W(h)ither the academy? An exploration of the role of university social work in shaping the future of social work in Europe

Abstract

A controversial proposal to pilot the training of child protection social workers through an intensive work-based route in England is being supported and funded by the UK Government. Frontline, the brainchild of a former teacher, locates social work training within local authorities (‘the agency’) rather than university social work departments (‘the academy’) and has stimulated debate amongst social work academics about their role in shaping the direction of the profession. As a contribution to this debate, this paper explores the duality of social work education, which derives its knowledge from both the academic social sciences and the experience of practice within social work agencies. While social work education has traditionally been delivered by the academy, this paper also explores whether the delivery of training in the allied professions of probation and nursing by ‘the agency’ is equally effective. Finally, this paper explores the Helsinki model which achieves a synergy of ‘academy’ and ‘agency’. It suggests that there are alternative models of social work education, practice and research which avoid dichotomies between the ‘academy’ and the ‘agency’ and enable the profession to be shaped by both social work academics and practitioners.

Ison-Britannian hallitus on tukenut ja rahoittanut Englannissa kiistanalaista pilottia lastensuojelun sosiaalityöntekijöiden kouluttamiseksi työssä oppimiseen perustuvassa intensiivisessä ohjelmassa. Entisen opettajan ideoimassa Frontline -ohjelmassa sosiaalityön koulutus tapahtuu yhteistyössä paikallisen viranomaistoiminnan yhteydessä eikä yliopiston sosiaalityön laitoksella. Tämä on herättänyt sosiaalityön akateemisten asiantuntijoiden keskuudessa keskustelua heidän roolistaan profession suunnan määrittelyssä. Artikkeli osallistuu tähän keskusteluun tarkastelemalla sosiaalityön koulutuksen kaksijakoisuutta: sen tietoperusta kumpuaa sekä sosiaalitieteistä että sosiaalityön käytännön toimijoiden kokemusperäisestä tiedosta. Sosiaalityön koulutus on perinteisesti annettu yliopistoissa. Artikkelissa tarkastellaan onko rikosseuraamus- ja hoitoalan, jotka ovat samankaltaisia professioita, käytäntöyhteydessä toteutettu opetus yhtä tehokasta. Lopuksi artikkelissa tarkastellaan Helsingin seudulla vakiintunutta toimintamallia, joka saavuttaa tiedeyhteisön ja käytännön synergian. Helsingin toimintamalli esittää vaihtoehtoisen toimintamallin sosiaalityön koulutukseen, käytäntöön ja tutkimukseen. Siinä tiedeyhteisön ja käytännön jako voidaan välttää ja mahdollistaa sekä sosiaalityön akateemisten ja praktisten asiantuntijoiden osallistuminen profession kehittämiseen.

Keywords:

• social work education
• academy
• agency
• social work research
• UK
• Finland

Asiasanat:

• sosiaalityön koulutus
• tiedeyhteisö
• käytännön toimija
• sosiaalityön tutkimus
• Iso Britannia
• Suomi

Notes on contributors

Martin Webber is Anniversary Reader in Social Work and Director of the International Centre for Mental Health Social Research in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York. His primary research interests are in the development and evaluation of social interventions with people with mental health problems. He is a registered social worker and, through his role as Academic Lead for Making Research Count at York, supports the integration of research findings into social work practice.

Mark Hardy is Lecturer in Social Work in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York. He is co-author (with Tony Evans) of Evidence and Knowledge for Practice (Polity) and is currently completing a monograph—Governing risk? Care and control in contemporary social work—for Palgrave Macmillan.

Simon Cauvain is Lecturer in Social Work in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York. His primary research interests are in the frontline experiences of social work that impact on recruitment and retention, especially within services for children and families. He is also a registered social worker and member of the British Association of Social Workers.

Aino Kääriäinen is University Lecturer at the Department of Social Research at the University of Helsinki. She also works at Heikki Waris Institute, being one of the resource persons for social work practice learning and research in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Her research interests include documentation in child protection social work, family care and parenthood after divorce. She also acts as expert member at Helsinki Administrative Court in children's care issues.

Mirja Satka is Professor in Social Work Practice Research at the Department of Social Research at the University of Helsinki. As part of her post she supervises the pedagogical activities and practice research projects at Heikki Waris Institute, and acts as an expert in social work practice research in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Her research interests also include university pedagogy, childhood research and the history of social work.

Laura Yliruka is Senior Researcher Social Worker and the Head of Heikki Waris Institute which belongs to the Centre of Expertise on Social Welfare in Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Socca. Her research interests include social work expertise, epistemic knowledge practices and innovations as well as working conditions of social work.

Ian Shaw is Professor of Social Work in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York, and Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Aalborg University. His current research includes archival work on the genealogy of social work in relation to sociology, and a forthcoming work on Social work and science.