are continually challenged to provide services that are effective for, and reflective of, cultural and religious diversity. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 50 social work practitioners in four Canadian cities to gain insight into methods of practice that are culturally sensitive for work with…

Teaching Social Work Practice Research to Enhance Research-Minded Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Satka, Mirja; Kääriäinen, Aino; Yliruka, Laura

2016-01-01

The emphasis on student cognitive knowledge and expertise in social work education has been shifting more toward reflective learning that features learning networks and dialogical interaction. In the context of innovative knowledge communities for promoting social work expertise, educators have become facilitators of learning that is expanding…

Current Issues in Social Work Doctoral Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Harriet

2015-01-01

The purpose of doctoral programs in social work is to prepare research-scientists who contribute to knowledge that guides professional practice and educators competent to teach new cohorts of social work practitioners. In grooming stewards of the profession, doctoral programs also must prepare their graduates to support the larger contemporary…

Exploring Models for Indigenizing Social Work Education in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhanghua, Wang; Liqun, Huang

2013-01-01

The article examines the theories of indigenization and examines the problems facing China's social work education. It shows that the quality of social work education and teaching staff is low. The curriculum emphasizes theory and overlooks practical training. "Using as is," not modifying Western theories, has remained strong. The…

The Case for Restorative Justice: A Crucial Adjunct to the Social Work Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Wormer, Katherine

2006-01-01

This paper discusses the significance of restorative justice practices and orientations for social work education. It describes the four basic forms of restorative justice-victim-offender conferencing, community reparative boards, family group conferencing, and healing circles, with special relevance to social work. Learning about principles and…

"I Didn't Feel Equipped": Social Work Students' Reflections on a Simulated Client "Coming Out"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Logie, Carmen H.; Bogo, Marion; Katz, Ellen

2015-01-01

Few studies have examined social work students' reflections on and experiences working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning persons and addressing the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexuality within practice. This study explored current master's of social work student (n = 11) and recent graduate (n = 7) reflections on…

A Standards-Based Inventory of Foundation Competencies in Social Work with Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macgowan, Mark J.

2012-01-01

Objective: This article describes the development of a measure of foundation competencies in group work derived from the Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups. Developed by the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, the Standards have not been widely used. An instrument based on the Standards can help advance…

Social work practice in the digital age: therapeutic e-mail as a direct practice methodology.

PubMed

Mattison, Marian

2012-07-01

The author addresses the risks and benefits of incorporating therapeutic e-mail communication into clinical social work practice. Consumer demand for online clinical services is growing faster than the professional response. E-mail, when used as an adjunct to traditional meetings with clients, offers distinct advantages and risks. Benefits include the potential to reach clients in geographically remote and underserved communities, enhancing and extending the therapeutic relationship and improving treatment outcomes. Risks include threats to client confidentiality and privacy, liability coverage for practitioners, licensing jurisdiction, and the lack of competency standards for delivering e-mail interventions. Currently, the social work profession does not have adequate instructive guidelines and best-practice standards for using e-mail as a direct practice methodology. Practitioners need (formal) academic training in the techniques connected to e-mail exchanges with clients. The author describes the ethical and legal risks for practitioners using therapeutic e-mail with clients and identifies recommendations for establishing best-practice standards.

Connecting Social Work and Activism in the Arts through Continuing Professional Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rawdon, Kathryn; Moxley, David

2016-01-01

The authors place a continuing education conference devoted to linking the arts, social practice, and social work within the context of a movement to advance arts activism. They illustrate how social workers, artists, and community arts activists can collaborate in building public awareness about serious social issues, creating alternative…

The Learning Institute: Promoting Social Justice Advocacy within a Continuing Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Karen; Girvin, Heather; Frank, Jennifer; Foels, Leonora

2016-01-01

The pursuit of social justice is an overarching framework that defines the social work profession. The goals of macro social work practice are centered on issues of social justice with strategies that include changing community conditions and creating a sense of solidarity, with particular emphasis on broadening the opportunities for marginalized…

Building a Community of Research Practice: Intragroup Team Social Dynamics in Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemmings, Annette; Beckett, Gulbahar; Kennerly, Susan; Yap, Tracey

2013-01-01

This article explicates the intragroup social dynamics and work of a nursing and education research team as a community of research practice interested in organizational cultures and occupational subcultures. Dynamics were characterized by processes of socialization through reeducation and group social identity formation that enabled members to…

Addressing Breastfeeding Disparities in Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurst, Carol Grace

2007-01-01

This article examines social justice issues affecting breastfeeding in the United States. Public health goals for breastfeeding initiation and duration and barriers to breastfeeding among low-income groups are discussed. Suggestions are made about ways social workers may more assertively support breastfeeding in the context of social work practice.

Child Abuse: An Emerging Social Priority

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antler, Stephen

1978-01-01

In recent years, child abuse has emerged as a social priority of national importance, largely through physicians' efforts to make it so. Grafting a medical approach onto what has been a social work concern has had serious, perhaps unfortunate, consequences for social work policy, practice, and education. (Author)

What Influences Social Workers’ Attitudes Toward Working With Clients With Severe Mental Illness?

PubMed Central

Eack, Shaun M.; Newhill, Christina E.

2013-01-01

A national random survey of 2000 NASW members in post-master’s practice in mental health was conducted to investigate their experiences with and attitudes about working with individuals with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). Through a series of structural equation models, we examined the influence of different frustrations reported by the respondents on their attitudes toward working with individuals with SPMI. Results suggest that social workers’ attitudes toward working with individuals with SPMI are primarily influenced by their frustrations related to client behaviors and treatment issues, rather than frustrations with system related issues. Implications for social work practice and directions for future research are discussed. (105 words) PMID:24353397

The Place of Place in Social Work: Rethinking the Person-in-Environment Model in Social Work Education and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akesson, Bree; Burns, Victoria; Hordyk, Shawn-Renee

2017-01-01

Social work's traditional emphasis on the individual in the context of social environments has resulted in a neglect of the person in the context of physical environments. This conceptual article addresses this oversight by presenting three subconcepts of place--place attachment, place identity, and territoriality--and draws on research examples…

Challenges and Strategies in Social Work and Social Welfare PhD Education: Helping Candidates Jump through the Dissertation Hoops

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berger, Roni

2015-01-01

A major task of social work doctoral programs is preparing the next generation of researchers and educators in the profession. To develop competence in generating new knowledge relevant to social work practice and disseminating it to future practitioners, doctoral candidates need to master a broad and complicated set of theoretical, empirical, and…

An Evaluation of the GeroRich Program for Infusing Social Work Curriculum with Aging Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanders, Sara; Dorfman, Lorraine T.; Ingram, Jerry G.

2008-01-01

There is a national shortage of social workers who have the knowledge and skill competencies needed for practice with our rapidly growing older adult population. In the last decade, research has identified many reasons for the lack of interest in gerontological social work and steps that could be pursued within social work education to remedy the…

Moving Away from Social Work and Half Way Back Again: New Research on Skills in Probation

PubMed Central

Raynor, Peter; Vanstone, Maurice

2016-01-01

Research on social work in the criminal justice system was well represented in the social work literature until the 1990s. Since then, changes in the organisation, training and research base of probation practice, particularly in England and Wales, have all contributed to a separation between probation research and the mainstream social work research literature. However, recent probation research, by focusing on individual practice skills and on the quality of relationships, is producing findings which resonate with traditional social work concerns. The study presented here, based on analysis of videotaped interviews between probation staff and the people they are supervising, shows what skills are used and the effects of skilled supervision. People supervised by more skilled staff were significantly less likely to be reconvicted over a two-year follow-up, and the most effective supervisors combined good relationship skills with a range of ‘structuring’ or change-promoting skills. In effect, this can be regarded as a test of the impact of social work skills used by probation staff and suggests that a closer relationship between mainstream social work research and probation research could be productive for both. PMID:27559218

Defensive Practice as ‘Fear-Based’ Practice: Social Work's Open Secret?

PubMed Central

Whittaker, Andrew; Havard, Tirion

2016-01-01

Defensive practice has received attention through the Munro review of child protection, which has identified that current organisational cultures increase the likelihood of defensive practice. Whilst the wider socio-political climate that gives rise to defensive practice has been explored within the literature, little attention has been paid to the everyday realities of defensive practice. This paper reports the findings of a study into final year social work students' attitudes towards defensive practice within social work. Three focus groups were completed with a total of ninety final-year students that collected qualitative and quantitative data using interactive software. This paper examines how participants perceived defensive practice, both in general and when faced with real-life vignettes. Participants distinguished between pro-active behaviour (sins of commission) and passive behaviour (sins of omission), generally regarding the latter as less serious because it was less tangible and easier to attribute to more positive motives. Whilst the literature identifies defensive practice as deliberate behaviour, the focus group discussions suggest that it is a subtler and less conscious process. Whilst there was there was a general consensus about the nature of defensive practice, there was considerable disagreement about specific vignettes and several competing explanations are explored. PMID:27559220

Field Note--From MSW to J-O-B: Using Field Seminar to Prepare Students for Employment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deck, Stacy M.; Miller, Justin Jay; Conley, Cynthia L.

2017-01-01

Social work field education is expected to help students transition from the classroom to the practice setting. Yet, few social work programs adequately provide career development support to increase students' employability. This Field Note presents practical, relevant and immediate strategies for implementing the MSW to J-O-B curriculum…

Teaching Note--Theatre of the Oppressed and Social Work Education: Radicalizing the Practice Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giesler, Mark A.

2017-01-01

Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed has been the basis for radical performance techniques practiced around the world. Widely a staple for theatre performance syllabi, it also has an innovative application for the social work classroom. This article designates Boal's four stages of his poetics of the oppressed and concomitant theatrical…

Reflective Journaling as a Flipped Classroom Technique to Increase Reading and Participation with Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sage, Melanie; Sele, Patti

2015-01-01

Students in undergraduate social work practice courses come to class with varying levels of educational, life, and practice experience. Students require an introduction to the material through textbook reading before they are able to engage in critical discussions, yet reading adherence varies widely among students. This research explores the use…

Complexity and the Beginning Principal in the United States: Perspectives on Socialization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crow, Gary M.

2006-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the literature and practice on beginning principal socialization by identifying the features of post-industrial work that create a more complex work environment for the practice and learning of the principalship in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: Based on recent literature on the changing nature of…

The "New" DSW Is Here: Supporting Degree Completion and Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diaz, Mery

2015-01-01

Some have questioned whether there should be a practice doctorate in social work. Academics and other key stakeholders would appear to agree that the degree has a role within 21st-century social work practice and education. Practitioners increasingly seek out the degree, and current and emerging programs have developed to meet that demand. This…

Realist Evaluation in Wraparound: A New Approach in Social Work Evidence-Based Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kazi, Mansoor A. F.; Pagkos, Brian; Milch, Heidi A.

2011-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a realist evaluation paradigm in social work evidence-based practice. Method: Wraparound (at Gateway-Longview Inc., New York) used a reliable outcome measure and an electronic database to systematically collect and analyze data on the interventions, the client demographics and circumstances, and…

Emotion: The "E" in Engagement in Online Distance Education in Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldingay, Sophie; Land, Clare

2014-01-01

Many social-work students enrolled in a particular Australian university approach the pre-practicum practice skills unit with dread, due to the required role-play exercises. Online distance students could be seen to be challenged even further in their preparation for practicum, due to a perception that they are learning practice skills on their…

Queering the Social Work Classroom: Strategies for Increasing the Inclusion of LGBTQ Persons and Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagaman, M. Alex; Shelton, Jama; Carter, Rebecca

2018-01-01

The inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) perspectives and experiences in the social work classroom is necessary to adequately include LGBTQ students and prepare graduates to practice effectively. Drawing from queer theory as a theoretical framework and the authors' experiences in practice and teaching/learning spaces…

Social Work in a Digital Age: Ethical and Risk Management Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reamer, Frederic G.

2013-01-01

Digital, online, and other electronic technology has transformed the nature of social work practice. Contemporary social workers can provide services to clients by using online counseling, telephone counseling, video counseling, cybertherapy (avatar therapy), self-guided Web-based interventions, electronic social networks, e-mail, and text…

Conducting Research: A Handbook for School Social Workers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCullagh, James G., Ed.; Allen-Meares, Paula, Ed.

This handbook on conducting research was written for school social workers and contains these articles: (1) "The School Social Work Practitioner and Research: An Overview" (Elizabeth Timberlake and Lewis Carr); (2) "Defining Empirically Based Practice" (Deborah Siegel); (3) "Future Research in School Social Work Services: An Update" (Christine…

The Incorporation of Animal-Assisted Interventions in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tedeschi, Philip; Fitchett, Jennifer; Molidor, Christian E.

2005-01-01

Successful social work practice requires orientation to diverse social and cultural characteristics which structure the framework for our communities and families. This paper explores the necessity of incorporating the connection between people and non-human relationships in our understanding of social support systems. Specifically, we examine our…

Referrals from general practitioners to a social services department

PubMed Central

Sheppard, M. G.

1983-01-01

One year's referrals from general practitioners to a social services department were studied. There was a low referral rate and a bias towards women, the elderly and the less affluent. The referrals were predominantly made for practical help with problems of ill health. A high proportion of clients were allocated to non-social work staff, and the social service intervention, generally of short duration, showed a sympathetic response to the practical requests of general practitioners. The limited use of social workers by doctors is considered to be the result of ignorance or scepticism about psychodynamic social work skills. Closer liaison between general practitioners and social workers, and a clearer presentation by social workers of their professional skills, are suggested solutions to this problem. PMID:6854536

A Call for Self-Compassion in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iacono, Gio

2017-01-01

Many social work students approach the end of their formal training unprepared to utilize self-care approaches to prevent burnout. Providing students more comprehensive self-care training can help address this issue. One approach to fostering self-care and addressing stress and burnout in social work students is the attitude and practice of…

Teaching Note--Inclusion of Diversity Content in MSW Curriculum Using a Diversity Event

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ando, Sachi

2017-01-01

The Council on Social Work Education's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards outline expectations for social work education to reflect human diversity in the learning environment. Exposing social work students to a diversity-enriched curriculum can help prepare them for culturally competent practice. This article presents an innovative…

Social Work: A Profession in Search of Its Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gitterman, Alex

2014-01-01

Micro social work practice can be understood in the context of its historical professional traditions and dialectics as well as the environmental pressures and demands placed on the profession. In becoming a profession, social work relied heavily on principles drawn from medicine and science. Although these bodies of knowledge provided the…

Measuring International Service Outcomes: Implications for International Social Work Field Placements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lough, Benjamin J.; McBride, Amanda Moore; Sherraden, Margaret S.

2012-01-01

International field placements are a unique educational opportunity for social work students to develop the skills they need for social work practice in a globalized world; however, outcomes of international placements have not been rigorously studied. This article reports on the International Volunteer Impacts Survey (IVIS), a 48-item survey…

Introductory Courses in Social Work Research in Canada: Some Examples.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work, Ottawa (Ontario).

Various approaches to introductory courses in social work research in Canada are described. Objectives of the report are to promote informational exchange among instructors in schools of social work, to provide data on common practices employed in the instruction of introductory research, to encourage innovation and experimentation, and to aid in…

Intersecting Interests: Qualitative Research Synthesis on Art in the Social Work Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wehbi, Samantha; Cowell, Amanda; Perreault-Laird, Jordyn; El-Lahib, Yahya; Straka, Silvia

2017-01-01

This paper reports on a qualitative research synthesis that explored the intersections between art and social work. The scholarship notes a rise in interest in integrating creative arts practices in social work classrooms from assignment design to classroom activities. Also highlighted are the potential contributions of these artsinformed…

Evaluation Study of an Interdisciplinary Social Work and Law Curriculum for Domestic Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colarossi, Lisa; Forgey, Mary Ann

2006-01-01

This article evaluates the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary social work and law curriculum for domestic violence. A pretest-posttest control group design with both law and social work students indicates that the course effectively increased: (1) knowledge about domestic violence theory and practice and differential roles, duties, and…

Reference List Accuracy in Social Work Journals: A Follow-Up Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell-Williams, Missy T.; Skipper, Antonius D.; Alexander, Marvin C.; Wilks, Scott E.

2017-01-01

Purpose: Following up an "Research on Social Work Practice" article published a decade ago, this study aimed to examine reference error rates among five, widely circulated social work journals. Methods: A stratified random sample of references was selected from the year 2013 (N = 500, 100/journal). Each was verified against the original…

Strict Slaves of Slogans: Response to ''The Social Work Cartel''

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epstein, William M.

