Abstract: Voices from Different Stakeholders Related to the Assessment on Professional Suitability for Social Work (Society for Social Work and Research 22nd Annual Conference - Achieving Equal Opportunity, Equity, and Justice)

Schedule:

Sunday, January 14, 2018: 11:30 AM

Independence BR C (ML 4) (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)

* noted as presenting author

Dora Tam, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Calgary, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

Christine Streeter, MSW, Research Project Coordinator, University of Calgary, Toronto, ON, Canada

Jeanette Robertson, PhD, Associate Professor, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada

Oleksandr Kondrashov, PhD, Assistant Professor, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada

Rachel Birnbaum, PhD, Professor, King's University College at Western University, London, ON, Canada

Siu Ming Kwok, PhD, Professor, University of Calgary, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

Background and Purpose:

In 2009, Chapter 7 of Canada’s Agreement for Internal Trade (AIT) was amended. The objectives of the amendments focused on ensuring full mobility of workers, clarifying expectations and outcomes related to qualifications, and the promotion of core practice standards (a.k.a. professional suitability or competence). Consequently, it is imperative for schools of social work and professional regulatory bodies to determine an assessment model for professional suitability to ensure social work students and practitioners meet the expectations of the AIT. This paper presents a qualitative study that examines the multidimensionality of professional suitability for social work and articulates the roles of educational programs, as well as regulatory bodies in gate keeping functions to better unpack the issue of ‘professional suitability’ and its multiple meanings across different sectors.

Methods:

Developed from a Grounded Theory approach, twenty-three in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with different stakeholders (e.g., practising social workers, social work educators, social service agency administrators, field placement supervisors, and students) from a Western province in Canada. Participants were recruited through letters of invitation, forwarded by email, via schools of social work, social service organizations, and professional regulatory bodies. Research participants were asked semi-structured interview questions on the following: 1) how does the participant conceptualize professional suitability for social work practice?; 2) what are the challenges in assessing professional suitability?; 3) what roles and functions should the education, practice, and regulatory sectors play in assuring that only professionally suited individuals are allowed to practice in the field?; and 4) what models of assessment on professional suitability could be developed in Canadian social work? Thematic coding associated with comparative studies was used to identify themes and categories until saturation was reached.

Findings:

Personal suitability is one aspect that was identified most frequently by participants when asked to define important criteria for professional suitability in social work. The findings revealed that a candidate is considered professionally suited if the person has a strong sense of self-awareness, in combination with a commitment to social work ethics and a solid knowledge base. Findings suggest the need for: 1) additional comprehensive assessment such as an interview at the time of admission; 2) enhancing the pre-placement matching process as well as realiable and valid evaluation tools for field placement; 3) increasing collaboration between educational programs and the practice/field sector, in order to properly equip graduates with required knowledge and the required skill set for practice; and 4) developing an ongoing assessment mechanism to assure registered social workers stay current and continue their professional development.

Conclusion and Implications:

Thematic findings from this study provide valuable information for schools of social work and regulatory bodies to consider ways in which they can enhance current models of assessment on professional suitability for social work. For schools, enhanced assessment is needed at admission, throughout the program, and (before) graduation. For regulatory bodies, an ongoing assessment on professional development should be further explored because post-registered ongoing professional development is not mandated in most provinces and territories across Canada.