published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Statistics corroborate the substantial and deleterious impact of substance abuse to both client and client systems. Social workers are regularly exposed to clients who are directly or indirectly affected by substance abuse. A random survey of social workers working with Anglophone and Allophone populations on the island of Montreal was conducted to evaluate the workers perceived ability to recognize and respond to the needs of this client group. Links were drawn to the various ways in which social workers developed their knowledge about addiction and to the worker's formal social work education. The study demonstrates the inadequacy of the formal social work program to address the problem of substance abuse. The implications for schools of social work and the need to develop core curriculum as well as specializations in substance abuse are presented.

The purpose of this study was to study changes in the social work education programs, regarding the topics and themes, in Sweden from three different periods. The study is based on content analyses of education syllabies, and have analysed the results through a knowledge och professional theoretical concept. The key findings of the study were that practical and theoretical knowledge is increasingly integrated in social work programs. There is a requirement to integrate theoretical knowledge into practical skills, whether it is direct application or a critical approach. The relationship between theoretical and practical knowledge has thus been strengthened in social work programs, which means that social workers have strengthen their position as profession, in accordance with the concept of professionalism. In addition, social workers need to integrate different aspects into their intervetion assessments. This can mean that the scope of action has increased as they have several sources to use today, such as legislation, science, ethical considerations and own experiences. The uptake of these multiple perspectives in the performance of social work can also indicate the strengthening of the social workers`position as profession because knowledge systems of professions are abstract according to the concept of professionalism. / Syftet med studien var att utifrån en kvalitativ innehållsanaly av utbildnings- och kursplaner, och utifrån ett kunskaps- och teoretiskt perspektiv, studera förändringar i kunskapsprofilen inom socionomutbildningen i Sverige. De centrala resultaten i studien var att praktisk och teoretisk kunskap integreras alltmer i socionomutbildningen. Inom de flesta ämnen som studeras under utbildningen är kravet på att integrera dessa kunskaper i praktiken, vare sig det handlar om tillämpning eller ett kritiskt förhållningssätt. Förhållandet mellan teoretisk och praktisk kunskap har därmed förstärks inom socionomutbildningen, vilket innebär att socionomer stärker sin profession i enlighet med professionsbegreppet. Dessutom behöver socionomstudenter integrera olika aspekter i sina åtgärdsbedömningar. Det kan både innebära att handlingsutrymmet har ökat i och med att de har flera källor att utgå ifrån idag såsom lagstiftning, vetenskaplig fakta, etiska överväganden och egna erfarenheter. I övrigt kan anammandet av flera perspektiv i utförandet av socialt arbete också tyda på en abstraheringsoprocess av kunskapssysemet, och därmed förstärkning av socionomprofessionen. Detta eftersom kunskapssystem är abstrakta enligt professionsbegreppet.

本研究從我是不是一個好社工的自我懷疑開始，以自我敘事為研究取向，探索：（一）社會工作教育如何建構好社工的樣貌？（二）在家庭經驗和社會工作教育的交織下，我成為了一個什麼樣的社工？（三）如何安放我對好社工的焦慮，找到解放自己的可能性？ 透過閱讀、對話與書寫，梳理過去作用在我身上主流的「專業」社工框架，那些對於好的想像，小心翼翼的姿態，一步步抽絲剝繭，如撥雲見霧般看見整體的樣貌，那些小心翼翼源自於自己在原生家庭裡求生存的姿態，在看懂自己身上所烙印對於好的印記後，我開始試著正視它，並直接回到家庭現場面對它，進而面對自己、接納自己的樣貌，讓那些過往為我助人工作的養分，並試著在助人樣貌裡，漸漸展露出自己，成為「我」的特色，而，這也是我所追求一個好社工的樣貌。 / This thesis starts from my self-doubt – Was I a stereotypically good social worker? By means of self-narrative, I will explore: 1st : How our social work education constructs the image of a good social worker? 2nd : What kind of a social worker I have become under the influence of my family experience and the social work educational system? 3rd : How can I release my anxiety of being a good social worker and find out the possibility to unchain myself? Through reading, conversation, and writing, I wish to understand how the mainstream stereotype of a professional social work makes impact on me to see the whole picture of my social worker career. After progressively going over my family circumstances back in the days when I was young, I try to face it, and accept who I am now. Hopefully, these past experiences can be beneficial to let me be my true self while helping others, which is my ultimate goal for being a self-defined good social worker.

The purpose of the study was to investigate graduate social work students' attitudes about the use of social media in social work and the possible ethical implications of such use. The study used an exploratory quantitative survey design with self-administered questionnaires. Data was collected from 56 graduate social work students at California State University, San Bernardino.

This research may facilitate a discussion concerning the most efficient way of instilling social work values and ethics into the personal value systems of graduate social work students.

This study explores the past experiences of graduate social work students enrolled in the Masters in Social Work program at California State University, San Bernardino.

This study explores stress levels among a population of Master of Social Work (MSW) students enrolled at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). It is hypothesized that student stress is related to curriculum, finances, gender, and social roles.

The University of South Africa (Unisa) as comprehensive open distance learning institution (ODL institution) in South Africa is fulfilling a critical social mandate to serve people who would otherwise not have access to education, either for financial reasons, being employed, living in remote areas, or because they cannot access residential universities owing to disability (Unisa, 2008[a]: 15). In facilitating the entrée of the previously identified groups into tertiary education, Unisa has an open admission policy where students mostly have unlimited access to the system. The policy aims to cross the time, geographical, economic, social, educational, and communication distance between students, academics, courseware, and their peers and to accommodate these prospective students from diverse backgrounds (Unisa, 2008: 2). Unisa’s self-evaluation portfolio for the Commonwealth Audit during 2008 mentioned that this policy leads to the revolving door syndrome where students have unlimited access to the system but then often without success (Unisa, 2008[a]: 27). Open access poses a challenge for the training of student social workers within an ODL context. The Department of Social Work at Unisa, currently trains 70% of all social workers in South Africa (Department of Social Work - Unisa, 2008: 5). Coupled with the former, is the fact that Unisa is regarded in the tertiary landscape of South Africa as the most affordable university with the result that it attracts large number of students who have come straight from school (Kilfoil cited in Schenck, 2009: 299). In coping with the large student numbers the Department of Social Work at Unisa is challenged, apart from addressing the theoretical social work programme, to also meet the practical work requirements as set out by the Standard Generating Body of Social Work, in that it needs to provide practical placements for students to conduct their social work practical work training in completion of their Bachelor’s degree in Social Work (BSW) (Lawlor, 2008: 19). The current state of affairs is that the numbers of students requiring practical placements for social work practical work training outnumber the number of practical placements available. In responding to and addressing these challenges, the Bright Site of Sunnyside Service-learning Centre (hereafter called “Bright Site” or the Bright Site”) was established in October 2008 as a strategic project by Unisa’s Department of Social Work. The Bright Site was developed in accordance with the service-learning model proposed by the Council for Higher Education (CHE) with the emphasis on service through learning, and learning through service (Department of Social Work Unisa, 2008:6). / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science)