Description:
"This professional doctorate portfolio presents the results of my investigations into how to better prepare social work and welfare students for rural practice in Australia."--p. 2.
Description:
"This professional doctorate portfolio presents the results of my investigations into how to better prepare social work and welfare students for rural practice in Australia."--p. 2.
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.
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.
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.
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.