Standards & Competencies in Social Work Education Nevenka Zegarac, Full professor, FPN, BU Belgrade, 27-29.11.2014.

Global standards IASSW, IFSW, (2004) Main reasons for the development of GS : Protect the “consumers”, “clients” or “service users’ Draw a distinction between SW and non SW Facilitate articulation across universities on a global level Facilitate the movement of social workers from one country to another Benchmark national standards against international standards Facilitate partnerships and international student and staff exchange programmes Take account of the impact of globalisation on social work curricula and social work practice

General standards and competencies for the education of the social work professionals Necessity of having a frame in the field of acquiring social work knowledge and skills, both in the formal education of social work professionals, as well as in the field of lifelong learning. I part: Standards for the higher education institutions for the education of social work professionals II part: Standards and competencies for education of social work professionals

Model of Professional Knowledge THEORETICAL (Frames of reference that present organized phenomena) PERSONAL (Intuition, common sense, Cultural knowledge EMPIRICAL (Gained from research) PRACTICE WISDON (Gained from experience) PROCEDURAL (Legislative, Policy, Organizational)

Values & ethic Managing practice & accountability Key role V Managing practice & accountability Key role I Prepare for, and work to assess the needs and circumstances Key role III Advocacy Values & ethic Key role IV Managing risk Key role II Plan, carry out, review and evaluate SW Key role VI Demonstrate professional competence

The key social work roles in National Occupational Standards (TOPSS 2004) Key role I: Prepare for, and work with individuals, families, carers, groups and communities to assess the needs and circumstances Key role II: Plan, carry out, review and evaluate SW with individuals, families, carers, groups and communities and other professionals Key role III: Support individuals to represent their needs, views and circumstances Key role IV: Managing risk to individuals, families, carers, communities, groups, self and colleagues Key Role 5: Manage and be accountable with supervision and support for your own social work practice Key role VI: Demonstrate professional competence in SW practice

Standards and competencies for education of social work professionals Interpretation Source of knowledge Knowledge purpose   Competencies level Description Skills Indicators 1. Basic    2. Advanced  3. Specialist

The five levels on competency development (Dreyfus and Dreyfus, 1980) Novice: Rule-based behavior, strongly limited and inflexible Experienced Beginner: Incorporates aspects of the situation Practitioner: Acting consciously from long-term goals and plans Knowledgeable practitioner: Sees the situation as a whole and acts from personal conviction Expert: Has an intuitive understanding of the situation and zooms in on the central aspects

Level of competencies and skills Pamela Trevithick, 2000 BASIC: these relate to those foundation C & S that are required in most SW interventions such as empathy, establishing a relationship or a rapport. ADVANCED : these relate to the C & S required to deal with more difficult situations, such as working with service users who are not easy to engage or seem unresponsive. SPECIALIST: these C & S relate to working in situations that require specialist knowledge, such as training in counseling or family therapy, being able work with problems that are multi-faceted and intractable or in situations involving conflict, hostility or high levels of distress, or specialized field of practice (child protection, juvenal justice, palliative care, mental health SW, etc).

The origin and use of competence The competence- based approach specifically addressed the tasks of assessing and measuring what individuals do in a variety of workplaces. It identified areas of competence and established performance criteria. To know, understand, critically analyse, evaluate and apply the knowledge for each unit

‘Be fit, proper or qualified’ (Latin) A cluster of related abilities, commitments, knowledge and skills, that enable a person (or an organization) to act effectively in a job or situation. Competence indicates sufficiency of knowledge and skills that enable someone to act in a wide variety of situations. Because each level of responsibility has its own requirements, competence can occur in any period of a person's life or at any stage of his or her career.

Understanding competences Competence is the product of knowledge, skills and values. Students will have to demonstrate that they have met practical requirements, integrated social work values, acquired and applied knowledge, reflected upon and critically analysed their practice, and transferred knowledge, skills and values in practice. Competency development is a lifelong series of doing and reflecting. Lifelong competency development is linked with personal development

Components of competencies Knowledge is the cognizance of facts, truths and principles A skill is a developed proficiency or dexterity in mental operations or physical processes that is often acquired through specialized training Ability is the power or aptitude to perform physical or mental activities that are often affiliated with a particular profession . Individual attributes are properties, qualities or characteristics of individuals that reflect one's unique personal makeup, genetically developed or acquired from one's accumulated life experiences

Standards for the higher education institutions for the education of social work professionals Six standards are identified, refer to: The school’s core purpose or mission statement; Structure, administration, governance and resources; Professional staff; Programme curricula; Core curricula; Cultural diversity and social work values and ethics.

Standards and competencies for education of social work professionals Standard 1 - understanding of and commitment to social work values and ethics Standard 2 – prepared for professional practice with individuals, families, different groups of clients and communities in diverse geographic locations and contexts. Standard 3 – to apply knowledge from different disciplines and select interventions within human rights and social justice framework.

Standards and competencies for education of social work professionals 3/5 Standard 4 – policy analysis practice, systemic approach to detecting and solving problems, and for participation in planning and evaluating programs and social policy measures. Standard 5 –apply research knowledge to inform and improve practice, to conduct researches and present results relating with relevant that details basic problems and practice needs. Standard 6 - work with diversity and demonstrate respect for cultural differences. Standard 7 – committed to lifelong learning.