Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network
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- 5th Annual International Conference on Sociology
- Call for Papers and Participation, Deadline: October 11, 2010
- The Forgotten Epidemic HIV/AIDS: Crisis in Black America
- Deadline for Abstract Submission: September 8, 2010
- 2011 American Men's Studies Association Conference: Men, Masculi
- Deadline for Submissions: October 31, 2010
ESIN News
- Professional Opportunity
- Rutgers University School of Social Work, Two Tenure-Track Faculty Positions
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- University of North Dakota, One-year Visiting Assistant Professor, Counseling Psychology
- ESIN Congratulates
- Otima Doyle, PhD, MSW
- Professional Opportunity
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- Health Promotion Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Males (R01)
- Social Work Resource
- The Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research presents their new website
Scientific Update
- Black patients, women miss out on strongest medications for...
- Article highlighting research of Carmen Green
- A Meta-Study of Black Male Mental Health and Well-Being
- D.C. Watkins, R.L. Walker, and D.M. Griffith
Scientific News
...Practice Learning as a Site of Renewal for Social Work
A. Bellinger
2010-06-14 12:52:46
Talking about (Re)Generation: Practice Learning as a Site of Renewal for Social Work
Avril Bellinger
Br J Soc Work 2010 published 4 June 2010, 10.1093/bjsw/bcq072
http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/bcq072v1
Common sense would seem to indicate that the best practice learning placements for UK student social workers are those in mainstream state-regulated agencies where they are supervised, taught and assessed by experienced professionals. In this paper, the assumptions on which ‘common sense’ is based are critically examined and an alternative framework proposed for assessing the quality of practice learning environments. State-regulated agencies in the UK comprise a diversity of settings, structures, activities and professional groupings and it is not uncommon for students to be supervised by unqualified staff or professions other than social work. This tradition of students representing the social work profession resonates with some international practices and has the potential to inform both educational and professional practice development. Growing global and economic pressures mean that social workers need to be prepared to respond to rapidly changing circumstances. The model proposed allows for this to be possible both within and outside mainstream practice settings. Drawing on wider work-based learning literature, a generative and constructive approach is proposed for evaluating increasingly diverse social work practice learning opportunities and their potential contribution to professional practice.
Avril Bellinger
Br J Soc Work 2010 published 4 June 2010, 10.1093/bjsw/bcq072
http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/bcq072v1
Common sense would seem to indicate that the best practice learning placements for UK student social workers are those in mainstream state-regulated agencies where they are supervised, taught and assessed by experienced professionals. In this paper, the assumptions on which ‘common sense’ is based are critically examined and an alternative framework proposed for assessing the quality of practice learning environments. State-regulated agencies in the UK comprise a diversity of settings, structures, activities and professional groupings and it is not uncommon for students to be supervised by unqualified staff or professions other than social work. This tradition of students representing the social work profession resonates with some international practices and has the potential to inform both educational and professional practice development. Growing global and economic pressures mean that social workers need to be prepared to respond to rapidly changing circumstances. The model proposed allows for this to be possible both within and outside mainstream practice settings. Drawing on wider work-based learning literature, a generative and constructive approach is proposed for evaluating increasingly diverse social work practice learning opportunities and their potential contribution to professional practice.