A standards-based inventory of foundation competencies in social work with groups: An empirical test in Scotland

Abstract

Abstract: This paper describes the application and testing in Scotland of a measure of foundation competencies in groupwork, derived from standards for social work practice with groups. Developed by the International Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups (IASWG), the IASWG Standards have not been widely used outside of Canada or the U.S.A. A 70-item inventory based on the Standards was developed to measure two domains, how important each item is for successful groupwork, and how confident the respondent is about demonstrating the skill in practice. The first study, with a mostly North American sample, reported excellent reliability and good validity. This paper reports new findings on the reliability and validity of the inventory from data collected from students and practitioners across Scotland (N = 161), and includes qualitative impressions from participants. The results indicated excellent internal consistency for both the importance and confidence subscales, with low standard errors of measurement. An item analysis revealed high respondent ratings, supporting content validity. Significant correlations between the subscales and validators supported the measure’s concurrent, construct-convergent, and criterion known-groups validity. The findings suggest the cross-national applicability of the inventory (and the Standards represented by the inventory), while also illuminating areas for refinement.