Pub Date : 2023-05-27DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2221172
Pamela A. Viggiani, E. Russell, Mary L. Kozub
ABSTRACT This paper discusses the utilization of a cultural humility model to educate social work students in understanding the importance of diversity, power, privilege, oppression, marginalization and social and economic justice in an increasingly diverse society. Social work programs are required to teach students to effectively engage a diversity of clients in practice as well as to take action to resolve issues of oppression and discrimination. While the cultural humility model is gaining acceptance in social work and in social work education, there are few models of how to effectively teach it within the social work curriculum. One model that includes a two-course sequence is presented. The paper discusses components in creating a culturally humble classroom environment as well as specific materials and classroom assignments aimed at providing students with the knowledge, tools and skills essential to practicing with cultural humility. The power of utilizing materials that are representative of a diversity of voices is emphasized with appendices providing written and audio resources.
{"title":"A Course Sequence as a Model to Teach Cultural Humility to MSW Students","authors":"Pamela A. Viggiani, E. Russell, Mary L. Kozub","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2221172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2221172","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper discusses the utilization of a cultural humility model to educate social work students in understanding the importance of diversity, power, privilege, oppression, marginalization and social and economic justice in an increasingly diverse society. Social work programs are required to teach students to effectively engage a diversity of clients in practice as well as to take action to resolve issues of oppression and discrimination. While the cultural humility model is gaining acceptance in social work and in social work education, there are few models of how to effectively teach it within the social work curriculum. One model that includes a two-course sequence is presented. The paper discusses components in creating a culturally humble classroom environment as well as specific materials and classroom assignments aimed at providing students with the knowledge, tools and skills essential to practicing with cultural humility. The power of utilizing materials that are representative of a diversity of voices is emphasized with appendices providing written and audio resources.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42083086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-27DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2210326
Vibha Kaushik, Shannon Klassen, J. Drolet, C. Walsh
ABSTRACT Field education provides students with the opportunity to supplement classroom learning with the hands-on practice needed to be successful after graduation. However, in recent years, field education has encountered several challenges including a changing societal environment, placement scarcity in the face of increased enrollment, and strict guidelines for the provision of adequate supervision. In response to these challenges, semi-structured qualitative interviews with 35 social work field education coordinators, directors, faculty liaisons, field instructors and field supervisors were conducted throughout the prairie region of Canada between July and December of 2020. These interviews were aimed at determining innovative, promising, and wise practices that would address the various challenges in the provision of field education while also providing a pathway forward to the transformation of more sustainable social work field education practices. Findings indicate that there is a need for additional supervision strategies and increased flexibility within field placements, as well as a greater focus on the need for decolonization within the social work field education sphere. The emergence of COVID-19 was also discussed as both an exasperating factor within the current field education system while simultaneously creating an opportunity to reevaluate and restructure current field education practices.
{"title":"New Directions in Social Work Field Education in Canada: Promising, Wise, and Innovative Practices","authors":"Vibha Kaushik, Shannon Klassen, J. Drolet, C. Walsh","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2210326","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2210326","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Field education provides students with the opportunity to supplement classroom learning with the hands-on practice needed to be successful after graduation. However, in recent years, field education has encountered several challenges including a changing societal environment, placement scarcity in the face of increased enrollment, and strict guidelines for the provision of adequate supervision. In response to these challenges, semi-structured qualitative interviews with 35 social work field education coordinators, directors, faculty liaisons, field instructors and field supervisors were conducted throughout the prairie region of Canada between July and December of 2020. These interviews were aimed at determining innovative, promising, and wise practices that would address the various challenges in the provision of field education while also providing a pathway forward to the transformation of more sustainable social work field education practices. Findings indicate that there is a need for additional supervision strategies and increased flexibility within field placements, as well as a greater focus on the need for decolonization within the social work field education sphere. The emergence of COVID-19 was also discussed as both an exasperating factor within the current field education system while simultaneously creating an opportunity to reevaluate and restructure current field education practices.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48507993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-27DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2208387
T. Almond
ABSTRACT This paper explores the experiences of social work practitioners making a career move from front-line practice into academia. Six participants engaged in a focus group and subsequent individual semi-structured interviews to reflect on their transitional experiences. From this, factors that helped or hindered the transition were identified and pertinent themes were generated, explored, and analyzed. The paper concludes that meaningful relationships and having a sense of belonging are crucial to successful transition from practice to academia. Relationships are considered integral to both professional identity and positive experiences, particularly within the first year of transition, though their importance is often overlooked by the employing higher education institution.