2016-01-01

The corruption of the social work enterprise is not simply episodic but systemic and long-standing including education, research, governance, and practice. Reform is unlikely since the constituency within the field and outside of it that wishes to change the situation is small and ineffective. The corruption of social work reflects the unfortunate…

Adapting Objective Structured Clinical Examinations to Assess Social Work Students' Performance and Reflections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bogo, Marion; Regehr, Cheryl; Logie, Carmen; Katz, Ellen; Mylopoulos, Maria; Regehr, Glenn

2011-01-01

The development of standardized, valid, and reliable methods for assessment of students' practice competence continues to be a challenge for social work educators. In this study, the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), originally used in medicine to assess performance through simulated interviews, was adapted for social work to…

Social justice and intercountry adoptions: the role of the U.S. social work community.

PubMed

Roby, Jini L; Rotabi, Karen; Bunkers, Kelley M

2013-10-01

Using social justice as the conceptual foundation, the authors present the structural barriers to socially just intercountry adoptions (ICAs) that can exploit and oppress vulnerable children and families participating in ICAs. They argue that such practices threaten the integrity of social work practice in that arena and the survival of ICA as a placement option. Government structures, disparity of power between countries and families on both sides, perceptions regarding poverty, cultural incompetence, misconceptions about orphans and orphanages, lack of knowledge about the impact of institution-based care, and the profit motive are driving forces behind the growing shadow of unethical ICAs. The U.S. social work community has a large role and responsibility in addressing these concerns as the United States receives the most children adopted through ICAs of all receiving countries. In addition to the centrality of social justice as a core value of the profession, the responsibility to carry out ethical and socially just ICA has recently increased as a matter of law, under the implementation legislation to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. While acknowledging that these issues are complex, authors provide suggestions for corrective policy and practice measures.

TELEVISION AND SOCIAL WORK, A CASE HISTORY OF A PROJECT IN ADULT EDUCATION, BASED ON THE BBC-2 TELEVISION SERIES, 'THE SOCIAL WORKERS,' OCTOBER 1965-FEBRUARY 1966.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

HANDCOCK, ALAN; ROBINSON, JOHN

A COMBINATION OF TELEVISION, GROUP STUDY, PRIVATE STUDY, CORRESPONDENCE STUDY, AND PRACTICAL WORK PROVIDED AN EXTENSIVE INTRODUCTION TO THE NATURE AND METHODS OF SOCIAL WORK, PRINCIPALLY FOR VOLUNTEER AND PART-TIME WORKERS THROUGH 16 HALF-HOUR PROGRAMS ON SOCIAL WORK AND ADMINISTRATION BROADCAST ON BBC-2 BETWEEN OCTOBER 5, 1965 AND FEBRUARY 8,…

In pursuit of change: Conceptualizing the social work response to LGBTQ microaggressions in health settings.

PubMed

Kia, Hannah; MacKinnon, Kinnon Ross; Legge, Melissa Marie

2016-01-01

Despite the emergence of research on microaggressions targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) communities in recent years, there remains an insufficiency of theoretical literature in this area. In this article, we draw on the works of Michel Foucault to conceptualize the effects of microaggressive practices on LGBTQ people accessing health and other social services, and generate insight into strategies these groups use to resist these effects. We emphasize the need for social workers, particularly those in health care settings, to support these communities' ongoing attempts at challenging the effects of microaggression, and to this end, outline several implications of our analysis for social work practice.

University and Social Involvement at the Neighborhood Level: Implications for Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmid, Hillel; Blit-Cohen, Edith

2009-01-01

The article describes and evaluates an innovative experiment in education and training of social workers at an academic learning center, which was established by the Hebrew University's School of Social Work and Social Welfare in a neighborhood of Jerusalem. The project focused on strengthening the link between theory, research, and practice.…

Social Case-work in General Practice: An Alternative Approach

PubMed Central

Ratoff, L.; Pearson, Barbara

1970-01-01

During a two-year period a senior case-worker was seconded by a voluntary family case-work agency, the Liverpool Personal Service Society, to work with three general practitioners. The commonest reasons for referral of the 157 new patients to the social worker over this study period were extreme poverty; housing, matrimonial, and psychiatric problems; and problems of fatherless families. The successful and valuable co-operation between the general practitioners, case-worker, and various specialist professional and financial services of the Society have proved that a professional social worker has an important role in the general-practice team. PMID:5420213

Is Social Work Advocacy Worth the Cost? Issues and Barriers to an Economic Analysis of Social Work Political Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNutt, John

2011-01-01

Advocacy is central to the social work profession's commitment to social betterment and justice, yet much of what we know about it is based on conventional wisdom. We have little evidence on the effectiveness of interventions and even less on the costs and benefits of advocacy campaigns. This article discusses some of the conceptual and…

Beyond awareness of 'difference' and towards social action: 'Solidarity practice' alongside young people.

PubMed

Afuape, Taiwo

2016-07-01

Who I am as a working-class black African woman cannot be disconnected from how I work. It shapes my lens with regard to power, difference and liberation. It is not surprising that I have been drawn to social justice approaches to psychological intervention, such as Narrative Therapy, Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM), social constructionist systemic therapy and liberation psychology. These practices involve taking up the cause of the oppressed in ways that respect them as agents of their own liberation. In this article, I describe what I term 'solidarity practice' with young people and their families as a counter force resisting the increasingly blaming and individualising discourse of mainstream psychology, psychiatry and social policy. © The Author(s) 2016.

Broadly Trained but Narrowly Used? Factors That Predict the Performance of Environmental versus Individual Tasks by School Social Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dupper, David R.; Rocha, Cynthia; Jackson, Rebecca F.; Lodato, Gayle A.

2014-01-01

National and state surveys over the past several decades have concluded that school social workers, despite an awareness of and training in macro level practice strategies, are highly individualistic in their practice focus. Although clinical skills are necessary, they are insufficient for effective school social work practice in the 21st century.…

Developing and Modeling Complex Social Interventions: Introducing the Connecting People Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webber, Martin; Reidy, Hannah; Ansari, David; Stevens, Martin; Morris, David

2016-01-01

Objectives: Modeling the processes involved in complex social interventions is important in social work practice, as it facilitates their implementation and translation into different contexts. This article reports the process of developing and modeling the connecting people intervention (CPI), a model of practice that supports people with mental…

Substance Abuse Training and Perceived Knowledge: Predictors of Perceived Preparedness to Work in Substance Abuse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bina, Rena; Yum, Joohee; Hall, Diane M. Harnek; Sowbel, Lynda; Mollette, Angela; Jani, Jayshree; Smith-Osborne, Alexa

2008-01-01

As frontline mental health care providers, social workers need to be prepared to confront and properly manage substance abuse issues in practice. This study examined predictors of recent master of social work (MSW) graduates' perceptions of preparedness to practice in the area of substance abuse. A cross-sectional design was used, and 232 recent…

Teaching Data Analysis to the Data-Averse: A Framework for Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fouché, Christa; Bartley, Allen

2016-01-01

It remains a dilemma for social work educators to teach research so that it can be embraced by students as an integral part of social work practice. This article reports on an initiative to design a research course focused on the integration of research with practice. Drawing on developments in data mining and techniques in secondary data…

Raising Awareness of Australian Aboriginal Peoples Reality: Embedding Aboriginal Knowledge in Social Work Education through the Use of Field Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duthie, Deb; King, Julie; Mays, Jenni

2013-01-01

Effective social work practice with Aboriginal peoples and communities requires knowledge of operational communication skills and practice methods. In addition, there is also a need for practitioners to be aware of the history surrounding white engagement with Aboriginal communities and their cultures. Indeed, the Australian Association of Social…

Values in a Science of Social Work: Values-Informed Research and Research-Informed Values

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longhofer, Jeffrey; Floersch, Jerry

2014-01-01

While social work must be evaluative in relation to its diverse areas of practice and research (i.e., values-informed research), the purpose of this article is to propose that values are within the scope of research and therefore research on practice should make values a legitimate object of investigation (i.e., research-informed values). In this…

Listening to food workers: Factors that impact proper health and hygiene practice in food service

PubMed Central

Clegg Smith, Katherine; Neff, Roni A.; Pollack, Keshia M.; Ensminger, Margaret

2015-01-01

Background Foodborne disease is a significant problem worldwide. Research exploring sources of outbreaks indicates a pronounced role for food workers' improper health and hygiene practice. Objective To investigate food workers' perceptions of factors that impact proper food safety practice. Method Interviews with food service workers in Baltimore, MD, USA discussing food safety practices and factors that impact implementation in the workplace. A social ecological model organizes multiple levels of influence on health and hygiene behavior. Results Issues raised by interviewees include factors across the five levels of the social ecological model, and confirm findings from previous work. Interviews also reveal many factors not highlighted in prior work, including issues with food service policies and procedures, working conditions (e.g., pay and benefits), community resources, and state and federal policies. Conclusion Food safety interventions should adopt an ecological orientation that accounts for factors at multiple levels, including workers' social and structural context, that impact food safety practice. PMID:26243248

Inspiring and Training Students for Social Action: Renewing a Needed Tradition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Shannon R.; Altman, Julie Cooper; Goldberg, Gertrude Schaffner; Kagotho, Njeri; Palley, Elizabeth; Paul, Marilyn S.

2012-01-01

In social work, it is believed that certain knowledge and skills are learned more effectively through experience than through didactic classroom content. Members of the faculty of a school of social work have developed a Social Action Day to reinforce curriculum and translate into practice material about advocacy and ethical responsibilities for…

Information Systems as a Social Space: Collaborative Teaching of Social Literacies to Technical Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalil, Claudia; Monson, Jo; Nodoba, Gaontebale

2010-01-01

This article describes a successful experimental collaborative teaching project to deliver a short course to develop work-relevant social literacies in technical students. Heterogeneous work contexts require both students and educators to find ways to integrate thinking and practices across disciplines. Teaching social literacies to information…

Culturally Informed Social Work Practice with American Indian Clients: Guidelines for Non-Indian Social Workers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Edith Ellison; Ellison, Florence

1996-01-01

Culturally informed social work health and mental health interventions directed toward American Indian clients must be harmonious with their environment and acculturation. Discusses American Indian beliefs about health and illness and degrees of acculturation. Guidelines are offered to help non-Indian social workers design culturally appropriate…

Role Integration through the Practice of Social Work with Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gherardi, Stacy A; Whittlesey-Jerome, Wanda K.

2018-01-01

The current environment for school social work presents great challenges and great opportunities. Amid promising shifts in programs and policies, many school social workers feel marginalized. Despite sustained efforts at definition, the role of the school social worker remains unclear to many outside the field. More important, this role is often…

Engaging Students in Social Welfare Policy Class Using Wiki Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McElveen, Donna M.

2014-01-01

Social Welfare History and Policy is among the least preferred courses in social work undergraduate education. Social work educators have introduced ideas to make the content more practical by connecting it to service learning or practicum experiences. However, none have reported to have used technological tools to help students interact with the…

Social Services and Intergenerational Caregivers: Issues for Social Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Enid O.; And Others

1988-01-01

Examined service needs from the perspective of the caregiver and the elder and explored the variables relative to how the caregiving families (N=54) function as a unit. Discusses patterns of use and need for social services by family caregivers in multigenerational households which have impact on social work practice. (Author/ABL)

The Construction of Social Class in Social Work Education: A Study of Introductory Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strier, Roni; Feldman, Guy; Shdaimah, Corey

2012-01-01

Social work introductory textbooks reflect myriad practical interests, pedagogical concerns, and theoretical considerations. However, they also present students with accepted views, dominant perspectives, and main discourses of knowledge. In light of this centrality, the present article examines the representation of the concept of "social class"…

The Writing Series Project: a model for supporting social work clinicians in health settings to disseminate practice knowledge.

PubMed

Boddy, Jennifer; Daly, Michelle; Munch, Shari

2012-01-01

Social work clinicians across health care settings are uniquely positioned to disseminate valuable practice experience, thereby contributing to knowledge development within their field of practice and across disciplines. Unfortunately, practitioners tend to shy away from writing and research, and are often reluctant to publicly disseminate their expertise through peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations. To better support health social workers in scholarly endeavors, we developed and implemented The Writing Series Project in southeast Queensland, Australia. This article reports on the development, programmatic challenges and practitioner feedback that offer insight into the benefits and pitfalls that we encountered.

Street-Working Children and Adolescents in Lima: Work as an Agent of Socialization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Invernizzi, Antonella

2003-01-01

Recounts an ethnographic study of children's work in Lima, Peru, examining concepts of work, family, and childhood; adult representations and norms passed on to children through work; and child's point of view regarding work and how it evolves with time. Argues children and parents' views and practices regarding work and socialization give a…

A Response to Danis and Lockhart: What Guides Social Work Knowledge about Violence against Women?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colarossi, Lisa

2005-01-01

This article responds to Fran Danis and Lettie Lockhart's editorial in the Summer 2003 "Journal of Social Work Education" (Vol. 29, No. 2), which questions the disconnect between the battered women's movement and the social work profession regarding knowledge and practices related to domestic violence. The author examines how two factors might…

An International Experience for Social Work Students: Self-Reflection through Poetry and Journal Writing Exercises

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furman, Rich; Coyne, Ann; Negi, Nalini Junko

2008-01-01

This descriptive article explores the uses of poetry and journaling exercises as means of helping students develop their self-reflective capacities within the context of international social work. First, self-reflection and its importance to social work practice and education is discussed. Second, the importance of self-reflection in international…

Understanding Social Work in the History of Ideas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soydan, Haluk

2012-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical frame of reference for the study and assessment of social work from the perspective of a history of ideas. Method: The study employed an analysis of primary and secondary historical sources. Results: Social work as a practice and research field is embedded in the genesis of modern…

Continuing Education for the Emerging Social Work Profession in China: The Experiment in Shenzhen

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lam, Ching Man; Yan, Miu Chung; Liang, Yan

2016-01-01

In-service training as a form of continuing professional education (CPE) is important for social work professionals to maintain their skills and enhance their knowledge for publicly accountable practice. These goals are concerns in Mainland China, which has experienced rapid development in social work since economic reforms started in the early…

Teaching Note--Incorporating Journal Clubs into Social Work Education: An Exploratory Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Megan; Fawley-King, Kya; Stone, Susan I.; Accomazzo, Sarah M.

2013-01-01

This article outlines the implementation of a journal club for master's and doctoral social work students interested in mental health practice. It defines educational journal clubs and discusses the history of journal clubs in medical education and the applicability of the model to social work education. The feasibility of implementing…

Native People and the Social Work Profession: A Critical Exploration of Colonizing Problematics and the Development of Decolonized Thought.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waterfall, Barbara

2002-01-01

Discusses relationship between the social work profession and indigenous populations living in colonial Canada. Examines characteristics of Eurocentrism and historical and ongoing colonial processes, and implicates the profession of social work as a colonizing practice. Urges native people to disengage from current neo-colonial and constitutional…

Exploring Baccalaureate Social Work Students' Self-Efficacy: Did It Change over Time?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahn, Bonnie; Boykin, Lolita; Hebert, Corie; Kulkin, Heidi

2012-01-01

This study explored baccalaureate social work students' self-efficacy at a rural southern university. Bandura's concept of self-efficacy is used as a theoretical base for the study. Students (N = 43) in introductory social work courses and in the field practicum course completed the Foundation Practice Self Efficacy Scale. Following The Council on…

Commands, Competence, and "Carino": Maternal Socialization Practices in Mexican American Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livas-Dlott, Alejandra; Fuller, Bruce; Stein, Gabriela L.; Bridges, Margaret; Mangual Figueroa, Ariana; Mireles, Laurie

2010-01-01

Early research on the socialization of Latino children has posited that mothers exercise authoritarian practices, compared with lateral reasoning (authoritative) strategies emphasized by Anglo mothers. This work aimed to categorize fixed types of parenting practices tied to the mother's personality rather than to culturally bounded contexts; it…

Telehealth: Implications for Social Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarty, Dawn; Clancy, Catherine

2002-01-01

The use of modern information technology to deliver health services to remote locations presents both opportunities and problems for social workers. This article examines how communication technology such as e-mail and video conferencing affect social work practice. Issues are raised about the ethical, legal, and client relationship…

Social Work Faculty and Undergraduate Research Mentorships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horner, Pilar S.; Hughes, Anne K.; Vélez Ortiz, Daniel

2016-01-01

Social work faculty scholars lead the field as generators of knowledge that integrates investigative studies with practical social welfare outcomes. As such, the faculty potentially offers undergraduate researchers a different way of envisioning research that extends beyond traditional undergraduate research models. To date, however, no research…

Exploring UK medical and social work students' legal literacy: comparisons, contrasts and implications.

