Marion Laging

Alkohol, Alkoholkonsum und Alkoholprobleme

Das Trinken von Alkohol ist zumindest in westlichen Landern mit einer christlichen kulturellen Tradition in das Alltagsleben der meisten Menschen integriert. So wird der Alkohol haufig als ein Genussmittel angesehen und nicht im Kontext des Konsums einer Droge thematisiert. Dieses gilt selbst dann, wenn der Alkohol dazu benutzt wird, einen Rauschzustand hervorzurufen.

Service user involvement in social work education: experiences from Germany and implications for a European perspective

ABSTRACT Service user involvement (SUI) in social work education has gained widespread attention in Europe and other continents. Nevertheless, experiences on including service users in social work education have not been reported from Germany or other German-speaking countries to date. This paper reports preliminary experiences with implementing SUI in a bachelor’s programme of social work in a German University of Applied Sciences. The main goals of the current paper are (1) to provide a background for implementing service user approaches in Germany by introducing the structure of social work education in Germany; (2) to report experiences from a weekend seminar where service users worked together with students of social work in the framework of a curriculum of a German University of Applied Sciences and (3) to formulate some implications of these experiences for SUI across Europe. The main results were that introducing service user involvement into a German curriculum of social work is possible but needs careful reflection and planning. Experiences gathered in the weekend seminar with service users were encouraging for service users, students and teachers. We conclude that systematically implementing SUI into German curricula of social work is important.

Promoting international issues in social work education: a German case analyzed*

ABSTRACT International dimensions in social work have until now been relatively poorly represented in social work education in Germany. This contribution starts with a description of historical developments in social work education in Germany with respect to international dimensions. Following this, current discourses in international social work are briefly sketched, partly to point out the significance and range of international dimensions for the development of the discipline and the profession of social work, and partly to give an outline of the relevant discourses which need to be addressed in social work education. Against this background, this contribution describes the programme ‘Study Path INTERNATIONAL’ carried out at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Germany, which had the aim of driving forward internationalization in social work education by means of a specific incentive system. The concept and experiences gained are analyzed with the help of Midgley’s definition of international social work education and Healy’s model of the ‘Continuums of Internationalization’, to ascertain in which dimensions and to what extent these aims could be realized. Recommendations for further developments are made.