Education in social work

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Social workers employ education as a tool in client and community interactions. These educational exchanges are not always explicit, but are the foundation of how social workers acquire knowledge from their service participants and how they can contribute to information delivery and skill development. [1]

Contents

Psychoeducation

One of the ways in which social workers engage service participants with valuable information is through psychoeducation. [2] Psychoeducation signifies a paradigm shift to a more holistic and competence-based approach, emphasizing health, collaboration, coping, and empowerment. [2]

This method can be used within individual and community-wide interactions, concentrating on service participants' strengths. [2] It constitutes a model that allows the social worker to provide the service participant with the information necessary to make an informed decision that will allow them to reach their respective goals. [3]

Education as a tool in community empowerment

Within the educational setting, social workers can disseminate valuable information through programs or initiatives aimed at providing educational resources and support to parents, helping them become more involved in their children's education and development. Boston Public Schools' Parent University (PU) focuses on Children Program serves as a facilitator for a PU for parents of children in the school district. [4] PU focuses on child development, the content children are learning in school, parent and child advocacy, [5] parental leadership, and effective parenting skills. [4] The primary objective of the program is to equip parents with information that is beneficial for their children's academic success and their own personal and professional development. [4] These classes are free to all parents with children in BPS and take place on Saturdays. [4] A model such as this could be a forum for social workers, including school social workers, to work with parents regarding their child's academic needs. [6]

Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights (WICIR) is an organization co-founded by University of Michigan social work professor, Laura Sanders and numerous other community volunteers. [7] WICIR has contributed to the immigrant rights campaign in Washtenaw County, Michigan. This organization developed a volunteer urgent response team in response to an immigration raid in 2008. It provides advocacy for families affected by increased immigration enforcement, Know Your Rights education to the immigrant community, ally education, and leads political actions toward local policy changes that affect immigrants and immigration reform. [7] Recently, WICIR has provided training to empower immigrant community members to speak in public and to policymakers on behalf of policy reforms, advocate for the community, and help other immigrant families. Educational materials and workshops are provided in both English and Spanish. [7]

Alternatives

The NASW Code of Ethics emphasizes the importance of the social work professional being sensitive, aware, and culturally competent (1.05) while building partnerships with participants. [8] The notion of cultural competency is being discussed; a new terminology suggests using cultural humility vs. cultural competency. [9] These authors suggest that cultural humility is more sustainable and incorporates a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and growth. The importance of bringing this to attention right away is to highlight that language use is extremely important when interacting with participants. Checking one's use of language as a professional has a powerful impact on our relationships. Furthermore, one's use of language can either perpetuate hierarchy or help to minimize it. If a social worker's goal is to empower participants, minimizing hierarchy is one way to develop more meaningful and equal relationships. [10]

One way to limit hierarchy and cultural imperialism together is through community or people's education. This form of education differs from that of dominant education by including voices that are frequently left out. This is examined and explained in depth by the educator and philosopher Paulo Freire. In his most influential book Pedagogy of the Oppressed , [11] Freire pioneered the critical pedagogy movement. Rather than using a traditional top-down approach while educating, Freire believed in a bottom-up approach. [11] With this shift in power dynamics, educators including social workers will be more likely to realize the strengths of the people they are working with, rather than assuming that as professionals, they held all the answers. [12] This philosophy became liked by social workers through its tenets of empowerment and self-esteem development.

Another example of this was Howard Zinn's A People's History of America. Zinn believed that the dominant narrative being taught in schools was excluding the voices and contributions of marginalized populations. [13] On this website, educators can find critical resources that focus on the voices of oppressed and marginalized groups. This website contains hundreds of resources free of charge. Using tools such as this is beneficial for both the social worker and the participant.[source?]

