“This is Who We are and This is What We Do”: Social Work Education and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Citing anecdotal evidence about the poor self-efficacy among graduating social work students manifesting in student claims that they lack the skills to practice effectively, the present paper suggests that the cause may lie, in part, in the manner in which social work education is undertaken. Instead of adjusting curriculum content, the author suggests that educators need to moderate the emphasis they place on social work as a professional project, as well as clarify the status and use of practice theory. The paper concludes with three additional recommendations for consideration by educators and suggests a research agenda for assessing student self-efficacy.

Keywords:

• Self-Efficacy
• Social Work Education
• Social Work Students

Notes

1. I use the term “welfare” as a summary term for the human services more broadly.

2. I have other concerns than those noted here. The other concerns relate more to the standing of the professions viz a viz the encroachments of New Public Management and the dangers of engaging in neoliberal welfare/workfare.

3. Applying the construct of habitus in this way is somewhat sociologically naïve, because Bourdieu himself would consider the constitution of someone's habitus as a much longer and more intricate project than that undertaken in professional tertiary education. Nevertheless, the profession tends to think about “professional socialization” as a form of habitus.

4. See McDonald (2006) for a full account of my concerns about the maintenance of the professional project as the primary strategic response in the current context of neoliberal welfare.