Suchergebnisse

The demands on successfully teaching intervention skills in macro (community) environments are numerous and extend beyond the confines of any one academic discipline. In particular, when considering community, the compounding of the multiple factors of social economics, diversity, social policy, history and political agendas requires an integrative approach. This mixed-methods retrospective article analyses the use of service-learning in an advanced Master of Social Work community practice course. Special attention is given to the construction of academic and community experience that facilitates learning integration and understanding of the ways in which factors compound on community wellbeing. Specifically this project involved students in efforts constructed to address violence directed by and against inner-city youth in a mid-sized northeastern city in the United States that is beset with gang violence and has led its state in per capita murders for four of the past five years. Recommendations and lessons learned presented in this article are directed at exploring a construction of service-learning that could address integrative learning in community intervention courses.

Keywords: Service-learning, teaching, macro practice, violence

The demands on successfully teaching intervention skills in macro (community) environments are numerous and extend beyond the confines of any one academic discipline. In particular, when considering community, the compounding of the multiple factors of social economics, diversity, social policy, history and political agendas requires an integrative approach. This mixed-methods retrospective article analyses the use of service-learning in an advanced Master of Social Work community practice course. Special attention is given to the construction of academic and community experience that facilitates learning integration and understanding of the ways in which factors compound on community wellbeing. Specifically this project involved students in efforts constructed to address violence directed by and against inner-city youth in a mid-sized northeastern city in the United States that is beset with gang violence and has led its state in per capita murders for four of the past five years. Recommendations and lessons learned presented in this article are directed at exploring a construction of service-learning that could address integrative learning in community intervention courses. Keywords: Service-learning, teaching, macro practice, violence

Abstract
Social work practice in a global context requires an understanding of the cross-cultural nature of practice settings in local communities and globally. One step to developing this understanding of the internationalisation of social work education, including the student internship, is to incorporate supervision by local practitioners and educators. A qualitative interview study of fourteen social work students from Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the USA completing internships in the Southwest Indian state of Kerala revealed themes of increased practice knowledge, practice skills, understanding of cross-cultural values and ethics, critical reflection and research skills development as a result of reflexive supervision provided to them by practitioners in their internship agencies and faculty from their host and home institutions. This challenging of views within one's own culture, promoted by supervision, leads to increased capacity to engage in critical anti-oppressive practice amongst social workers.