PubMed

Preston-Shoot, Michael; McKimm, Judy

2013-05-01

To ensure acceptable practice standards both doctors and social workers should draw on relevant legal rules when reaching professional judgements concerning, for instance, children requiring protection, people with severe mental distress and adults at risk, information sharing, consent to intervention and service user involvement in their care and treatment. Many practitioners use the law to maintain high standards of professionalism. However, research has uncovered limited awareness of legal rules and poor standards of health and social care. Academic benchmarks and practice requirements for health and social care professions centrally position legal knowledge for secure decision-making. Model curricula exist. However, the outcomes of the taught curriculum on students' confidence in their legal knowledge and skills have been relatively overlooked. This article introduces the concept of legal literacy, a distillation of knowledge, understanding, skills and values that enables practitioners to connect relevant legal rules with their professional practice, to appreciate the roles and duties of other practitioners and to communicate effectively across organisational boundaries. It presents the outcomes for a 2006-2009 study of 1154 UK medical and 638 social work students of their law learning for practice, response rates of 46% and 68%. Significant differences were found between medical and social work students' attitudes towards the law, and in their self-ratings of legal knowledge and skills. Confidence levels were low and anxiety high, especially among medical students, although law teaching had some positive outcomes on knowledge and skill development. Social work and medical students associated different themes with the law, the latter especially foregrounding ethics, negligence and liability, which could affect inter-professional working. Students are not fully prepared for legally literate practice, with a consequent need to review the time allocated for, and the content of law learning and the subsequent availability of continuing professional development. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Teaching Note--Tweeting Macro Practice: Social Media in the Social Work Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teixeira, Samantha; Hash, Kristina M.

2017-01-01

Despite its ubiquity, social work educators are just beginning to harness social media in teaching. In this teaching note, we discuss our use of Twitter in a bachelor's-level macro Human Behavior in the Social Environment course. We present results from a survey of 45 students designed to assess their perceptions of Twitter use in the classroom…

Teaching Empathy: A Framework Rooted in Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerdes, Karen E.; Segal, Elizabeth A.; Jackson, Kelly F.; Mullins, Jennifer L.

2011-01-01

We propose that a targeted and structured explication of empathy is a useful, if not essential, foundation for social work theory and practice. We outline a social work framework for empathy, one that is rooted in an interdisciplinary context, emphasizes recent findings in the field of social cognitive neuroscience, and yet is embedded in a social…

Social Workers in Combat: Application of Advanced Practice Competencies in Military Social Work and Implications for Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brand, Michael W.; Weiss, Eugenia L.

2015-01-01

This article illustrates the types of situations that U.S. uniformed social workers have experienced in combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with the purpose of preparing current and future social workers to effectively serve military and veteran clients in either military or civilian settings. Vignettes demonstrate the application of the…

Factor structure of a standards-based inventory of competencies in social work with groups.

PubMed

Macgowan, Mark J; Dillon, Frank R; Spadola, Christine E

2018-01-01

This study extends previous findings on a measure of competencies based on Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups. The Inventory of Competencies in Social Work with Groups (ICSWG) measures confidence in performing the Standards. This study examines the latent structure of the Inventory, while illuminating the underlying structure of the Standards. A multinational sample of 586 persons completed the ICSWG. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), reliability estimates, standard error of measurement estimates, and a range of validity tests were conducted. The EFA yielded a six-factor solution consisting of core values, mutuality/connectivity, collaboration, and three phases of group development (planning, beginnings/middles, endings). The alphas were .98 for the scale and ranged from .85 to .95 for the subscales. Correlations between the subscales and validators supported evidence of construct validity. The findings suggest key group work domains that should be taught and practiced in social work with groups.

Situational Approaches to Direct Practice: Origin, Decline, and Re-Emergence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murdach, Allison D.

2007-01-01

During the 1890s and the first three decades of the 20th century, social work in the United States developed a community-based direct practice approach to family assistance and social reform. The basis for this method was a situational view of social life that emphasized the use of interpersonal and transactional methods to achieve social and…

The neural mediators of kindness-based meditation: a theoretical model

PubMed Central

Mascaro, Jennifer S.; Darcher, Alana; Negi, Lobsang T.; Raison, Charles L.

2015-01-01

Although kindness-based contemplative practices are increasingly employed by clinicians and cognitive researchers to enhance prosocial emotions, social cognitive skills, and well-being, and as a tool to understand the basic workings of the social mind, we lack a coherent theoretical model with which to test the mechanisms by which kindness-based meditation may alter the brain and body. Here, we link contemplative accounts of compassion and loving-kindness practices with research from social cognitive neuroscience and social psychology to generate predictions about how diverse practices may alter brain structure and function and related aspects of social cognition. Contingent on the nuances of the practice, kindness-based meditation may enhance the neural systems related to faster and more basic perceptual or motor simulation processes, simulation of another’s affective body state, slower and higher-level perspective-taking, modulatory processes such as emotion regulation and self/other discrimination, and combinations thereof. This theoretical model will be discussed alongside best practices for testing such a model and potential implications and applications of future work. PMID:25729374

The Evolving Politics of Race and Social Work Activism: A Call across Borders.

PubMed

Jeyapal, Daphne

2017-01-01

Social work has engaged with and led the revolutionary social movements of the past century. Yet today, as activism by and for racial others unfolds across the United States and Canada, our discipline remains largely silent. This article considers new ways for social workers to conceptualize social work activism, challenge the existing erasures within the profession, and construct innovative strategies to locate social work within the critical social movements of our time. Recognizing the continuity of histories of colonialism, slavery, and genocide, the author argues that social workers must engage with racialized communities' resistance through their legacy of exclusion and displacement. The author demonstrates the significance of an evolving politics of race and social justice for social work practice. © 2016 National Association of Social Workers.

Engaging social work practitioners in research: challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Gitterman, Alex

2014-10-01

Contemporary emphasis on measuring and evaluating observable, behavioral outcomes reflects a major change in the profession toward greater empirical basis for social work practice. This intellectual and methodological shift has created a gap between practitioners and researchers. While social work practitioners definitely should be more knowledgeable and receptive to interventions that have proven to be effective in helping people, social work academics must pay more attention to the realities of social work practitioners who struggle daily with expanding caseloads, ever-increasing time pressures to help clients whose lives are embedded in poverty, unemployment, oppression, racism, homelessness, and violence.

The Behavioral Health Role in Nursing Facility Social Work.

PubMed

Myers, Dennis R; Rogers, Robin K; LeCrone, Harold H; Kelley, Katherine

2017-09-01

Types of compromised resident behaviors licensed nursing facility social workers encounter, the behavioral health role they enact, and effective practices they apply have not been the subject of systematic investigation. Analyses of 20 in-depth interviews with Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)/Master of Social Work (MSW) social workers averaging 8.8 years of experience identified frequently occurring resident behaviors: physical and verbal aggression/disruption, passive disruption, socially and sexually inappropriateness. Six functions of the behavioral health role were care management, educating, investigating, preventing, mediating, and advocating. Skills most frequently applied were attention/affirmation/active listening, assessment, behavior management, building relationship, teamwork, and redirection. Narratives revealed role rewards as well as knowledge deficits, organizational barriers, personal maltreatment, and frustrations. Respondents offered perspectives and prescriptions for behavioral health practice in this setting. The findings expand understanding of the behavioral health role and provide an empirical basis for more research in this area. Recommendations, including educational competencies, are offered.

Group Work with Adolescents: Principles and Practice. Second Edition. Social Work Practice with Children and Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malekoff, Andrew

2006-01-01

This popular text provides essential knowledge and skills for conducting creative, strengths-based group work with adolescents. A rich introduction to the field, enlivened by numerous illustrations from actual sessions, the book provides principles and guidelines for practice in a wide range of settings. The book covers all phases of group work,…

New ways of seeing: Health social work leadership and research capacity building.

PubMed

McDermott, Fiona; Bawden, Glenda

2017-01-01

Building research capacity amongst social work practitioners is critically important for leaders in the social work profession. To reverse an apparent reluctance to use evidence and engage in research, strong social work leadership in practice organisations is needed. The literature on leadership in health social work is relatively silent regarding research capacity building as a leadership attribute but it is argued in this paper that leadership is crucial. A programme of research capacity building and its outcomes in a health social work department is described, identifying key principles guiding its establishment and tasks undertaken. A transformational leadership style characterised this approach to research capacity building which delivered benefits to the staff and the service.

Developing Effective Social Work University-Community Research Collaborations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Begun, Audrey L.; Berger, Lisa K.; Otto-Salaj, Laura L.; Rose, Susan J.

2010-01-01

In many instances, departments of social work in universities and community-based social services agencies have common interests in improving professional practice and advancing knowledge in the profession. Effective university-community research collaborations can help partners achieve these goals jointly, but to be effective these collaborative…

Informed Consent in Social Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reamer, Frederic G.

1987-01-01

Traces the evolution of the concept of informed consent and discusses its implications for social work practice. Devotes particular attention to legal statutes and case law with which social workers need to be acquainted to protect client rights and to avoid being held liable for malpractice or negligence. (Author/ABL)

Global Conversations about Social Justice: The Swedish-US Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norberg, Katarina; Arlestig, Helene; Angelle, Pamela S.

2014-01-01

This qualitative study investigated the social justice practices of four principals - two from the United States and two from Sweden. The purpose of the study was to enhance our understanding of school leaders' actions as they work to promote socially just practices in different national contexts. Principals were interviewed to examine their…

The Common Factors Model: Implications for Transtheoretical Clinical Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Mark; Keenan, Elizabeth King

2010-01-01

Direct practice social workers today are challenged to address the requirements of the complex array of professional, organizational, institutional, and regulatory demands placed on them in the broader socioeconomic context of fewer resources and diminished public support for social welfare services in the United States. The common factors model…

Narrative, Poststructuralism, and Social Justice: Current Practices in Narrative Therapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Combs, Gene; Freedman, Jill

2012-01-01

This paper is a review of current practice in narrative therapy with a focus on how it is attractive and useful for therapists who wish to work for social justice. The authors describe narrative therapy's roots in poststructuralist philosophy and social science. They illustrate its major theoretical constructs, including the "narrative metaphor,"…

Undergraduate Social Work Students: Learning Interviewing Skills in a Hybrid Practice Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barclay, Barbara

2012-01-01

This action research case study explored undergraduate social work students' perceived learning of interviewing skills in a hybrid environment course delivery. The single case study consisted of 19 students enrolled in a practice course blending web-based and face-to-face (f2f) meetings (4 of 15 f2f) within a large urban college. As part of…

Efforts to Bridge the Gap between Research and Practice in Social Work: Precedents and Prospects: Keynote Address at the Bridging the Gap Symposium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin, Allen

2015-01-01

This keynote address discusses previous and ongoing efforts to reduce the persistent gap between research and practice in social work and offers recommendations for further bridging that gap. Key among those recommendations is the need to conduct descriptive outcome studies of efforts to adapt research-supported interventions in everyday practice…

The Role of Social Workers in Supporting and Developing the Work of Foster Carers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sellick, Clive

1996-01-01

Examines some of the conditions needed for developing quality relations between social workers and foster carers in the realm of practical organization and in terms of individual qualities such as reliability, honesty, empathy and warmth. Looks at how social services and social work departments, in voluntary and statutory sectors, organize their…

Critical Thought within the Social Welfare Policy Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steen, Julie A.

2012-01-01

Critical thought is a necessary element for proficient practice in social work at both the micro and macro levels. For this reason, social work educators must seek to integrate critical thought in BSW and MSW curricula. This article provides a method for achieving this integration in the social welfare policy course. The method includes the four…

Promising School Social Work Practices of the 1920s: Reflections for Today

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaffer, Gary L.

2006-01-01

As we celebrate the centennial of school social work, the field faces many of the same professional and social situations first encountered at the turn of the past century. Immigrant populations are growing rapidly, social worker-student ratios continue to be high, and schools remain bureaucratic, inflexible, and slow to change. The "Roaring…

Mothers' Perceptions of Social Work Helpgiving Practices: Implications for the Role of the School Social Worker

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lind, Kristina S.

2012-01-01

The Individual with Disabilities Act has strengthened the role of parents in their children's special education. School social workers are one of the educational professionals in attendance at IEP staffings, yet their role definition continues to be poorly articulated. This qualitative study investigated school social work helpgiving practices…

MSW student perceptions of sexual health as relevant to the profession: Do social work educational experiences matter?

PubMed

Winter, Virginia Ramseyer; O'Neill, Elizabeth; Begun, Stephanie; Kattari, Shanna K; McKay, Kimberly

2016-09-01

Many social work clients are at an increased risk for negative outcomes related to sexual behavior, including unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, there is a dearth of literature on social work student experiences with these topics in social work classrooms and their perceptions about the topic's relevance to their practice. The purpose of this study is to explore relationships between experiences with STIs and contraception as topics in social work education and practica experiences on student perceptions toward sexual health as a relevant topic for social work. Among a national sample of MSW students (N = 443), experiences with STIs and contraception as topics in practica was significantly related to perceptions toward sexual health's relevance to social work. Findings and implications are discussed.

Challenges Faced by Social Workers as Members of Interprofessional Collaborative Health Care Teams

PubMed Central

Ambrose-Miller, Wayne; Ashcroft, Rachelle

2016-01-01

Interprofessional collaboration is increasingly being seen as an important factor in the work of social workers. A focus group was conducted with Canadian social work educators, practitioners, and students to identify barriers and facilitators to collaboration from the perspective of social work. Participants identified six themes that can act as barriers and facilitators to collaboration: culture, self-identity, role clarification, decision making, communication, and power dynamics. These findings carry important implications for interprofessional collaboration with social workers in health practice. PMID:27263200

Interactive Televised Social Work Practice Courses: an Evaluation of On-Site and Remote-Site Students' Educational Outcomes and Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rehder, Kylene

2013-01-01

Social work is a growing profession and its education is expanding through the use of technology supported learning environments. Although distance education opportunities are increasing, social work educators and administrators continue to question its suitability. Much of the skepticism is rooted in the belief that to effectively educate about…

Operationalizing Social Work Science through Research-Practice Partnerships: Lessons from Implementation Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palinkas, Lawrence A.; He, Amy S.; Choy-Brown, Mimi; Hertel, Amy Locklear

2017-01-01

Recent efforts to identify and promote a distinct science for the discipline of social work have led to an ongoing debate regarding the nature and function of such a science. Central to this debate is a lack of consensus as to how to operationalize a social work science. Drawing from the field of implementation science and its application in…

One Million Bones: Measuring the Effect of Human Rights Participation in the Social Work Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPherson, Jane; Cheatham, Leah P.

2015-01-01

This article describes the integration of human rights content and a national arts-activism initiative--One Million Bones--into a bachelor's-level macro practice class as a human rights teaching strategy. Two previously validated scales, the Human Rights Exposure (HRX) in Social Work and the Human Rights Engagement (HRE) in Social Work (McPherson…

Teaching Note--Creating an Integrative Research Learning Environment for BSW and MSW Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inoue, Megumi; Tsai, Laura Cordisco; Lee, JoAnn S.; Ihara, Emily S.; Tompkins, Catherine J.; Aguimatang, Jose; Fountain, Kathleen; Hudson, Sonya

2017-01-01

Research courses are often the least popular among BSW and MSW students because the connection between social work practice and research is not always evident. This teaching note introduces the structure of the Social Work integrative Research Lab (SWiRL), which was implemented in a social work program without a doctoral program at a large public…

Implicit and Explicit Use of the Strengths Perspective in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Probst, Barbara

2010-01-01

Most of the literature on the strengths perspective has addressed issues of practice; far less has been written about the role of the strengths perspective in social work education. Empirical studies have tended to focus on content analysis of texts and syllabi rather than data obtained directly from social work faculty. To address this gap, the…

Falls the Shadow and the Light: Liminality and Natality in Social Work Field Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurlock, Debb; Barlow, Constance; Phelan, Anne; Myrick, Florence; Sawa, Russell; Rogers, Gayla

2008-01-01

This article is situated within an experience of conflict for Tina, a social work student, who is caught between her beliefs about the virtues of social work practice, and her disillusioning encounter with the school's administration. In this paper, we interpret Tina's experience of conflict by drawing on the central concepts of liminality and…

Teaching Note--"Social Work Serial": Using Video-Recorded Simulated Client Sessions to Teach Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asakura, Kenta; Bogo, Marion; Good, Bethany; Power, Roxanne

2018-01-01

Simulation, the use of trained actors as simulated clients, has gained empirical support as an effective teaching and assessment method in social work education. The associated costs involving the use of live simulation, however, often pose a barrier and prevent less resourced schools from implementing this pedagogical approach in the classroom.…

Workplace social capital in nursing: an evolutionary concept analysis.

