Perceptions of Macro Social Work Education: An Exploratory Study of Educators and Practitioners

Hill, Katharine; Erickson, Christina L.; Donaldson, Linda Plitt; Fogel, Sondra J.; Ferguson, Sarah M.

doi:10.18060/21455

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The finding that organizational support is crucial in facilitating policy practice among community social workers also has implications for education and practice. Social work education needs to offer training and internships that affords community social work students opportunities to develop the organizational skills needed to further macro goals in a social service agency setting (Hill, Erickson, Plitt Donaldson, Fogel, & Ferguson, 2017). Community social workers seeking to engage in policy practice will need to be able to nurture an organizational culture within their workplace that supports this type of practice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining the policy practice of community social workers

Weiss‐Gal

Gal

2018

Journal of Social Work

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Summary Policy change is a core goal of community social workers. This study aims to identify the motivational and facilitating factors associated with community social workers’ engagement in policy practice, defined as policy involvement undertaken in the workplace context. The sample comprised of 106 community social workers employed by local government in Israel and the data were collected between June 2015 and February 2017. Findings The findings showed that community social workers are more likely to engage in policy when they enjoy higher professional status, possess more policy practice resources, have higher psychological involvement in politics, are more involved in political and professional networks, and sense that they enjoy greater organizational support for policy practice. Applications In seeking to enhance the engagement of community social workers in the policy process, social work education should provide future community social workers with policy practice skills and a sense of psychological engagement in politics. It should also encourage their participation in political networks and offer training that affords them opportunities to develop the organizational skills needed to further macro goals in a social service agency setting. In their workplace, community social workers seeking to engage in policy practice need to nurture an organizational culture that supports social workers’ policy involvement. Given that this study is on a single Israeli sample, future research on community social workers in additional work settings and in other countries is required in order to advance knowledge on this crucial, yet understudied, form of professional activity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining the policy practice of community social workers

Weiss‐Gal

Gal

2018

Journal of Social Work

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“…In addition, research has shown that people choose social work as a profession due to their own personal experiences with trauma, early family dysfunction, or demands to provide caregiving at an early age (Black et al, 1993;Thomas, 2016). Lastly, interest in micro methods has been attributed to licensure eligibility and student concerns about employability (Hill et al, 2017).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The segregation between practice methods by most MSW programs has essentially bifurcated the profession, relegating macro practice to "a marginalized subfield in social work" (Fisher & Corciullo, 2011, p. 359) despite its importance in the profession's history and recognition as a professional strength (Johnson, 1999;Reisch, 2016). While there have been efforts to increase interest in macro methods among social workers, their success has been limited (Hill et al, 2017), leaving some to question whether community practice and other indirect methods, which were integral to social work throughout its first century , will continue without significant changes occurring in social work education (Gutiérrez & Gant, 2018).…”

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confidence: 99%

Increasing Social Work Students’ Participation in Macro Specializations

Apgar

2021

ASW

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Much effort has been made to increase the number of social work students in macro practice specializations in graduate school. Despite the development of pedagogical techniques which have shown to increase interest in and appreciation for macro practice, the proportion of macro students has stayed low and stable over time. Using survey data collected from 474 Master of Social Work students and graduates, this exploratory study identified both structural and attitudinal barriers which impede specialization in macro practice. Data reveals that despite exposure to these methods, those whose original motivation to enter the profession was based on a desire to do clinical work are unlikely to concentrate on macro practice. Structural barriers such as the lack of availability of macro programs also prevented increased specialization in macro practice. Social workers who are Black/African American are more likely to concentrate in macro practice, perhaps due to a recognition of the need for systems change in the United States to promote equal opportunities and rights for those who have historically been marginalized. Findings indicate that current efforts to increase the number of graduates with macro specializations may not be effective. Treatment of macro methods as a specialization, rather than integral to social work education, should be revisited if the profession wants to ensure enough graduates are able to make system-level changes to rectify current societal inequities.

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“…Based on our research, the Rothman Report, and other related research, we also recommend an increase in policy-related field placements. The research in this area suggests that policy and politically-related field placements are rare, particularly for generalist and micro students (Hill et al, 2017;Pritzker & Lane, 2014). The work of the social work programs who have received grants from the CSWE Policy Practice in Field Education Initiative highlight the opportunities for this work to occur with micro, macro, and generalist students, in a variety of programs and settings (CSWE, n.d.).…”

Section: Social Work Education the Educational Policy And Accreditatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical Social Workers, Gender, and Perceptions of Political Participation

Ostrander

Bryan²,

Lane

2020

ASW

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Political participation to create social change is considered a professional and ethical imperative for social workers. Although researchers have examined overall political participation by social workers, little is known about how clinical social workers participate and the broader societal factors that influence their political participation. A critical phenomenological methodology was used with a sample of 23 clinical social workers from New England states to (1) identify how socio-political forces influenced their political activity; and, (2) understand how the concept of power affected individuals’ level of engagement or inclination toward the political process. This article describes one of the study’s major findings. Female participants described themselves as unqualified and/or unknowledgeable in the political sphere, with low levels of ambition and confidence to engage in political processes. Many female participants also described the challenges of achieving a work-life balance between their careers and traditional gender-based roles with little time left for political engagement. Social work education and policy advocacy can affect change that will increase the internal and external efficacy of social workers and create a policy environment that allows more options for all social workers in balancing the demands of professional and personal lives.

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Perceptions of Macro Social Work Education: An Exploratory Study of Educators and Practitioners

Cited by 12 publications

References 33 publications

Explaining the policy practice of community social workers

Explaining the policy practice of community social workers

Increasing Social Work Students’ Participation in Macro Specializations

Clinical Social Workers, Gender, and Perceptions of Political Participation

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