{"title":"The Transitional Experiences of Social Work Practitioners Working in Higher Education","authors":"T. Almond","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2208387","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2208387","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper explores the experiences of social work practitioners making a career move from front-line practice into academia. Six participants engaged in a focus group and subsequent individual semi-structured interviews to reflect on their transitional experiences. From this, factors that helped or hindered the transition were identified and pertinent themes were generated, explored, and analyzed. The paper concludes that meaningful relationships and having a sense of belonging are crucial to successful transition from practice to academia. Relationships are considered integral to both professional identity and positive experiences, particularly within the first year of transition, though their importance is often overlooked by the employing higher education institution.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45555596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-14DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2176016
Mary Christensen, J. Gamble, D. Morrow
ABSTRACT Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic upon social work programs have been profound and institutions have struggled to identify appropriate policies and interventions to address students’ educational, health, and safety needs. This manuscript reports the results of a survey administered to BSW and MSW students at three different timepoints during the pandemic: March 2020 (N = 157), November 2020 (N = 87), and March 2021 (N = 45). The survey explored students’ experiences of online learning, pandemic-related stressors, mental health symptoms, and the department and institution’s responses to the pandemic. Although initial comfort with online classroom learning was low, comfort levels increased significantly as the pandemic continued. Students in the MSW online program were the most comfortable with online learning and BSW students the least. Students reported high levels of pandemic-related stressors and behavioral health symptoms throughout the pandemic and approximately half the sample reported concerns about program continuance. Although students felt supported by the social work program, they felt institutional policies to address COVID-19 were inadequate. Useful interventions identified included access to mental health, financial supports, flexibility and support from faculty, clear and consistent communication, and a decrease in field hours during the pandemic.
{"title":"Preliminary Findings on Long-Term Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Work Students","authors":"Mary Christensen, J. Gamble, D. Morrow","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2176016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2176016","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic upon social work programs have been profound and institutions have struggled to identify appropriate policies and interventions to address students’ educational, health, and safety needs. This manuscript reports the results of a survey administered to BSW and MSW students at three different timepoints during the pandemic: March 2020 (N = 157), November 2020 (N = 87), and March 2021 (N = 45). The survey explored students’ experiences of online learning, pandemic-related stressors, mental health symptoms, and the department and institution’s responses to the pandemic. Although initial comfort with online classroom learning was low, comfort levels increased significantly as the pandemic continued. Students in the MSW online program were the most comfortable with online learning and BSW students the least. Students reported high levels of pandemic-related stressors and behavioral health symptoms throughout the pandemic and approximately half the sample reported concerns about program continuance. Although students felt supported by the social work program, they felt institutional policies to address COVID-19 were inadequate. Useful interventions identified included access to mental health, financial supports, flexibility and support from faculty, clear and consistent communication, and a decrease in field hours during the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47044867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-14DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2176033
Gita R. Mehrotra, Anita R. Gooding, Olivia K. Bormann
ABSTRACT Field instructors are critical to enacting social work’s signature pedagogy as they are tasked with providing agency-based learning opportunities and supervision for students. It has been well-documented that field supervisors are instrumental in students’ learning and that the supervisory relationship is central to success in field education. However, there is a dearth of research regarding issues of identity, difference, race, and/or racism in these relationships, particularly from the perspective of field instructors of color. To date, we found no published literature that focuses specifically on the experiences and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) social work field instructors. The qualitative study presented here draws upon interviews and focus groups with BIPOC field instructors to better understand how race influences their role and work with students in field settings. Key findings include: 1) race and racialized experiences are primary motivations for becoming a field instructor, 2) BIPOC field instructors integrate issues of race and racism into supervision and work with students in multiple ways, and 3) BIPOC field instructors have differential experiences when supervising White students versus students of color. Recommendations for supporting racialized field instructors in their roles and future research are discussed.
{"title":"Race/ism in Field Education: Narratives of BIPOC Field Instructors","authors":"Gita R. Mehrotra, Anita R. Gooding, Olivia K. Bormann","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2176033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2176033","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Field instructors are critical to enacting social work’s signature pedagogy as they are tasked with providing agency-based learning opportunities and supervision for students. It has been well-documented that field supervisors are instrumental in students’ learning and that the supervisory relationship is central to success in field education. However, there is a dearth of research regarding issues of identity, difference, race, and/or racism in these relationships, particularly from the perspective of field instructors of color. To date, we found no published literature that focuses specifically on the experiences and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) social work field instructors. The qualitative study presented here draws upon interviews and focus groups with BIPOC field instructors to better understand how race influences their role and work with students in field settings. Key findings include: 1) race and racialized experiences are primary motivations for becoming a field instructor, 2) BIPOC field instructors integrate issues of race and racism into supervision and work with students in multiple ways, and 3) BIPOC field instructors have differential experiences when supervising White students versus students of color. Recommendations for supporting racialized field instructors in their roles and future research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45768845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-14DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2169434
Dolly Sacristan, C. D. Martinez
ABSTRACT Social work educators are compelled to use reliable and valid methods to assess student learning outcomes. This study adapted a clinical simulation by integrating traditional role-play of case scenarios and elements of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, which is often used to assess students’ practice skills. Master of Social Work (MSW) students’ engagement skills were assessed at the end of the first semester of their foundation year using the clinical simulation. Participants were first-year MSW students from two theory and practice courses. The study demonstrated the value of using a clinical simulation in practice courses to assess engagement skills. Correlations of self, peer, and instructor performance scores were compared and interrater reliability was assessed. Peers rated their classmates’ performance the highest, and some peer ratings were negatively correlated with instructor ratings. There was higher correspondence in self- and instructor ratings in some skills and poor correspondence in others. Peers tended to rate their classmates’ performance as showing intermediate proficiency, while self- and instructor ratings of engagement skills indicated basic proficiency. Overall, there was poor interrater reliability. Challenges relating to the implementation of a clinical simulation and its implications for social work education are examined.