PubMed

Read, Emily A

2014-05-01

To report an analysis of the concept of nurses' workplace social capital. Workplace social capital is an emerging concept in nursing with potential to illuminate the value of social relationships at work. A common definition is needed. Concept analysis. The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, PsychINFO and ProQuest Nursing. Databases were systematically searched using the keywords: workplace social capital, employee social capital, work environment, social capital and nursing. Sources published between January 1937-November 2012 in English that described or studied social capital of nurses at work were included. A total of 668 resources were found. After removing 241 duplicates, literature was screened in two phases: (1) titles and abstracts were reviewed (n = 427); and (2) remaining data sources were retrieved and read (n = 70). Eight sources were included in the final analysis. Attributes of nurses' workplace social capital included networks of social relationships at work, shared assets and shared ways of knowing and being. Antecedents were communication, trust and positive leadership practices. Nurses' workplace social capital was associated with positive consequences for nurses, their patients and healthcare organizations. Nurses' workplace social capital is defined as nurses' shared assets and ways of being and knowing that are evident in, and available through, nurses' networks of social relationships at work. Future studies should examine and test relationships between antecedents and consequences of nurses' workplace social capital to understand this important aspect of healthy professional practice environments better. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The socio-technical organisation of community pharmacies as a factor in the Electronic Prescription Service Release Two implementation: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The introduction of a new method of transmitting prescriptions from general practices to community pharmacies in England (Electronic Prescription Service Release 2 (EPS2)) has generated debate on how it will change work practice. As EPS2 will be a key technical element in dispensing, we reviewed the literature to find that there were no studies on how social and technical elements come together to form work practice in community pharmacies. This means the debate has little point of reference. Our aim therefore was to study the ways social and technical elements of a community pharmacy are used to achieve dispensing through the development of a conceptual model on pharmacy work practice, and to consider how a core technical element such the EPS2 could change work practice. Method We used ethnographic methods inclusive of case-study observations and interviews to collect qualitative data from 15 community pharmacies that were in the process of adopting or were soon to adopt EPS2. We analysed the case studies thematically and used rigorous multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary interpretive validation techniques to cross analyse findings. Results In practice, dispensing procedures were not designed to take into account variations in human and technical integration, and assumed that repetitive and collective use of socio-technical elements were at a constant. Variables such as availability of social and technical resources, and technical know-how of staff were not taken into account in formalised procedures. Yet community pharmacies were found to adapt their dispensing in relation to the balance of social and technical elements available, and how much of the social and technical elements they were willing to integrate into dispensing. While some integrated as few technical elements as possible, some depended entirely on technical artefacts. This pattern also applied to the social elements of dispensing. Through the conceptual model development process, we identified three approaches community pharmacies used to appropriate procedures in practice. These were ‘technically oriented’, ‘improvising’ or ‘socially oriented’. Conclusion We offer a model of different work approaches community pharmacies use to dispense, which suggests that when adopting a core technical element such as the EPS2 system of dispensing there could be variations in its successful adoption. Technically oriented pharmacies might find it easiest to integrate a similar artefact into work practice although needs EPS2 to synchronise effectively with existing technologies. Pharmacies adopting an improvising-approach have the potential to improve how they organise dispensing through EPS2 although they will need to improve how they apply their operating procedures. Socially oriented pharmacies will need to dramatically adapt their approach to dispensing since they usually rely on few technical tools. PMID:23256484

The socio-technical organisation of community pharmacies as a factor in the Electronic Prescription Service Release Two implementation: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Harvey, Jasmine; Avery, Anthony J; Waring, Justin; Barber, Nick

2012-12-20

The introduction of a new method of transmitting prescriptions from general practices to community pharmacies in England (Electronic Prescription Service Release 2 (EPS2)) has generated debate on how it will change work practice. As EPS2 will be a key technical element in dispensing, we reviewed the literature to find that there were no studies on how social and technical elements come together to form work practice in community pharmacies. This means the debate has little point of reference. Our aim therefore was to study the ways social and technical elements of a community pharmacy are used to achieve dispensing through the development of a conceptual model on pharmacy work practice, and to consider how a core technical element such the EPS2 could change work practice. We used ethnographic methods inclusive of case-study observations and interviews to collect qualitative data from 15 community pharmacies that were in the process of adopting or were soon to adopt EPS2. We analysed the case studies thematically and used rigorous multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary interpretive validation techniques to cross analyse findings. In practice, dispensing procedures were not designed to take into account variations in human and technical integration, and assumed that repetitive and collective use of socio-technical elements were at a constant. Variables such as availability of social and technical resources, and technical know-how of staff were not taken into account in formalised procedures. Yet community pharmacies were found to adapt their dispensing in relation to the balance of social and technical elements available, and how much of the social and technical elements they were willing to integrate into dispensing. While some integrated as few technical elements as possible, some depended entirely on technical artefacts. This pattern also applied to the social elements of dispensing. Through the conceptual model development process, we identified three approaches community pharmacies used to appropriate procedures in practice. These were 'technically oriented', 'improvising' or 'socially oriented'. We offer a model of different work approaches community pharmacies use to dispense, which suggests that when adopting a core technical element such as the EPS2 system of dispensing there could be variations in its successful adoption. Technically oriented pharmacies might find it easiest to integrate a similar artefact into work practice although needs EPS2 to synchronise effectively with existing technologies. Pharmacies adopting an improvising-approach have the potential to improve how they organise dispensing through EPS2 although they will need to improve how they apply their operating procedures. Socially oriented pharmacies will need to dramatically adapt their approach to dispensing since they usually rely on few technical tools.

Promoting Readiness to Practice: Which Learning Activities Promote Competence and Professional Identity for Student Social Workers during Practice Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roulston, Audrey; Cleak, Helen; Vreugdenhil, Anthea

2018-01-01

Practice learning is integral to the curriculum for qualifying social work students. Accreditation standards require regular student supervision and exposure to specific learning activities. Most agencies offer high-quality placements, but organizational cutbacks may affect supervision and restrict the development of competence and professional…

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maypole, Donald E.; Skaine, Rosemarie

1983-01-01

Reviews the literature on sexual harassment to determine the issues the problem raises, its social contexts, and the resources available to working women. Examined the implications of sexual harassment for social work practice, policy, and research. (JAC)

Social workers and unemployment: Factors associated with using employment-promoting practices in Israeli Municipal Departments of Social Services.

PubMed

Levin, Lia; Sefati, Noga

2018-04-23

Unemployment is a harsh social phenomenon with far reaching negative implications. Unemployed individuals often seek assistance from social workers working in Municipal Departments of Social Services around the world. However, little to no research exists on the factors involved in social workers' choice to engage in employment-promoting practices (EPP). The current study aimed to tackle this gap of knowledge, providing initial conclusions about the relationship between social workers' attitudes towards unemployment, their knowledge regarding EPP, the extent to which they perceive their organisations as endorsing EPP and their actual implementation. The main research question dealt with the extent to which each of the examined factors, in itself or in combination with others, would be the best predictor of social workers' utilisation of EPP. The study sample consisted of 163 social workers in Israel with varied experience in working with the unemployed, all working in public sector social services. Structural equation modelling performed on the attained data revealed that knowledge, skills and perceived organisational endorsement of EPP were positively associated with implementation of EPP. Contrary to the hypothesised, attitudes towards unemployment were not associated with the implementation of such practices. At the same time, professional training and seniority were associated with EPP only through the mediation of perceived organisational endorsement. Ultimately, perceived organisational endorsement of EPP emerged as the most influential factor involved in social workers' decision to carry out EPP with their service-users. Consequences of these findings for social work education, supervision, research and policy making are discussed, referring to the local Israeli context as well as its possible international inferences. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Powerful Outcomes: Delivering What Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brendtro, Larry K.; Mitchell, Martin M.

2014-01-01

Professionals in education, treatment, social services, and juvenile justice are bombarded by messages promoting virtually every method as an "evidence-based practice" (EBP). After years of debating EBP, research is turning toward "practice-based evidence" (PBE). The focus shifts from arguing about what practice works best to…

Sequential Research Needs in Evolving Disciplines of Social Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knowles, Malcolm S.

The author suggests that the emerging fields of social practice (such as recreation, social work, and adult education) must all go through a sequential pattern of research needs, first superficially, and then in ever deeper cycles. The six phases of these research needs are: definition of the field (survey and descriptive studies, census studies,…

Social Workers in the Substance Abuse Treatment Field: A Snapshot of Service Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Mickey J. W.; Whitaker, Tracy; Weismiller, Toby

2006-01-01

This article describes the results of the first Practice Research Network (PRN) survey conducted by the National Association of Social Workers, a collaborative project funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. The objectives of the PRN survey were to develop broad knowledge about social work practices and more specific knowledge about…

Practical Application of Critical Race Theory: A Social Justice Course Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pulliam, Rose M.

2017-01-01

Social work education aims to prepare students to effectively engage with diverse people and groups. This article presents a practical application of critical race theory (CRT) toward that end. It describes a brief history of curricular approaches to teaching diversity and social justice and examines a few of the challenges with current curricular…

Diversity in midwifery care: working toward social justice.

PubMed

Burton, Nadya; Ariss, Rachel

2014-08-01

As midwifery moved from lay practice to a regulated health-care profession in Ontario toward the end of the twentieth century, it brought with it many of its social movement goals and aspirations. Among these was the desire to attend to diversity and equity in the provision of birthing care. Drawing on interviews with currently practicing Ontario midwives, this paper focuses on midwives' conceptualizations of diversity and explores their everyday work to support and strengthen diversity among those using and those providing midwifery care. We argue that midwifery's recent relocation within state structured health care means neither that the social change projects of midwifery are complete nor that midwifery has abandoned its movement-based commitment to social change. Responses to social diversity in health care range from efforts to simply improve access to care to analyses of the role of social justice in recognizing the needs of diverse populations. The social justice aspiration to "create a better world" continues to animate the work of midwives postregulation. This paper explores the legacy of midwifery as a social movement, addressing the connections between diversity, social justice and midwifery care.

Challenges in Pre-Tertiary Education in South Africa: Is School Social Work Part of the Solution?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pretorius, Edmarié

2016-01-01

Schools are seen as primary contributors to the social development of learners. Apart from the questionable quality of education in South Africa, the developmental and social challenges faced by learners and educators within schools in South Africa are diverse. These challenges fall within the domain of social work practice. For more than a…

Faithful but Different: Clinical Social Workers Speak Out about Career Motivation and Professional Values

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, Carolyn; Maschi, Tina; O'Brien, Helen; Morgen, Keith; Ward, Kelly

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe licensed clinical social workers' (LCSWs) professional motivation to pursue a social work career and the decision to enter clinical practice. It used a probability sample of 245 New Jersey LCSWs and the Social Work Values Survey as part of an anonymous self-administered mail survey. Descriptive analyses…

Does Feminism Convince Us: A Response to ''The Case for Feminist Standpoint Epistemology in Social Work Research''

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weisman, Clio Belle

2017-01-01

A response to the critique of where social work research currently stands, as put forth by Garrow and Hasenfeld, and their position that social work research should be undertaken from a feminist perspective. It is important to remember the origins and foundation of feminist thought and to approach research and practice with a full understanding of…

A Comparative Analysis of Social Work Faculty's Perception of Gatekeeping Procedures and Practices within Online and Traditional MSW Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Audrey R.

2017-01-01

The social work profession evolved from neighborly, volunteer-based efforts into a distinct profession. Throughout the evolvement of the profession, there has been a consistent focus on meeting the needs of the poor, oppressed, and impoverished individuals in a manner that demonstrates competency on behalf of the caregiver or practitioner. Present…

Using Standardized Clients in the Classroom: An Evaluation of a Training Module to Teach Active Listening Skills to Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Anissa; Welch, Benjamin

2009-01-01

This article describes the implementation of a module that utilizes drama students to teach social work students how to use active listening skills in an interview environment. The module was implemented during a semester-long micro skills practice course taught to 13 undergraduate social work seniors in a western liberal arts university. Four…

Practising family history: 'identity' as a category of social practice.

PubMed

Bottero, Wendy

2015-09-01

Research on family history argues it performs the task of anchoring a sense of 'self' through tracing ancestral connection and cultural belonging, seeing it as a form of storied 'identity-work'. This paper draws on a small-scale qualitative study to think further on the identity-work of family history. Using practice theory, and a disaggregated notion of 'identity', it explores how the storying of family histories relates to genealogy as a leisure hobby, a form of historical research, and an information-processing activity; and examines the social organization of that narrativity, where various practical engagements render certain kinds of genealogical information more, or less, 'storyable'. Key features of 'identity-work' in family history, such as the construction of genealogy as a personal journey of discovery and identification with particular ancestors, emerge as a consequence of the procedures of family history, organized as a set of practical tasks. The paper explores 'identity-work' as a consequence of people's engagement in specific social practices which provide an internal logic to their actions, with various components of 'identity' emerging as categories of practice shaped within, and for, use. Focusing on 'identity' as something produced when we are engaged in doing other things, the paper examines how the practical organization of 'doing other things' helps produce 'identity' in particular ways. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2015.

The characteristics of oncology social work in Australia: Implications for workforce planning in integrated cancer care.

PubMed

Pockett, Rosalie; Peate, Michelle; Hobbs, Kim; Dzidowska, Monika; L Bell, Melanie; Baylock, Brandi; Epstein, Irwin

2016-12-01

To describe the demographics, professional characteristics, self-reported professional development needs and research involvement of oncology social workers in Australia and to describe perceived barriers to provision of quality psychosocial care. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to social workers working in the oncology field who were contacted through three professional organizations; the Australian Association of Social Workers, Oncology Social Work Australia and the Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group, the University of Sydney. A snowball recruitment method was adopted to maximize the sample size. Two thirds of respondents had over 10 years professional practice experience but with lesser experience in oncology settings. Twenty-eight percent had post-graduate qualifications. Professional development needs were reported as moderate or high by 68% of respondents. No association between professional needs and work setting was found. Years of experience in oncology practice and living in an urban area increased the likelihood of involvement in research. Barriers to psychosocial care included poor understandings of the social work role, time constraints and an inadequate number of social work positions. In this first Australian study of the social work oncology workforce, the results demonstrated active, well-qualified and experienced social workers providing frontline services to people with cancer and their caregivers in geographically diverse locations across Australia. Inadequate resources and a lack of integrated psychosocial care were identified as barriers to comprehensive cancer care. The need for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social workers was identified as an urgent workforce priority. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Empowerment in Context: Lessons from Hip-Hop Culture for Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Travis, Raphael, Jr.; Deepak, Anne

2011-01-01

Hip-hop culture can be used as a conduit to enhanced cultural competence and practice skills through the individual and community empowerment framework. This framework is introduced as a tool for direct practice that allows social workers to understand the competing messages within hip-hop culture and how they may impact youths by promoting or…

Social work at the heart of the medical team.

PubMed

Kitchen, Alice; Brook, Jody

2005-01-01

This paper proposes one model of hospital social work delivery services that places social work in a facilitative role within the medical team, and describes a pilot project designed to evaluate these services. Social work's role in this teaching hospital setting was tailored to provide patients and medical staff access to social work services upon admission, rather than at the time of discharge. This change places social work at the pivotal juncture to improve medical care and addresses the social, cultural and environmental concerns as they surface during patient stay. Unique to this demonstration model is the added advantage of placing the social worker at the hub of the physician-led medical team. Medical students, residents, and attending physicians all learn, observe, and experience the advantages social workers bring to the process. Educating medical students on teams with social workers bodes well for the profession. The authors summarize the program design, results and implications for social work practice in a teaching hospital setting.

Towards an Understanding of Teacher Judgement in the Context of Social Moderation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adie, Lenore Ellen; Klenowski, Valentina; Wyatt-Smith, Claire

2012-01-01

Social moderation involves teachers gathering together to discuss their judgements of the quality of student work and to reach agreement regarding the standard awarded. This qualitative study conducted over a three-year period investigated the social practice of moderation and the influence on teachers' judgements of students' work. An initial…

Educating Social Work Students to Practice in the Latino Immigrant Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sisneros, Jose; Alter, Catherine Foster

2009-01-01

Immigration from Latin America to the United States will be a political issue for many years. Because Latinos are the largest minority group in the U.S., they will continue to be a concern of social work education. Language differences, cultural distinctions, and unique political ramifications require specialized programs within social work…

Teaching Note--Heterosexism as Experienced by LGBT Social Work Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Lisa M.