When facilitating or participating in education that challenges dominant narratives, it is important to be aware of one's own social identity. People's identities are complex and intersect with various aspects of ascribed status (that which is assigned to oneself) and achieved status (that which is "earned"). Reflecting and analyzing one's own identity and status can help foster a deeper understanding and respect for those around them. Being critical is a necessity when engaging in alternative narratives. [14]

When facilitating or educating, it is important to set the mood of the group. This is usually done through an icebreaker before beginning the educational activity. It helps individuals warm up and get to know each other before discussing difficult issues, such as ones that challenge the dominant narrative. Many resources exist for icebreakers, but new ones can also be developed based on an education plan and the group to work with. After the discussion, it is important to have some sort of closure for the group. Discussing alternatives to a dominant narrative can be eye-opening, empowering, or uncomfortable for some. It is beneficial to discuss how individuals are feeling so that you can tailor future discussions to the needs of the group.[ citation needed ]

Skills and tools for social workers that educate

Several organizations provide supplemental materials and guides for social work professionals that educate. Some of the most comprehensive resources are available from university social work departments and non-profit organizations. Some examples of this include the Council on Social Work Education and the State University of New York School of Social Work. The CSWE Gero-Ed Center lists a practice guide for social workers educating certain audiences that includes class exercises, assignments, case studies, and history.

Council on Social Work Education

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a non-profit association partnership of educational and professional institutions that works to ensure and enhance the quality of social work education and for a practice that promotes individual, family, and community well-being, and social and economic justice. [15] The association provides various training for community education in a social work setting. [15] For instance, the CSWE Gero-Ed Center lists a practice guide for social workers educating certain populations or audiences that includes class exercises, assignments, case studies, and competencies history. [15]

The material provided explains the benefits of each activity style and what a group would gain from its implementation. Many of the activities resemble community education events. They are intended to provide insight into what educational styles may be most appropriate for the social worker's topic of interest or population. [15] A policy analysis at a community agency meeting may call for an educational activity that divides the attendees into groups. This activity advocates for other community members or agencies. This type of activity, as described by the CSWE, allows for free discussion of intergenerational, multicultural, and political issues associated with that policy. [15] This tool is among many others the CSWE provides for social workers that educate.

The State University of New York School of Social Work

For social workers who are newly introduced to education, the State University of New York School of Social Work provides resources that can help each educator find their style of teaching. SUNY explains that teaching is an art and that social workers, as educators, need to understand themselves and their students. [16] Some of the identified tools provided by the School of Social Work include finding one's learning style, developing effective lesson plans, reflective teaching and professional development, resources by subject, and solution-focused teaching, among others. [16]

Reflective teaching is an aspect of social work that explains the social worker's responsibility to create an environment for creative problem-solving. It allows room to consider more alternatives and develop a body of knowledge based on experiences. [17] In the social work setting, this attempt at community education can prove to be most effective, as people's environments and populations are constantly changing. Reflecting and monitoring the educational process can help stabilize more creative and innovative ways to educate individuals, families, and communities. [17] As social and economic justice issues become more prominent and delicate, social workers need to consider these tools for help seekers.

Related Research Articles

Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work practice draws from areas such as psychology, sociology, health, political science, community development, law, and economics to engage with systems and policies, conduct assessments, develop interventions, and enhance social functioning and responsibility. The ultimate goals of social work include the improvement of people's lives, alleviation of biopsychosocial concerns, empowerment of individuals and communities, and the achievement of social justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adult education</span> Any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling

Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. It can mean any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling, encompassing basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong learner, and to ensure the fulfillment of an individual.

Media literacy is an expanded conceptualization of literacy that includes the ability to access and analyze media messages as well as create, reflect and take action, using the power of information and communication to make a difference in the world. Media literacy is not restricted to one medium and is understood as a set of competencies that are essential for work, life, and citizenship. Media literacy education is the process used to advance media literacy competencies, and it is intended to promote awareness of media influence and create an active stance towards both consuming and creating media. Media literacy education is part of the curriculum in the United States and some European Union countries, and an interdisciplinary global community of media scholars and educators engages in knowledge and scholarly and professional journals and national membership associations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth work</span> Community support activity

Youth work is a community support activity aimed at older children and adolescents. Depending upon the culture and the community, different services and institutions may exist for this purpose. In general, it provides an environment where young people can engage in informal educational activities. Throughout the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, youth work is "to facilitate personal, educational, and social development." Through participative activities and coordinated programs, it seeks to enable young people in "gaining a voice, influence, and place in society in a period of their transition from dependence to independence." By nature and design these activities would be inclusive, educative, and empowering, and based on partnership, equality of opportunity, and respecting diversity.

