What Difference Does It Make?: Social Work Practice and Post-Qualifying Awards

Abstract

Debates about the social work task and the nature of the continuing professional development (CPD) needed to support it are long standing and continue to be the subject of scrutiny. Despite being viewed as key to the advancement of professional practice the real impact on practice of CPD remains under-researched. This paper reports on a small-scale evaluation of child and adult care social workers who were undertaking a post-qualifying (PQ) award specifically focusing on whether changes in practice could be identified. The findings conclude that practice in some areas such as working with risk were subject to significant change but others, including direct work, were not and highlight some of the reasons why this appeared to be the case. It is also suggested that undertaking an award was equally significant to social workers in relation to their levels of confidence, particularly in the increasingly inter-professional practice arena.

Keywords:

• social work practice
• post-qualifying awards
• continuing professional development

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all those social workers and line managers who gave their time to contribute to this evaluation study.