2014-01-01

As social work educators, much of our practice involves helping students think critically about complex political, economic, and social issues. One of the most complex and contentious sociopolitical issues of our time has been civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. This teaching note considers how we, as LGBT…

Enhancing Critical Reflection and Writing Skills in the HBSE Classroom and beyond

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiener, Diane R.

2012-01-01

Human Behavior in the Social Environment (HBSE) is an ideal location in which graduate social work students can enhance their critical reflection and writing skills while integrating social work theories with practice, research, and policy. A writing-intensive, learner-centered model using specific strategies is described via a framework of…

Implementing and evaluating an interprofessional minority health conference for social work and healthcare professionals.

PubMed

Washington, Tiffany R; Ward, Trina Salm; Young, Henry N; Orpinas, Pamela; Cornelius, Llewellyn J

2017-11-01

Interprofessional education (IPE) is one strategy for addressing health inequities; however, little attention has been paid to continuing IPE for practicing social work and healthcare professionals. This article offers guidance to faculty in social work and health-related academic units on offering continuing IPE on the topic of minority health. An interprofessional group of faculty offered a day-long conference on minority health, ethics, and social justice. The conference goal was to promote interprofessional communication in a co-learning environment and promote dialogue on social determinants of health and health equity in the state. Data were obtained from surveys and analysis of work plans developed during the conference. Workshop participants were majority White (62%), social workers (79%), and practiced for 14 years on average. The most useful topics were dementia and polypharmacy. Takeaway strategies included interprofessional work, being mindful of access to resources, and engagement in continuing education. Lessons learned include plan in advance for all professions; recruit faculty and students from multiple departments to increase interprofessional diversity; offer strategies and incentives to increase student participation; be strategic about conference location and format; and identify a strategic format and theme. IPE is a means of preparing learners for working together in their future careers to provide high-quality patient-centred care and reduce health disparities. Professional development can provide an opportunity to enhance skills to address health disparities, and learning can be significantly enhanced when participants connect with colleagues from different professions, discuss diverse opinions, and share successful practices.

Integrating Social Justice in Group Work: The Next Decade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hays, Danica G.; Arredondo, Patricia; Gladding, Samuel T.; Toporek, Rebecca L.

2010-01-01

Group work can be an effective outlet for facilitating client empowerment at individual and systemic levels. This article outlines strategies for increasing attention to social justice issues in group work over the next decade within education, training, supervision, practice, and research. Drawing from historical perspectives, current literature,…

Unintended Consequences of Professionalizing Youth Work: Lessons from Teaching and Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston-Goodstar, Katie; Velure Roholt, Ross

2013-01-01

In this article, the authors use a comparative historical approach to examine the consequences of professionalization within teaching and social work and to answer the following questions: What are the unintended consequences of professionalization? Has professionalization in these fields supported higher quality practice, increased working…

Palliative Care Social Work In India: Current Status and Future Directions

PubMed Central

Ragesh, G; Zacharias, Lithin; Thomas, Priya Treesa

2017-01-01

Palliative care (PC) involves total care for persons suffering from life-threatening illnesses and their families. Social work as a profession and an academic discipline is gaining momentum in India for the past few decades. A large number of professional social workers are working with individuals, families, and communities to provide PC in India. Authors have presented the current status of PC social work interventions and discussed the future directions in the practice, research, and training in PC and end-of-life care. PMID:28216870

Application of Attachment Theory in Clinical Social Work.

PubMed

Blakely, Thomas Joseph; Dziadosz, Gregory M

2015-11-01

This article proposes the use of attachment theory in clinical social work practice. This theory is very appropriate in this context because of its fit with social work concepts of person-in-situation, the significance of developmental history in the emergence of psychosocial problems, and the content of human behavior in the social environment. A literature review supports the significance of the theory. Included are ideas about how attachment styles and working models may be used in assessment and treatment to help clients achieve a secure attachment style.

Graduate Social Work Students' Experiences with Group Work in the Field and the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Harriet; Knight, Carolyn; Khudododov, Khudodod

2014-01-01

For decades, group work scholars have described a discrepancy between student preparation for group work practice and opportunities to work with groups in the field practicum and professional practice. Educators in related disciplines such as counseling and psychology have expressed similar concerns. This article reports findings of a study of MSW…

Improving Collaboration Among Social Work and Nursing Students Through Interprofessional Simulation.

PubMed

Kuehn, Mary Beth; Huehn, Susan; Smalling, Susan

2017-08-01

This project implemented first-time simulation with nursing and social work students. Students participated in a contextual learning experience through a patient simulation of interprofessional practice as a health care team member and reflection through debriefing and open response comments. Simulation offers a means to practice interprofessional collaboration prior to entering practice. Participants reported an increased understanding of the scope of practice of other team members through their reflections following simulation. In addition, participants reported increased comprehension of team dynamics and their relationship to improved patient care. Overall, the simulation encouraged development of the skills necessary to function as part of a collaborative, interprofessional team.

Transforming Practice with Older People through an Ethic of Care

PubMed Central

Ward, Lizzie; Barnes, Marian

2016-01-01

This article explores the relevance of deliberative practices framed by feminist care ethics to social work practice with older people. It draws on two connected projects which brought together older people: practitioners and academics. The first was a participatory research project in which the significance of care to well-being in old age emerged. The second was a knowledge exchange project which generated learning resources for social care practice based on the research findings of the first project. Here we analyse selected transcripts of recordings from meetings of both projects to consider the ways that discussions about lived experiences and everyday lives demonstrate care through this dialogue. Using this analysis, we propose that care ethics can be useful in transforming relationships between older people and those working with them through the creation of hybrid spaces in which ‘care-full deliberation’ can happen. We argue that such reflective spaces can enable transformative dialogue about care and its importance to older people and offer a counterbalance to the procedurally driven environments in which much social work practice takes place and can support practice more attuned to the circumstances and concerns of older people. PMID:27559205

Transforming Practice with Older People through an Ethic of Care.

PubMed

Ward, Lizzie; Barnes, Marian

2016-06-01

This article explores the relevance of deliberative practices framed by feminist care ethics to social work practice with older people. It draws on two connected projects which brought together older people: practitioners and academics. The first was a participatory research project in which the significance of care to well-being in old age emerged. The second was a knowledge exchange project which generated learning resources for social care practice based on the research findings of the first project. Here we analyse selected transcripts of recordings from meetings of both projects to consider the ways that discussions about lived experiences and everyday lives demonstrate care through this dialogue. Using this analysis, we propose that care ethics can be useful in transforming relationships between older people and those working with them through the creation of hybrid spaces in which 'care-full deliberation' can happen. We argue that such reflective spaces can enable transformative dialogue about care and its importance to older people and offer a counterbalance to the procedurally driven environments in which much social work practice takes place and can support practice more attuned to the circumstances and concerns of older people.

Diversity Practice in Social Work: Examining Theory in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Tamara S.

2009-01-01

Individualized care in children's services requires practitioners to move beyond individual worldviews to gain a cultural context for service planning and delivery to an increasingly diversifying U.S. population. As such, research is needed to empirically support diversity practice models used to prepare practitioners for cross-cultural work. This…

Nurse work engagement impacts job outcome and nurse-assessed quality of care: model testing with nurse practice environment and nurse work characteristics as predictors

PubMed Central

Van Bogaert, Peter; van Heusden, Danny; Timmermans, Olaf; Franck, Erik

2014-01-01

Aim: To explore the mechanisms through which nurse practice environment dimensions, such as nurse–physician relationship, nurse management at the unit level and hospital management and organizational support, are associated with job outcomes and nurse-assessed quality of care. Mediating variables included nurse work characteristics of workload, social capital, decision latitude, as well as work engagement dimensions of vigor, dedication and absorption. Background: Understanding how to support and guide nurse practice communities in their daily effort to answer complex care most accurate, alongside with the demand of a stable and healthy nurse workforce, is challenging. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Method: Based on earlier empirical findings, a structural equation model, designed with valid measurement instruments, was tested. The study population included registered acute care hospital nurses (N = 1201) in eight hospitals across Belgium. Results: Nurse practice environment dimensions predicted nurses’ ratings of job outcome variables as well as quality of care. Features of nurses’ work characteristics, e.g., perceived workload, decision latitude, social capital, and the three dimension of work engagement, played mediating roles between nurse practice environment and outcomes. A revised model, using various fit measures, explained 60% of job outcomes and 47% of nurse-assessed quality of care. Conclusion: The findings in this study show that nurse work characteristics as workload, decision latitude, and social capital, alongside with nurse work engagement (e.g., vigor, dedication, and absorption) influence nurses’ perspective of their nurse practice environment, job outcomes, and quality of care. The results underline aspects to considerate for various stakeholders, such as executives, nurse managers, physicians, and staff nurses, in setting up and organizing health care services. PMID:25431563

Nurse work engagement impacts job outcome and nurse-assessed quality of care: model testing with nurse practice environment and nurse work characteristics as predictors.

PubMed

Van Bogaert, Peter; van Heusden, Danny; Timmermans, Olaf; Franck, Erik

2014-01-01

To explore the mechanisms through which nurse practice environment dimensions, such as nurse-physician relationship, nurse management at the unit level and hospital management and organizational support, are associated with job outcomes and nurse-assessed quality of care. Mediating variables included nurse work characteristics of workload, social capital, decision latitude, as well as work engagement dimensions of vigor, dedication and absorption. Understanding how to support and guide nurse practice communities in their daily effort to answer complex care most accurate, alongside with the demand of a stable and healthy nurse workforce, is challenging. Cross-sectional survey. Based on earlier empirical findings, a structural equation model, designed with valid measurement instruments, was tested. The study population included registered acute care hospital nurses (N = 1201) in eight hospitals across Belgium. Nurse practice environment dimensions predicted nurses' ratings of job outcome variables as well as quality of care. Features of nurses' work characteristics, e.g., perceived workload, decision latitude, social capital, and the three dimension of work engagement, played mediating roles between nurse practice environment and outcomes. A revised model, using various fit measures, explained 60% of job outcomes and 47% of nurse-assessed quality of care. The findings in this study show that nurse work characteristics as workload, decision latitude, and social capital, alongside with nurse work engagement (e.g., vigor, dedication, and absorption) influence nurses' perspective of their nurse practice environment, job outcomes, and quality of care. The results underline aspects to considerate for various stakeholders, such as executives, nurse managers, physicians, and staff nurses, in setting up and organizing health care services.

Information and Communication Technologies in Social Work

PubMed Central

Perron, Brian E.; Taylor, Harry O.; Glass, Joseph E.; Margerum-Leys, Jon

2011-01-01

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are electronic tools used to convey, manipulate and store information. The exponential growth of Internet access and ICTs greatly influenced social, political, and economic processes in the United States, and worldwide. Regardless of the level of practice, ICTs will continue influencing the careers of social workers and the clients they serve. ICTs have received some attention in the social work literature and curriculum, but we argue that this level of attention is not adequate given their ubiquity, growth and influence, specifically as it relates to upholding social work ethics. Significant attention is needed to help ensure social workers are responsive to the technological changes in the health care system, including the health care infrastructure and use of technology among clients. Social workers also need ICT competencies in order to effectively lead different types of social change initiatives or collaborate with professionals of other disciplines who are using ICTs as part of existing strategies. This paper also identifies potential pitfalls and challenges with respect to the adoption of ICTs, with recommendations for advancing their use in practice, education, and research. PMID:21691444

Social Stressors at Work, Sleep, and Recovery.

PubMed

Pereira, Diana; Gross, Sven; Elfering, Achim

2016-03-01

Many employees in service work are required to work on Saturdays, recovering during work-free Sundays and working again Mondays. We examined the effects of social stressors at work on recovery status at Sunday noon and Monday noon, and investigated if sleep quality mediates the negative effects of social stressors at work on recovery. From Saturday until Monday morning, 41 participants wore actigraphs to measure sleep duration and sleep fragmentation. Social stressors at work were assessed by self-reported questionnaires administered on Saturday. Recovery status was reported Sunday noon and Monday noon. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that social stressors at work were negatively related to recovery status on Sunday and on Monday. Supporting our assumptions, more social stressors at work predicted higher sleep fragmentation in the night to Monday. A mediation effect of sleep quality, however, was not found. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Correlation analysis between work-related musculoskeletal disorders and the nursing practice environment, quality of life, and social support in the nursing professionals

PubMed Central

Yan, Ping; Yang, Yi; Zhang, Li; Li, Fuye; Huang, Amei; Wang, Yanan; Dai, Yali; Yao, Hua

2018-01-01

Abstract We aim to analyze the correlated influential factors between work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and nursing practice environment and quality of life and social support. From January 2015 to October 2015, cluster sampling was performed on the nurses from 12 hospitals in the 6 areas in Xinjiang. The questionnaires including the modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Practice Environment Scale (PES), the Mos 36-item Short Form Health Survey, and Social Support Rating Scale were used to investigate. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influential factors of WMSDs. The total prevalence of WMSDs was 79.52% in the nurses ever since the working occupation, which was mainly involved waist (64.83%), neck (61.83%), and shoulder (52.36%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated age (≥26 years), working in the Department of Surgery, Department of Critical Care, Outpatient Department, and Department of Anesthesia, working duration of >40 hours per week were the risk factors of WMSDs in the nurses. The physiological function (PF), body pain, total healthy condition, adequate working force and financial support, and social support were the protective factors of WMSDs. The prevalence of WMSDs in the nurses in Xinjiang Autonomous Region was high. PF, bodily pain, total healthy condition, having adequate staff and support resources to provide quality patient care, and social support were the protective factors of WMSDs in the nurses. PMID:29489648

Correlation analysis between work-related musculoskeletal disorders and the nursing practice environment, quality of life, and social support in the nursing professionals.

PubMed

Yan, Ping; Yang, Yi; Zhang, Li; Li, Fuye; Huang, Amei; Wang, Yanan; Dai, Yali; Yao, Hua

2018-03-01

We aim to analyze the correlated influential factors between work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and nursing practice environment and quality of life and social support.From January 2015 to October 2015, cluster sampling was performed on the nurses from 12 hospitals in the 6 areas in Xinjiang. The questionnaires including the modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Practice Environment Scale (PES), the Mos 36-item Short Form Health Survey, and Social Support Rating Scale were used to investigate. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influential factors of WMSDs.The total prevalence of WMSDs was 79.52% in the nurses ever since the working occupation, which was mainly involved waist (64.83%), neck (61.83%), and shoulder (52.36%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated age (≥26 years), working in the Department of Surgery, Department of Critical Care, Outpatient Department, and Department of Anesthesia, working duration of >40 hours per week were the risk factors of WMSDs in the nurses. The physiological function (PF), body pain, total healthy condition, adequate working force and financial support, and social support were the protective factors of WMSDs.The prevalence of WMSDs in the nurses in Xinjiang Autonomous Region was high. PF, bodily pain, total healthy condition, having adequate staff and support resources to provide quality patient care, and social support were the protective factors of WMSDs in the nurses.

Meeting the Challenge: The Educational Preparation of Social Workers for Practice with At-Risk Children (0-3) and Their Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nover, Aimee R.; Timberlake, Elizabeth M.

1989-01-01

The social work practice arena and professional preparation are described as they relate to infants and young children vulnerable to developmental problems and problems of psychosocial dysfunction. Curriculum structure of accredited Master's degree programs and the model curriculum project of the National Catholic School of Social Service are…

Social Work Faculty Support for Same-Sex Marriage: A Cross-National Study of U.S. and Anglophone Canadian MSW Teaching Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodford, Michael R.; Luke, Katherine P.; Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew; Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I.; Gutierrez, Lorraine

2012-01-01

Attention to same-sex marriage has increased in the past decade. This study examines the perceptions of same-sex marriage among social work faculty. Faculty play a critical role in preparing future social workers for competent, ethical practice--including advocacy for social policies inclusive of sexual minorities. The present study investigates…

29 CFR 1910.1051 - 1,3-Butadiene.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., duration, and results of samples taken; (E) Type of protective devices worn, if any; and (F) Name, social... social security number of the employee; (B) Physician's or other licensed health care professional's...: Good industrial hygiene practices recommend that engineering and work practice controls be used to...

Street-Level Strategies of Child Welfare Social Workers in Flanders: The Use of Electronic Client Records in Practice.

