Ensuring the future of rural social work in Australia
- Authors: Brown, Grace , Green, Rosemary
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural Society Vol. 19, no. 4 (2009), p. 293-295
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- Description: The article focuses on several approaches to improve social work in remote, rural and regional locales in Australia. It says that despite the need for social work services, human service agencies face difficulty in retention and recruitment of qualified staff. To address such problems in rural social work, it suggests the involvement of urban universities, which provide social work education, by supporting rural student placements. It mentions the need for industry support to encourage and assists student in rural placements. It also states that distance education can be an alternative for students from rural locales. Moreover, it says that continuing professional development opportunities should be provided for rural social workers.
- Description: 2003007962
Preparing for social work practice in diverse contexts : Introducing an integrated model for class discussion
- Authors: Green, Rosemary , Gregory, Raeleene , Mason, Robyn
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Social Work Education Vol. 28, no. 4 (2009), p. 413-422
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- Description: Understanding the context of practice is an essential component of social work practice as is providing service that respects diversity. These twin concepts are necessary to include in planning and delivering services across all levels of practice. However, while we might understand how the context impacts on service users (and such an understanding is a vital part of assessment processes), the context has greater and more far reaching impacts. For example, in rural practice research, there is evidence that the context strongly influences the choice of practice methods, the behaviour of the professional as an individual and as a community member, and the management of complex ethical situations. This paper proposes a model that may be useful in analysing the various impacts of diversity and context in social work practice, and is relevant for the education of social workers and other human service personnel. The SUPAmodel (Service User, Professional, Agency) uses practice examples to explore how changes in context impact on professional decision making and choices about intervention. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.
- Description: 2003006215
Critically reflecting on the Australian association of social workers code of ethics : Learning from a social work field placement
- Authors: Patil, Tejaswini , Ennis, Gretchen
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Social Work Vol. 48, no. 5 (2018), p. 1370-1387
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- Description: When a student experienced a personally challenging situation during field placement, she and her field supervisor worked through the scenario together, using a process of critical reflection. Many ideas and assumptions were unsettled for both, and aspects of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Code of Ethics were questioned. Using critical reflection as a pedagogical tool, we reflect on how discourses affect our practice. We demonstrate this by undertaking a political reading of the AASW Code of Ethics. Our analysis exposes tensions between the core social work value of ‘respect for persons’ and the practice responsibility of social workers to undertake culturally competent, safe and sensitive practice. We suggest that the Code of Ethics is predominantly embedded in Kantian philosophy and limits our ability to practise in culturally sensitive ways, as it denies the impact that knowledge and power have on our work with Indigenous communities specifically, and all non-Western peoples more broadly.
Placement interviews at the interface of cultural diversity and standardised requirements
- Authors: Koeck, Clara-Maria , Ottmann, Goetz
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Advances in social work and welfare education Vol. 20, no. 1 (2018), p. 108-121
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- Description: Field education placements permit social work students to gain practical experience employing the knowledge and skills they acquired in the classroom. Access to field education placements is dependent upon placement interviews during which candidates have to display their professional and personal suitability. Placement interviews are challenging for all students. For international students, they are particularly challenging as they represent a litmus test as to whether they have achieved a sufficient degree of cultural adaptation. To date, little attention has been paid to the way placement interviews are experienced by international students. This article addresses this gap. The article is based on a qualitative study involving semi-structured, in-depth interviews with five international students focusing on the way placement interviews were experienced, how students felt prepared for them, and the degree to which language proficiency, cultural difference, social connectedness, discrimination, and Australian workplace culture represented a challenge. The findings suggest that international students need be to better informed about opportunities associated with field placement and the often implicit requirements and expectations associated with it. The authors argue that they would benefit from targeted educational resources ranging from English language tuition to interview role play.
Critical language awareness: A beckoning frontier in social work education?
- Authors: Clement, Chihota
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Aotearoa New Zealand social work Vol. 29, no. 2 (2017), p. 56-68
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- Description: Introduction: Effective social work practice is predicated on empowering, inclusive and culturally responsive communication, and yet, there appears to be very limited focus on language awareness, let alone critical language awareness, in contemporary social work education - both within and beyond the Australasian context. This gap is more worrying against a background where neoliberal and instrumental discourses (Habermas, 1969 O'Regan, 2001) have freely proliferated, and now threaten to colonise virtually all areas of private and public life (Chouliaraki and Fairclough, 1999). In response, this article advocates the inclusion of Critical Language Awareness (CLA) in contemporary social work education. Approach: This article initially maps the broad scope and historical emergence of CLA, before surveying its key political and theoretical influences. Findings: The key outcome is that CLA - as delineated - clearly shares significant overlaps with social work values, particularly: justice, equality and a commitment to anti-discriminatory and antioppressive practice (Dominelli, 2002 Payne, 1997). More importantly, CLA provides conceptual and analytical resources that promise to significantly sharpen students' abilities to recognise, question and ultimately challenge, oppressive discourses (Fairclough, 2011 Manjarres, 2011 Wodak, 2006). Conclusion: It is recommended that CLA strands be woven into existing social work themes and topics. The final part of the article offers some practical suggestions on how this could be done.
