<p>The present thesis examines the possible reasons social workers have for entering and eventually graduating from the Social Work Department in Iraklio, Greece. It is a three-phase study, consisting of three distinct but related research parts; each research part is built upon knowledge, issues and questions derived from the preceding part.</p><p>My background in sociology influenced the choice of theoretical perspectives; I was not interested in investigating students’ choice from a psychologically-based perspective. Bourdieu (e.g. 1977; 1987) and the work of others who have drawn on and developed his work (e.g. Hodkinson & Sparkes, 1997; Reay, 1998a) constituted a theoretical framework. In addition, theoretical perspectives which recognise the interplay between individual and structural factors (e.g. Kasimati, 1991) also proved useful. In this work both quantitative and qualitative approaches (grounded theory, narrative analysis) were employed.</p><p>The findings contradict views that stress the degree of free choice people have about work; it is clear that external structural factors limit or contribute to the shaping of this choice. This is not to say, however, that the findings stress the determining influence of solely external factors on students’ choice. Students in this thesis describe actively making decisions; they are players in the field of education. They enter the field with unequal amounts of capital (economic, cultural); thus, although in theory everyone is free to play, not everyone is equal. To the extent that they have different social backgrounds (gender, class), their classed-and-gendered habitus differs as well. In the process of students’ educational choice, their habitus along with the particular educational system (with all its opportunities and restrictions) influence students’ horizons for action, their perceptions of what is available and appropriate for them. The high value placed on higher education (educational fetishism) is another factor influencing students’ horizons for action. In the context of their horizons for action, students employ a variety of strategies in order to enter higher education (e.g. the way they prepare for the exams, their ranking of Schools in preference order etc). The outcome of these strategies is their admission to the Social Work Department, which may have been intended or unintended. After having entered Social Work, additional factors influence students’ educational choice; experiences within the School (e.g. practice tutorials) contribute to their attitude towards social work and their studies, thus to their decision to graduate from the Social Work Department. Students’ decision-making process is made up of patterns of routine experience interspersed with turning points.</p>

The present thesis examines the possible reasons social workers have for entering and eventually graduating from the Social Work Department in Iraklio, Greece. It is a three-phase study, consisting of three distinct but related research parts; each research part is built upon knowledge, issues and questions derived from the preceding part. My background in sociology influenced the choice of theoretical perspectives; I was not interested in investigating students’ choice from a psychologically-based perspective. Bourdieu (e.g. 1977; 1987) and the work of others who have drawn on and developed his work (e.g. Hodkinson &amp; Sparkes, 1997; Reay, 1998a) constituted a theoretical framework. In addition, theoretical perspectives which recognise the interplay between individual and structural factors (e.g. Kasimati, 1991) also proved useful. In this work both quantitative and qualitative approaches (grounded theory, narrative analysis) were employed. The findings contradict views that stress the degree of free choice people have about work; it is clear that external structural factors limit or contribute to the shaping of this choice. This is not to say, however, that the findings stress the determining influence of solely external factors on students’ choice. Students in this thesis describe actively making decisions; they are players in the field of education. They enter the field with unequal amounts of capital (economic, cultural); thus, although in theory everyone is free to play, not everyone is equal. To the extent that they have different social backgrounds (gender, class), their classed-and-gendered habitus differs as well. In the process of students’ educational choice, their habitus along with the particular educational system (with all its opportunities and restrictions) influence students’ horizons for action, their perceptions of what is available and appropriate for them. The high value placed on higher education (educational fetishism) is another factor influencing students’ horizons for action. In the context of their horizons for action, students employ a variety of strategies in order to enter higher education (e.g. the way they prepare for the exams, their ranking of Schools in preference order etc). The outcome of these strategies is their admission to the Social Work Department, which may have been intended or unintended. After having entered Social Work, additional factors influence students’ educational choice; experiences within the School (e.g. practice tutorials) contribute to their attitude towards social work and their studies, thus to their decision to graduate from the Social Work Department. Students’ decision-making process is made up of patterns of routine experience interspersed with turning points.

