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Gate‐keeping for professional social work practice
Social Work Education
Abstract
The profession of social work has difficulty terminating students for non‐academic reasons because of an inability to define suitability for the profession and to formulate concrete criteria. Although discerning who is, or is not, personally suitable to practice social work is bound to be challenging, there is a growing realization that this task must be undertaken. This study was undertaken in response to this challenge, and seeks to increase our knowledge base about the personal and professional dimensions of social work, which result in suitable and unsuitable practices among social work students and practicing professional social workers. This article examines data gathered on the subject of professional suitability from a focus group and a series of individual interviews with social work field instructors. The authors attempt to broaden our understanding of personal suitability for the practice of social work and to achieve greater operational specificity to guide decision making for social work educators, as social work educators ultimately must make the critical decision about who should be admitted to the social work profession. It is hoped that this study can serve as a building block for further research. It seems clear that the choices to be explored must meet our obligation to society in general, to social work employers, and especially to clients.
... Some of these reasons may be attributable to a realignment of the nature of social work among members of the profession and, specifically, the rise of hard-line attitudes towards the urban poor and a noticeable rise in neoliberal attitudes among social workers and students (Lafrance and Gray, 2004;Marston, 2013;Fenton, 2020). New generations of social workers have shown willing, increasingly, to adopt more punitive and judgemental attitudes towards the socially dispossessed -there is no concerted response from the profession to austerity (Grootegoed and Smith, 2018). ...
... Yet, this fundamental aspect of social work is also muted in requirements for programme and graduate registration or any overarching statement from regulators championing such a vision -social justice has become ultra vires! There is clear evidence of this in the fact that the declining commitment of students to political concerns -particularly as aligned with those with whom they work -has no discernible impact on graduate success (Lafrance and Gray, 2004;Fenton, 2020). Also, there is an observable lack of correlation between criticality and assessed performance on social work programmes in the UK, and in this respect, standards of 'graduateness' for social work students fall below even generic undergraduate levels (Sheppard and Charles, 2017). ...
This article provides an innovative reading of the relationship between social work and the regulatory bodies mandated to register and regulate it, which has hitherto remained largely untheorised. It achieves this by utilising Hegel’s illustrative tale of ‘lord and bondsman’. This narrative outlines the development of consciousness through dialectical struggle. We argue that the relationship of domination and servitude that has developed between the profession and the regulators is incapable of delivering a satisfactory self-consciousness for either. For the social work profession, consciousness is limited to an enforced ‘being-for’ the regulatory bodies, which appropriate the ends of practice through the labour of the profession. For both to achieve full self-consciousness, each must transcend itself and the other through a dialectical movement in which each is simultaneously ‘negated’ and ‘preserved’. The article highlights ways in which social work can more courageously address its own historical development within such a struggle.
... This is the first review to apply OA theory to the phenomenon of underperformance and failure of AH students on practice placement. Shifting the stigma makes underperformance and failure a symptom of a student who is not yet ready, rather than one unsuitable for practice (Lafrance and Gray 2004). ...
Underperformance and failure in allied health practice placements
are under researched. This scoping review aimed to describe the
experiences of allied health students and clinical educators
relating to underperformance and failure on practice placement,
supporting health professional training programmes to provide
quality learning experiences. A scoping review research
methodology including 22 allied health disciplines was adopted.
Forty-four relevant articles were identified and analysed using
Occupational Adaptation (OA) theory to generate five themes:
Interactions are contextual; It’s OK to fail; Clinical educators as
gatekeepers; The impact of power; and Convergence.
Understanding underperformance and failure in allied health
placement education will enhance insight of this complex
phenomenon by incorporating the experiences of students and
educators from multiple allied health disciplines. The application
of theory offers a critical perspective by synthesising the existing
literature and delving into the influencing factors, potentially
shifting the deficit discourse that often positions students as the
problem.
... Fentons Ergebnisse beruhen auf verschiedenen europäischen Studien über Studierende der Sozialen Arbeit (Fazzi, 2016;z. B. Gilligan, 2007;Lafrance & Gray, 2004;Preston-Shoot, 2011;Whittaker & Reimer, 2017) sowie auf Studien, die sich mit dem Generationswechsel bei den nach 1995 geborenen Generationen befassen (Twenge, 2018;Grasso et al., 2017). Fenton beschreibt ein Spannungsverhältnis zwischen den Werten der Sozialen Arbeit und dem neoliberalen Diskurs der »Undeservingness«, da sich jüngere Sozialarbeiter*innen und Studieren-de der Sozialen Arbeit von einem im Wesentlichen wohlfahrtsdemokratischen Rahmen hin zu einer Verinnerlichung eines neoliberalen Narrativs zu verlagern scheinen (Fenton, 2020;Fenton, 2021a). ...