Critical pedagogy is a philosophy of education and social movement that developed and applied concepts from critical theory and related traditions to the field of education and the study of culture.

School social work is a specialized area of social work concerned with the psychosocial functioning of students to promote and maintain their health and well-being while assisting students to access their academic potential. The School Social Work Association of America defines school social workers as "trained mental health professionals who can assist with mental health concerns, behavioral concerns, positive behavioral support, academic, and classroom support,

Culturally relevant teaching or responsive teaching is a pedagogy grounded in teachers' practice of cultural competence, or skill at teaching in a cross-cultural or multicultural setting. Teachers using this method encourage each student to relate course content to their cultural context.

Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle, and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish educación popular or the Portuguese educação popular and rather than the English usage as when describing a 'popular television programme', popular here means 'of the people'. More specifically 'popular' refers to the 'popular classes', which include peasants, the unemployed, the working class and sometimes the lower middle class. The designation of 'popular' is meant most of all to exclude the upper class and upper middle class.

Social learning is learning that takes place at a wider scale than individual or group learning, up to a societal scale, through social interaction between peers.

Community education, also known as community-based education or community learning & development, is an organization's programs to promote learning and social development work with individuals and groups in their communities using a range of formal and informal methods. A common defining feature is that programmes and activities are developed in dialogue with communities and participants. The purpose of community learning and development is to develop the capacity of individuals and groups of all ages through their actions, the capacity of communities, to improve their quality of life. Central to this is their ability to participate in democratic processes.

Joe Lyons Kincheloe was a professor and Canada Research Chair at the Faculty of Education, McGill University in Montreal and founder of The Paulo and Nita Freire International Project for Critical Pedagogy. He wrote more than 45 books, numerous book chapters, and hundreds of journal articles on issues including critical pedagogy, educational research, urban studies, cognition, curriculum, and cultural studies. Kincheloe received three graduate degrees from the University of Tennessee. The father of four children, he worked closely for the last 19 years of his life with his partner, Shirley R. Steinberg.

Multicultural education is a set of educational strategies developed to provide students with knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups. It draws on insights from multiple fields, including ethnic studies and women studies, and reinterprets content from related academic disciplines. It is a way of teaching that promotes the principles of inclusion, diversity, democracy, skill acquisition, inquiry, critical thought, multiple perspectives, and self-reflection. One study found these strategies to be effective in promoting educational achievements among immigrant students.

A culturagram is a family assessment tool used in the practice of social work which was first introduced by Fordham University professor, Dr. Elaine Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open educational practices</span>

Open educational practices (OEP) are part of the broader open education landscape, including the openness movement in general. It is a term with multiple layers and dimensions and is often used interchangeably with open pedagogy or open practices. OEP represent teaching and learning techniques that draw upon open and participatory technologies and high-quality open educational resources (OER) in order to facilitate collaborative and flexible learning. Because OEP emerged from the study of OER, there is a strong connection between the two concepts. OEP, for example, often, but not always, involve the application of OER to the teaching and learning process. Open educational practices aim to take the focus beyond building further access to OER and consider how in practice, such resources support education and promote quality and innovation in teaching and learning. The focus in OEP is on reproduction/understanding, connecting information, application, competence, and responsibility rather than the availability of good resources. OEP is a broad concept which can be characterised by a range of collaborative pedagogical practices that include the use, reuse, and creation of OER and that often employ social and participatory technologies for interaction, peer-learning, knowledge creation and sharing, empowerment of learners, and open sharing of teaching practices.