The aim of this study is to examine social workers' and social work students' attitudes towards people living with hiv in Sweden. I will also examine if there is a connection between knowledge and attitudes. The questions at issue are how social workers' and social work students' attitudes can assume to influence on their professional practice and what causes can affect their attitudes towards people living with hiv. The study is based on a qualitative method. The methods have been: conversational interviews with five social workers, who work with family issues and integration, and a focused group interview with four social work students. Both forms of interviews were combined with the vignette method. The theoretical framework of this study is symbolic interactionism. The result of the study indicates that both the social work students and the social workers lack adequate knowledge about hiv, however, the respondents are capable of reflecting and are able to put themselves into others' situations and therefore they will not discriminate their clients because of their disease. Results of the study also indicate that there is a great ambiguity among all of the respondents because of the lack of knowledge and adequate education.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 525-540).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 525-540).

I denna uppsats undersöks viktiga aspekter i känsliga samtal med barn och hur socialarbetare kan skapa förutsättningar för ett fungerande samtal. Uppsatsen är en del av en pilotstudie vars övergripande syfte är att framställa digitala lösningar för socionomstudenter att öva på inför känsliga samtal med barn. Uppsatsen bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer och utifrån dess syfte och frågeställningar har vi använt oss av grundad teori som metodval. Den grundade genomförda analysen resulterade i kategorierna 1) känslomässig hantering för ett professionellt bemötande, 2) flexibilitet och följsamhet, 3) samtalsmetoder och 4) sammanhangsmarkering. De slutsatser som dragits är att den som håller i samtalet behöver besitta förmågor som att kunna lyssna aktivt, härbärgera andras känslor och vara flexibel. Att vara flexibel innebär att vara följsam gentemot barnet såväl som att vara flexibel gällande samtalsmetoder och anpassa detta efter varje enskilt barn. Därutöver dras slutsatsen att en sammanhangsmarkering är viktigt för barnet att få före, under och efter samtalen. En sammanhangsmarkering är även viktig för att kunna bemästra att hålla i känsliga samtal med barn, vilket vi menar på att digitala lösningar för att öva på samtal kan vara ett bra verktyg för blivande socialarbetare som kommer att jobba med barn. / This paper aims to examine important aspects in sensitive conversations with children and how social workers can manage to create prerequisites to make the conversations work out in a functional way. The paper is a part of a pilot study which aims to create digital solutions for social work students to practice sensitive conversations with children in a digital environment. Our study is based on qualitative interviews and the methodology used for analysis is constructivist grounded theory. The analysis has resulted in the core categories 1) emotional management to achieve a professional approach, 2) flexibility and adaptability, 3) conversational methods and 4) context markers. The result shows that the professional who is leading the conversation needs to be able to practice active listening, to harbor other peoples (the children) feelings and to be flexible. To be flexible means to be able to adopt the approach to every individual child, but also to be adjustable towards what conversational methods to be used, so that every individual’s need can be met. In conclusion, it is important in the treatment of a child to mark out the context of the conversation and situation for the child before, during and after the conversation. To mark out the context of the conversation is also important for the social worker to be able to master the conversation. Using digital solutions in order to practice on sensitive conversations can be an effective tool to build up context markers for the social worker and therefore get more comfortable to lead difficult conversations.

Under år 2022 uppmärksammades och diskuterades socionomutbildningens utformning, både i debattartiklar och av undervisande lektorer på socionomprogrammen. Inom socionomprogrammen diskuterades det även bland elever om hur pass förberedda de kände sig inför det kommande yrkeslivet som socionom. Många studenter tycktes förespråka praktiska moment under sin utbildning. Med anledning av studenternas syn på praktiska förberedelser används i studien det teoretiska ramverket Learning by Doing utifrån dess lämplighet att tillämpa praktisk kunskap för att stärka inlärning hos individen. Denna bakgrund ligger till grund för studiens syfte, att utifrån en kvantitativ metod undersöka hur pass förberedda socionomstudenter under termin sex upper sig vara inför sitt framtida yrkesliv. Utifrån ambitionen att kvantifiera studenternas känslor och bereda tillgång till en större mängd data användes webbenkät som datainsamlingsmetod. Totalt valde sex universitet att medverka, vilket resulterade i totalt 103 respondenter, vilket har bidragit till studiens resultat. Studiens resultat visade på intressanta fynd. För det första fanns ingen association mellan tidigare erfarenhet och respondenternas känsla av förberedelse inför det kommande yrkeslivet. För det andra fanns det en association, likt det teoretiska ramverket och tidigare forskning, mellan studenternas verksamhetsförlagda utbildning och deras förberedelse för det kommande yrkeslivet. För det tredje testades även respondenternas association mellan erhållen kunskap inom myndighetsutövning och professionella samtal, vilket resulterade i att det fanns en association mellan respondenternas kunskap och känslan av förberedelse. Slutligen visade studiens tester rimligtvis på att desto mer kunskap studenterna uppgav sig fått från utbildningen, desto mer förberedda kände de sig. Sammantaget och utifrån studiens resultat föreslås ytterligare praktiska moment inom utbildningen för att stärka socionomstudenters känsla av förberedelse inför det kommande yrkeslivet.

