This thesis deals with the theme of possibilities to develop communication skills of health social workers in Prague hospitals. The aim of the study is to find out what are the possibilities of education available for health social workers in hospitals. It also discuss whether health social workers are actively interested in the development of their communication skills and what resources are used most often. The thesis describes the basic concepts and the competence of health social worker. Next part is about education and laws which oblige to lifelong learning. The thesis also focuses on self-reflection and supervision from the perspective of other sources of education - self-knowledge. Practical part of the thesis deals with the research between health social workers in Prague hospitals. The aim of the research is to find out, whether these workers are actively educated in communication skills. The paper includes analysis and interpretation of results, discussion and conclusion of whole thesis. Keywords Communication, social work, health social work, conversation, education, self-reflection, supervision.

Building a good relationship in social work is the most central part of the work. For a new practitioner it’s clearly an important thing, but it seems harder than it looks. This study examines the experiences of newly examined social workers in relationships with clients in Sweden and internationally. The aim of this study is to find out their experiences and how they feel when they in practice try to build a relationship with a client. It’s also an interest to find out if they feel that their education has prepared them well for the challenge and also their opinion about the content of their education. Systematic review was conducted for this paper and the result clearly showed that newly examined social workers felt unprepared and insecure for the many challenges for building a relationship with a client. Their opinions about the educational content was a wish for more practical exercises and more knowledge about communication skills, because it was clearly that they were lacking practical skills. The result also showed the newly examined social workers appreciation when they actually did have practical education. The practical exercises made them feel more confident and secure. This is a global matter regarding social work that needs to be further investigated in order to increase the quality for both newly examined social workers and clients.

Diploma thesis analyses the macro practice in the Czech social work. It defines macro practical concept and its relationship to social policy and community social work by analysing the Czech and foreign specialized publications. It defines the key knowledge, skills and abilities which macro practicioner should manage. It emphasizes the macro scope towards the political representation. Macro practical methods are presented too. Diploma thesis defines two main principles - networking and evidence based practice. At first, macro practicioner is the creator of professional's networks or social services network. Secondly, in the evidence based practice macro practicioner is obligated to manage his decision making process on the base of the best and the most recent scientific researches. It all concludes the macro practice framework, which leads to the efective work with social excluded people. Macro practice is viewed as the approach, which helps clients, communities, regions and target groups in the implementation of their civil right, when it uses the enpowerment techniques. According to the international perspective, the status of the actual Czech macro practice is vieved as unconsolted. Therefore, author proposes the development of the social work education on the bachelor and master degrese...