PubMed

De Witte, Jasper; Declercq, Anja; Hermans, Koen

2016-07-01

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in child welfare services has increased significantly during the last decades, and so have the possibilities to process health data. Parton (2009) states that this evolution has led to a shift in the nature of social work itself: from 'the social' to 'the informational'. It is claimed that social workers primarily are becoming information processors concerned with the gathering, sharing and monitoring of information, instead of being focused on the relational dimensions of their work. However, social workers have considerable discretion concerning the way they use ICT. In this paper, we investigate (i) the street-level strategies social workers develop regarding ICT and (ii) how these relate to a narrative social work approach. To illustrate this, an evaluation of Charlotte was conducted, a client registration system that is used by social workers in child welfare services in Flanders, Belgium. Based on fifteen interviews, we find that social workers develop various strategies regarding Charlotte to preserve a relational and narrative work approach. These strategies not only result in a gap between ICT policy and the execution of that policy in practice, but also decrease the extent to which accountability can be realised via registration data.

Reflective Journaling as a Flipped Classroom Technique to Increase Reading and Participation With Social Work Students

PubMed Central

Sage, Melanie; Sele, Patti

2016-01-01

Students in undergraduate social work practice courses come to the class with varying levels of educational, life, and practice experience. Students require an introduction to the material through textbook reading before they are able to engage in critical discussions, yet reading adherence varies widely among students. This research explores the use of reflective journals as a Flipped Classroom technique to increase reflective thinking and reading adherence. This study surveys 27 students in two practice courses about the use of weekly reflective journaling as a flipped classroom assignment. Findings support that reflective reading journals increase student preparation and engagement, but require more work for students and instructors. Implications are discussed. PMID:27672301

Culturally sensitive social work practice with Arab clients in mental health settings.

PubMed

al-Krenawi, A; Graham, J R

2000-02-01

Several culturally specific practical considerations should inform social work interventions with ethnic Arab peoples in Arab countries or in Western nations. These include taking into account gender relations, individuals' places in their families and communities, patterns of mental health services use, and, for practice in Western nations, the client's level of acculturation. Such aspects provide the basis for specific guidelines in working with ethnic Arab mental health clients. These include an emphasis on short-term, directive treatment; communication patterns that are passive and informal; patients' understanding of external loci of control and their use of ethnospecific idioms of distress; and, where appropriate, the integration of modern and traditional healing systems.

Advocacy and Professional Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbert, Neil; Specht, Harry

1976-01-01

Advocacy has become a prominent and popular idea in social work practice. But, as the authors point out, the social worker functioning as an advocate may be undermining his professional ethics as well as the interests of the clients with whom he works. (Author)

Linking the NIH strategic plan to the research agenda for social workers in health and aging.

PubMed

Raveis, Victoria H; Gardner, Daniel S; Berkman, Barbara; Harootyan, Linda

2010-01-01

Although social work has a long and distinctive tradition of practice-relevant research aimed at enhancing the health and well-being of older adults, the profession has been underrepresented among the ranks of academic researchers and the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) scientific endeavors. In this article, the inherent capacities of social workers to generate and disseminate empirical health-related knowledge are discussed and recent developments in social work's geriatric research infrastructure are described. Emerging domains for advancing the profession's contribution to practice-relevant geriatric research on the federal level are identified and the next steps toward advancing the field's research agenda are posed.

Prisoner reentry: a public health or public safety issue for social work practice?

PubMed

Patterson, George T

2013-01-01

A significant literature identifies the policy, economic, health, and social challenges that confront released prisoners. This literature also describes the public health and public safety risks associated with prisoner reentry, provides recommendations for improving the reentry process, and describes the effectiveness of prison-based programs on recidivism rates. Public health and public safety risks are particularly significant in communities where large numbers of prisoners are released and few evidence-based services exist. The purpose of this article is to describe the public health and public safety risks that released prisoners experience when they reenter communities, and to discuss the social justice issues relevant for social work practice.

Local in Practice: Professional Distinctions in Angolan Development Work

PubMed Central

Peters, Rebecca Warne

2017-01-01

Development workers employed by international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are commonly classified as national (local) or international (expatriate) staff members. The distinction is presumed to reflect the varieties of expertise required for the work and the workers’ different biographies. I examine the experiences of Angolans working in an international democratization program to demonstrate how some professionals at the lowest tiers of international development NGOs engage in social practices that strategically emphasize or conceal certain skills, kinds of knowledge, or family circumstances to fulfill industry expectations of “local staff.” Doing so allows them access to employment with international organizations and pursuit of a variety of personal and professional goals. These practices reinforce hierarchical inequalities within the development industry, however, limiting these workers’ influence over programmatic action. I argue that professional distinctions among development workers are social achievements and instruments of strategic manipulation by individuals and NGOs rather than accurate reflections of work or workers. The case study provides insight into the institutional reproduction of hierarchical inequalities and the complexly social reasons why those who suffer their limitations may act in ways that reinforce, rather than resist, unequal social structures. PMID:29430019

Pierre Bourdieu: Expanding the scope of nursing research and practice.

PubMed

Nairn, Stuart; Pinnock, David

2017-10-01

Bourdieu is an important thinker within the sociological tradition and has a philosophically sophisticated approach to theoretical knowledge and research practice. In this paper, we examine the implication of his work for nursing and the health sciences more broadly. We argue that his work is best described as a reflexive realist who provides a space for a nonpositivist approach to knowledge that does not fall into the trap of idealism or relativism. We emphasize that Bourdieu was not an abstract theorist, but only utilized theories to understand and explain the social world in all its empirical complexity. Theory is emphasized over method without denying the importance of method. We then provide a brief overview of some of his key concepts: habitus, field and capital. His work is a scientifically astute practice that has an emancipatory purpose, with particular resonance to the problems of nursing as a social practice. Some have criticized Bourdieu for undermining agency and we briefly address this issue, but argue that his conceptual framework helps us to understand what endures in social practice and why change is often problematic. In short, this paper argues that Bourdieu's work is a fruitful resource for critiquing existing nursing approaches that are preoccupied with agency over structure. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What's Lunch Got to Do with It? Critical Literacy and the Discourse of the Lunchroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heffernan, Lee; Lewison, Mitzi

2005-01-01

Critical literacy practices in a third-grade classroom involved working with texts that disrupted commonplace assumptions about social norms. As students read and talked about social issues such as racism, ageism, and sexism, they became "border crossers" in their school lunchroom. Without informing their teacher, they worked on a social action…

Literature and the Human Condition in Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altman, Julie Cooper; Schaffner Goldberg, Gertrude; Quiros, Laura

2017-01-01

The benefits of literature are countless. Social workers, however, are usually not inclined to count the teaching and practice of social work among its beneficiaries. We believe that literature is one of the ways to enrich vital components of social work knowledge, attitudes, and skills. In this article, we begin by calling attention to a…

From Opinion-Based to Evidence-Based Social Work: The Swedish Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sundell, Knut; Soydan, Haluk; Tengvald, Karin; Anttila, Sten

2010-01-01

This article presents an account of Sweden's Institute for Evidence-Based Social Work Practice (IMS), located in Stockholm, Sweden. The article places IMS in the context of making Swedish social care services less opinion-based and more evidence-based. The institute is an example of how policy-driven processes promote the use of evidence-based…

Monkeying around: Use of Survey Monkey as a Tool for School Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Massat, Carol Rippey; McKay, Cassandra; Moses, Helene

2009-01-01

This article describes the use of an online survey tool called Survey Monkey, which can be used by school social workers and school social work educators for evaluation of practice, needs assessment, and program evaluation. Examples of questions are given. Principles of writing good survey questions are described. (Contains 2 tables and 1…

Gender, Work, and Health for Trans Health Providers: A Focus on Transmen

PubMed Central

MacDonnell, Judith A.; Grigorovich, Alisa

2012-01-01

Well-documented health research points to trans people's vulnerability to health inequities that are linked to deeply embedded structural and social determinants of health. Gender and work, as social determinants of health for trans people, both shape and are shaped by multiple factors such as support networks, social environments, income and social status, shelter, and personal health practices. There is a gap in the nursing literature in regards to research on work and health for diverse trans people and a virtual silence on the particular issues of trans-identified health providers. This qualitative study used comparative life history methodology and purposeful sampling to examine links among work, career, and health for transmen who are health providers. Semistructured interviews were completed with four Canadian transmen involved in health care professional and/or practice contexts with diverse professions, age, work, and transitioning experiences. Critical gender analysis showed that unique and gender-related critical events and influences shape continuities and discontinuities in their careerlives. This strength-based approach foregrounds how resilience and growth emerged through participants' articulation with everyday gender dynamics. These findings have implications for nursing research, education, and practice that include an understanding of how trans providers “do transgender work” and supporting them in that process. PMID:23316387

The social worker as moral citizen: ethics in action.

PubMed

Manning, S S

1997-05-01

Social workers today face some of the most complex ethical dilemmas in the history of the profession. This article presents a framework of moral citizenship to guide ethical social work practice. The framework includes the action philosophies of philosopher Hannah Arendt and Lutheran theologian Paul Tillich integrated with concepts of professional responsibility and the unique contributions of social work pioneer Charlotte Towle. Social conscience and social consciousness, including awareness, thinking, feeling, and action, are major components of the framework.

Health Inequities: Evaluation of Two Paradigms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashcroft, Rachelle

2010-01-01

Social work practice in health is shaped by underlying paradigms. To effectively target health inequities, practitioners need to consider appropriate paradigms. In this exploration of how six health paradigms shape theory and practice, the two health paradigms that most attended to health inequalities are social determinants of health and…

Concepts Shaping Juvenile Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Rob

2008-01-01

Rob White's paper explores ways in which community building can be integrated into the practices of juvenile justice work. He provides a model of what can be called "restorative social justice", one that builds upon the juvenile conferencing model by attempting to fuse social justice concerns with progressive juvenile justice practices.

Working Together. Policy and Practice in Scottish Early Childhood Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paton, Grace

2007-01-01

A key policy response to continuing concerns about levels of poverty and social exclusion in the United Kingdom has been the promotion of integrated children's services, involving professionals from education, social work, health and other fields working together on an inter-agency basis. This small-scale qualitative research project, using an…

Understanding Work-Related Stress and Practice of Professional Self-Care--An Innovative Pedagogical Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwong, Kenny

2016-01-01

Social workers experience tremendous work-related stress--particularly among those providing direct services in healthcare settings. A review of related literature summarized several critical challenges faced by social workers who work with highly difficult clients in these settings, including (a) clients who engage in manipulative high-risk…

Cultural Competence and Social Work Education: Moving toward Assessment of Practice Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jani, Jayshree S.; Osteen, Philip; Shipe, Stacy

2016-01-01

Social work educators are responsible for ensuring that future practitioners are culturally competent and have the ability to work effectively with people from different backgrounds. The purpose of this article is to address the current limitations in measuring cultural competence and to report the results of a qualitative study examining…

Situated Literacies at Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Searle, Jean

2002-01-01

Gathered data about work practices related to three motels and two eco-tourism sites. Findings suggest that actual workplace practices involve socially constructed literacies depending on the user's ability to make judgments on using the text or obtaining information from the text. (SLD)

Hospice and palliative social workers' experiences with clients at risk of suicide.

PubMed

Washington, Karla T; Albright, David L; Parker Oliver, Debra; Gage, L Ashley; Lewis, Alexandria; Mooney, Megan J

2016-12-01

We sought to determine the frequency with which hospice and palliative social workers encounter patients, family caregivers, and other clients at risk of suicide, and to discover the extent to which hospice and palliative social workers feel prepared to address issues related to suicide in their professional practice. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of hospice and palliative social workers, recruiting a convenience sample of volunteer respondents through advertisements at professional conferences and listservs, and via social media accounts associated with national organizations, state hospice and palliative care associations, and individual healthcare professionals. Most respondents reported having worked with patients, family caregivers, or other clients who had exhibited warning signs of suicide during the previous year. Fewer respondents indicated that they had worked with patients and family members who had attempted or died by suicide. While the majority of respondents believed they possessed sufficient knowledge and skills to intervene effectively with individuals at risk of suicide, they indicated that additional education on this topic would be valuable for their professional practice. These study results suggest that suicide-related competencies are important in the practice of hospice and palliative social work. Future education and training efforts should include skill development in addition to knowledge building.

Street-Level Strategies of Child Welfare Social Workers in Flanders: The Use of Electronic Client Records in Practice

PubMed Central

De Witte, Jasper; Declercq, Anja; Hermans, Koen

2016-01-01

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in child welfare services has increased significantly during the last decades, and so have the possibilities to process health data. Parton (2009) states that this evolution has led to a shift in the nature of social work itself: from ‘the social’ to ‘the informational’. It is claimed that social workers primarily are becoming information processors concerned with the gathering, sharing and monitoring of information, instead of being focused on the relational dimensions of their work. However, social workers have considerable discretion concerning the way they use ICT. In this paper, we investigate (i) the street-level strategies social workers develop regarding ICT and (ii) how these relate to a narrative social work approach. To illustrate this, an evaluation of Charlotte was conducted, a client registration system that is used by social workers in child welfare services in Flanders, Belgium. Based on fifteen interviews, we find that social workers develop various strategies regarding Charlotte to preserve a relational and narrative work approach. These strategies not only result in a gap between ICT policy and the execution of that policy in practice, but also decrease the extent to which accountability can be realised via registration data. PMID:27559226

Lessons learned from a secret Facebook support group.

PubMed

Oliver, Debra Parker; Washington, Karla; Wittenberg-Lyles, Elaine; Gage, Ashley; Mooney, Megan; Demiris, George

2015-05-01

The National Association of Social Workers developed practice standards for social workers using technology in their practice. These standards were derived from the foundation of the social work code of ethics and are helpful as social workers explore the use of new tools for the benefit of their clients. Hospice caregivers, both active and bereaved, are in great need of support but are often unable to attend traditional support groups. Facebook secret groups offer social workers a potential tool, given the geographic barriers that exist for traditional face-to-face support groups. The authors' experience with a secret Facebook group indicates that the technology can be useful when managed by a social worker facilitator. As social workers continue to explore helpful ways to use technology with clients, it is critical that they evaluate that practice and assess the clinical outcomes to establish an evidence base behind this practice.

The trials and tribulations of a practitioner-researcher: challenges and lessons learned through testing a feminist-cognitive-relational social work model of practice.

PubMed

Dombo, Eileen A; Bass, Ami P

2014-01-01

In practice with adult women who survived childhood sexual abuse, the field of social work currently lacks an evidence-based intervention. The current interventions, from the 1990s, come primarily from psychologists. The hypothesis that the Feminist-Cognitive-Relational Social Work Model and Intervention will be more effective in decreasing cognitive distortions, and increasing intimacy and relational health when compared to the standard agency intervention was tested in a quasi-experimental study. The challenges in carrying out the study in small, non-profit organizations are explored to highlight the difficulties in developing evidence-based interventions. Changes to implementation that resulted from the research findings are discussed.

Beyond bureaucracy: emerging trends in social care informatics.

PubMed

Wastell, David; White, Sue

2014-09-01

Existing information technology systems in much of UK social care have been designed to serve the interests of the bureaucracy rather than supporting professional practice or improving services to the public. The ill-starred Integrated Children's System in statutory children's services is typical. The Integrated Children's System is a system for form-filling, micro-managing professional practice through an enforced regime of standard processes and time scales. In this article, we argue against this dominant design. We provide several examples where technology has enabled alternative modes of support for professional work, based on socio-technical principles. One such system is Patchwork, which describes itself as a 'Facebook for Social Work'; its aim is to support multi-professional teams working with vulnerable families. © The Author(s) 2013.

Newcomers in a hazardous environment: a qualitative inquiry into sex worker vulnerability to HIV in Bali, Indonesia.

PubMed

Januraga, Pande Putu; Mooney-Somers, Julie; Ward, Paul R

2014-08-11

Women new to sex work and those with a greater degree of mobility have higher risk of HIV infection. Using social capital as a theoretical framework, we argue that better understanding of the interactions of micro-level structural factors can be valuable in reshaping and restructuring health promotion programmes in Bali to be more responsive to the concerns and needs of newcomer and mobile female sex workers (FSWs). We conducted interviews with 11 newcomer FSWs (worked < six months), 9 mobile FSWs (experienced but worked at the current brothel < six months), and 14 senior FSWs (experienced and worked at current brothel > six months). The interviews explored women's experience of sex work including how and why they came to sex work, relationships with other FSWs and their HIV prevention practices. A thematic framework analysis revealed newcomer FSWs faced multiple levels of vulnerability that contributed to increased HIV risk. First, a lack of knowledge and self-efficacy about HIV prevention practices was related to their younger age and low exposure to sexual education. Second, on entering sex work, they experienced intensely competitive working environments fuelled by economic competition. This competition reduced opportunities for positive social networks and social learning about HIV prevention. Finally, the lack of social networks and social capital between FSWs undermined peer trust and solidarity, both of which are essential to promote consistent condom use. For example, newcomer FSWs did not trust that if they refused to have sex without a condom, their peers would also refuse; this increased their likelihood of accepting unprotected sex, thereby increasing HIV risk. Public health and social welfare interventions and programmes need to build social networks, social support and solidarity within FSW communities, and provide health education and HIV prevention resources much earlier in women's sex work careers.