Teaching cultural humility for social workers serving LGBTQI Aboriginal communities in Australia
- Authors: Bennett, Bindi , Gates, Trevor
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Social work education Vol. 38, no. 5 (2019), p. 604-617
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- Description: It is well documented that colonization and subsequent repressive policies have wrought devastating changes in the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia. Social workers are an essential group for improving social justice and self-determination for Australian Aboriginal people. The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) acknowledges that Aboriginal people make a unique contribution to the life of the nation and mandates that social work educational programs provide culturally responsive content that acknowledges the value and contributions of Aboriginal people. Social work educators need to embed this content without reinforcing stereotypes or being tokenistic. This is a challenge when teaching about intersecting identities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) Aboriginal people. We outline the terms used in this space and propose that cultural humility is an acceptable framework to consider. We introduce key conceptual terms used in LGBTQI Aboriginal communities. Finally, we provide recommendations for engaging with LGBTQI Aboriginal peoples.
Teaching mental health and well-being online in a crisis: Fostering love and self-compassion in clinical social work education
- Authors: Gates, Trevor , Ross, Dyann , Bennett, Bindi , Jonathan, Kate
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Clinical Social Work Journal Vol. 50, no. 1 (2022), p. 22-34
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- Description: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has shifted clinical social work (CSW) and mental health education in Australia, and indeed throughout much of the globe, onto online delivery. The disruption caused by COVID-19 presents unexpected challenges in fostering the development of skill sets among social work educators in partnership with students. This article is a reflexive collaborative autoethnography written by four educators of different international and cultural backgrounds at a regional university in Queensland. Our university has experienced a shift from primarily a face-to-face delivery to online delivery due to social distancing. This article is grounded in an ethic of love, a values-based relationship-oriented practice promoting care, collaborative dialogue and solidarity between people, using self-compassion and reflexivity. We explore how COVID-19 has forced the authors to alter their teaching practice, cope with uncertainties, and respond with loving kindness to the shifting needs of students. We draw upon our experiences as educators of diverse cultural, linguistic, gender, and sexualities from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria and reflect upon how we have simultaneously turned inward and outward through technology. We draw upon person-centered, narrative, trauma informed and anti-oppressive clinical and educational approaches when exploring self-compassion and loving approaches with the students. We discuss the need for self-compassion and love of others as we respond to the current crisis by modeling self-compassion and love for CSW students who are experiencing crises, including loss of employment, separation from family overseas and interstate, isolation from colleagues and loved ones, and healthcare issues.
Mental health literacy and stigma of Australian social work students : depression and suicidal ideation
- Authors: Jennifer, Martin
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Advances in social work and welfare education Vol. 19, no. 2 (2017), p. 125-138
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- Description: This article presents the findings of a study of mental health literacy and stigma of Australian social work students. The aim of the study was to identify levels of knowledge and attitudes and beliefs prior to, and following, course content on mental health literacy. The outcome of this study indicates an increase in knowledge development and reduced rates of stigma following mental health literacy studies. Even though relatively low rates of stigma were recorded amongst these social work students, the study findings do raise the question of what level of stigma, if any, is acceptable within social work education. This has broader implications for service delivery as stigmatising attitudes and beliefs of students and workers might cause harm and deter people from accessing mental health services.
Continuing professional development for accredited mental health social workers : an evaluative study
- Authors: Martin, Jennifer , Paul, Lauren , Robertson, Melissa
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Advances in social work and welfare education Vol. 20, no. 2 (2018), p. 129-143
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- Description: This article considers how the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) has responded to the recommendations made by accredited mental health social workers in the first national study on continuing professional development needs in 2010. The aim of the study was to ascertain the responsiveness of the AASW to the recommendations made so that members knew if their concerns had been listened to. A five-year timeframe was considered timely for such a review. An evaluative approach was used in August 2015 sourcing data from both public and private domains from 2010 to 2015 to identify, and not appraise or critique, how the AASW had responded to the recommendations in the 2010 review. This is in acknowledgment that there may be other reasons influencing changes made and that these may not be a direct response to the 2010 survey recommendations. The study found that all recommendations made in the 2010 review were responded to by the AASW. [Author abstract]
Cultural responsiveness in action: Co-constructing social work curriculum resources with aboriginal communities
- Authors: Bennett, Bindi , Redfern, Helen , Zubrzycki, Joanna
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The British journal of social work Vol. 48, no. 3 (2018), p. 808-825
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- Description: Abstract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing have recently become core social work curriculum in Australian social work degrees and are regarded as central to decolonising Australian social work education and producing culturally responsive social work practitioners. Effectively teaching these knowledges, values and skills requires multiple strategies including the development of new curriculum resources which demonstrate the integration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing in practice. This article presents the theory and practice of co-constructing two filmed case studies with Aboriginal stakeholders which address a range of student learning needs. These powerful case studies are informed by Aboriginal knowledges and demonstrate the skills and values that the community state they want and need from social workers. Engaging in a community-led process provides social work educators with opportunities to build relationships with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, thus modelling cultural responsiveness in action.