Dans les dernières années, différents enjeux environnementaux ont occupé un espace médiatique important, de désastres variés à joutes politiques autour d’enjeux de développement des énergies fossiles. Or, bien que les liens entre environnement et inégalités sociales fassent de plus en plus partie des discours, les écrits empiriques en travail social en français demeurent rares sur les liens entre l’environnement et le travail social. Dans de nombreux articles, la formation en travail social est identifiée comme un point de départ nécessaire pour entamer une réflexion à ce sujet. Il constituera donc, pour nous, le terrain choisi pour cette recherche exploratoire. Plus précisément, ce projet de mémoire s’intéressera donc à mieux comprendre les expériences et réflexions étudiantes sur les liens entre l’environnement et le travail social, s’intéressant à les documenter à partir de leur parcours de formation. Les données qualitatives ont été recueillies par le biais de trois groupes de discussion en ligne, regroupant des personnes qui étudient en travail social dans des universités québécoises. Une analyse thématique réflexive, ancrée dans une méthodologie féministe et guidée par un cadre théorique féministe et un cadre conceptuel nepantla, aura permis de dégager les constats principaux de ce mémoire. Une démarche réflexive a aussi accompagné ce processus de mémoire, et a été utilisée pour trianguler les données. Sept thèmes se dégagent ainsi des données, décrivant les expériences et réflexions étudiantes témoignées : (1) « De nature à crise du logement : une définition de l’environnement en discussion », (2) Comment intervenir ? Des idées variées (3) « Dans les marges des cours : des liens peu abordés » (4) « Entre privé et public : partager son vécu émotif » (5) « Entre individu et société : Questionner la formation ». (6) « Entre enseignement et apprentissage : s’outiller entre paires ». et (7) « Entre préventions et urgence : réfléchir la responsabilité professionnelle ». Ces thèmes permettent de mieux comprendre les préoccupations étudiantes, et peuvent servir de tremplin pour guider des transformations dans la formation en travail social au Québec. / In recent years, various environmental issues have occupied a significant amount of media space, from various disasters caused by human activity to political games around the development of fossil fuels. However, although connections between environmental and social inequalities are increasingly part of the public discourse, empirical writings on the links between the environment and social work in French are still rare. In articles from various provinces and countries, social work education is identified as a necessary starting point for reflection on this topic. It will therefore be the chosen field for this exploratory research. More specifically, this master’s thesis will aim to better understand students’ experiences and reflections on the links between the environment and social work, documenting it from their educational pathway. Qualitative data was collected through three online focus groups of social work students enrolled in Quebec universities. A reflexive thematic analysis, anchored in a feminist theoretical framework and methodology and informed by a nepantla conceptual framework, guided the process for this thesis. A reflexive approach also accompanied this thesis and was used to triangulate and question the research data. Seven themes emerged from the focus groups, describing the students’ experiences and reflections: (1) “From nature to housing crisis: a definition of environment under discussion,” (2) How to intervene? Various ideas, (3) “In the margins of courses: absent links”, (4) “Between private and public: sharing one’s emotional experience”, (5) “Between individual and society: questioning training”. (6) “Between teaching and learning: equipping oneself among peers” and (7) “Between prevention and emergency: reflecting on professional responsibility”. These themes not only allow for a better understanding of student concerns but can also serve as an interesting springboard to guide transformations in social work education in Quebec.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The present study is a comparative analysis of social work fieldwork supervision at the University of Venda (UNIVEN) and the University of Limpopo (UL) and has produced a list of implications for policy and practice guidelines. The study adopted a qualitative approach to scientific enquiry. It was exploratory and descriptive in nature. The population of the study consisted of final year student social workers and fieldwork coordinators from UNIVEN and UL. Data was collected by means of semi-structured and focus group interviews. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study’s results demonstrated that most students from both universities had outstanding relationships with their supervisors. The study also found that most students were supervised on an individual basis. Informal and ad hoc methods of supervision sessions were also preferred by supervisors, entailing that, as soon as a supervisor felt like saying something, they would just say it. If was found further that supervision methods lacked supervision structure, whereby it would have been planned and communicated in advance, so that students could contribute to the agenda, have a designated venue, and arrive prepared. Group supervision was found to be a rarely used method. The study also found that most students reported that the frequency of supervisions was once a week, while others felt that supervision occurred every day. Fieldwork supervisors continue to deliver the three major functions of supervision, which are administrative, educational, and supportive. The study found that students had little support from university fieldwork coordinators. The researcher established that field support visits by both universities were unsystematic. The researcher has also established that UL students need financial support in the form of a stipend to cater for costs related to their fieldwork placement, such as transport and food. Furthermore, the researcher found that students from both universities need regular contacts with the university-based supervisors/ coordinators. The study revealed the need to reinforce many critical aspects of fieldwork supervision. These include regular contact, field visits, ensuring formal supervision, ensuring formal orientation of students, and making sure that students are adequately exposed to social work practice. Despite the challenges they face, coordinators continued to play a critical role in ensuring that students were properly placed. Measures must be developed to ensure compliance with policy mandates. The study also found that UL did not have fieldwork practice policies, operating instead by using a manual for practical work dated 2012. Given the fact that the university was operating on a newly accredited BSW programme, this manual is outdated. There is a need to align it for fieldwork with the current BSW curriculum. In response to these findings and loopholes in fieldwork coordination and practice in general, the study recommends that UL develop policies related to fieldwork practice that will guide the department when planning fieldwork-related activities. Although UNIVEN has fieldwork practice and supervision policies in place, their practice lacks compliance with the policies, as reflected in the presentation of study findings in Chapter 10. In response to these inadequacies, the study recommends measures the university could use to ensure compliance. Finally, the study developed a social work fieldwork practice model. It is a six-phase model that includes analysis of historical and cultural dynamics for planning purposes, drafting a concept paper placement plan, broad consultation with the stakeholders, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and post-implementation consultation and termination. Key Words: Fieldwork supervision, fieldwork supervisor, fieldwork coordinator, social work, student social workers / University of Venda (UNIVEN)

