BOOK
Studying for your Social Work Degree
Jane Bottomley | Patricia Cartney | Steven Pryjmachuk
(2018)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
Studying for your Social Work Degree is PERFECT for anyone wanting to train to become a social worker. After reading this fully comprehensive guide you will understand:
- the structure and culture of HE, and how social work fits into it
- what to expect, and what will be expected of you, as a university student
- teaching and assessment methods within social work, so that you can perform to the best of your ability in an academic environment
- how to manage your social work studies in an effective way and make the most of the resources available to you.
The books in our Critical Study Skills series will help you gain the knowledge, skills and strategies you need to achieve your goals. They provide support in all areas important for university study, including institutional and disciplinary policy and practice, self-management, and research and communication. Packed with tasks and activities to help you improve your learning, including learner autonomy and critical thinking, and to guide you towards reflective practice in your study and work life. Uniquely, this book is written by an experienced social work lecturer and an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) lecturer.
Pat Cartney is Head of Social Work in the School of Health Sciences Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Manchester. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her teaching and research interests focus on exploring how people learn best about professional practice and how they become knowledgeable and skilled social work practitioners.
Jane Bottomley is a Senior Language Tutor at the University of Manchester and a Senior Fellow of the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP).She has been involved in the development of a number of content-based academic study skills courses at the University of Manchester and has published widely in this field.
Steven Pryjmachuk is Professor of Mental Health Nursing Education in the School of Health Science's Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Manchester and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His teaching, clinical and research work has centred largely on supporting and facilitating individuals – be they students, patients or colleagues – to develop, learn or care independently. In December 2014, Steven was elected as vice Chair (2015-16) and Chair (2017-18) of Mental Health Nurse Academics UK, an organisation representing 65 Higher Education Institutions providing education and research on mental health nursing.
This is a very welcome, refreshing addition to the field.....I enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of studying a social work degree or thinking of becoming a lecturer or an Associate Tutor on a social work degree programme.
Ann Anka, University of East Anglia
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover 1 | ||
| Half-title | i | ||
| Series information | ii | ||
| Title page | iii | ||
| Copyright information | iv | ||
| Table of contents | v | ||
| Acknowledgements | vi | ||
| Meet the series editor and authors | vii | ||
| Introduction | viii | ||
| Chapter 1 Studying social work in higher education | 1 | ||
| What is HE? | 2 | ||
| Your social work degree | 2 | ||
| Qualification frameworks | 3 | ||
| Courses and credits | 4 | ||
| Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) | 5 | ||
| Lifelong learning and continuous professional development | 6 | ||
| Being a university student | 7 | ||
| Study time | 8 | ||
| Virtual Learning Environments | 9 | ||
| Lectures | 10 | ||
| Seminars | 11 | ||
| Tutorials | 12 | ||
| Independent learning | 13 | ||
| Summary | 14 | ||
| References | 14 | ||
| Chapter 2 Strategies for effective learning | 16 | ||
| What is learning? | 16 | ||
| Managing your learning: student autonomy | 17 | ||
| Strategies for effective learning | 19 | ||
| Being organised | 19 | ||
| Being disciplined | 20 | ||
| Being realistic | 20 | ||
| Being smart | 20 | ||
| Being positive | 21 | ||
| Being proactive | 21 | ||
| Being committed | 22 | ||
| Being open-minded | 22 | ||
| Being reflective and self-aware | 22 | ||
| Learning styles | 23 | ||
| Discussion of case studies | 25 | ||
| Collaborative learning | 26 | ||
| Collaboration in social work | 27 | ||
| Collaboration in action | 28 | ||
| Important qualities in group work | 30 | ||
| Managing conflict | 30 | ||
| Discussion: managing conflict | 31 | ||
| Discussion of case studies | 35 | ||
| Summary | 32 | ||
| References | 32 | ||
| Chapter 3 Becoming a member of your academic and professional community | 34 | ||
| Joining the academy | 34 | ||
| Academic principles, pursuits and practices | 37 | ||
| Teaching, research and knowledge | 37 | ||
| Values, beliefs and academic integrity | 40 | ||
| Communication | 41 | ||
| Academic phrasebank | 41 | ||
| The social work community | 42 | ||
| Historical landmarks in social work | 42 | ||
| Current developments in ethical guidance for social work | 46 | ||
| Reflective practice | 46 | ||
| Your Professional Development Portfolio (PDP) | 47 | ||
| Identifying and challenging poor practice | 47 | ||
| Graduate attributes | 47 | ||
| Discussion: applying graduate attributes | 49 | ||
| Summary | 50 | ||
| References | 50 | ||
| Chapter 4 Critical thinking | 52 | ||
| What is critical thinking? | 52 | ||
| The critical thinker | 55 | ||
| Critical thinking in universities | 55 | ||
| Critical thinking in social work | 56 | ||
| Applying and developing your critical thinking skills | 57 | ||
| Approaching learning resources critically | 57 | ||
| Active reading | 59 | ||
| Synthesis of information and ideas | 60 | ||
| Scrutinising research and arguments | 63 | ||
| Demonstrating criticality in your academic work | 68 | ||
| Discussion versus description | 69 | ||
| Stance | 69 | ||
| Argument | 70 | ||
| Objectivity | 70 | ||
| Persuasiveness | 71 | ||
| Demonstrating criticality in your social work practice | 71 | ||
| Summary | 72 | ||
| References | 72 | ||
| Chapter 5 Academic resources: technology and the library | 74 | ||
| Understanding technology and developing good computer skills | 74 | ||
| Hardware | 74 | ||
| Discussion of hardware uses at university | 75 | ||
| Software | 76 | ||
| Office suites | 76 | ||
| Word processing | 77 | ||
| Presentations | 78 | ||
| Spreadsheets | 80 | ||
| Communication software | 81 | ||
| The internet | 82 | ||
| The cloud | 84 | ||
| Social media | 85 | ||
| Online behaviour and security | 85 | ||
| Computer security | 85 | ||
| Personal security | 85 | ||
| The university library | 86 | ||
| Knowing what’s out there | 87 | ||
| Conducting a literature search | 88 | ||
| Identifying key search terms | 88 | ||
| Refining your search | 89 | ||
| Widening your search | 89 | ||
| Google and Wikipedia | 89 | ||
| Summary | 90 | ||
| References | 90 | ||
| Chapter 6 Assessment | 91 | ||
| Assessment in higher education | 91 | ||
| Submission and marking of assessments | 92 | ||
| An effective approach to assessment | 93 | ||
| Become assessment literate | 93 | ||
| Plan and manage your time | 93 | ||
| Written assessments | 94 | ||
| Reports | 94 | ||
| Portfolios | 94 | ||
| Essays | 94 | ||
| Dissertations | 95 | ||
| Oral assessments | 95 | ||
| Exams | 96 | ||
| Social work practice placement assessments | 98 | ||
| Feedback on academic work | 99 | ||
| Good practice in feedback | 100 | ||
| Your response to feedback | 100 | ||
| Summary | 102 | ||
| References | 102 | ||
| Appendix: The language of higher education | 103 | ||
| Answer key | 106 | ||
| Index | 113 |