Specialist Communication Skills for Social Workers

Ross, Johanna Woodcock

doi:10.1057/978-1-137-54533-6

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…While this form of theater has been used across several contexts internationally (Ganguly, 2010), limited literature exists on how social workers can specifically incorporate this as a group work intervention and investigate the consequent impacts on the service users (Barak, 2016;Giesler, 2017;Kina & Fenandes, 2017). Furthermore, most literature focuses on professional actors or participants with performing experience (Houston et al, 2001;Ward et al, 2002;Woodcock Ross, 2016), leaving little information on how Theatre of the Oppressed can be effective with a group without any acting background. There is also a knowledge gap regarding the potential of Theatre of the Oppressed within a mandated group work setting.…”

Section: Aims Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Empowering the marginalised: Exploring the potential of Theatre of the Oppressed as an intervention for youth offenders in social work practice

Puvaneyshwaran

2024

Journal of Social Work

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Summary There is limited literature of the usage of Theatre of the Oppressed within Social work practice. In this study, a group of youth offenders (n = 9) and three social workers known to a Social Service Agency participated in a 9-week Theatre of the Oppressed workshop, consisting of activities aimed to raise critical consciousness. The workshop eventually culminated in a Forum Theatre performance, put up to an invited audience (n = 17). Data was collected throughout the workshop and performance and analyzed using an arts-based method. A focus group discussion was also held with the youths and the social workers separately at the end of the program. Findings Data revealed that the Theatre of the Oppressed games and activities built solidarity among the youths, although the cultural subgroups of the youths played a part. There was also a general increase of awareness and understanding of power and privilege, and an ownership of the issues that they were experiencing. While the youths felt empowered by the process of designing the script and sharing their stories, the actual medium of performing in front of a group and the power differential with the audience members was seen to have created a negative experience for them. Applications This study provides an idea of the impacts of Theatre of the Oppressed within group work settings, for marginalized youth offenders. Through the carefully curated activities, social workers may be able to tap on Boal’s techniques as a way to build rapport, raise critical consciousness, and empower these youths.

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Section: Aims Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Empowering the marginalised: Exploring the potential of Theatre of the Oppressed as an intervention for youth offenders in social work practice

Puvaneyshwaran

2024

Journal of Social Work

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“…Although ‘communication skills training’ (CST) is the name given to the intervention on a wide range of professional and vocational courses, in social work education, the intervention is more commonly referred to as the ‘teaching and learning of communication skills’; a trend reflected in the titles of various knowledge and practice reviews. Given purpose, role and context have a significant impact on communication in social work practice, conceptualisations which integrate knowledge, values and skills, for example the knowing, being and doing domains developed by Lefevre and colleagues (Lefevre et al, 2008) have become increasingly popular (Ayling, 2012; Woodcock Ross, 2016). In social work education, the intervention includes not only communication processes, but also an understanding of the broader contextual issues in which those interactions in social work practice occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerns have been raised that psychological and counselling theories have been applied to social work uncritically (Trevithick et al, 2004), without due consideration of the challenges this may present. A number of social work academics have pulled together theory and research on communication skills in recent years (e.g., Beesley et al, 2018; Harms, 2015; Healy, 2018; Koprowska, 2020; Lishman, 2009; Woodcock Ross, 2016) in an attempt to address this issue. Nonetheless, it still remains ‘difficult to identify a coherent theoretical framework that informs the learning and teaching of communication skills in social work’ (Trevithick et al, 2004, p. 18).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communication skills training for improving the communicative abilities of student social workers: A systematic review

Reith‐Hall

Montgomery

2023

Campbell Systematic Reviews

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Background Good communication is central to effective social work practice, helping to develop constructive working relationships and improve the outcomes of people in receipt of social work services. There is strong consensus that the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students is an essential component of social work qualifying courses. However, the variation in communication skills training and its components is significant. There is a sizeable body of evidence relating to communication skills training therefore a review of the findings helps to clarify what we know about this important topic in social work education. We conducted this systematic review to determine whether communication skills training for social work students works and which types of communication skills training, if any, were more effective and lead to the most positive outcomes. Objectives This systematic review aimed to critically evaluate all studies which have investigated the effectiveness of communication skills training programmes for social work students. The research question which the review posed is: ‘What is the effectiveness of communication skills training for improving the communicative abilities of social work students?’ It was intended that the review would provide a robust evaluation of communication skills training for social work students and help explain variations in practice to support educators and policy‐makers to make evidence‐based decisions in social work education, practice and policy. Search Methods We conducted a search for published and unpublished studies using a comprehensive search strategy that included multiple electronic databases, research registers, grey literature sources, and reference lists of prior reviews and relevant studies. Selection Criteria Study selection was based on the following characteristics: Participants were social work students on generic (as opposed to client specific) qualifying courses; Interventions included any form of communication skills training; eligible studies were required to have an appropriate comparator such as no intervention or an alternative intervention; and outcomes included changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviours. Study selection was not restricted by geography, language, publication date or publication type. Data Collection and Analysis The search strategy was developed using the terms featuring in existing knowledge and practice reviews and in consultation with social work researchers, academics and the review advisory panel, to ensure that a broad range of terminology was included. One reviewer conducted the database searches, removing duplicates and irrelevant records, after which each record was screened by title and abstract by both reviewers to ensure robustness. Any studies deemed to be potentially eligible were retrieved in full text and screened by both reviewers. Main Results Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, findings indicate that communication skills training including empathy ca...

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“…Concerns have been raised that psychological and counselling theories have been applied to social work uncritically (Trevithick, Richards, Ruch, Moss, Lines et al, ), without due consideration of the challenges this may present. A number of social work academics have pulled together theory and research on communication skills in recent years (e.g., Beesley et al, ; Harms, ; Healy, ; Lishman, ; Woodcock Ross, ) in an attempt to address this issue. Nonetheless, it still remains ‘difficult to identify a coherent theoretical framework that informs the learning and teaching of communication skills in social work’ (Trevithick et al, , p. 18).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although ‘communication skills training’ (CST) is the name given to the intervention on a wide range of professional and vocational courses, in social work education, the intervention is more commonly referred to as the ‘teaching and learning of communication skills’; a trend reflected in the titles of various knowledge and practice reviews. Purpose, role and context have a significant impact on communication in social work practice, hence the need to integrate knowledge, values and skills has been recognised, with the conceptualisation of knowing, being and doing developed by Lefevre, Tanner, and Luckock () becoming increasingly popular (Ayling, ; Woodcock Ross, ). In social work education, the intervention includes not only communication processes, but also an understanding of the broader contextual issues in which communication in social work practice occurs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PROTOCOL: Communication skills training for improving the communicative abilities of student social workers: A systematic review

Reith‐Hall

Montgomery

2019

Campbell Systematic Reviews

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Specialist Communication Skills for Social Workers

Cited by 3 publications

References 93 publications

Empowering the marginalised: Exploring the potential of Theatre of the Oppressed as an intervention for youth offenders in social work practice

Empowering the marginalised: Exploring the potential of Theatre of the Oppressed as an intervention for youth offenders in social work practice

Communication skills training for improving the communicative abilities of student social workers: A systematic review

PROTOCOL: Communication skills training for improving the communicative abilities of student social workers: A systematic review

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