Social Work Education in Hong Kong at the Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities amidst Marketization and Managerialism

Yuen, Angelina; Ho, Denny K.L.

doi:10.1080/02615470701456194

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Reviewing the literature so far, there is a lack of broader analysis and critical overview of the challenges levied against social work education in the UK with responses from academics and practitioners being largely defensive and piecemeal. Social work academia has a strong radical tradition apparent in the work of contemporary critical authors such as: Beresford (1997); Harris (2003); Ferguson and Lavalette (2006); Ferguson (2008); Carey Yven and Ho (2007) who consider the challenges of marketisation in the provision of social work education in Hong Kong. These studies and their conclusions will form part of the discussion below.…”

Section: Unfortunately Wilson Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Revisiting the comparison to developments in Hong Kong, Yven and Ho (2007) describe a curriculum that has become 'technical training without any sense of vocation ' (p.555) designed, they add, to produce technocrats with no commitment to social change or social justice. This is the challenge ahead for social work in the UK embedded in the new vision of social work education purported by Narey (2014) which must be met in the strongest possible terms with a confident professional discourse and clarity of purpose.…”

Section: Curriculum Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is the challenge ahead for social work in the UK embedded in the new vision of social work education purported by Narey (2014) which must be met in the strongest possible terms with a confident professional discourse and clarity of purpose. As Yven and Ho (2007) state in relation to Hong Kong: 'If we are not clear about our direction, then we will be easily engulfed by the tidal waves of marketisation and managerialism.' (p.557).…”

Section: Curriculum Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Work Education and the Marketisation of UK Universities

Cleary

2018

The British Journal of Social Work

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Social work practice and university provision of social work education in the UK have come under considerable public scrutiny during the past decade. Questions have been raised in the media, professional discourse and government inquires as to whether universities are delivering consistently high standards of graduates into the profession. During the same period structural changes to the provision and funding of universities in the UK have transformed higher education. The rapid expansion of the sector alongside the introduction of fees-based funding has resulted in a 'market' in higher education. Students are now consumers, with greater numbers of universities competing for their custom. However, as the sector continues to expand a growing body of critical literature is emerging raising doubts as to the efficacy of this newly marketised university structure. This research therefore asks how marketisation is influencing social work education in UK universities. Although it is acknowledged that there has been an expansion of alternative routes to qualification, this research is exclusively focussed on university provision. Using a dual-stranded study involving a national sample of social work academics, questionnaire and interview data is analysed to present emerging themes based on the expressed views and reported experiences of those working directly within the sector. The study highlights a level of concern regarding the changing academic relationship with students and particularly the role of the National Student Survey (NSS). It raises questions in relation to standards of admissions, teaching and assessment in some institutions. Findings indicate that academics are very aware of the influence of a market-culture within universities but that experiences differ across the sector. There is evidence that consistency of standards may be compromised in some instances but that social work academics feel unable to speak out about this topic whilst working in this highly competitive and uncertain environment. Conclusions have a transformative focus pointing to a need for open, critical and reflective discourse to assist the development of future practice, policy and regulation in this area with the ultimate aim of improving standards of higher education. The study may therefore be of interest to those working in other disciplines, particularly comparable professional courses such as teaching and nursing.

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Section: Unfortunately Wilson Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Curriculum Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Curriculum Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Work Education and the Marketisation of UK Universities

Cleary

2018

The British Journal of Social Work

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“…The Chinese government has recognised social work's potential to contribute to social solidarity and stability and to economic prosperity (Xiong & Wang, 2007). As has happened with many Western governments in Western countries, as social work spread across the world from the UK, Europe and the USA, and Hong Kong (Yuen & Ho, 2007), the Chinese government is likely to be a key player in the development of human services and social welfare, with social work playing an important role.…”

Section: The Currency and Credibility Of External Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Some considerations on the debate on social work in China: who speaks for whom?

Gray

2008

Int J Soc Welfare

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In this article I persist with my argument that indigenous, local, culturally relevant practice ought to trump the external imposition of social work definitions, standards and professional models. The challenge, however, is not to fall prey to false dichotomies. Importantly, social work in China is not static but emergent, and no‐one is sure of the exact shape it will take. And the essential question is to what extent will Western knowledge and standards be uncritically appropriated into China? Most contributors to the debate thus far have taken the international definition of social work as their starting point, but far more significant are the political dimensions involved in this process of indigenisation. This article proposes that empirical evidence from within China regarding culturally appropriate, effective local responses – and some clear benchmarks for international engagement – should form the basis for dialogue between China and the broader social work community.

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“…Thereafter, the government was alerted to watch closely the operation of NGOs and started emphasizing cost effectiveness, service performance, customer-focused practice and public accountability. Coincidentally, the wave of Managerialism was surging from the West in late 90's (Leung, 2002;Yuen & Ho, 2007). Therefore, NGOs started placing more importance on corporate governance and organization management than ever before.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tumbler in Tidal Wave: The Professional Stance of Social Workers under Managerialism

Lai

2016

IJSW

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<p>Since the concept of Managerialism has been introduced to the social welfare services in Hong Kong, the ecology of social welfare sector has changed drastically. The operation of most organizations adopts a business inclined practice to run their services under the new competitive environment. Consequently, management that is originally supposed to be an auxiliary servant to facilitate the delivery of services has eventually become the master to be served. Most social workers working under such climate find it difficult to exercise their professional functions as they are demanded to fulfill a great deal of managerial duties. Worse off, some appear to have lost their professional identity. This paper is to reveal the struggles of social workers under Managerialism and explore strategies for social workers to live with Managerialism in a way without losing their professional stance through conducting a qualitative research in Hong Kong. The result of this research identifies eight strategies: “reasserting the professional identity”, “realizing the social work values”, “discerning the first and foremost tasks”, “actualizing professional integrity”, “evoking team solidarity”, “exercising personal influence, “performing collaborative resistance”, and “practicing self-reflection”. Since the core of social work is the social work values and to sustain such values demands social workers having a solid professional stance, the suggested strategies derived from this research can be served as a reference for social workers to withstand the assault from the tidal wave of Managerialism and stand firm again on their professional stance, like a tumbler!</p>

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Social Work Education in Hong Kong at the Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities amidst Marketization and Managerialism

Cited by 14 publications

References 13 publications

Social Work Education and the Marketisation of UK Universities

Social Work Education and the Marketisation of UK Universities

Some considerations on the debate on social work in China: who speaks for whom?

Tumbler in Tidal Wave: The Professional Stance of Social Workers under Managerialism

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