Die Wohlfahrtssysteme in Europa haben sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten grundlegend verändert: Das Fürsorgeparadigma wurde durch ein neoliberales abgelöst, Sozialleistungen werden zunehmend an individuelles Verhalten sowie an Kriterien der Zugehörigkeit oder Nichtzugehörigkeit geknüpft. Studierende der Sozialen Arbeit wachsen in diesen Systemen auf und Studien (z.B. Fenton 2020, 2021a) gaben zu bedenken, dass Studierende der Sozialen Arbeit das neoliberale Narrativ der Selbstverantwortung und Selbstversorgung bereits verinnerlicht haben. Dies war der Ausgangspunkt für ein europäisches Forschungsprojekt, an dem fünf Hochschulen für Soziale Arbeit aus Österreich, Dänemark, England, Deutschland und Spanien beteiligt waren. Eine Befragung von über 400 Studienanfänger*innen warf die Frage auf, welche Auswirkungen die neoliberalen Narrative auf die Vorstellungen der Studierenden von Deservingness haben.
In diesem Artikel werden einige Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojekts vorgestellt, die sich auf die folgenden Fragen konzentrieren: Wie nehmen Studierende soziale Probleme wahr und wen sehen sie als „deserving“ und „undeserving“ Gruppen an? Wie autoritär sind die Einstellungen der Studierende und inwieweit wirkt sich dies auf die Erklärung sozialer Probleme aus? Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das neoliberale Narrativ weniger Einfluss auf die Einstellungen der Studierenden der Sozialen Arbeit zu haben scheint: Sie knüpfen die Inanspruchnahme von Hilfe weniger an Bedingungen, unterscheiden weniger zwischen den Zielgruppen, machen eher die Gesellschaft für soziale Probleme verantwortlich und sind weniger autoritär in ihren Einstellungen. Obwohl dies die Befürchtung entkräftet, dass die Studierenden das neoliberale Narrativ bereits verinnerlicht haben, bedeutet dies nicht, dass die Ausbildung in der Sozialen Arbeit die Auseinandersetzung mit sozialen Veränderungsprozessen vernachlässigen kann und sollte.
... in areas such as business and social work (e.g. Lafrance and Gray 2004). More contemporary research has highlighted the processes and practises that explain the sustained position of PSFs within the wider social contexts in which they operate (Suddaby and Muzio 2015). ...
... The literature reveals that concerns about students with mental illness has become aligned with assessments of 'fitness to practice', which often has negative connotations with its focus on deficits and problems. Literature has also focussed on the necessity of delineating what is meant by 'suitability, unsuitability, or misconduct' when universities try to enforce what has become termed 'gatekeeper responsibilities' (Currer, 2009;Dillon, 2007;Lafrance & Gray, 2004). In the UK, much research has explored the regulatory frameworks for students with disabilities, including psychiatric disabilities, and there is an expectation amongst university teaching staff that students should disclose disabilities that could impact on practice or academic performance (Currer, 2009;Sin & Fong, 2009;Wray, Gibson, & Aspland, 2007). ...
University educators increasingly manage situations where students disclose serious mental health issues. This is a significant issue, particularly for health and human service professions, as the importance of valuing the lived experience of mental illness lies alongside concerns for professional practice standards. Thus the responsibilities of students to disclose their mental health status and the responsibilities of Universities to provide appropriate support within established disability frameworks must be clear. However, students often do not know who they should disclose to, what will happen to disclosed information, and who has access to this information. Student's often fear embarrassment, stigma, and shame about disclosing mental illness, which is compounded by the diverse attitudes, experiences, and beliefs of educators. Consequently, this paper will review existing literature on university responses to, and students’ experiences of, mental illness in order to set a research agenda for this topic. The authors argue that such research must be undertaken urgently, in a context of inclusivity in higher education that gives voice to the experiences of students, their families and carers, university staff, and practitioners in the field.
... Of course, it is not as simple as bolstering student competency, so students may stumble past the finish line. Rather, practice educators hold a critical gate-keeping role for the profession and must safeguard the welfare of service users (Lafrance et al., 2004;Roulston et al., 2021;Raymond, 2000;Royse, 2000). The rarity of failing students in social work practice education has raised concern, predicated upon whether cases of student incompetency are always properly addressed (Basnett and Sheffield, 2010;Finch and Taylor 2013). ...
