For and against

Authors

  • Russell Whiting

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/jpts.v8i3.375

Keywords:

religion, debate, social work education, values

Abstract

This article will provide an account of research undertaken in relation to a single session on an MA in Social Work course, which featured a debate on the place of religion in social work. Research on the session was conducted through the use of two focus groups with participants and also through the use of a questionnaire completed by the whole student group immediately after the debate. Material from the research was presented in a workshop in the Seventh International Conference for Practice Learning and Field Education in Health and Social Work in York in July 2008. This article analyses excerpts from the debate itself, the focus groups and material from the questionnaire (appended).

Whilst using a debate is an interesting starting point for addressing this topic it has both advantages and disadvantages as shall be seen. The article builds on Gregory and Holloway’s (2005) work on the use of debates in social work education and also draws on a broader framework for social work education published recently by colleagues at the University of Sussex (Lefevre et al., 2008). The article highlights the lack of work published concerning how the topic of religion and spirituality is addressed in social work education and offers the debate as the start of a way forward.

References

Bowpitt, G. (1998) Evangelical Christianity, Secular Humanism, and the genesis of British social work. <i>British Journal of Social Work</i> 28, 5, 675–693\nBowpitt, G. (2000) Working with creative creatures: Towards a Christian paradigm for social work theory, with some practical implications. <i>British Journal of Social Work</i> 30, 3, 349–364\nFurman, L.D., Benson, P.W., Grimwood, C., and Canda, E. (2004) Religion and spirituality in social work education and direct practice at the Millennium: A Survey of UK Social Workers. <i>British Journal of Social Workers</i> 34, 6, 767–792\nGilligan, P. and Furness, S. (2006) The Role of religion and spirituality in social work practice: views and experiences of social workers and students. <i>British Journal of Social Work</i> 36, 5, 617–637\nGray, M. (2008) Viewing spirituality in social work through the lens of contemporary social theory. <i>British Journal of Social Work</i> 38, 175–196\nGregory, M and Holloway, M (2005) The debate as a pedagogic tool in social policy for social work students. <i>Social Work Education</i>, 24, 6, 617–637\nHolloway, M. (2007) Spiritual Need And The Core Business Of Social Work. <i>British Journal of Social Work</i>, 37, 2, 265–281\nKitzinger, J. and Farquhar, C. (1999) The analytical potential of ‘sensitive moments’ in service user discussions. in R.S. Barbour and J. Kitzinger (Eds.) <i>Developing Focus Group Research</i>. London: Sage\nKolb D.A. (1984) <i>Experiential Learning: Experience as a source of learning and development</i>. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall\nLefevre, M., Tanner, K., and Luckock, B. (2008) Developing social work students’ communication skills with children and young people: A model for the qualifying level curriculum. <i>Child and Family Social Work</i>, 13, 1, 166–176\nMoss, B., (2006) <i>Religion and Spirituality</i>. Lyme Regis: Russell House\nMorgan, D.L., (1997) <i>Focus Groups as Qualitative Research</i>. London: Sage\nMyer, G. and Macnaghten, P (1999) Can focus groups be analysed as talk? In R.S. Barbour and J.Kitzinger (Eds.) <i>Developing Focus Group Research</i>. London: Sage\nNash, M. (2002) Spirituality and social work in a culturally appropriate curriculum. in M. Nash and B. Stewart (Eds.) <i>Spirituality and Social Care, Contributing to Personal and Community Well-Being</i>. London: Jessica Kingsley\nSheridan, M.J., Wilmer, C.M., and Atcheson, L. (1994) Inclusion of content on religion and spirituality in the social work curriculum: A study of faculty views. <i>Journal of Social Work Education</i>, 30, 3, 363–376\nWhiting, R. (2008) No room for religion or spirituality or cooking tips: Exploring practical atheism as an unspoken consensus in the development of social work values in England. <i>Ethics and Social Welfare</i> 2, 1, 67–83\nWong, Y.K.R., and Vinsky, J., (2008) Speaking from the margins: A Critical reflection on the ‘spiritual-but-not-religious’ discourse in social work. <i>British Journal of Social Work</i>, Advance Access published on March 28, 2008\n

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Published

2012-12-20

How to Cite

Whiting, R. (2012). For and against. The Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 8(3), 79-96. https://doi.org/10.1921/jpts.v8i3.375

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Section

Articles