Sveriges socialtjänst har i dagsläget hög arbetsbelastning och personalomsättning. Detta påverkar direkt instansens anställda och organisationernas klienter. Anställda förklarar att den rådande situationen inom socialtjänsten försvårar möjligheten att utföra ett professionellt arbete. Nyutexaminerade verksamma inom socialtjänsten får bristande introduktion på arbetsplatserna som följd av socialtjänstens arbetsvillkor och -miljö. De upplever sig som “inkastade” och ensamma i arbetet. Tidigare forskning visar att nyutexaminerade och socionomstudenter identifierat en kunskapslucka i de praktiska färdigheterna inom socialt arbete och önskar att utbildningen givit dem mer av detta. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka om socionomstudenter som genomfört sin VFU inom socialtjänsten upplever att de via grundutbildningen fått tillräckliga verktyg för att handskas med det avstånd som ofta råder mellan de kunskaper som lärs ut om vad som är välfungerande socialt arbete och de arbetsvillkor de möter på arbetsplatsen. Studien är kvalitativ där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med fyra respondenter och två informanter. Datamaterialet har analyserats utifrån tematisk analys och genom de teoretiska utgångspunkterna “learning by doing” och krav-kontrollmodellen. Resultatet indikerar att respondenterna har en generell kunskap om det sociala arbetet och dess insatser samt att socialtjänstens rådande situation kan begränsa möjligheten till att utföra ett välfungerande socialt arbete / Sweden's social services currently have a high workload and staff turnover. This affects agency employees and clients. Employees explain that the current situation makes it difficult to perform professional work. New graduates working in social services receive a poor introduction to the workplace due to working conditions and -environment. They feel 'thrown in' and single-handed at work. Previous research shows that new graduates and social work students identified a knowledge gap in practical skills and desired more practical elements in the education. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether social work students who have completed their internship in social services feel that they have received sufficient tools through the basic education to deal with the distance that often exists between the educated knowledge about well-functioning social work and the working conditions they encounter in the workplace. The study is qualitative, with semi-structured interviews conducted with four respondents and two informants. The materials were analyzed through thematic analysis and the theoretical starting points "learning by doing" and job strain model. The results indicate that the respondents have general knowledge of social work and inputs. Current situation of social services can limit the possibility of performing well functioning social work

