Selling social work education (2) credit when credit is due: A “three year” framework for social work education
Abstract Three year training courses are the ultimate goal for social work education. But changes in the funding of higher education will require more aggressive marketing strategies. It is necessary to consider alternatives to the full-time model beyond the conventional part-time approach. Three schemes for credit exemption are described. Educational opportunity with potential appropriate for social work education exists outside formal course provision. A proposal is made for the incorporation of agency inservice training provision and part-time adult education study into basic qualifying courses, adapting existing precedents and extending the programme provider model. It is suggested that although political obstruction will prevent an early move to a three year model, some of the mechanisms proposed could be incorporated into current planning to safeguard intellectual standards.
Approved social work training
Abstract This paper (in two parts) describes the organisation of the North West Partnership ASW Training Consortium and the advantages of a consortia approach. The ASW course and other courses developed in association with it are described as staff development exercises. High quality training, direct work with people with mental health problems and adequate managerial support are three important factors in the improvement of mental health social work practice.
Historias de mi barrio: contemporary art in a community at high risk of social exclusion
Abstract Historias de mi barrio is a piece of pedagogic research aimed at highlighting the way art can articulate the relationship between the educational context and a neighbourhood at high risk of social exclusion. The starting point for this study was to ask whether this type of research, centred around the arts, was suitable in complex contexts and whether it might eventually lead to pedagogic improvement. The results gathered, and indeed the work carried out by the artists and university lecturers involved, together with pupils 6–12 years old and their instructors in a state school, provide evidence of a positive answer – and notably of the necessity of knowing about the socio-economic reality of the student cohort when planning learning projects and of the importance of the arts as a crucial element in education.