Dora M. Y. Tam

Professional Suitability for Social Work Practice A Factor Analysis

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the underlying dimensions of professional suitability. Method: Data were collected from a province-wide mail-out questionnaire surveying 341 participants from a random sample of registered social workers. Results: The use of an exploratory factor analysis identified a 5-factor solution on professional suitability: social consciousness suitability, ethical suitability, practice suitability, and personal suitability, and distractors. This factor solution accounted for 47.4% of variance and achieved strong internal consistency with an overall Cronbach’s α value of .89, and subscales values ranged between .89 and .72. Conclusion: The identified underlying dimensions of professional suitability provide groundwork for the development of a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing performance of social work students and/or practicing social workers.

Social work interventions on intimate partner violence against women in China

Summary Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) affects approximately one-fifth of women during their lifetime in China. However, limited studies have been conducted in China among women and service providers on IPV. The study reported in this article used an Ecological Model and the Capabilities Perspective integrated with the Advocacy Intervention Model as the theoretical framework for guiding the research and data analysis. This study was part of a participatory project to develop appropriate social work interventions in Guangzhou, China. Findings Twenty-one women who experienced IPV and 30 service providers were interviewed for their views on barriers to help-seeking processes, needs and concerns of this population, and recommendations for any changes. The results of this study clearly suggest that gender inequality is the root cause of IPV against women and prevents women from leaving a violent relationship. Applications The results suggest a number of needed changes at micro, meso, exo, and macro levels and the ways in which social workers can act as advocates for the changes in the context of Guangzhou.

Comparing criminal justice responses to violence against women in Canada and China

Canada and China are two very different countries in terms of their socio-economic and political contexts; however, neither country is immune to the social problem of violence against women. This paper compares the criminal justice responses to violence against women in Canada and China in order to explore the pathway of responses to violence against women in different cultural contexts, and discusses the implications for addressing violence against women on an international horizon.

The Intersection of Gender and Other Social Institutions in Constructing Gender-Based Violence in Guangzhou China

Although violence against women is illegal in China, few studies have been published concerning this issue in that country. This article is part of a program of research undertaken in one province of China. The purpose of this study was to understand, from the perspectives of women who have experienced gender-based violence (GBV), the intersections of gender and other social institutions in constructing GBV in Guangzhou, China. The research question was as follows: For women who have been unfortunate enough to be with a partner who is willing to use abuse, how is gender revealed in their discussion of the experience? Women participants (N = 13) were all over the age of 21, had experienced some form of abuse in an intimate relationship, and had lived in Guangzhou at least for a year prior to data collection. They had a variety of backgrounds and experiences. The majority spoke of GBV as common. “Saving face” was connected to fear of being judged and socially stigmatized which had emotional as well as material consequences. Eight situations in which social stigma existed and caused women to lose face were identified. Gender role expectations and gendered institutions played a part in family relationships and the amount of support a woman could expect or would ask for. The women in this study received very little support from systems in their society. A high proportion (67%) revealed symptoms of mental strain, and three talked about having depression or being suicidal. The results are discussed in terms of identifying the mechanisms by which systems interlock and perpetuate GBV.

Racial Minority Women and Criminal Justice Responses to Domestic Violence

Racialized minority women’s experiences with Canadian specialized criminal justice responses to domestic violence have seldom been documented. Informed by an intersectionality framework, this qualitative study presents the struggles of 14 racial minority women from three Canadian cities and their experiences with the police and criminal court’s response to their partner’s acts of domestic violence. The results focus on how well specialized criminal justice responses address the needs of these women and protect them from further violence. Factors that facilitate or deter these women from approaching the criminal justice system for help are highlighted. The implications of these women’s narratives for criminal justice responses to domestic violence are discussed.

Validation Study of a Gatekeeping Attitude Index for Social Work Education

This article reports on a study designed to validate the Gatekeeping Attitude Index, a 14-item Likert scaling index. The authors collected data from a convenience sample of social work field instructors (N = 188) with a response rate of 74.0%. Construct validation by exploratory factor analysis identified a 2-factor solution on the index after four ambiguous items were eliminated. The 2-factor solution achieved modest construct validity with a mean factor-total correlation Pearsons r of .63 (p ≤ .05). Computed Cronbachs alpha was .74. Subscale internal consistency reliability coefficients ranged between .71 and .62. Modification of the Gatekeeping Attitude Index is recommended.

Rethinking the Role of Municipal Governments on Redistribution in Ontario, Canada

Welfare assistance is the responsibility of provincial governments in Canada; nonetheless, municipal government has traditionally had more flexibility in administrating the welfare assistance program at the local level. This article argues that such flexibility should be encouraged and legitimatized legally in order to help alleviating the national poverty problem in local context.

Delinquency of Asian Youth in Canada

The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to review the literature on delinquency of Asian youth in North America, and (2) to identify the areas for future research with respect to Asian delinquency in Canada.

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

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, confirmatory factor analysis using maximum likelihood estimation was performed on 285 cases. Results: A 22-item four-factor model achieved an acceptable good fit. Reliability testing results indicate an overall Cronbach’s α valued at .90 and subscale αs ranged between .75 and .89. Conclusion: Findings affirm good-to-excellent internal consistency of the Professional Suitability scale with two previous studies and provide acceptable results on construct validity.

Challenges Faced by Canadian Social Work Field Instructors in Baccalaureate Field Supervision

ABSTRACT This article examines the challenges faced by social work field instructors in two Canadian provinces. The results are based on the responses from 239 field instructors to a questionnaire survey. Findings highlight student difficulties, administrative issues with the social work schools, and practicum setting challenges. These demands hinder the optimal implementation of social work field education, reveal the concerning gatekeeping role of schools of social work, and discourage some social workers from taking on (or continuing) as field instructors. Implications for social work student placements, supervision of students, academic programs, and directions for future research are presented.