Students of accredited social work programs are expected to demonstrate ten core competencies, including the ability to "engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services" (Council on Social Work Education, 2008). Despite this expectation, almost half of licensed social workers surveyed disagreed with the notion that they were adequately prepared for political engagement by their social work education (Ritter, 2007). Because social welfare policy courses are the primary curricular means for preparing generalist social workers for political advocacy, this study explores how undergraduate students respond to social welfare policy instructors' efforts to prepare them for political engagement. Quantitative and qualitative data from social work students in two distinct social welfare policy courses support the idea that participation in such a course can contribute to an increase in political interest and internal political efficacy. Based on surveys (n=31), focus groups (n=28), and interviews (n=11) with students, a model for social welfare policy instruction is proposed, which includes 11 recommended teaching methods and 7 key aspects of the students' learning experience. By listening to the voices and experiences of social work students, this study begins to fill a gap in the social work education and policy practice literature. The final conclusions of the study help clarify for social work educators methodologies by which they can more effectively support students in the development of political interest, internal political efficacy, and ultimately policy practice.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study examines organizational learning (OL) with member organizations of a state association for children and family services. OL has been studied in business organizations, but the concept has value in the context of Human Service Organizations (HSOs) as well. HSOs face increasing demands for accountability through evaluating outcomes, requiring new organizational skills and activities. The state association has collected outcome data from member organizations for nine years, and has recently provided external consultants to help organizations interpret and make use of the information to improve organizational functioning. The process of OL was measured pre- and post-external consultation using an OL questionnaire developed by Templeton, Lewis, and Snyder (2002). Sixty-two member agencies received questionnaires and 42 responded for a response rate of 67%. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 CEOs/Executive Directors of HSOs. The OL questionnaire was found to have sufficient reliability and validity for the sample of HSOs in the study. Two factors were identified through factor analyses, Organizational Culture and Environmental Awareness. Satisfaction with an external consultant was not found to be related to increased OL. In the qualitative findings, the origins of learning themes that were identified were External Pressures, Philosophy, Planning, and Financial Pressures. The facilitating factor themes identified were Leadership, Philosophy, New Staff/New Leadership, Willingness, Planning, and Training. The perceived obstacles to OL were Resistance, Philosophy, Finances, and Time. External consultants were found to contribute to Evaluation, Awareness, Motivation, and Training. The main practice implication of the study is the identification of an instrument that may be used to examine OL in HSOs. The identification of facilitating factors and factors that may impede OL is a valuable contribution, as is the use of a standard definition of OL. The educational implications are for awareness in the education of future leaders by introducing OL and the application to HSOs. Future research is needed to address the development or modification of a better matched instrument for use with HSOs.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Little is known about the perspectives of social work educators who work with under-prepared students in baccalaureate social work (BSW) programs. Educators across fields believe that students are increasingly under-prepared to be successful in higher education, and social work programs face greater numbers of under-prepared students seeking BSW degrees. Although an increasing amount of research offers strategies for matriculating, retaining, and teaching under-prepared students, these strategies are often presented without the contextual experiences faced by the educators who work with under-prepared students on a day-to-day basis. The following research seeks to begin to fill that gap. The researcher interviewed 11 participants and used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to uncover the essential experiential elements of working with under-prepared BSW students and to reveal the meaning that social work educators create within these experiences. Analysis resulted in four overlapping themes including understanding under-preparation as social injustice, questioning what it means to be a social work educator, recalling compelling moments, and demonstrating care in and out of the classroom. These results suggest that social work programs and educators can more explicitly recognize how working with under-prepared students mirrors traditional social work practice, and discuss how this mirrored process might affect both educators and students. Based on these results, the meaning of advancing social justice for under-prepared students, the conflicting roles that educators often adopt with under-prepared students, and the influence of external forces on educators' work all deserve further research.

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