A depth of data : research messages on the state of social work education in England

In the light of extensive media coverage of social work education, this article uses information from the Department of Health funded three-years multi-method evaluation of the social work degree qualification in England to discuss areas in which qualifying education might be improved. It argues that too great a concern with the 'A' level performance of social work applicants risks not paying enough attention to the non-academic qualities that they will need to work in the changing world of children's and adult services. Better partnership working between employers and universities will help students make the transition into the workplace. This includes greater opportunities for employers and practitioners to be involved in candidate selection and teaching on qualifying programmes.

Changes in admissions work arising from the new social work degree in England

The business of admissions to higher education in England is a significant task for academic and support staff. This paper draws on the Evaluation of the New Social Work Degree Qualification in England (2004-2008) to describe the changes in admissions work for social work staff in higher education associated with the change from diploma to a degree level qualification for entry to the profession; to report how staff involved in admissions work are managing these changes; and to identify elements of admissions processes that are perceived to be fulfilling the new requirements of the degree and those which are identified as more problematic. The article draws on two telephone/email surveys of a national sample of social work programmes and on face-to-face in-depth interviews with a sample of teaching staff from nine social work programmes in six higher education institutions undertaken during 2005-2007. The work of admissions staff is rarely scrutinised in studies of higher education or specifically in social work programmes: this article discusses the spectrum of approaches. It recommends monitoring of the outcomes of practices in admissions work that are recasting Department of Health Requirements as the minimum.

Social cognitive theory in technological innovation

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to understand the behavior that Australian youths have towards wireless application protocol (WAP) banking.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a quantitative study of the youth market in Australia. Social cognitive theory is utilized to support a conceptual model that is empirically tested.

Findings – The major finding from the research is that the conceptual model is partially supported which indicates the immaturity of WAP technology.

Originality/value – Social cognitive theory provides a useful explanation for youth’s intentions to use WAP technology in the banking industry. The youth market is an early adopter of technology that presents a good indicator of future market potential.

Social cognitive theory and the adoption of e-book devices

The book publishing industry has been revolutionised by the technological innovations created by the Internet. Electronic book (e-book) devices such as Kindle by Amazon, Nook by Barnes and Noble and the iPad by Apple are relatively new technological innovations that will change the way individuals purchase and read books. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that will lead to a person adopting an e-book device. In this paper, a social cognitive theoretical framework is utilised to understand an individual’s intention to adopt an e-book device like the Kindle, Nook or iPad. A conceptual model is proposed, which focuses on the antecedents to a person’s adoption behaviour and is empirically tested through a survey of Australian youths. A portion of the conceptual model is supported. This suggests that marketing has an effect on a person’s intention to adopt an e-book device, which is mediated by their entrepreneurial orientation. The conceptual model proposed and tested has implications for the e-book industry as it demonstrates the internal and external environmental factors that influence adoption behaviour. The paper highlights for the book industry the important areas of e-commerce and m-commerce and how technological innovations are influenced by environmental factors. More recently, m-commerce has increased in usage as people can buy an electronic book via their e-book device anywhere in the world. E-book devices are a mobile device that people adopt in different ways depending on environmental factors

Social cognitive theory in mobile banking innovations

This paper examines the behavior Australian youths have toward mobile banking. Social cognitive theory is the theoretical framework in which a conceptual model is empirically tested. The conceptual model includes five constructs (media, modeling, outcome expectancy, learning orientation and entrepreneurial orientation), which are proposed to influence an individual’s intention to adopt mobile banking. The conceptual model is tested in a sample of Australian youths and the analysis supports a portion of the proposed conceptual model. The findings support the link between the media and an individual’s entrepreneurial orientation with their intention to adopt mobile banking. The paper demonstrates how social cognitive theory is a useful foundation to understand the external and internal stimuli that influence an individual’s desire to adopt mobile banking.

Men in social work : challenging or reproducing an unequal gender regime?

This article is concerned with the reproduction of gender inequality in social work and the extent to which the presence of men in the profession challenges discriminatory processes and occupational segregation. Although it is argued that men need to take more responsibility for caring roles in professions like social work, many of the rationales for encouraging more men to enter social work are unlikely to support alternative masculinities that will challenge gender inequalities. Only a profeminist commitment informing antisexist practices will enable men to address gender inequality in social work.

The multiple relationships between the discipline of social work and the contributions of Michael White

Michael White, the Australian narrative practitioner, died in April this year. Given White trained in social work and has had a large impact on many social workers, it is timely to investigate the opaque relationships linking White and his work with his discipline-of-origin. The present examination proceeds in three steps. First, a schematic outline of White’s intellectual influences and achievements is set out; second, the alignments, as well as tensions, between White’s work and his discipline-of-origin are considered; and, third, it is argued that White was informed by, and went on to produce a body of work that further informed, the contesting spirit that is the wellspring of the discipline of social work. This conclusion is reached mindful of the fact that White remained antagonistic to the role played by the professions in general and that he did not identify with the title ‘social worker’ in particular.

If a holistic approach to social work requires acknowledgement of religion, what does this mean for social work education?

There is growing recognition that promoting wellbeing requires a holistic approach to social work practice which includes understanding the role of religion in the lives of service users. This is reflected in a number of mentions of religion in the new code of ethics produced by the Australian Association of Social Workers. However, any consideration of whether religion has a place in social work should not only occur at the individual level, but also consider faith-based agencies. This paper considers the implications of this for social work education in respect of developing curriculum which acknowledges the religious dimension of the lives of many service users; skill development to enable social workers to broach issues of religion with service users; and working in or with faith-based agencies.

Using vignettes to evaluate the outcomes of student learning : data from the evaluation of the new social work degree in England

This paper reports the use of vignettes as a methodology to analyse the extent to which the new social work degree programmes enabled students to develop their analytical and reflective capabilities. Two vignettes, which focused on children and families and adult social care respectively, were developed for the study. Students were asked to respond in writing, from the perspective of a social worker, to a standard set of questions at the beginning (T1) and end of their degree programme (T2). Considering the responses to all questions across the two vignettes, a series of scales was developed to measure the key themes which had been identified by qualitative analysis. These included ‘Attention to process of relationships’ and ‘Social/structural/political awareness’. Responses were also rated as ‘descriptive’, ‘analytic’ or ‘reflective’.

Students from six universities in England participated. From an original sample of 222 students, it was possible to match 79 T1 and T2 responses. Analysis of variance demonstrated statistically significant increases in nine of the 11 themes and increases in ratings for analysis and reflection.

In conclusion, vignettes can be used to produce both qualitative and quantitative data in respect of changes in students’ acquisition of knowledge and skills over time.