Graduate Social Work Faculty's Support for Educational Content on Women and on Sexism.

PubMed

Levin, Dana S; Woodford, Michael R; Gutiérrez, Lorraine M; Luke, Katherine P

2015-10-01

Social work faculty play an important role in preparing students to address sexism and engage in culturally competent practice with women. This study examines the nature of U.S. and Anglo-Canadian graduate social work faculty's support for content on women and on sexism. Although support appears high for both content areas, results suggest that faculty endorsement for content on women is significantly greater than that for sexism. Further, bivariate and multivariate analyses indicate that the nature of support differs for each content area. Implications for social work education are discussed.

Where Critical Postmodern Theory Meets Practice: Working in the Intersection of Instrumental, Social, and Cultural Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grace, Andre P.

1997-01-01

Outlines a critical postmodern adult education practice that is inclusive of peoples and knowledges and inhabits a dynamic space. Key concepts include identity difference; intersection of power relations; community as a social contract; and conflict, voice, and dialog for transformative learning. (SK)

Ethno-Experiments: Creating Robust Inquiry and Futures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramsey, Caroline

2007-01-01

This article introduces a practice-centred inquiry method called an "ethno-experiment". The method is built on a social constructionist understanding of practice as a social performance rather than as an individual's act. Additionally, it draws on Garfinkel's early ethnomethodological work and Marshall's self-reflective inquiry to construct a…

Developing Interdisciplinary Skills and Professional Confidence in Palliative Care Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Supiano, Katherine P.; Berry, Patricia H.

2013-01-01

Research suggests that better educational preparation is necessary to assure that health care social workers have the competencies essential for high quality interdisciplinary palliative care practice. This study is a qualitative evaluation of those elements contributing to competence and confidence in interdisciplinary practice skills of second…

Public health and social work: training dual professionals for the contemporary workplace.

PubMed

Ruth, Betty J; Sisco, Sarah; Wyatt, Jamie; Bethke, Christina; Bachman, Sara S; Piper, Tinka Markham

2008-01-01

The emergence of new, complex social health concerns demands that the public health field strengthen its capacity to respond. Academic institutions are vital to improving the public health infrastructure. Collaborative and transdisciplinary practice competencies are increasingly viewed as key components of public health training. The social work profession, with its longstanding involvement in public health and emphasis on ecological approaches, has been a partner in many transdisciplinary community-based efforts. The more than 20 dual-degree programs in public health and social work currently offered reflect this collaborative history. This study represents an exploratory effort to evaluate the impact of these programs on the fields of public health and social work. This study explored motivations, perspectives, and experiences of 41 graduates from four master of social work/master of public health (MSW/ MPH) programs. Four focus groups were conducted using traditional qualitative methods during 2004. Findings suggest that MSW/MPH alumni self-selected into dual programs because of their interest in the missions, ethics, and practices of both professions. Participants highlighted the challenges and opportunities of dual professionalism, including the struggle to better define public health social work in the workplace. Implications for academic public health focus on how schools can improve MSW/MPH programs to promote transdisciplinary collaboration. Increased recognition, better coordination, and greater emphasis on marketing to prospective employers were suggested. A national evaluation of MSW/MPH graduates could strengthen the roles and contributions of public health social work to the public health infrastructure. A conceptual framework, potentially based on developmental theory, could guide this evaluation of the MSW/MPH training experience.

Causality and Causal Inference in Social Work: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives

PubMed Central

Palinkas, Lawrence A.

2015-01-01

Achieving the goals of social work requires matching a specific solution to a specific problem. Understanding why the problem exists and why the solution should work requires a consideration of cause and effect. However, it is unclear whether it is desirable for social workers to identify cause and effect, whether it is possible for social workers to identify cause and effect, and, if so, what is the best means for doing so. These questions are central to determining the possibility of developing a science of social work and how we go about doing it. This article has four aims: (1) provide an overview of the nature of causality; (2) examine how causality is treated in social work research and practice; (3) highlight the role of quantitative and qualitative methods in the search for causality; and (4) demonstrate how both methods can be employed to support a “science” of social work. PMID:25821393

Creating a professional development platform to transform social work clinical practice in health care.

PubMed

Xenakis, Nancy

2018-07-01

Since U.S. Congress' 2010 passing of the Affordable Care Act and the creation of numerous care coordination programs, Mount Sinai Hospital's Department of Social Work Services has experienced exponential growth. The Department is deeply committed to recruiting and developing the most talented social workers to best meet the needs of patients and family caregivers and to serve as integral, valued members of interdisciplinary care teams. Traditional learning methods are insufficient for a staff of hundreds, given the changes in health care and the complexity of the work. This necessitates the use of new training and education methods to maintain the quality of professional development. This article provides an overview of the Department's strategy and creation of a professional development learning platform to transform clinical social work practice. It reviews various education models that utilize an e-learning management system and case studies using standardized patients. These models demonstrate innovative learning approaches for both new and experienced social workers in health care. The platform's successes and challenges and recommendations for future development and sustainability are outlined.

Advancing Social Work Education for Health Impact.

PubMed

Browne, Teri; Keefe, Robert H; Ruth, Betty J; Cox, Harold; Maramaldi, Peter; Rishel, Carrie; Rountree, Michele; Zlotnik, Joan; Marshall, Jamie

2017-12-01

Social work education plays a critical role in preparing social workers to lead efforts that improve health. Because of the dynamic health care landscape, schools of social work must educate students to facilitate health care system improvements, enhance population health, and reduce medical costs. We reviewed the existing contributions of social work education and provided recommendations for improving the education of social workers in 6 key areas: aging, behavioral health, community health, global health, health reform, and health policy. We argue for systemic improvement in the curriculum at every level of education, including substantive increases in content in health, health care, health care ethics, and evaluating practice outcomes in health settings. Schools of social work can further increase the impact of the profession by enhancing the curricular focus on broad content areas such as prevention, health equity, population and community health, and health advocacy.

Entrance and Exit Requirements of Professional Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duehn, Wayne D.; Mayadas, Nazneen Sada

1977-01-01

A competency-based direct practice curriculum for graduate social work education is described based on: (1) interpersonal behavioral control; (2) judgment and decision making; (3) contracting and goal setting; (4) selection and application of change method; and (5) assessment of outcomes. (Author/LBH)

Response: Hermeneutics and Accountable Practice--Lessons from the History of Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorenz, Walter

2012-01-01

Central to this article are two concerns: It seeks to demonstrate that social work theories and methods always need to be evaluated with reference to the social policy context in which they operate and in which they might assume unintended functions. It further proposes that the dominance of a positivist epistemology in the current surge for…

The Role of an Intermediary Organization in Promoting Research in Schools of Social Work: The Case of the Bay Area Social Services Consortium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anthony, Elizabeth K.; Austin, Michael J.

2008-01-01

The multifaceted role of research in social work education and practice requires innovation to respond to the broader mission of the university and the needs of the community. Building research capacity and supporting infrastructure for research thus demands new approaches to effective collaboration between stakeholders. Intermediary organizations…

Teaching Direct Practice Techniques for Work with Elders with Alzheimer's Disease: A Simulated Group Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kane, Michael N.

2003-01-01

A role-play exercise about Alzheimer's disease was designed to teach group work with memory-impaired elders. Written comments from 26 social work students revealed four outcomes: demystifying practical knowledge, respect for diversity among memory-impaired individuals, increased awareness of elders' internal states, and awareness of the challenges…

Chapter 11: Civic Youth Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roholt, Ross VeLure; Hildreth, R. W.; Baizerman, Michael

2007-01-01

We propose civic youth work as a new craft orientation in the family of child and youth care, education, social work, recreation and other relevant semi-to-full professions. We envision this practice as based in the philosophies and practical sciences of pedagogy, politics, and human development. The ideal-type civic youth worker will have a…

Learning Academic Work Practices in Discipline, Department and University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zukas, Miriam; Malcolm, Janice

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the everyday practices of academic work in social science to understand better academics' learning. It also asks how academic work is enacted in relation to the discipline, department and university, taking temporality as its starting point. Design/methodology/approach: The study sought to trace academic…

Social Class and Work-Related Decisions: Measurement, Theory, and Social Mobility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fouad, Nadya A.; Fitzpatrick, Mary E.

2009-01-01

In this reaction to Diemer and Ali's article, "Integrating Social Class Into Vocational Psychology: Theory and Practice Implications," the authors point out concerns with binary schema of social class, highlight the contribution of social class to the social cognitive career theory, argue for a more nuanced look at ways that work…

Scholars and Social Media: Tweeting in the Conference Backchannel for Professional Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jiahang; Greenhow, Christine

2015-01-01

Social media are fundamentally changing core practices in various industries. Although surveys indicate that social media are impacting social scientists, we know little about how education scholars, specifically, use social media for their work or professional learning. This article explores how educational scholars incorporated the social media,…

Social work and adverse childhood experiences research: implications for practice and health policy.

PubMed

Larkin, Heather; Felitti, Vincent J; Anda, Robert F

2014-01-01

Medical research on "adverse childhood experiences" (ACEs) reveals a compelling relationship between the extent of childhood adversity, adult health risk behaviors, and principal causes of death in the United States. This article provides a selective review of the ACE Study and related social science research to describe how effective social work practice that prevents ACEs and mobilizes resilience and recovery from childhood adversity could support the achievement of national health policy goals. This article applies a biopsychosocial perspective, with an emphasis on mind-body coping processes to demonstrate that social work responses to adverse childhood experiences may contribute to improvement in overall health. Consistent with this framework, the article sets forth prevention and intervention response strategies with individuals, families, communities, and the larger society. Economic research on human capital development is reviewed that suggests significant cost savings may result from effective implementation of these strategies.

Engineering as a Social Activity: Preparing Engineers to Thrive in the Changing World of Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joyner, Fredricka F.; Mann, Derek T. Y.; Harris, Todd

2012-01-01

Key macro-trends are combining to create a new work context for the practice of engineering. Telecommuting and virtual teams create myriad possibilities and challenges related to managing work and workers. Social network technology tools allow for unprecedented global, 24/7 collaboration. Globalization has created hyper-diverse organizations,…

"A Powerful Tool": A Phenomenological Study of School Counselors' Experiences with Social Stories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman-Scott, Emily; Carlisle, Robert; Clark, Madeline; Burgess, Melanie

2017-01-01

Social stories are an evidence-based practice used to address students' social skills. Current literature primarily addresses special education teachers' use of social stories when working with youth with autism spectrum disorder. Although school counselors meet students' social/emotional needs, little research exists documenting their experiences…

Spirituality and Religion among the General Public: Implications for Social Work Discourse.

PubMed

Hodge, David R

2015-07-01

Conceptualizations play a central role in social work discourse, shaping actions in the areas of practice, research, and education. Although many formulations of spirituality and religion have been advanced by social work scholars, the views of members of the general public have been largely absent from the professional conversation. The present article adds to the profession's evolving discussion on spirituality and religion by describing common understandings of spirituality and religion among the general population and by discussing the implication of these views for social work discourse on spirituality and religion. By understanding common views among the public, the social work profession is better positioned to provide ethical and professional services that respect clients' spiritual beliefs and values.

Data Mining for Social Work Students: Teaching Practice-Based Research in Conjunction with a Field Work Placement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auslander, Gail K.; Rosenne, Hadas

2016-01-01

Although research studies are important for social work students, the students rarely like research classes or see their value. At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one group of BSW students was encouraged to carry out the required research in their field work setting, the Hadassah University Medical Center. Students used data mining, that is,…

The case for workforce development in social marketing.

PubMed

Pounds, Lea

2016-01-01

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, and the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice have emphasized the increasing need to train the public health workforce in social marketing. With only 21 U.S. academic institutions offering course work in social marketing and only four institutions offering degrees in social marketing there is a gap between what academic institutions are offering and these recommendations (Kelly, 2013 ). The successful application of social marketing in public health practice relies on academic institutions creating and promoting social marketing-related programs.

Preparing Social Work Students for Interprofessional Practice in Geriatric Health Care: Insights from Two Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonifas, Robin P.; Gray, Amanda K.

2013-01-01

Although several interprofessional education projects have addressed training allied health students for effective teamwork in geriatrics, few curriculum evaluation studies have examined differences in learning outcomes between interprofessional and traditional uniprofessional approaches, especially for social work students. This paper compares…

School Social Work Worldwide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huxtable, Marion, Ed.; Blyth, Eric, Ed.

This book, with sequentially arranged chapters, allow practitioners, educators, and students to follow the expansion of school social work practice around the world. Leaders in the field from 12 countries provide eye-opening perspectives and interventions, selected for their range and application. Additionally, the book looks ahead to policy and…

Gender and Social Work Education: Directions for the 1990s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tice, Karen

1990-01-01

To move beyond the incomplete curricular reform that characterized compliance with Council on Social Work Education curriculum policy standards on women, it is proposed that a gender-inclusive curriculum be developed, including changes in the knowledge base, teaching strategies, and departmental practices. (Author/MSE)

Care managers' time use: differences between community mental health and older people's services in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Jacobs, Sally; Hughes, Jane; Challis, David; Stewart, Karen; Weiner, Kate

2006-01-01

Since the community care reforms of the early 1990s, care management in the United Kingdom has become the usual means of arranging services for even the most straightforward of social care needs. This paper presents data from a diary study of care managers' time use, from a sample of social services commissioning organizations representing the most common forms of care management practiced in England at the end of the 20th century. It compares the working practices of care managers in community mental health service settings to the practices of those situated in older people's services. Evidence is provided to suggest that while the former follow a more clinical model of care management, those working with older people take an almost exclusively administrative approach to their work. In addition, the multidisciplinary nature of mental health service teams appears to facilitate a more integrated health and social care approach to care management compared to the approach to older people's services. Further enquiry is needed as to the comparative effectiveness of these different modes of working in each service setting.

Social media and nursing practice: changing the balance between the social and technical aspects of work.

PubMed

Casella, Evan; Mills, Jane; Usher, Kim

2014-01-01

Modern communication methods are drastically changing the way people interact with each other. Professions such as nursing need to evolve to remain relevant as social infrastructure changes. In the 1960s, researchers developed a sociotechnical theory that stated workers were more motivated and productive if there was a good balance between the social and technical aspects of their work. Today's technology is blurring the boundaries between the social and the technical thereby transforming human contact and communication into a multi-method process. In Australia, people are adept at utilising social media technology to become more efficient, creative and connected; Australian nurses also need to embrace changing technology to capitalise on the professional opportunities offered by social media. This paper imagines a world where nurses integrate social media into assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing and evaluating care. Discussion draws on a combination of real-world examples of best-practice and blue-sky thinking to demonstrate that evidence-based care must be combined with the adoption of future-forward technology.

Social Justice Literacies in the English Classroom: Teaching Practice in Action. Language and Literacy Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyd, Ashley S.

2017-01-01

This timely book focuses on different social justice pedagogies and how they can work within standards and district mandates in a variety of English language arts classrooms. With detailed analysis and authentic classroom vignettes, the author explores how teachers cultivate relationships for equity, utilize transformative language practices,…

Toward a Social Practice Perspective on the Work of Reading Inscriptions in Science Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pozzer-Ardenghi, Lilian; Roth, Wolff-Michael

2010-01-01

In the social studies of science, visuals and graphical representations are theorized by means of the concept of inscription, a term that denotes all representations other than text inscribed in some medium including graphs, tables, photographs, and equations. Inscriptions constitute an intrinsic and integral part of scientific practice; their…

Empowering African American Women Informal Caregivers: A Literature Synthesis and Practice Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chadiha, Letha A.; Adams, Portia; Biegel, David E.; Auslander, Wendy; Gutierrez, Lorraine

2004-01-01

Through a synthesis of literature on caregiving, empowerment, social inequalities, and racial disparities in health and income, the authors built an argument for African American women caregivers' vulnerability to powerlessness and the applicability of an empowerment approach to social work practice with these caregivers. The article discusses two…

Investigating the Role of Instructional Rounds in the Development of Social Networks and District-Wide Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatch, Thomas; Hill, Kathryn; Roegman, Rachel

2016-01-01

In this article, we explore how organizational routines involving instructional rounds--collective, structured observations and reflections on classroom practice--might contribute to the development of social networks among administrators and support a common, district-wide focus on instruction. Building on work on communities of practice, we…

Transforming the Social Practices of Learning with Representations: A Study of Disciplinary Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nichols, Kim; Hanan, Jim; Ranasinghe, Muditha

2013-01-01

This study used an interactive dynamic simulation of action potential to explore social practices of learning among first year undergraduate biology students. It aimed to create a learning environment that fosters knowledge building discourse through working with multiple concept-specific representations. Three hundred and eighty-nine students and…

Say Who You Are, Play Who You Are: Improvisation, Pedagogy, and Youth on the Margins

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willox, Ashlee Cunsolo; Heble, Ajay; Jackson, Rob; Walker, Melissa; Waterman, Ellen

2011-01-01

This paper presents a research that emerges from a set of community-based outreach activities associated with a large-scale, interdisciplinary project, Improvisation, Community, and Social Practice (ICASP), which focuses on the social and pedagogical implications of improvised musical practices. Working from the premise that musical improvisation…

Bourdieu's theory of practice and its potential in nursing research.