{"title":"Using Clinical Simulation to Assess MSW Students’ Engagement Skills","authors":"Dolly Sacristan, C. D. Martinez","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2169434","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2169434","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Social work educators are compelled to use reliable and valid methods to assess student learning outcomes. This study adapted a clinical simulation by integrating traditional role-play of case scenarios and elements of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, which is often used to assess students’ practice skills. Master of Social Work (MSW) students’ engagement skills were assessed at the end of the first semester of their foundation year using the clinical simulation. Participants were first-year MSW students from two theory and practice courses. The study demonstrated the value of using a clinical simulation in practice courses to assess engagement skills. Correlations of self, peer, and instructor performance scores were compared and interrater reliability was assessed. Peers rated their classmates’ performance the highest, and some peer ratings were negatively correlated with instructor ratings. There was higher correspondence in self- and instructor ratings in some skills and poor correspondence in others. Peers tended to rate their classmates’ performance as showing intermediate proficiency, while self- and instructor ratings of engagement skills indicated basic proficiency. Overall, there was poor interrater reliability. Challenges relating to the implementation of a clinical simulation and its implications for social work education are examined.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45460131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-14DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2170116
C. Coohey, M. Landsman, Stephen P. Cummings
ABSTRACT Many students report increasing test anxiety in the months before taking the national social work licensure exam. We evaluate whether adding a test-anxiety-reduction module to an online exam preparation course reduces MSW students’ test anxiety. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest control-group design was used to compare 42 students who did not participate in the course (Group 1), 16 students who enrolled in the course and completed the test-taking strategies module only (Group 2), and 15 students who enrolled in the course and completed both the test-taking strategies module and the new test-anxiety-reduction module (Group 3) on test anxiety. The post-hoc comparison analysis showed Group 3 differed from Group 1: students who completed the test-taking and test-anxiety-reduction modules experienced a greater reduction in test anxiety than students who did not enroll in the course. The other comparison tests were not statistically significant (Group 1 v. Group 2; Group 2 v. Group 3). Preparing students for the licensure exam by teaching both modules – test-taking and anxiety-reduction strategies – appears to benefit MSW students, with modest costs – in time and money – for social work programs.
{"title":"Teaching Strategies to Reduce Test Anxiety among MSW Students Preparing for Licensure","authors":"C. Coohey, M. Landsman, Stephen P. Cummings","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2170116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2170116","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Many students report increasing test anxiety in the months before taking the national social work licensure exam. We evaluate whether adding a test-anxiety-reduction module to an online exam preparation course reduces MSW students’ test anxiety. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest control-group design was used to compare 42 students who did not participate in the course (Group 1), 16 students who enrolled in the course and completed the test-taking strategies module only (Group 2), and 15 students who enrolled in the course and completed both the test-taking strategies module and the new test-anxiety-reduction module (Group 3) on test anxiety. The post-hoc comparison analysis showed Group 3 differed from Group 1: students who completed the test-taking and test-anxiety-reduction modules experienced a greater reduction in test anxiety than students who did not enroll in the course. The other comparison tests were not statistically significant (Group 1 v. Group 2; Group 2 v. Group 3). Preparing students for the licensure exam by teaching both modules – test-taking and anxiety-reduction strategies – appears to benefit MSW students, with modest costs – in time and money – for social work programs.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42694908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-14DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2176403
Stephen Bajjaly, L. Saunders
ABSTRACT Social workers need to possess professional skills and personal qualities, often referred to as “soft skills,” along with disciplinary knowledge, to be successful and to deliver high-quality client services. This study reports on the importance US social work faculty place on soft skills, the extent to which these faculty incorporate soft skills training into their courses, the methods they use to teach soft skills, and whether they provide feedback on student learning. Data were collected through an online survey distributed in spring 2020 to baccalaureate and master’s faculty at US schools of social work. Results indicate social work educators view soft skills education as important and feel largely responsible for teaching these skills and providing feedback. The teaching methods most readily employed are passive in nature and there is limited emphasis toward teaching many of the soft skills competencies specifically noted in the 2015 accreditation standards promulgated by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
