The development of social work education in Russia since 1995

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a four-year survey on the development of social work education in Russia from 1995 to the present day. Through a series of questionnaires, interviews and discussions with Russian academics, practitioners and students, the study looks at a variety of issues including the high rate of attrition. It focuses on aspects of students' practice placements such as the type, length and quality of practice placements, the students' workload and the supervision provided. It also looks at the contribution that international collaboration has made to the development of social work education in Russia.The survey concludes that there is a need to enhance the overall package for social workers and raise the status of the profession in order to retain qualified personnel. Longer practice placements which start in the first year and are adequately funded and supervised are seen as the key to retaining new graduates. It concludes that although international projects have made a difference to those participating at the time, it is difficult to disseminate these benefits beyond the immediate region. Now that international funding to Russia has been reduced it is critical that any remaining funding is accurately targeted and properly coordinated.

International trends in Russian social work

“…Since 1995 many Russian universities have offered educational programmes in social work (Iarskaia-Smirnova, Romanov, & Lovtsova, 2004;Penn, 2007;Templeman, 2004). Universities also apply social work training programmes, which are widespread in the Western countries.…”

“…For a human services profession such as social work, it is important to practise not only from national but also from international perspectives. Reflections on the development of social work in Russian have been described in social work journals and book chapters over the last 20 years (Doel & Penn, 2007;Iarskaia-Smirnova, 2011; Iarskaia-Smirnova, Romanov & Lovtsova, 2004;Penn, 2007;Ramon, 1996;Shanin, 1998;Templeman, 2004;Thomson, 2002;Titterton, 2006;Trygged & Eriksson, 2009). The majority of these research studies is based either on the data of the 1990s and early 2000s or on the results of ethnographic studies.…”

Social work in FSU countries: mapping the progress of ‘the professional project’

“…Social work education was established early and has expanded from provision in 4 institutions (1991) to 175 (2011), although extensive provision does not guarantee a good fit between professional education and practice (Iarskaia-Smirnova & Rasell, 2014). There are continuing concerns about the number of people who qualify on social work courses but fail to enter the professional workforce (Penn, 2007), about the experiences of new staff entering hard pressed social service agencies, and about the overall staffing and ethos of these agencies. For example, many 'social workers' find themselves primarily engaged in administering welfare payments and they are themselves a relatively poorly paid and under-acknowledged occupational group.…”

The motivation of Russian Federation social work students for pursuing a social work degree

“…Many social work educators come from an academic background in sociology or other disciplines in the social sciences or humanities (Iarskaia-Smirnova and Rasell, 2014). Social work programs have tended to focus primarily on theory and research, with only very limited involvement in field placement (Iarskaia-Smirnova and Rasell, 2014; Iarskaia-Smirnova and Romanov, 2002; Penn, 2007). For example, as of 2010 one of the social work programs involved in this study only required 2 weeks of field placement during one summer session for Bachelor’s-level students.…”

“…Social work is a relatively new profession in the Russian Federation, having come into existence during the post-Soviet transition of the early 1990s (Iarskaia-Smirnova and Rasell, 2014; Iarskaia-Smirnova and Romanov, 2002). The Russian social work profession is currently characterized by low pay, lack of recognition as a profession, encroachment by paraprofessionals and professionals from related fields, and general public misunderstanding of the nature and work of the profession (Dashkina, 2008; Iarskaia-Smirnova and Rasell, 2014; Iarskaia-Smirnova and Romanov, 2002; Penn, 2007). Despite these obstacles, social work educational programs exist at over 160 Russian universities (Iarskaia-Smirnova and Rasell, 2014) and many students choose to pursue social work education.…”