PubMed

Rhynas, Sarah J

2005-04-01

This paper seeks to consider the utility of Bourdieu's "Theory of Practice" in nursing, and considers specifically its use as a framework for research exploring nurses' conceptualizations of illness and the patients in their care. Bourdieu's work uses the concepts of field, capital and habitus to explain interactions within the social world. This paper describes these concepts and their relationship with nursing is discussed using dementia care as an example. The work of French scholar Pierre Bourdieu has contributed to debates throughout the social sciences, but has had relatively little attention in the nursing literature. Pierre Bourdieu's work developed against a backdrop of change in the academic world. The emergence of the social sciences and the debate around objective and subjective styles of research were influential in the development of his "Theory of Practice". The importance of the conceptualization process is discussed, and the considerable potential influence of conceptualization on patient care is highlighted. Reflexivity is a cornerstone of Bourdieu's work, and is an important feature of nursing research. Examples of health care research using his work as a framework are discussed, and some of the challenges of the approach are outlined. The use of Bourdieu's "Theory of Practice" as a research framework could allow nurse researchers to explore the interactions of nurses with the structures, agents and symbols of illness within the field of care. This work could enhance understanding of how nurses view and react to patients in their care, and promote the development of practice innovations and policy change. The theory may, therefore, have much to offer future nursing research.

Advancing Social Work Education for Health Impact

PubMed Central

Keefe, Robert H.; Ruth, Betty J.; Cox, Harold; Maramaldi, Peter; Rishel, Carrie; Rountree, Michele; Zlotnik, Joan; Marshall, Jamie

2017-01-01

Social work education plays a critical role in preparing social workers to lead efforts that improve health. Because of the dynamic health care landscape, schools of social work must educate students to facilitate health care system improvements, enhance population health, and reduce medical costs. We reviewed the existing contributions of social work education and provided recommendations for improving the education of social workers in 6 key areas: aging, behavioral health, community health, global health, health reform, and health policy. We argue for systemic improvement in the curriculum at every level of education, including substantive increases in content in health, health care, health care ethics, and evaluating practice outcomes in health settings. Schools of social work can further increase the impact of the profession by enhancing the curricular focus on broad content areas such as prevention, health equity, population and community health, and health advocacy. PMID:29236540

Career paths and contributions of four cohorts of IV-E funded MSW child welfare graduates.

PubMed

Robin, Sandra C; Hollister, C David

2002-01-01

For the last decade the federal government has provided financial support through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to schools of social work to provide professional education in child welfare. This study looks at the first four cohorts of graduates who received IV-E funding from one school of social work. Data on MSW graduates from 1993-1996 (N = 73), as well as survey responses (N = 32), were analyzed to ascertain dimensions of their career development in, and contributions to, child welfare social work. Results indicate that the vast majority of graduates funded by IV-E dollars became employed in and stayed in child welfare focused social work, with a strong percentage in public child welfare services, and that these social work-educated social workers are actively involved in shaping the practice, policies and administration of child welfare services.

Feedback informed treatment: evidence-based practice meets social construction.

PubMed

Tilsen, Julie; McNamee, Sheila

2015-03-01

This article explores the challenges presented by the mandate for evidence-based practice for family therapists who identify with the philosophical stance of social construction. The history of psychotherapy outcome research is reviewed, as are current findings that provide empirical evidence for an engaged, dialogic practice. The authors suggest that the binary between empiricism and social construction may be unhinged by understanding empiricism as a particular discursive frame (i.e., a particular way of talking, acting, and being in the world), one of many available as a way of understanding and talking about our work. Through a case vignette, the authors introduce the evidence-based practice of Feedback Informed Treatment as an elaboration of social construction, and as an example of bridging the gap between the discursive frames of empiricism and social construction. © 2014 Family Process Institute.

Navigating the Social Media Learning Curve

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pikalek, Amy J.

2010-01-01

In recent years, terms such as "social media" and "social networking" have become staples in the university continuing education marketer's vocabulary. This article provides both a working knowledge of the social media landscape and practical applications of the concepts using a case study approach from a Midwestern university.…

Testing Times: Careers Market Policies and Practices in England and the Netherlands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Deirdre; Meijers, Frans; Kuijpers, Marinka

2015-01-01

Careers work is a very political business. Since the early 1990s, successive governments in England and the Netherlands have persistently challenged those working in the careers sector to demonstrate the educational, social and economic value and impact of their work. In this context, the marketisation of career guidance policies and practices has…

Youth Work Transitions: A Review with Implications for Counselling and Career Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parada, Filomena; Young, Richard A.

2013-01-01

We critically review studies highlighting youth's work transitions and derive some implications for career and counselling theory and practice. We first discuss today's hypermodern world, specifically the meanings being conveyed by today's complex social realities and their impact on individuals' (work) lives. An overview of…

Needs Assessments: An Integrated Assignment in Civic Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norris, Debra S.; Schwartz, Charles L.

2009-01-01

An undergraduate social work program developed a service-learning experience in partnership with a local United Way organization to complete a community needs assessment project. The experience integrated the curricula of a social work research methods course and a generalist-macro practice course with the principles and actions of experiential…

Information Poverty and the Latino Community: Implications for Social Work Practice and Social Work Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNutt, John G.; Queiro-Tajalli, Irene; Boland, Katherine M.; Campbell, Craig

2001-01-01

Education level, computer ownership, and technology and information access determine one's status in the new information economy. Interventions such as community computer networks, telecommuting centers, grassroots electronic commerce, and volunteer technology corps can help Latinos and other marginalized groups overcome continued disadvantage.…

Social Work with Religious Volunteers: Activating and Sustaining Community Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garland, Diana R.; Myers, Dennis M.; Wolfer, Terry A.

2008-01-01

Social workers in diverse community practice settings recruit and work with volunteers from religious congregations. This article reports findings from two surveys: 7,405 congregants in 35 Protestant congregations, including 2,570 who were actively volunteering, and a follow-up survey of 946 volunteers. It compares characteristics of congregation…

Teacher Identity Work in Mathematics Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neumayer-Depiper, Jill

2013-01-01

Becoming a teacher is not developing an identity, but is developing identity as a continuous process of constructing and deconstructing understandings within the complexities of social practice, beliefs, experiences, and social norms. I take up this stance on identity as articulated in Judith Butler's (1999) work with gender identity and…

Empathy in Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eriksson, Karl; Englander, Magnus

2017-01-01

A dominant conceptualization of empathy in social work practice and education, provided by Karen Gerdes and Elizabeth Segal, relies heavily on the simulation theory adopted directly from the cognitive neurosciences. The aim was to critically challenge such a view by reporting on some recent empirical findings from the field in which professional…

Working Together? Partnership Approaches to 14-19 Education in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higham, Jeremy; Yeomans, David

2010-01-01

Partnership working between institutions and organisations is currently commonly seen as providing solutions to meeting multiple, interrelated needs in areas of social policy including health, social welfare and education. This article examines and discusses the policy and practice of such collaboration in an educational context. Drawing on…

Evidence-Based Clearinghouses in Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soydan, Haluk; Mullen, Edward J.; Alexandra, Laine; Rehnman, Jenny; Li, You-Ping

2010-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to describe several evidence-based clearinghouses focused on social work and related intervention outcomes, placing them in the context of how such clearinghouses can contribute to research dissemination to foster effective, evidence-based practice. Method: The study employed an analysis of data provided…

Community-Based Participatory Study Abroad: A Proposed Model for Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Colleen M.; Grettenberger, Susan E.

2015-01-01

Study abroad experiences offer important benefits for social work students and faculty, including global awareness, practice skill development, and enhanced multicultural competence. Short-term study abroad programs are most feasible but typically lack depth of engagement with host communities and may perpetuate existing systems of power and…

Integrating a Transcultural Perspective into the Social Work Curriculum: A Descriptive and Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drabble, Laurie; Sen, Soma; Oppenheimer, Sergio Yomar

2012-01-01

This paper describes a transcultural perspective, employed by one social work program, as an integrative framework for addressing diversity throughout the curriculum. The transcultural perspective incorporates five interrelated but distinct dimensions: (1) culture (recognizing the importance of culture at all levels of practice); (2) understanding…

Practice Evaluation Strategies Among Social Workers: Why an Evidence-Informed Dual-Process Theory Still Matters.

PubMed

Davis, Thomas D

2017-01-01

Practice evaluation strategies range in style from the formal-analytic tools of single-subject designs, rapid assessment instruments, algorithmic steps in evidence-informed practice, and computer software applications, to the informal-interactive tools of clinical supervision, consultation with colleagues, use of client feedback, and clinical experience. The purpose of this article is to provide practice researchers in social work with an evidence-informed theory that is capable of explaining both how and why social workers use practice evaluation strategies to self-monitor the effectiveness of their interventions in terms of client change. The author delineates the theoretical contours and consequences of what is called dual-process theory. Drawing on evidence-informed advances in the cognitive and social neurosciences, the author identifies among everyday social workers a theoretically stable, informal-interactive tool preference that is a cognitively necessary, sufficient, and stand-alone preference that requires neither the supplementation nor balance of formal-analytic tools. The author's delineation of dual-process theory represents a theoretical contribution in the century-old attempt to understand how and why social workers evaluate their practice the way they do.

Social Work Students and Self-Care: A Model Assignment for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Sharon E.; Bledsoe, Linda K.; Perry, Armon R.; Robinson, Michael A.

2011-01-01

The literature reveals scant research on self-care practices among social work students; yet self-care is vital as students prepare to be practitioners who are not only effective in working with all aspects of the clients' total selves, but who are themselves healthy. They are not prepared to be good practitioners unless they have first learned to…

Federalism and social justice: implications for social work.

PubMed

Linhorst, Donald M

2002-07-01

Federalism is a system of government that divides power between two or more levels of government. During the current conservative political climate in the United States, power has shifted increasingly from the federal government to states, a move that has implications for the achievement of social justice. Consequently, it is now necessary for social workers to engage in political activity at the state and local levels, in addition to the federal level, to promote social justice. Implications for social work policy practice, research, and education for advancing social justice within the federal system of government are explored.

Values and religiosity as predictors of engagement in social justice.

PubMed

Torres-Harding, Susan R; Carollo, Olivia; Schamberger, Antú; Clifton-Soderstrom, Karl

2013-01-01

Some researchers have suggested that values, including religious values and motivations, might facilitate social justice work. Individuals might view social justice work as an expression of religious beliefs, values, and practices, or as an expression of their personal morals and values. The current study examined the role of religious variables and secular values to predict attitudes, intentions to engage in social justice, perceived norms around social justice, and perceived ability to engage in social justice within a culturally and religiously diverse student population. Implications of the study results for social justice education are presented and discussed.

Drinking and working in a cantina: misrecognition and the threat of stigma.

PubMed

Fernández-Esquer, Maria Eugenia; Agoff, Maria Carolina

2012-01-01

Poor women are often compelled to accept jobs that jeopardise their health and their social reputations. Cantineras are recently immigrated Latinas employed in working-class Latino bars (cantinas) where they are hired as waitresses to earn sales commissions from beer purchased for them by male clients seeking female companionship. Narratives solicited from 31 cantineras revealed the work subculture of local cantinas, where drinking is a primary work obligation and where men expect sexual favours as a quid pro quo for beers they buy. This paper describes strategies that cantineras adopt to downplay their drinking and to disguise sex-trading practices. This distortion or 'misrecognition' of work-related practices functions to manage cantineras' fear of being stigmatised as workers and devalued as individuals. We argue that misrecognition in this context represents more than simple attempts at denial or to uphold a public image. Rather, it is a strategy employed by cantineras in order to function adaptively under oppressive work circumstances. Confronting stigma leads cantineras to adopt social and cognitive strategies that, while minimising social damage in the near term, can lead to devastating health and social consequences over time.

Community's Discontent: The Ideology of the "Volk" Community in National Socialism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sunker, Heinz

2006-01-01

National Socialism, the German type of fascism, is analysed in this article with respect to the question of its ideological foundations, the ideology of the "Volk" community, and its consequences for a relevant type of social practice, "Volk" welfare. Under National Socialism the form of state social work intervention was…

Everyone's business: developing an integrated model of care to respond to child abuse in a pediatric hospital setting.

PubMed

Connolly, Sarah

2012-01-01

In pediatric hospitals, social work plays a central role in the prevention, identification, and management of child abuse. Children who are suspected of having been abused or neglected require an evaluation of their psychosocial situation. As an integral member of the health care team, the social worker is well placed to undertake comprehensive psychosocial assessments including information on the child's development, parental capacity, family, and community supports. Current practice approaches have seen a shift away from a narrow, "expert" approach to child protection. This article describes the development of an integrated model of social work service delivery to better respond to vulnerable and at-risk children in a pediatric hospital setting. Developing a new model of service required strategic planning, consultation, and endorsement from senior hospital management. The new model aimed to ensure a high quality, responsive social work service to children at risk of physical abuse, neglect, or cumulative harm. The change necessitated understanding of current research evidence, development of best practice guidelines, and effective communication with staff and external stakeholders. Policy development, implementation of practice guidelines, staff training, data collection, and service evaluation are described. The role of social work management and leadership were central in creating change. Visionary leadership is widely regarded as key to successful organizational change. The management approach included consultation with staff, building commitment to the need for change, addressing staff concerns, and providing a vision of enhanced client outcomes as a result of the change process. This article provides a candid overview of challenges and barriers to change. Change strategies described are easily transferable to other social work settings. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Working memory capacity in generalized social phobia.

PubMed

Amir, Nader; Bomyea, Jessica

2011-05-01

Research suggests that understanding complex social cues depends on the availability of cognitive resources (e.g., Phillips, Channon, Tunstall, Hedenstrom, & Lyons, 2008). In spite of evidence suggesting that executive control functioning may impact anxiety (e.g., Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007), relatively few studies have examined working memory in individuals with generalized social phobia. Moreover, few studies have examined the role of threat-relevant content in working memory performance in clinically anxious populations. To this end, the present study assessed working memory capacity (WMC) in individuals with generalized social phobia and nonanxious controls using an operation span task with threat-relevant and neutral stimuli. Results revealed that nonanxious individuals demonstrated better WMC than individuals with generalized social phobia for neutral words but not for social threat words. Individuals with generalized social phobia demonstrated better WMC performance for threat words relative to neutral words. These results suggest that individuals with generalized social phobia may have relatively enhanced working memory performance for salient, socially relevant information. This enhanced working memory capacity for threat-relevant information may be the result of practice with this information in generalized social phobia.

Substance use disorder in the context of LGBT health: a social work perspective.

PubMed

Silvestre, Anthony; Beatty, Rodger L; Friedman, M Reuel

2013-01-01

The impacts of public and private funding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health research, the state of integration of LGBT health issues into the academic and professional training programs of health care practitioners, and the larger social reality experienced by LGBT people profoundly affect substance use and substance use disorders in those populations. This analysis uses a social work perspective and considers the current state of research, professional training, and social oppression as they affect the health of LGBT people. Suggestions for action are offered that may improve the health of LGBT peoples and the practice of social work.

Using social media to enhance career development opportunities for health promotion professionals.

PubMed

Roman, Leah A

2014-07-01

For health promotion professionals, social media offers many ways to engage with a broader range of colleagues; participate in professional development events; promote expertise, products, or services; and learn about career-enhancing opportunities such as funding and fellowships. Previous work has recommended "building networking into what you are already doing." This article provides updated and new social media resources, as well as practical examples and strategies to promote effective use of social media. Social media offers health promotion professionals cost-effective opportunities to enhance their career by building communities of practice, participating in professional development events, and enriching classroom learning. Developing the skills necessary to use social media for networking is important in the public health workforce, especially as social media is increasingly used in academic and practice settings. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.