Competence units or holistic assessment

Authors

  • Clare Stone

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/jpts.v-1i-1.233

Keywords:

competency based education and training (CBET), holistic assessment, practice learning, competence for social work

Abstract

When public attention is focused upon the profession of social work, a typical response has been to change initial training and the learning outcomes by which students are assessed. Although social work education has employed competency frameworks for two decades the incompetence discourse and the concern about graduates’ ability to undertake competent social work practice continues. Empirical research problematized the competence phenomenon to explore practice educators’ experiences of using competency units and their perspectives of competence for social work. This paper draws upon findings from that research to explore the concept of holistic assessment and to suggest that educators need to reconsider the epistemological principles of assessment for social work practice.

References

Barnett, R. (1994) <i>The Limits of Competence: Knowledge, higher education and society</i>. Open University Press\nBellinger, A. (2010a) Studying the landscape: Practice learning for social work reconsidered. <i>Social Work Education,</i> 29, 599-615\nBellinger, A. (2010b) Talking about (re)generation: Practice learning as a site of renewal for social work. <i>British Journal of Social Work,</i> 40, 2450-2466\nBeverley, A. and Worsley, A. (2007) <i>Learning and Teaching in Social Work Practice.</i> Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan\nBiggs, J. and Tang, C. (2007) <i>Teaching for Quality Learning at University: What the Student Does.</i> (3rd ed) Buckingham, Open University Press\nBilson, A. and Ross, S. (1999) <i>Social Work Management and Practice: Systems principles.</i> London, Jessica Kingsley\nBloxham, S. (2011) Understanding the rules of the game: Helping students really graps what we are looking for when we mark. UCLan seminar\nBogo, M., Regehr, C., Hughes, J., Power, R. and Globerman, J. (2002) Evaluating a measure of student field performance in direct service: Testing reliability and validity of explicit criteria. <i>Journal of Social Work Education,</i> 38, 385-401\nBogo, M., Regehr, C., Ppower, R., Hughes, J., Woodford, M. and Regehr, G. (2004) Toward New Approaches for evaluating student field performance: Tapping the implicit criteria used by experienced field instructors. <i>Journal of Social Work Education,</i> 40, 417-426\nCCETSW (1989) <i>Requirements and Regulations for the Diploma in Social Work</i>. [CCETSW Paper 30] London: Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work\nCree, V. E. (2003) <i>Becoming a Social Worker.</i> London: Routledge\nCree, V. E. (2013) <i>Becoming a Social Worker. Global Narratives.,</i> 2nd Edition. Abingdon, Routledge\nEisner, E. W. (1985) <i>The Art of Educational Evaluation: A personal view.</i> London: Falmer\nEraut, M. (1994) <i>Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence.</i> [electronic resource] London: Falmer\nFurness, S. and Gilligan, P. (2004) Fit for purpose: Issues from practice placements, practice teaching and the assessment of students’ practice. <i>Social Work Education,</i> 23, 465-479\nGriffin, A. (1997) Knowledge under attack: Consumption, diversity and the need for values. in <i>R.</i> Barnett and A. Griffin (Eds.) <i>The End of Knowledge in Higher Education.</i> London: Cassell\nHCPC (2012a) <i>Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for Students</i>. London: Health and Care Professions Council\nHCPC (2012b) Standards of proficiency. Social work in England. London: Health and Care Professions Council\nKeating, M. (2012) <i>From NQSW to ASYE - Preparing for Implementation. Social Work Reform: Ambition to Reality</i> (Presentation at 'Social Work Reform: Ambition to Reality' Conference, Leyland Preston, 1st March 2012)\nLaming, H. B. (2009) <i>The Protection of Children in England: A progress report.</i> London: Stationery Office\nLaming, L. (2003) <i>The Victoria Climbie Inquiry</i>. <i>Cm 5730.