Preparing students for social work practice in contemporary societies: insights from a transnational research network

ABSTRACT

This paper arises from a transnational research network investigating social work education. University based social work programmes from four European countries (Ireland, Italy, Norway, and the U.K.) shared a similar concern: how educators can support students to prepare for social work practice. The relationship between social work education and practice is not straightforward; the partnership between educators and practitioners in helping social work students to flourish in practice remains a complex and, at times, controversial issue. Furthermore, it is not enough to help students learn the mechanics of day to day tasks, it is also important to motivate them in becoming social workers stimulated by principles of human rights and social justice. With this in mind, each educator conducted a local study using qualitative and/or quantitative methods to explore what influences the development of such practitioners. Analysis from the studies indicate three key issues for social work education in Europe: developing strategies to help students in preventing and overcoming ‘practice shock’; the promotion of coherence as a way to bring into focus the complexity of the interrelationships between theory and practice; the active engagement of students and practice teachers in the evaluation and development of contemporary social work education models.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work education
• transnational research network
• coherence
• practice-shock
• practice-readiness
• European social work research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Kirsteen Laidlaw is a qualified social worker since 1998. She worked in Children’s Worked in Children’s & Families Teams in Scotland & England. From 2009 she Worked at University of Cumbria since 2009 as a Senior Lecturer. She is expected to defend the PhD thesis in 2019. Her social Work Practice Interests include, adolescent neglect, Young Carers, Kinship Care, Children Looked After & Safeguarding. She is convenor of the SIG on Research on Social Work Education of the ESWRA.

Elena Cabiati is social work research and assistant professor at the Catholic university of Milan. She completed the PhD in 2014 and she teaches in undergraduate, master and doctoral programs; her main research interests are Social work education and Intercultural social work. She is a qualified social worker since 2007 and her social work experience is in Child protection welfare. She is member of the SIG on Research on Social Work Education of the ESWRA.

Oystein Henriksen completed the PhD in Sociology in 2015 and now he is an experienced social work professor in undergraduate and master’ programs at Nord University in Bodo. His main research interests are in Youth studies, Social work education and Child protection. He has been dean of the Faculty of Social science and social work programs coordinator. He is member of the SIG on Research on Social Work Education of the ESWRA.

Caroline Shore is a college lecturer and 1st Year Coordinator on the Master of Social Work course at University College Cork. She has worked as a social worker and senior social work practitioner in child protection and welfare in the Western and Southern Regions of the Child and Family Agency. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of child protection and welfare, skills development for professional practice, values and ethics in social work, cultural competence and the role of teaching and learning in student professional formation. She is member of the SIG on Research on Social Work Education of the ESWRA.