Creating a culturally safe space when teaching aboriginal content in social work: A scoping review
- Authors: Fernando, Terrina , Bennett, Bindi
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian social work Vol. 72, no. 1 (2019), p. 47-61
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- Description: Teaching Aboriginal content in social work education presents risks of retraumatisation for students. There are international calls for a trauma-informed teaching model that creates cultural safety in the classroom. This study aimed to develop a trauma-informed model for social work education by reviewing the literature on cultural safety for Aboriginal peoples. This model incorporates key aspects of ensuring Aboriginal cultural safety: de-colonise social work education collaborative partnerships build relationships critical reflection develop cultural courage and yarning and story-telling. It provides a valuable framework for creating a more equitable teaching and learning environment that also ensures the essential academic content is covered. IMPLICATIONS Trauma underlies the historical, contemporary and cultural narratives of Aboriginal peoples. Students engaging in Aboriginal content that is traumatic can mean connecting with trauma that has occurred in their own lives. Trauma-informed teaching and learning will ensure that educators create culturally safe spaces that enable students to engage well with content. The adoption of the framework proposed in this paper may lead to the creation of a culturally safe space for teaching and learning in social work education.
Suicide and intimate partner violence risk assessment and decision-making
- Authors: Kellie, Grant , Louisa, Whitwam , Jennifer, Martin , Jennifer, White , Terry, Haines
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Advances in social work and welfare education Vol. 23, no. 1 (2021), p. 134-147
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- Description: This research explores the question: 'How do social workers and multidisciplinary mental health professionals perceive and understand risk and how does this inform decision-making and service provision?' In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with health and mental health workers employed at a major health service based in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were employed in hospitals, community health centres, and residential care facilities including specialist mental health services. Theoretic thematic analysis was used to identify seven dominant themes reported by study participants. These were: (1) establishing risk ownership (2) a hierarchy of fears (3) self-doubt and self-blame (4) organisational incident reviews (5) blame from client, family and society (6) the protective shield and (7) evaluating safety and meaning. The study findings have implications for further research and social work education on risk assessment, decision-making and appropriate social work responses. [Author abstract]
Strengthening critical allyship in social work education: opportunities in the context of #BlackLivesMatter and COVID-19
- Authors: Gates, Trevor , Bennett, Bindi , Baines, Donna
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Social work education Vol. 42, no. 3 (2023), p. 371-387
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- Description: COVID-19 has shifted social work education and widened the gaps in services for historically marginalised communities, including people of diverse cultural, sexual and gender identities and social classes. Existing inequities based on cultural differences have been magnified, perhaps most recently evident in George Floyd's slaying and the subsequent #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations across the globe. Learning to be an ally for diverse communities and working towards the betterment of all people is a goal of social work education. We argue that simple allyship is not enough given the structural inequities present in North America and Australia the civil unrest amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Social work education's focus should trend towards allegiance with disadvantaged communities or critical allyship and include a commitment to undertake decisive actions to redress the entrenched colonial, capitalist, systemic and structural inequities that oppress many and provide unearned privilege and advantage to others. We explore strategies used in classrooms to promote allegiance and make recommendations for social work education, policy, and practice in this time of change.
Creating spatial, relational and cultural safety in online social work education during COVID-19
- Authors: Bennett, Bindi , Ross, Dyann , Gates, Trevor
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Social work education Vol. 41, no. 8 (2022), p. 1660-1668
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- Description: Spatial, relational and cultural safety are critical elements of trauma-informed social work practice, gaining momentum in social work education. Culturally responsive and trauma-informed pedagogical approaches meet the definition of safety. The aim is to create a democratic, collaborative, and reflexive space whereby students and educators can feel simultaneously supported in the diversity of their respective lived experiences and learning. The challenges in fostering these learning and teaching spaces are reflected upon at one Australian university which responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by quickly transitioning to online learning without prior planning and consultation. The reflection describes the challenges and opportunities in delivering online content and the use of spatial, relational and cultural safety to navigate these challenges. The authors demonstrate the Aboriginal practice of social Yarning for use in online classrooms. Yarning helps educators and students attend to safety as an integral dimension of social work education.