</i> London:The Stationery Office\nLum, G. (2004) On the non-discursive nature of competence. <i>Educational Philosophy and Theory,</i> 36, 485-496\nMann, T. (2010) Personal reflections of social work education in the context of the Social Work Task Force. <i>Practice,</i> 22, 321-329\nMcNay, M., Jean, C. and Lovelock, R. (2009) The journey towards professionalism in social work: The development and assessment of practice learning. <i>Journal of Practice Teaching in Health and Social Work,</i> 9, 72-91\nMunro, E. (2011) <i>Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report. A Child-centred System</i>. London: Dept for Education\nNarey, M. (2014) <i>Making the Education of Social Workers Consistently Effective</i>. www.gov.uk/government/publications. London: Department for Education <a target="_blank" href='www.gov.uk/government/publications'>www.gov.uk/government/publications</a>\nO’Hagan, K. (2007) <i>Competence in social Work Practice: A practical guide for students and professionals.</i> London: Jessica Kingsley\nOrme, J., MacIntyre, G., Lister, P.G., Cavanagh, K., Crisp, B.R., Hussein, S., Manthorpe, J., Moriarty, J., Sharpe, E., and Stevens, M. (2009) What (a) difference a degree makes: The evaluation of the New Social Work Degree in England. <i>British Journal of Social Work,</i> 39, 161-178\nPage, A. and Knight, P. (2007) Assessing ‘wicked’ competences. <i>Educational Developments. SEDA,</i> 8.3\nPlenty, J. and Gower, D. (2013) The reform of social work practice education and training and supporting practice educators. <i>Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning,</i> 12, 2, 48-66\nPreston-Shoot, M. (2000) Stumbling towards oblivion or discovering new horizons? Observations on the relationship between social work education and practice. <i>Journal of Social Work Practice,</i> 14, 87-98\nRiebschleger, J. and Grettenberger, S. (2006) Assessing graduating BSW field students’ preparation for generalist practice. <i>The Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work,</i> 12, 184-202\nSchon, D. A. (1991) <i>The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action</i> Aldershot: Ashgate\nSimpson, G. and Murr, A. (2013) The ‘not yet competent’ student. <i>The Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning,</i> 11, 3, 118-134\nStone, C. (2014) <i>An Exploration of How Practice Educators Use Competency Frameworks to Assess Social Work Students in Practice Learning Setting.s</i> Doctoral Thesis. Preston: University of Central Lancashire\nSWTF (2009) <i>Building a Safe, Confident Future</i>. The final report of the Social Work Task Force\nTaylor, I. and Bogo, M. (2013) Perfect opportunity - perfect storm? raising the standards of social work education in England. <i>British Journal of Social Work,</i> Advance Access published November 13, 2013, 1-17\nTCSW (2013a) <i>Practice Learning Guidance. Placement criteria (edref9).</i> [Online] <a target="_blank" href='http://www.collegeofsocialwork.org/uploadedFiles/TheCollege/_CollegeLibrary/Reform_resources/PlacementCriteria(edref9).pdf'>http://www.collegeofsocialwork.org/uploadedFiles/TheCollege/_CollegeLibrary/Reform_resources/PlacementCriteria(edref9).pdf</a>\nTCSW. (2013b) <i>The Professional Capabilities Framework.</i> [Online] <a target="_blank" href='http://www.collegeofsocialwork.org/'>http://www.collegeofsocialwork.org/</a>\nThompson, N. (2000) <i>Understanding Social Work: Preparing for practice. [electronic resource]:</i>Aldershot: Macmillan\nTOPSS (2002) <i>The National Occupational Standards for Social Work.</i> England: TOPSS\nUsher, R. (1997) Seductive texts: competence, power and knowledge in postmodernity. in <i>R.</i> Barnett and A. Griffin (Eds.) <i>The End of Knowledge in Higher Education.</i> London: Cassell\nWoodham, G. (2012) <i>Skills for Care and CWDC Presentation: Update on the Skills for Care and CWDC social work programme.</i> (Presentation at 'Social Work Reform: Ambition to Reality' Conference, Leyland Preston, 1st March 2012)\n

Published

2014-11-25

How to Cite

Stone, C. (2014). Competence units or holistic assessment. The Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 13(1a), 79-91. https://doi.org/10.1921/jpts.v-1i-1.233

Issue

Section

Articles