Viviene E. Cree

Stigma and Parental HIV

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is experienced as a highly stigmatized disease by those with HIV and their families. Moreover, it has been argued that it is the stigmatized nature of HIV that separates it from other chronic illnesses (Bor and Elford, 1998; Geballe and Gruendel, 1995). Drawing from a recently completed qualitative study conducted in Scotland, this article examines the impact of HIV stigma on children and young people with a parent or carer with HIV. The starting point for the research (and for this article) is the perspective of the children and young people themselves. The article gives an account of their understanding of stigma, and explores the different methods that they have adopted to cope with the effects of living with such a stigmatized illness in the family. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of this study for social work policy and practice with children and young people affected by parental HIV.

Transfer of learning: concept and process

Abstract Transfer of learning is at the heart of social work training yet there has been very little exploration of what transfer of learning is and how it might be facilitated. From the perspective of a literature review covering the fields of education, psychology, social work and nursing studies we examine the concept and process of transfer of learning. From a basic definition of ‘prior learning affecting new learning or performance’, we look at transfer of learning from the point of view of the learner, discussing the concept of the active learner striving to make connections between previous knowledge and new input. We look at cognitive models of learning which illuminate the transfer task—schema theory—the idea that knowledge is retained in the mind in terms of representations which are continually reconstructed according to new experience; and information processing theory which describes the active processes of generalisation and abstraction through which such representations are reconstructed. W...

Working with Men. Feminism and Social Work

One of feminisms key contributions to improving social work practice has been to expose the gender-blindness which has characterized social work policy and literature. Working with Men extends and diversifies this contribution by presenting a controversial collection of essays written by feminists about men. In what has been a previously unexplored area of social work, the contributors to Working with Men, feminist academics, researchers and practitioners, explore the issue of feminist practice with men highlighting the dilemmas which they have encountered in undertaking this work. They contend that for too long feminists have ignored the issue of direct work with men. The argument that men must take responsibility for their own reconstruction they assert is no longer sustainable: feminists must generate their own discourse about the nature of men and masculinity derived from their own experience of critically engaging with and challenging men. The contributors conclude that direct work with men is a legitimate feminist activity; that it is one important strand of a broader strategy whose ultimate goal is the empowerment of women. This book will be valuable reading for all students of social work and applied social science as well as social work practitioners and managers.

From college to university: looking backwards, looking forwards

This paper reports on the first phase of a study of the experiences of a small group of students (35) that have entered an ‘elite’ Scottish university directly from Further Education (FE) colleges where they have studied Higher National Certificate and Diploma courses. Students’ experiences were gathered through in‐depth interviews and a standardised questionnaire on entry to the university. Students typically reported positive experiences of their previous courses, with good support from staff. A key concern was balancing study and other commitments, with support from families particularly important. Despite these concerns, the students’ responses to questionnaire items on their approaches to learning in FE were similar to the patterns of responses reported by successful Higher Education (HE) students in other studies. The students’ hopes and fears about HE encompassed both a sense of excitement about this stage as well as considerable anxiety at leaving the highly supportive FE environment.

Moral panics and social work: Towards a sceptical view of UK child protection

In this paper we apply the lens of moral panic to analyse child protection social work in the UK. We suggest that many of the anxieties that beset social work are best understood as moral panics and discuss processes in which ‘claims-makers’ have introduced and amplified concerns into panics. We discuss two examples of anxieties over child endangerment: the first is concerned with the foundation of the NSPCC and its campaign for the Children’s Charter of 1889. The second is the contemporary 21st century anxiety over children and young people’s use of the Internet, exemplified in the activities of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and their ‘Children and Young Persons’ Global Online Charter’.

‘Grasping the Nettle: Integrating Learning and Practice revisited and re-imagined’

This paper reports on findings from a practice audit and literature review into Integration of Learning for Practice, conducted in Scotland between November 2003 and February 2004. Findings from the practice audit suggest that although the integration of learning is one of the key aspirations of social work education, and there are many different approaches currently in use which attempt to enhance learning integration, students, practitioners, service users and social work lecturers all agree that more needs to be done in this area. The review of literature indicates some ways in which this might be taken forward. The paper concludes that for integration of learning for practice to succeed, we need a re‐imagining of the traditional boundaries between field and classroom, and practice teacher and social work academic.

From Further Education to Higher Education: Social Work Students' Experiences of Transition to an Ancient, Research‐Led University

In 2004, as part of its initiative to widen access, a Scottish university offered places for the first time to a group of students coming from further education (FE) colleges with Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs). A longitudinal study has followed the experiences of transition and subsequent progression of this cohort of students. The study, entitled ‘From FE to HE’ has interviewed and surveyed 45 students at key points since 2004. This paper reports on findings from the study overall, giving particular attention to the views and experiences of the nine Social Work students within the cohort. It will be argued that whilst FE colleges provide considerable support for their students, there is no easy transition to an ancient, research‐led university such as this one. The findings of this study have implications for all those involved in social work education.

It All Just Clicked: A Longitudinal Perspective on Transitions within University.

This paper explores the transitions that a group of students, admitted from further education colleges as part of broader widening access initiative at a Scottish research-intensive university, made across the lifetime of their degrees. It investigates how they negotiate their learning careers beyond the first year, and how they (re)define their approaches to independent learning as they progress to the later years of their courses. Evidence is drawn from 20 students who were interviewed during each of their three or four years of study to provide a longitudinal account of their experiences of engagement and participation at the university. We draw attention to three ways in which the students made transitions across the course of their degrees: to increased knowledge of the conventions of academic writing; to enhanced critical skills; and to practical strategies to prioritise learning.

Thinking ‘Outside the Box’: A New Approach to Integration of Learning for Practice

The integration of learning is a central goal for all professions. The question of how to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and between the classroom and the field, is one which has preoccupied social work education since its very beginnings in universities in the United Kingdom and the United States in the early twentieth century. Between 2003 and 2005, the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education funded a project which piloted a new approach to the integration of learning for practice. This paper reports on the findings of that project, and suggests ways of taking its findings forward in the future.

Listening to children and young people affected by parental HIV: Findings from a Scottish study

Abstract This study, conducted between 1999 and 2002, set out to explore the experiences of children and young people in Scotland with a parent or carer with HIV. The study had three elements: a postal survey of health and social work agencies, interviews with twenty-eight children and young people and a postal survey of schools. The study found little recognition from statutory agencies of the needs of affected children, whether in health, education or social work. Moreover, the children and young people who took part in the study bore a heavy burden in terms of stigma, family disruption and loss. Nevertheless, their greatest wish was to be seen as ‘normal’ children with ‘normal’ parents.