Critical Issues in Social Work Education.
Abstract The following critical issues facing social work education are reviewed: lack of an instructional methodology, effectiveness of practice, admissions to social work education programs, theories of people, assessment of competence, and generic curriculum. Possible avenues to effective education for practice are elaborated: relationship-building training, empirical bases of interpersonal helping, degree correspondence, and research on the instructional process. Where relevant, prototypes of effective training procedures and requisites are discussed briefly.
The Conundrum of Balancing Widening Participation with the Selection of Suitable Students for Social Work Education
This paper examines how increased diversity through widening participation to higher education in England can be aligned to the selection of suitable students for social work education. It considers the implications of an educational policy directive to widen access and new professional entry requirements for social work training introduced in 2003. The assessment of students for social work is explored by drawing upon findings from a small scale survey of social work admissions tutors and examples of admissions practice. Written from the perspective of a social work admissions tutor at an outer London post‐1992 university, the paper discusses the opportunities and challenges that social work programmes may face when endeavouring to balance widening participation with professional requirements for entry into social work training.
The Game Planners: Transforming Canada's Sport System.
The Game Planners studies the policy-making process in six Canadian national sports organizations, each of which deals with a different high-profile Olympic event. The authors argue that the creation of a "high-performance" sport system in Canada is due to pressure from three areas: the Canadian government, the physical education profession, and the sports community.