This paper offers a theoretical exposition of critical realism for social work practice education. The specific focus is on faltering students at the cusp of placement failure, and the urgent supportive role of practice educators and tutors in promoting learner's reflective capacity as active agents in their learning. A key premise of the paper is that eliminating the oftentimes contested space between what key parties think is happening, and what is actually manifest in reality, is an imperative that can be supported by critical realism. Here critical realist scholars argue that one's social reality is manifest in proximity to both an observable and socially constructed world, alongside an actual real world, with the former sometimes at odds with the latter. As the placement falters, key social actors such as practice teachers and college tutors urgently strive to make sense of conditions of possibility for student failure and to reach social consensus about the reality that underpins the speculative boundaries of student competency. Here critical realism can render visible the very ontology of practice. Whilst there are already theoretical mainstays to guide understanding of social work practice education, such as models of critical reflection and reflective practice, these are arguably limited in at least one key respect. They attend to the intersection of student's espoused theories of their behaviour, and their actual practice reality, but fail to afford meaningful attention to the ontological nature of reality as socially interpreted in social work. Here the case is made for critical realism as a theoretical tool for practice education with students who falter and fail.
Background: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is responsible for establishing educational and professional standards in the United Kingdom (UK) and regulating the fitness to practise (FtP) of nurses, midwives and nursing associates. The regulation of students studying NMC programmes is devolved to NMC Approved Education Institutes (AEIs) in the UK. This thesis systematically reviews the current literature examining the inconsistencies in FtP processes in nurse education in the UK. It identifies that various stakeholder differ in their interpretation of the definition of FtP, policies and processes vary between AEIs and individual factors influence decisions surrounding referral, progression and outcome. Reporting and auditing processes are inconsistent making it difficult to quantify the variations in outcomes for student nurses. There is a need for improvement in how FtP data is recorded and reported in nurse education and a need for future research examining the variations in outcomes and sanctions applied to student nurses in FtP proceedings in the UK.
This article reports a preliminary study examining the relationship between pre-admission data and later problems in the practicum and classroom for students in a two-year graduate social work program. Pre-admission data for those students identified as having problems by two or more faculty members were compared with data from randomly selected files of students who were not identified. Students in the problem group were on average older than other students, were more likely to be male, had lower undergraduate grade point averages, had more experience in social service—related work, and were rated lower in emotional maturity based on personal statements. The authors encourage schools to provide additional supports to students at risk for problems, rather than arbitrarily reject applicants meeting these criteria.
This paper discusses specific gatekeeping issues facing social work educators, both university- and agency-based, and uses case analysis to explain how one undergraduate program handled these issues. The cases highlight procedures used in the gatekeeping process and reflect the difficulty of gatekeeping including many problems that can arise in any educational setting. Focusing on case examples may help educators develop and further refine approaches and strategies for gatekeeping in order to guard the gate to the social work profession.
The incidence of psychosocial trauma in the families of origin of master’s-level social work students was compared with that of their counterparts in a nonhelping profession (master’s-level business majors). Students at one private college in northeastern Pennsylvania completed a questionnaire that sought to examine the extent of alcohol and drug abuse; physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; physical and mental illness; death; suicide; and other traumatic events, such as separation and divorce of parents, during childhood. Demographic data also were obtained. Social work students reported a high frequency of family trauma in early life that was significantly greater than that of the business students. These findings have implications for effective social work practice, social work education, and professional responsibility.
This paper examines the need for gatekeeping within social work education. It examines the processes within the university, social work educational programs, and the practice community. It highlights concerns about gatekeeping's implementation. Suggestions are made for quality control in classroom instruction, field education, and student evaluation.
This article reports the findings of a study that explored the perceptions of 147 graduate social work students about their families of origin compared with the perceptions of guidance and counseling, business, and education graduate students. The authors surveyed respondents by means of a self-administered questionnaire to determine if the students had experienced any of the various forms of family dysfunction. Social work students were significantly more likely to come from families in which substance abuse was a problem and to have had a family member who was a victim of a violent act. In addition, social work students were significantly more likely to have been sexually abused. The authors discuss implications of these findings for social work education.
Social work faculty and university administrators confront a significant dilemma when students exhibit inappropriate or unethical behavior. Refusing admission or terminating problem students invokes a legal process that has not been clearly resolved in the courts; however, professional programs receive special privileges to broadly define academic performance. This legal refuge creates significant and unresolved challenges for social work faculty. Ethical issues and legal precedents are reviewed, in order to understand the rights of both the university and social work students. Recommendations include tightening the admissions process, counseling out, and the development of explicit dismissal procedures.
The aim of this paper is to consider epistemological issues relating to the assessment of social work students. It will review the development of social work education and in particular the changes that have occurred in assessing the practice of social work students in England and Wales. It explores models of practice assessment. Factors relating to maintaining professional standards, whilst taking into consideration issues of justice, are addressed. It explores the potential benefits of using a second opinion in the assessment of marginal or failing students on practice placement. Assessment is linked to how students may perform as qualified practitioners; this raises issues related both to the nature of objectivity, and standpoint in assessment.