Knowledge Creation in Social Work During the Time of COVID-19

2023

Given the quintessentially collaborative nature of social work practice research, many researchers have explored the utility of participatory action research for promoting collaborative learning and knowledge production in social work. As a response to this call for participatory practice research methodology, we developed and piloted 'collaborative practice research in social work' in the project, 'Empowering Social Workers in Challenging Times: Learning from Best Practice during COVID-19'. 'Collaborative practice research in social work' is a networked approach to social work participatory practice research, designed to integrate practice wisdom and research evidence to produce useful knowledge for social workers to practise ethically and effectively during COVID-19. This article will present some findings from the evaluation of 'collaborative practice research in social work', showing how the reversed sequence of involvement (practitioner researchers first and then academics) in research can enable practitioner-led learning, democratise knowledge production and help validate different types of knowledge in social work practice research. 'Collaborative practice research in social work' has demonstrated the need to address alienating academic practices that are not sensitive to the needs of practice or see practice as an afterthought. Findings further suggest the need to better prepare academic researchers to engage with participatory practice research, which can be an emotionally unsettling and unfamiliar research environment.

Canadian Social Work Review/ Revue canadienne de service social, 2022

On March 13, 2020, Mount Royal University responded to the pandemic declaration of the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health directives by stopping all face-to-face learning, including practicums. This sudden cessation was done for reasons of safety and liability. Rapid shifts were required, presenting functional, ethical, and privacy challenges for students and faculty who recognized that practicums are vital for social work students preparing to enter practice. Using a theoretical framework of compounding complexity, the paper considers eight key learnings from the authors’ experiences managing a social work practicum program, contemplating implications for current and future crisis-oriented fieldwork. This paper goes further to challenge a re-evaluation of social work as a result of the pandemic, social movements including the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the changing socioeconomic factors that influence service users’ lives. These conversations have emerged within the pandemic context and afford a moment to reflect on the place and role of social work.

Social Work Education

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian universities have had to radically rethink and reconfigure many aspects of social work education. This has been particularly pronounced for field education, as human service organizations that ordinarily host student placements have also needed to rapidly design remote modes of service delivery in the context of current social distancing requirements, and unprecedented demands for assistance. Prior to COVID-19, a growing body of literature had emerged, mounting concerns about the current Australian model of field education. During the pandemic, the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) has modified some of the standards related to field education. Such variations are entirely necessary in the context of the pandemic and create opportunities for social work educators, not only to imagine new models of field education that are more suitable for contemporary contexts but to implement and trial them in ways that have not been possible until now. This paper largely focuses on innovations in field education that are currently being developed and implemented at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), in Australia.

Social Work Education, 2021

Creativity and Care in times of crisis: an analysis of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 virus experienced by social work students in practice placement' Abstract COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the way social work responds to a wide range of social issues. This paper evaluates a small-scale research project conducted by academics teaching on a United Kingdom (UK) social work degree programme. It explores the experience of students undertaking social work placements and how their practice was impacted upon by the resultant lockdown. The focus of which concerns the challenges students faced when they were unable to continue their real time practice placements and instead were asked to undertake virtual learning experiences through the use of Action Learning Sets (ALS) and Blogs. The responses indicate that the students found the use of Action Learning Sets increased the impact of their experience during a difficult period. Important lessons can be learned which can contribute to enhancing the educational experience on social work programmes in the UK. These lessons included the recognition of the student voice in delivery and the use of online forums for group learning.

Social Work Education

The current health crisis we are experiencing because of Covid-19 pandemic has put social worker training facilities in a new, unexpected position. How can a practice-based training programme be organised during a 'lockdown' period? How can practical skills be acquired when contact field instructors, social services and target groups is limited?In order to face the professional challenges posed by the epidemic, to better understand the impact on professional training, and learn more about the innovations and good practices used to tackle the problems, we organised focus group interviews with 15 field instructors and 15 students. The first results of our research provide evidence that, contrary to expectations, the world has not only narrowed but at the same time also expanded as a result of the restrictions. Although the outbreak of the COVID-19 has had a traumatic impact in many ways, the crisis had also positive consequences. With the intensive use of digital tools and forms of work, remote locations and target groups have become more accessible, special knowledge elements have been included in the training, and new opportunities for the development of personal skills have opened up in the education of social workers.

Social Work & Society, 2007

"This article describes a study of Swedish social work students’ use of knowledge during their field practice. Data was collected by using short written narratives, where the students reflect on situations from practice, situations they experienced as critical or problematic. The narratives were analysed with a method inspired by the interpretation theory of Paul Ricoeur. The article starts with a discussion adhering to the present trend of evidence-based social work practice. This is followed by a study of 144 narratives from social work students containing critical or problematic events. A quantitative description of the material as well as qualitative model of two type-strategies, that social work students use, is presented. The results show, among other things, that students use several forms of knowledge, where facts/evidence is one of several. The study also shows that there is a strong adaptation to varying critical situations. A conclusion is that it is difficult to a priori define the types and proportions of knowledge to use in social work practice."

International Social Work, 2021

This research seeks to explore the experiences of social work educators and students working and learning from home. The findings, from an international survey sample of 166 educators and students, showed that the respondents faced issues with private and personal boundaries, felt the impact of working and learning from home on both physical and emotional levels, and experienced challenges to what was expected of them. The respondents primarily used two types of coping mechanisms to manage these challenges. These findings contribute to a broader discussion of the impact of working and learning from home and are relevant for education administrators responsible for their employees’ and students’ well-being.

Journal of Comparative Social Work, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected all aspects of social work education, including field education. The Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) partnership conducted two national online surveys to determine the impacts of the pandemic on social work field education. The first survey explored the perspectives of students and received responses from 367 Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) students. The second survey was designed to gather the perspectives of field instructors, with 73 field instructors completing the survey. The article examines the impacts of the pandemic on social work practice, field supervision, practicum flexibility and accommodations in placement, the shift to remote learning, perceptions of future career prospects and the effects on wellness and mental health. This article contributes to an increased understanding of the strengths and challenges facing social work field education, and informs field planning and ...

Clinical Social Work Journal, 2021

Preliminary results of a qualitative study of the lived experience of teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic are presented. An instructor, a program director and five doctoral students in different stages of their coursework and dissertation proposal development, wrote a reflective journal. Participants varied in their levels of familiarity with technology-assisted education, personal backgrounds and circumstances including work and family responsibilities. Participants' journals documenting their reactions, struggles and coping since the abrupt move of the university from face to face to online classes were content analyzed. The analysis was co-conducted by five participants to identify themes and generate understanding of the experience. Two main themes emerged from the analysis: a developmental process of participants' reactions, perceptions and meaning making of the experience and factors that shaped it. Lessons learned are discussed and recommendations for professional education and directions for future research are suggested.

Discover education, 2024

This qualitative case study explored the lived experiences of social work students through the Covid-19 pandemic. In the weeks following the detection of Covid-19 in the United States, educational institutions closed down on very short notice and administrators scrambled to develop plans that would ensure as little disruption as possible to faculty teaching and student learning. For social work students, the consequent developments were extensive, affecting learning in the classroom and field. Nineteen social work students at a university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States were interviewed about their lived experiences during the pandemic. The findings revealed that students had significant concerns at the beginning of the pandemic, most of which abated with time because of decisions and adjustments made by university administrators, faculty and students. Field education produced extensive demands on university administrators, students and field agencies to innovate in ways that they had not previously prepared for. Furthermore, an overwhelming number of students developed new perceptions of their own abilities having successfully navigated the challenges and responsibilities of the period.