Welcome to the second of two issues of Australian Social Work with articles reflecting the theme of social work education. Clearly, the current and future evolution of social work education is of concern to many academics, researchers, and practitioners, hence the large number of articles submitted to the Journal on this topic, which has suggested the development of these two themed issues – Part 1 in January, 2019, and Part 2 in April, 2019.
Professor Christine Craik, National President of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), has introduced this Issue with a guest editorial on social work education. Her insights and understanding, drawn from her position in this key role within the AASW and her long-standing experience as an academic and researcher, are thought-provoking, contributing significantly to the content and focus of this Issue.
In 2017, Emeritus Professor John Lawrence published his six-volume autobiography, in which his highly significant achievements of over four decades of academic and intellectual leadership of the profession are recorded and accessible to all. Indeed, this work is aptly titled: “Seeking social good: A life worth living” (Lawrence, Citation2017). With reference to this major publication, we invited Emeritus Professor Lawrence to write a Perspective article for this Issue and we are delighted that he has contributed a most thought-provoking account of his reflections on the ethical base of social work education and practice (Lawrence, Citation2019). The insights that he has shared could not be more important, nor more relevant for today’s social workers.
In this Part 2, we have grouped several articles that focus on the student experience. These include, among others, articles reporting on the demands on field practicum supervisors supervising students with diverse backgrounds (Hill, Cleak, Egan, Ervin, & Laughton, Citation2019; Ross, Ta, & Grieve, Citation2019), the value of students building positively on adverse childhood experiences in order to further their own resilience in meeting the demands of practice (Newcomb, Burton, & Edwards, Citation2019), and research exploring students’ pathways towards developing their professional identity (Moorhead, Citation2019). Two articles (Boetto, Citation2019; Papadopoulos, Citation2019) have urged educators to consider the value of including in curriculum, consideration of the increasing importance of contemporary knowledge regarding the natural environment and the place of sustainability.
As in the January 2019 Issue, we have invited key researchers and academics to comment on the ideas in these articles. Commentaries by Sevi Vassos (Vassos, Citation2019), Karen Bell (Bell, Citation2019), and Helen Cleak (Cleak, Citation2019) have each used several of the articles as springboards to reflect upon the issues significant to field work, sustainability, and the student experience that these articles have raised for them. In the January 2019 Issue, Beth Crisp (Crisp, Citation2019a) provided an enlightening guest editorial and she has continued her reflections on and thoughts about social work education raised by the articles and commentaries in this April 2019 Issue (Crisp, Citation2019b).
This second themed issue on social work education is rich in both contributors and ideas. Please read and enjoy!
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
References
- Bell, K. (2019). Transforming social work for environmental justice: Theory, practice, and education. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 242–244.
- Boetto, H. (2019). Advancing transformative eco-social change: Shifting from modernist to holistic foundations. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 139–151.
- Cleak, H. (2019). Holistic approach to curriculum development to promote student engagement, professionalism, and resilience. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 248–250.
- Craik, C. (2019). Social work education: Challenges and opportunities (Editorial). Australian Social Work, 72(2), 129–132.
- Crisp, B. (2019a). Social work education – Moving the profession into the future. Guest Editorial. Australian Social Work, 72(1), 3–7.
- Crisp, B. (2019b). Educating for social work practice in the 2060s. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 251–256.
- Hill, N., Cleak, H., Egan, R., Ervin, L., & Laughton, J. (2019). Factors that impact a social worker’s capacity to supervise a student. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 152–165.
- Lawrence, J. (2017). Seeking social good: A life worth living. Retrieved from https://www.rjohnlawrence.com/seeking-social-good
- Lawrence, J. (2019). A life worth living: The ethical base for social work education and practice. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 133–138.
- Moorhead, B. (2019). Transition and adjustment to professional identity as a newly qualified social worker. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 206–218.
- Newcomb, M., Burton, J., & Edwards, N. (2019). Student constructions of resilience: Understanding the role of childhood adversity. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 166–178.
- Papadopoulos, A. (2019). Integrating the natural environment in social work education: Sustainability and scenario-based learning. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 233–241.
- Ross, B., Ta, B., & Grieve, A. (2019). Placement educators’ experiences and perspectives of supervising international social work students in Australia. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 188–205.
- Vassos, S. (2019). Challenges facing social work field education. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 245–247.