{"title":"Teaching Soft Skills Competencies in US Social Work Programs","authors":"Stephen Bajjaly, L. Saunders","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2176403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2176403","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Social workers need to possess professional skills and personal qualities, often referred to as “soft skills,” along with disciplinary knowledge, to be successful and to deliver high-quality client services. This study reports on the importance US social work faculty place on soft skills, the extent to which these faculty incorporate soft skills training into their courses, the methods they use to teach soft skills, and whether they provide feedback on student learning. Data were collected through an online survey distributed in spring 2020 to baccalaureate and master’s faculty at US schools of social work. Results indicate social work educators view soft skills education as important and feel largely responsible for teaching these skills and providing feedback. The teaching methods most readily employed are passive in nature and there is limited emphasis toward teaching many of the soft skills competencies specifically noted in the 2015 accreditation standards promulgated by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47229150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-14DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2182039
A. Jacob, K. Bentley
ABSTRACT The long-recognized disconnect between research and practice is reflected by social work students who often report significant apprehension about their research classes, likely at least in part because of a poor understanding of the research–practice interface and an unfamiliarity with larger professional social change initiatives like the Grand Challenges for Social Work. To counter this disconnect, this study showcases a successful model for BSW research courses that provides students with opportunities to engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice through original, empirical, student-led, field-based research projects that are explicitly applied to the Grand Challenges. Drawing on student reflections, the study provides a useful exemplar of how a BSW research course can shape students’ understanding of the role of research in practice that supports the even larger goal of contributing to the profession’s impact on social problems and its role in social change.
{"title":"Teaching BSW Students to Apply the Grand Challenges in Social Work Through Field-Based Research Projects","authors":"A. Jacob, K. Bentley","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2182039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2182039","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The long-recognized disconnect between research and practice is reflected by social work students who often report significant apprehension about their research classes, likely at least in part because of a poor understanding of the research–practice interface and an unfamiliarity with larger professional social change initiatives like the Grand Challenges for Social Work. To counter this disconnect, this study showcases a successful model for BSW research courses that provides students with opportunities to engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice through original, empirical, student-led, field-based research projects that are explicitly applied to the Grand Challenges. Drawing on student reflections, the study provides a useful exemplar of how a BSW research course can shape students’ understanding of the role of research in practice that supports the even larger goal of contributing to the profession’s impact on social problems and its role in social change.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42907324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-14DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2023.2176605
Donna M. Wampole, Hermeet K. Kohli
ABSTRACT Many factors within the social work profession can lead to empathic distress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. These concerns also apply to college students preparing for a career in social work. Compassion has been noted to be of benefit in connecting workers to clients, families, and communities. Likewise, self-compassion involves the skills of non-judgment, empathy, care for oneself, and social action, and has been studied as a preventative for burnout and distress among social workers. Given these benefits for established social workers, defining and practicing self-compassion is critical to the well-being of social work students and is worth examining for addition to social work curricula. In this exploratory qualitative research, using systematic content analysis, students were asked to define self-compassion and share how they engaged in self-care. Participants’ definition of self-compassion using empathy and non-judgment toward oneself reflected the concept of Mindfulness and Self Kindness, components of Neff’s Self-Compassion Scale. However, the element Common Humanity was missing in the students’ definition. Implications for social work education and curriculum development are discussed.
{"title":"Social Work Students’ Definition and Practice of Self-Compassion as a Guide for Curriculum Enrichment","authors":"Donna M. Wampole, Hermeet K. Kohli","doi":"10.1080/08841233.2023.2176605","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2023.2176605","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Many factors within the social work profession can lead to empathic distress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. These concerns also apply to college students preparing for a career in social work. Compassion has been noted to be of benefit in connecting workers to clients, families, and communities. Likewise, self-compassion involves the skills of non-judgment, empathy, care for oneself, and social action, and has been studied as a preventative for burnout and distress among social workers. Given these benefits for established social workers, defining and practicing self-compassion is critical to the well-being of social work students and is worth examining for addition to social work curricula. In this exploratory qualitative research, using systematic content analysis, students were asked to define self-compassion and share how they engaged in self-care. Participants’ definition of self-compassion using empathy and non-judgment toward oneself reflected the concept of Mindfulness and Self Kindness, components of Neff’s Self-Compassion Scale. However, the element Common Humanity was missing in the students’ definition. Implications for social work education and curriculum development are discussed.","PeriodicalId":51728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching in Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48821473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}