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research investigates education strategies for field instructors working with undergraduate social work students. Social work students at the University of Stellenbosch receive practical experience and education at welfare institutions as part of their formal education. During this practice education period students are guided and educated by field instructors. Practice education of undergraduate social work students is a demanding responsibility to field instructors and knowledge and skills are required to complete the task successfully. During the practice education period, field instructors are still confronted with their own work pressure and environmental demands in practice, along with the practice education of undergraduate social work students. The basic premise for this research is focused on the importance of the role of field instructors during the field practice period, as well as the importance of continuous education to these field instructors. This research report includes 'n thorough literature study that refers to the knowledge and skills that are required of field instructors for practice eduaction of students. The partnership between the educational institution and practice education agency are discussed and the roles, tasks and expectations of the partners are described in the chapters. Both parties are responsible for the education of field instructors and several educational strategies are examined. As a conclusion, educational strategies for field instructors are discussed and recommendations are made. The empirical research involved the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the theoretical part of the research. An explorary study was used to obtain the information from respondants. The findings and results of the research are analized and compared with the literature and some recommendations are made. The findings of this research can be used as guidelines for the education of field instructors concerned with the education of undergraduate social work students. Field instructors contribute to the education of professional social workers and all parties involved in the education process should bare a responsibilty to participate in field instructors' education. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing ondersoek opleidingsstrategieë vir praktykopleiers van voorgraadse maatskaplikewerk-studente. Maatskaplikewerk-studente aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch word as deel van hul formele opleiding blootgestel aan praktiese ondervinding en -onderrig by welsynsinstansies. Gedurende hierdie praktykonderrigplasing ontvang studente leiding en onderrig van praktykopleiers. Praktykonderrig van voorgraadse maatskaplikewerk-studente stel hoë eise aan praktykopleiers en verg kennis en vaardighede om die taak suksesvol uit te voer. Tydens die praktykonderrigperiode word praktykopleiers steeds gekonfronteer met die eise van die werks- en omgewingsdruk in die praktyk, tesame met die praktykonderrig van voorgraadse maatskaplikewerk-studente. Hierdie navorsing is gerig op die noodsaaklikheid van praktykopleiers se rol tydens die praktykonderrigperiode van voorgraadse maatskaplikewerk-studente, sowel as die belangrikheid van voortgesette opleiding aan hierdie praktykopleiers. Ten einde opleidingsstrategieë vir praktykopleiers daar te stel, fokus die literatuurstudie op 'n bespreking van die kennis en vaardighede waaroor praktykopleiers moet beskik vir praktykonderrig aan studente. Die vennootskap tussen die opleidingsinstansie en praktykonderrigsinstansie word volledig bespreek en rolle, funksies en verwagtinge van die vennote word aangedui. Beide partye dra 'n verantwoordelikheid teenoor die opleiding van praktykopleiers en moontlike opleidingsmetodes word ondersoek. Ter samevatting word opleidingsstrategieë vir praktykopleiers bespreek en aanbevelings word gemaak. Die teoretiese deel van die verslag word uitgebrei in die empiriese ondersoek, deur 'n ontleding en bespreking van die resultate van die ondersoek. 'n Verkennende studie is benut en beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodes is gebruik om die inligting van respondente te bekom. Die bevindinge en resultate van die ondersoek is geanaliseer en vergelyk met die literatuur en sekere aanbevelings is gemaak. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie kan as riglyn gebruik word vir die opleiding van praktykopleiers wat betrokke is by die onderrig van voorgraadse maatskaplikewerk-studente. Praktykopleiers speel 'n belangrike rol in die opleiding en onderrig van professionele maatskaplike werkers en betrokke partye in die opleidingsproses dra 'n verantwoordelikheid om praktykopleiers toe te rus vir die taak.

The aim of this study is to examine Swedish social work students’ norms and values towards homosexuality and intimate partner violence in homosexual relationships, in order to establish an increased understanding for whether social work students contribute to or challenge the heteronormative beliefs that can occur in social work. Previous studies have shown that professional social workers tend to perceive individuals who are homosexual and exposed to intimate partner violence as less serious than individuals who are in a heterosexual relationship, and therefore individuals who are homosexual are more likely to receive a lesser support and treatment. Furthermore, studies show that heteronormativity is prevalent within social work education. In addition, studies show that social work education further needs to implement different sexualities and intimate partner violence, regardless the individual’s sexual orientation in the syllabus.The chosen method for this study was focus group interviews with a vignette about intimate partner violence, which was executed with social work students from two different universities in Sweden. The empirical material has been analyzed using previous studies and theoretical perspectives such as queer theory, heteronormativity and gender. The empirical material shows that social work students in Sweden do not show any heteronormative beliefs, however they tend to show and maintain biases about gender. Furthermore, the empirical material indicate that social work students have a general knowledge about intimate partner violence, however they disclose that they do not possess knowledge about the differences in intimate partner violence regarding homosexual relationships. Lastly the empirical material shows that social work students depicts that heteronormativity is prevalent within social work education, furthermore social work students claims the necessity of that the syllabus further implement a content regarding intimate partner violence and how the faculty refer to individuals who do not identify themselves as heterosexuals.