The purpose of this research was to determine, describe and analyze the patterns of social service curricula in Uruguay. This exploratory study obtained data about structured and unstructured social service education, and the educational and professional backgrounds of educators and social service workers. The research process included: (1) administration of a questionnaire to University of the Republic's School of Social Service (EUSS) faculty to determine their perceptions of School curriculum, and their personal backgrounds; (2) administration of a questionnaire to social service workers in Montevideo to determine their perceptions of their professional education, and their personal backgrounds; (3) analysis of structured social service at EUSS and the Institute of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters’ (IFCL) Department of Social Service (formerly School of Social Service of Uruguay); (4) analysis of in-service social service education offered in Montevideo; and (5) observation of and participation in social service activities essentially in Montevideo. Forty-four faculty members of EUSS and one hundred and twenty social service workers responded to questionnaires. The results of the present research may be summarized thusly: (1) the social service professional respondents demonstrated a complete dedication to their profession and to the well-being of less fortunate members of Uruguayan society; (2) perceptions held by EUSS faculty about twenty-two courses of the EUSS 1979 curriculum were: nine courses, satisfactory in content; twelve courses, improve content; and one course, considerable content improvement required; (3) social service curricula of EUSS and IFCL differed notably in their requirements in social sciences, methodology and special course work; (4) the curricular mission of the Institute for Domestic Social Training (IFFS) appeared overly concerned with the family unit; (5) EUSS practicum training was poorly supervised by faculty, a broad spectrum of training sites was not used, and agency personnel were not utilized sufficiently for supervision of interns; (6) in-service educational offerings were limited in scope and number, and schools of social service were not meeting the continuing education needs of professional workers; (7) rural social service needs were not being met by structured and in-service education, nor was sufficient research being done about rural social problems; (8) insufficient research was being directed toward the indigenization and reconceptualization of social service curricula; (9) EUSS instructors were all part-time and limited in post-graduate training; (10) interest in postgraduate courses and a masters' degree program was high among EUSS faculty and social service professionals; and (11) graduates of Uruguayan schools of social service were limited in their ability to conduct independent research or to accept mid-level administrative positions due to minimal training in these two educational areas. EUSS faculty and social service professional defined social service priority curricular areas of emphasis for the 1980 as health, primary and secondary education, children, housing, the family, and social rehabilitation. Several conclusions and recommendations were derived from this research, including: (1) EUSS and IFCL curricula differed in emphasis on the social sciences and methodology courses; (2) social service education should be divided, and undergraduate education should be the responsibility of IFCL, and post-graduate education, as a structured masters’ degree program, the responsibility of the University of the Republic through a newly founded Graduate School of Social Service. In-service education should be a cooperative program involving all public and private social service educational institutions; (3) social service educators and professional workers should unite to influence national social policy formation; and (4) social service educators and professionals should give high priority to research to meet future needs of the Uruguayan society.

published_or_final_version / Social Service Management / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Universities in South Africa endure the challenge on an annual basis to secure field placements for the growing number of social work students. Field practice together with the required supervision is a critical component of the social work curriculum, since it provides students with opportunities to practice the skills taught in their theoretical courses. Whilst securing field placement is an extension of the social work curriculum, it is also essential to understand the plight of the supervisors and agencies that provide this service. The literature available in South Africa on this aspect is very limited, yet the dependency on agencies and supervisors is immense. This the study aimed at exploring and describing the experiences of social workers who supervise social work students’ field placement within Durban and the surrounding areas in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. A qualitative explorative study was conducted through the use of an in-depth interview schedule and a total of 18 supervisors from a range of organizations formed the sample for this study. Supervisors were interviewed individually with the aim of exploring their experiences, perceptions, needs and challenges with regards to field practice placements and they were invited to make suggestions for a best practice model. The main conclusions drawn from this study were that agency supervisors acknowledge their critical role in this process. However, training and supporting them is minimised which impacts in various ways on their ability to function optimally. In addition, supervisors feel that students are not thoroughly screened for the profession; they are underprepared for the field and lack the basic skills essential for practice. Supervisors are often forced to function in isolation in the absence of models and theories on field practice placement and the lack of collaboration with the universities. The different universities in the province have different requirements and expectations of supervisors. The recent strategy to address the retention of social workers through the awarding of bursaries has resulted in enormous challenges, particularly related to students’ commitment, dedication to the profession and the impact on the NGO sector. The time spent in field practice is regarded as insufficient for students’ exposure to the dynamics of all types of services and the introduction of a policy, model and framework for student supervision by the professional counsel is long outstanding and impacts on the status of the profession. Emanating from the findings, recommendations have been made with regards to optimising the learning opportunity for students and to enhance the experience of supervisors in student supervision. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-70).

The serious shortage of social workers (nationally) caused by their exodus from the profession at an alarming rate and the resultant classification of social work as a "scare skill" served as motivation for this research project into retention strategies to retain social workers for the profession. A qualitative research approach and an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was employed to conduct semi-structured interviews with 15 purposely selected participants in the geographically defined boundaries of the Northern Free State and Gauteng. Tesch's (in Creswell, 1994) and Guba's models (in Krefting, 1991) aided the processes of data collection and verification, respectively. The research findings uncovered: general and specific reasons for the social workers' exodus, feelings and emotional reactions of social workers subsequent to the early exodus from the profession, and retention proposals to retain social workers. Based on the findings, recommendation directed to practice, education, policy and further research, were made. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Social Work)

M.A. / This study comments on the debate surrounding the impact of measurement on the effectiveness and accountability of the social work profession. The basic objective of this study is to determine whether the utilization of the " single subject design " and " standardized measurement scales " have an impact on the effectiveness of social work service delivery. For this research study the experimental design, and specifically the comparison Pretest-Posttest design, is utilized. The experimental group was exposed to the " single subject design " and " standardized measurement scales " as intervention techniques. The control group was not exposed to measurement as an intervention technique. The results of this study indicates a statistically significant difference in growth towards target, between the experimental group and the control group. Clients in the experimental group achieved a higher level of positive growth compared with clients in the control group. Service delivery within the experimental group was therefore more effective than service delivery in the corresponding control group. This study concludes that the utilization of measurement has a positive influence on the effectiveness of social work service delivery. According to the study, social workers that apply measurement as part of their intervention techniques are more effective than social workers who do not apply measurement. It is therefore recommended that measurement should be part of all social work service rendering in order to enhance effectiveness.