Steven Shardlow

Practice learning and teaching

Preface Acknowledgements PART 1: CONTEXTS Beginnings... The Context of Practice Learning: The Recognition and Celebration of Difference PART 2: A MODEL FOR PRACTICE LEARNING Theories and Models of Practice Learning Understanding Learning Using a Curriculum for Practice Learning Methods of Learning Examining Practice Competence Difficulties with Learning: What Can Go Wrong? ...Endings References Name Index Subject Index

Measuring the quality of peer-reviewed publications in social work: Impact factors - liberation or liability?

Systems for measuring the quality of publications in peer-reviewed academic journals have achieved importance in the ‘audit culture’ to which academia worldwide has become increasingly subjected. In the United Kingdom this debate has focused on government proposals to give greater emphasis to bibliometrics (counts of journal articles and their citations) as a measurement of research quality, in respect of publications in the emergent Research Excellence Framework (REF) which is set to replace the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). This approach impacts on social work educators who are the main producers of papers published in peer-reviewed academic journals. It affects their publishing behaviour by pressurising them to publish their work in journals that are regarded as being prestigious, for which ‘high impact factor’ journals as determined by Thomson Reuters—a private commercial information management enterprise with headquarters in the United States—has become a proxy for quality. In this paper the authors describe and critique the Thomson Reuters system as it applies to social work and propose an alternate fair, inclusive and transparent system for assessing the quality of publications based on peer evaluation and incorporating an ethical approach consistent with the disciplines professional values.

Values, ethics and social work

Getting to grips with social work values and ethics is rather like picking up a live, large and very wet fish out of running stream. Even if you are lucky enough to grab a fish, the chances are that just when you think you have caught it, the fish will vigorously slither out of your hands and jump back in the stream. Values and ethics similarly slither through our fingers for a variety of reasons: we don’t try hard enough to catch them, preferring the practical business of doing social work; the subject matter, if we really investigate it, may sometimes seem complex, hard to grapple with and possibly obscure; there is a lack of conceptual clarity about many of the terms used that form part of the lexicon of ‘social work values and ethics’; the boundaries of ‘social work values and ethics’ are imprecise and ill-defined, so the notion of what should constitute ‘social work values and ethics’ is itself part of a discussion about the nature of social work values. No doubt there are other reasons for not picking up this particular fish! Yet despite these difficulties in picking up the ‘fish’, there is something that intuitively suggests that social work is bound up with values and ethics. Is not ethics, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘the science of morals in human conduct’, and is not social work about human relationships and behaviour? This conjunction is suggestive of a duty upon social workers to understand both ethics and social work.

Social inclusion in an ageing world: introduction to the special issue

ABSTRACT This paper provides an introduction to a special issue focusing on diverse examples of policy practice in social inclusion and ageing across different regions of the world. These examples illustrate the multifaceted nature of the concept of social inclusion, and how it is applied in the context of global demographic ageing. The paper begins with an exploration of the history and development of the concept of social inclusion, as applied to ageing policy, and how the concept has emerged following its initial association with economic disadvantage. Now commonly defined as relating to social participation in key activities of the society in which people live, a social inclusionary approach highlights the risks of social exclusion and isolation faced by older people. Social inclusion thus incorporates core issues in ageing such as civil engagement, an ageing workforce, age-friendly communities, and civic involvement. There are some particular challenges to implementing social inclusion policies within the current environment, which are addressed within this special issue, and these include the impact of social and cultural change, particularly across some of the East Asian countries, and the impact of global financial crises on work and retirement.

Modern social work practice : teaching and learning in practice settings

Contents: Introduction. Part I Foundations of practice: new opportunities for practice learning: Knowing the service user and carer Knowing your self Knowing the role. Part II Direct practice: inter-professional learning and practice: Preparation Generating options Making assessments in partnership Working in and with groups Working in difficult situations. Part III Agency practice: creative practice and procedural requirements Making priorities Managing resources Accountability Whistleblowing. Part IV Themes of practice: evidence-based practice Working with risk Anti-oppressive practice Law-informed practice Generalist and specialist practice Comparative practice Appendix: National Occupational Standards Glossaries Bibliography Index.

Coping strategies and social support-seeking behaviour among Chinese caring for older people with dementia

ABSTRACT The study reviewed coping and help-seeking behaviour among Hong Kong Chinese family care-givers of older people diagnosed with dementia. A convenience sample of those caring for family members with dementia (N=11) was recruited in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed using NVivo. The study found evidence of distinct Chinese coping strategies that focused upon internal self-regulation, forbearance and family obligations. In terms of help-seeking behaviour, these care-givers expressed great concern about bothering their family members. When there is a desperate need for help, they turn to community services. Results are discussed in the context of both traditional Chinese cultural values as well as the modern transformations of the Chinese society. In particular, Eastern philosophical teachings tend to focus on changing personal inner perception and thoughts rather than attempting to change the environment. Although family obligations have been traditionally upheld, many modern Chinese societies are undergoing social and demographic changes, resulting in marked decline in multi-generational households. Our findings can have applications not only for Chinese cities but also may have implications to the West as strong well-established Chinese communities are widespread.

Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men among Hong Kong Chinese social work students

There is a dearth of research on social work students’ attitudes toward lesbians and gays in East Asian countries where intolerance toward nonheterosexuality has been documented. This article presents findings from the first study in Hong Kong using a Chinese version of Hereks Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale (ATLG) to measure attitudes toward lesbian and gay men of 462 Chinese social work students. We found that students’ attitudes were generally favorable toward lesbians and gay men. Students with Christian beliefs tended to hold negative attitudes, though exposure to sexual diversity training was found to be significantly associated with favorable attitudes. The authors discuss implications of social work education in Hong Kong with reference to its unique cultural context.

The nature of employer’s involvement in social work education: An international exploration

Email interviews and internet inquiries were used to explore the nature and extent of employer engagement in qualifying social work education programmes across 10 countries: Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, UK and USA. Findings indicate considerable variations in the nature and extent of engagement in admissions processes, programme management and assessment of student competence. Practice learning/field education was the main area for employer engagement. The desirability of employer engagement is discussed.

Empowering learners through open (distance) programmes : an evaluation of a practice teaching programme

Changes to social work practice in many parts of the world and the introduction of social work in other parts of the world have raised many issues for educators. One particular area of difficulty is setting up flexible systems for social work education which will meet both individual learning needs and provide high quality professional education. To date, social work education has been traditionally delivered through taught courses that limit access to those who enjoy group learning and are physically able to attend the establishments delivering these courses. This results in a significant number of learners being deprived of learning opportunities. This paper explores the notion of open (distance) 1 learning as a model for empowering students who are unable or reluctant to attend taught courses.

Simulated and live practice teaching: The practice teacher's craft

The paper considers the assertion that students can learn how to practise exclusively through simulations, without working with real clients. The authors look at the benefits and difficulties of both live and simulated practice for the students learning, and discuss two fallacies which, if left unchallenged, could threaten the existing arrangements for practice learning in social work. Finally, the paper describes practice teaching in terms of a craft. This paper was first presented to a Conference of practice teachers and it preserves some of its original informality.