Towards a Theory of Social Work Expertise

Fook, Jan; Ryan, Mary Morgan; Hawkins, Linette

doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjsw.a011220

Cited by 99 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…However, compared with basic communication skills and an understanding of equalities issues in which the greatest similarities were seen between degree and DipSW students' performance, there was greater variation in assessors' ratings of their theoretical knowledge and preparedness for placement. This is in keeping with existing research demonstrating that skill acquisition does not progress evenly and that the most complex skills, such as the ability to translate theory into practice, are likely to take longest to develop (pace Fook et al, 1997Fook et al, , 2000Fook, 2002). This was where assessors saw their role as central:…”

Section: Expectations Of Students and Student Performancesupporting

confidence: 80%

'My Expectations Remain the Same. The Student Has to Be Competent to Practise': Practice Assessor Perspectives on the New Social Work Degree Qualification in England

Moriarty

MacIntyre

Manthorpe

et al. 2009

British Journal of Social Work

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This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/9812/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the SummaryResearch has emphasized the importance of practice learning to social work qualifying education but has tended to feature social work educator and student perspectives more strongly than the views of those responsible for assessing students' practice in the field. This article draws on 195 responses to a postal questionnaire sent at two points in time to practice assessors working with students from nine social work qualifying programmes run in six higher education institutions collected as part of the evaluation of the new social work degree qualification in England. While practice assessors described changes in their role and in the opportunities available to students, they also emphasized continuities, particularly in the skills that they expected students to possess. The key difficulty they identified was the heavy workload resulting from combining their role as practice assessors with their other responsibilities at work. Increases in the number of social work students and changes to the organization of services are likely to create further pressures on practice assessors. Given that these issues are faced by a number of different professions, the article concludes that there is potential for future studies to look at the experiences of practice educators across different professional qualifying programmes.

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Section: Expectations Of Students and Student Performancesupporting

confidence: 80%

'My Expectations Remain the Same. The Student Has to Be Competent to Practise': Practice Assessor Perspectives on the New Social Work Degree Qualification in England

Moriarty

MacIntyre

Manthorpe

et al. 2009

British Journal of Social Work

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“…The Dreyfus and Dreyfus model served as the framework for the work of Fook, Ryan and Hawkins (2000) on social work expertise, which resulted in a series of studies from 1990 onwards (Fook et al, 1994;Ryan et al, 1995;Fook et al, 1997a;Fook et al, 1997b;Hawkins et al, 2001). The entire series of studies resulted in a book (Fook et al, 2000) in which a theory about how expertise is learnt and developed was postulated.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying a Theory of Expertise in Health Social Work Administration and Practice in Australia

Nilsson

Ryan

Miller

2007

Social Work in Health Care

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Social workers in health care have been urged to identify the nature of their expertise and to articulate profession specific roles (Pecukonis et al., 2003). This article reports on the use of a theory of professional expertise (Fook, Ryan & Hawkins (2000)) in management and clinical practice within two Australian hospital social work settings. This theory, directly applicable to social work, was applied within these hospitals to differentiate levels in social work industrial awards, in staff selection, in supervision and continuing professional development. Specific and broader implications for application of this theory are discussed. AbstractSocial workers in health care have been urged to identify the nature of their expertise and to articulate profession specific roles (Pecukonis et al., 2003). This article reports on the use of a theory of professional expertise (Fook, Ryan & Hawkins (2000)) in management and clinical practice within two Australian hospital social work settings. This theory, directly applicable to social work, was applied within these hospitals to differentiate levels in social work industrial awards, in staff selection, in supervision and continuing professional development. Specific and broader implications for application of this theory are discussed.

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“…Other researchers have attempted to understand professional processes of reasoning. For example, Fook et al (1997) found that 'expert' social workers are skilled and creative professionals who are often unable to articulate the reasoning behind their actions. This inability to articulate reasoning is described by Reder and Duncan (1999) as 'automatic thinking'.…”

Section: Maintaining a Focus On The Child?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Maintaining a focus on the child? First impressions of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families in cases of child neglect

Horwath

2002

Child Abuse Review

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The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families is guidance introduced by the Department of Health in England to improve assessment practice and promote better outcomes for children and their families. This paper considers ways in which the Assessment Framework can improve assessment practice in cases of child neglect. However, as with any national guidance, its effectiveness is dependent on local approaches to implementation. The author has undertaken practice development work around implementation with senior managers and frontline staff in area child protection committees (ACPCs) and social services departments. These experiences are used to explore the local issues and tensions encountered by both practitioners and managers responsible for implementing the Assessment Framework. An argument is made that these issues and tensions if not addressed can result in distorted assessments that lose the focus on the child. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Towards a Theory of Social Work Expertise

Cited by 99 publications

References 23 publications

'My Expectations Remain the Same. The Student Has to Be Competent to Practise': Practice Assessor Perspectives on the New Social Work Degree Qualification in England

'My Expectations Remain the Same. The Student Has to Be Competent to Practise': Practice Assessor Perspectives on the New Social Work Degree Qualification in England

Applying a Theory of Expertise in Health Social Work Administration and Practice in Australia

Maintaining a focus on the child? First impressions of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families in cases of child neglect

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