Canadian reflections on the Covid-19 pandemic in social work education: from tsunami to innovation

ABSTRACT

Looking back, the first wave of the pandemic was about to hit us and we could not know the impact then; the pedagogic, the emotional/human/relational, and the collaborative. Immediate modifications required pedagogy and pandemic balancing, prioritizing student safety. These reflections of three academics in leadership roles in the Faculty of Social Work faculty at a large university in western Canada, span from mid-March to early May, 2020 as COVID-19 approached. Our reflections consider social work education comprehensively, as an integrated system. We recount the human and emotional nature of our experience; approaches to interacting and collaborating with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders; ways of innovating on local, provincial, and national levels; and examples of how core social work values guided our work. We embraced technology and found energy in innovation through collaboration about pedagogic decisions. It is here among innovation and collaboration, that we discovered our strengths and gained confidence to move forward. This manuscript provided an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which this crisis has forced openness to innovation toward the future of social work education. It also serves as a call to other schools and faculties of social work to share their reflections.

KEYWORDS:

• Adult learning < education
• collaboration < organisations
• ethics and values < values
• online learning < technology
• pedagogies < education
• technology

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beth Archer-Kuhn

Dr. Beth Archer-Kuhn is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. She is a Teaching Scholar with the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. One branch of her research agenda includes student engagement in social work education to explore pedagogies that inspire critical reflection and transformational learning such as inquiry-based learning and immersive learning. Beth is a book review editor for Social Work Education: An International Journal.

Jessica Ayala

Dr. Jessica Ayala is a Teaching Professor and Vice Dean at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Her previous roles included Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning, and Director of the Office of Field Education. She is passionate about both social work education and technology, and particularly the role of technology in social work education and practice. Jessica’s research areas include the scholarship of teaching and learning, sexuality and gender, and human service organizations and systems.

Jennifer Hewson

Dr Jennifer Hewson is Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning and former Graduate Program Director and Field Education Coordinator. She is responsible for supporting the quality of academic programming, faculty and sessional instructor teaching experiences, and a positive student learning experience within the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. She is also actively engaged in collaborative leadership, research, and scholarship to advance teaching and learning.

Lorraine Letkemann

Dr. Lorraine Letkemann is a Senior Instructor and the Director of the Office of Field Education in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. She is the former Academic Operations Coordinator in the Faculty Southern Region in Lethbridge. Her research interests include peace and conflict studies, international and community development, therapy, HIV/AIDS, and social work education.