Feminist pedagogy is a pedagogical framework grounded in feminist theory. It embraces a set of epistemological theories, teaching strategies, approaches to content, classroom practices, and teacher-student relationships. Feminist pedagogy, along with other kinds of progressive and critical pedagogy, considers knowledge to be socially constructed.

Financial social work is an interactive and introspective, multidisciplinary approach that helps individuals explore and address their unconscious feelings, thoughts and attitudes about money. This self-examination process enables people to improve their relationship with their money and thus establish healthier money habits that lead to improved financial circumstances.

Critical mathematics pedagogy is an approach to mathematics education that includes a practical and philosophical commitment to liberation. Approaches that involve critical mathematics pedagogy give special attention to the social, political, cultural and economic contexts of oppression, as they can be understood through mathematics. They also analyze the role that mathematics plays in producing and maintaining potentially oppressive social, political, cultural or economic structures. Finally, critical mathematics pedagogy demands that critique is connected to action promoting more just and equitable social, political or economic reform.

Newcomer education is the specialized teaching of refugees, migrants, asylees, and immigrants who have resettled in a host country, with the goal of providing the knowledge and skills necessary to integrate into their country of refuge. Education is the primary way by which newcomers can adjust to the linguistic, social, and cultural environments of their new communities. Newcomer education aims to empower newcomers with a sense of self-efficacy and social integration, as well as giving them the skills to pursue employment or higher education. Newcomer education also aims to help address trauma, culture shock, and other negative effects of forced displacement. Education for newcomers can provide long-term prospects for stability of individuals, communities, countries and global society.

Abolitionist teaching, also known as abolitionist pedagogy, is a set of practices and approaches to teaching that focus on restoring humanity and pursuing educational freedom for all children in schools. It is rooted in Black critical theory. The term was coined by author and professor Bettina Love.

Clinical social work is a specialty within the broader profession of social work. The American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW) defines clinical social work as "a healthcare profession based on theories and methods of prevention and treatment in providing mental-health/healthcare services, with special focus on behavioral and bio-psychosocial problems and disorders". The National Association of Social Workers defines clinical social work as "a specialty practice area of social work which focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral disturbances. Individual, group and family therapy are common treatment modalities". Clinical social work applies social work theory and knowledge drawn from human biology, the social sciences, and the behavioral sciences.

References

  1. ↑ "National Association of Social Workers (NASW)". NASW - National Associacion of Social Workers. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  2. 1 2 3 Lukens, E.P.; McFarlane, W.R. (2004). "Psychoeducation as evidence-based practice: Considerations for practice, research, and policy". Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention. 4 (3): 205. doi:10.1093/brief-treatment/mhh019.
  3. ↑ "Psychoeducation - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Boston Public Schools. "What is Parent University?" . Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Melton, Gary B. (1983). Child Advocacy. doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-3587-0. ISBN   978-1-4613-3589-4.
  6. ↑ "Education for Community Empowerment Project | Eldis". eldis.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  7. 1 2 3 Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights. "Take Action Now" . Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  8. ↑ National Association of Social Workers (1996). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC.: Washington, DC.
  9. ↑ Tervalon, M.; Muray-Garcia, J. (1998). "Cultural Humility Versus Cultural Competency". Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 9 (2): 117–125. doi:10.1353/hpu.2010.0233. PMID   10073197. S2CID   2440411.
  10. ↑ Waters, Amanda (2013-08-01). "Reflections on cultural humility". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  11. 1 2 Freire, Paulo (1986). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.
  12. ↑ "Paulo Freire | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy" . Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  13. ↑ Zinn, Howard (1995). A People's History of America. New York: HarperCollins.
  14. ↑ Colley, Binta M; Bilics, Andrea R; Lerch, Carol M (2012-09-25). "Reflection: A Key Component to Thinking Critically". The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. 3 (1). doi: 10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2012.1.2 . ISSN   1918-2902.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Council on Social Work Education. "Teaching Tools". Archived from the original on 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  16. 1 2 University of Buffalo. "Teaching Resources". Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  17. 1 2 Brazeau, G. "Reflection teaching: A valuable tool for teaching, learning and professional development" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
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