‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice

Abstract

Writing plays a central role in social work practice and in the qualifying programmes studied by student social workers. The research on which this paper is based explores the value of writing undertaken in higher education to writing for professional practice in social work. Drawing on data sources from a 'text oriented ethnography', this paper explores the reflections of five recently qualified social workers making the transition from academic to professional practice. The significance of this study is heightened as social work practice and education are undergoing significant review at the time of writing. This review has identified the role of writing as important in both academic and practice domains. The paper suggests that there is currently no clear progressive link between academic writing in social work and the writing in practice required of graduate social workers. This paper offers some reflections on the implicit and explicit value of writing in an academic context to writing in professional practice.

Imagined, prescribed and actual text trajectories: the “problem” with case notes in contemporary social work

“…Key findings from work placement writing, echoed in more recent small studies (e.g. Leon and Pepe 2010;Lillis and Rai 2012;Rai and Lillis 2012), point to the limited opportunities for "newcomers" to learn, or critically evaluate, the required writing genres (e.g. Paré and Le Maistre 2006) and to the limited attention paid to such genres in social work education (e.g.…”

“…Paré and Le Maistre 2006) and to the limited attention paid to such genres in social work education (e.g. Lillis and Rai 2012;Rai and Lillis 2012). Other researchers such as Hall et al (2010) and White et al (2010), exploring the organizational systems governing social work practice in Children's Services, have raised questions about the ways in which predesigned ICT (information and communications technology) systems orient social workers towards description and away from narrative, making it difficult for even the most informed readers to grasp a holistic understanding of any single person's case.…”

Academic writing in social work education: reflections from an international classroom

“…This traditional dichotomy between academic and professional contexts and texts is further enhanced in a globalised world, which has increasingly become the professional arena for social workers. It is, therefore, not only the differences between academic and professional texts that are to be negotiated, but also the different cultural, academic, and textual traditions in the world that must be considered (Rai and Lillis 2013). Thus, the key task for social workers is to find strategies to meet the challenges of a global society.…”

Language technologies for enhancement of teaching and learning in writing

“…Meanwhile, a number of multi-disciplinary studies [4,10,14,21] have shown that professional writing plays an important role in various countries, domains and specific subjects. Thus, how to achieve enhancement in writing ability becomes a concerned topic.…”