Gaps between Academia and Practice: Perspectives about Social Work Education in Georgia

Purpose: The gap between the social work education curriculum and social work practice has been discussed for many years (Healy, 2005, Patron, 2000, Schon, 1983, Sheldon, 1978). Some of the major reasons for existing disparities refer to social work academic programs being focused on the institutional context rather than practice, practitioners’ negative attitudes about theory, and their lack of ability to apply knowledge to practice related issues (Healy, 2005, Patron, 2000, Schon, 1983, Sheldon, 1978)

Like many other countries, the effectiveness of social work programs and their curriculum as well as the competence of newly graduated social workers has been questioned by employers within social welfare agencies in *(country name). It’s worth mentioning that the first social workers that entered the field came from various disciplines and educational backgrounds; academic programs specializing in social work only came about in the year 2000.

The present study aimed to understand the differing perspectives and beliefs of social work educators, students and employers regarding social work academic programs and their role in preparing future social workers for diverse social work situations.

 Methods: Focus groups and in-depth one-on-one interviews were conducted with faculty of social work programs, final year students, and representatives of the Social Service Agency (SSA), the main employer of social workers in (*country). Participants were recruited through convenient sampling methods. In total, 4 focus group discussions and 5 in-depth one-on-one interviews were conducted. Transcripts of the data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. First, patterns and themes were identified, then possible connections were sought between the categorized themes.

 Results: Findings were consistent with the overall notion of disparities between social work academic programs and practice. The data revealed that faculty of social work programs strongly believe that the current curriculum, which includes theoretical and skill-based modules/courses, is in compliance with the standards of social work education and that it meets all the requirements of a changing social context. For employers, the academic programs are too theoretical and fail to prepare students for practice-related issues and crisis intervention. Like employers, students noted issues related to the content of academic courses as well as the ineffectiveness of the field education component. They acknowledged the importance of theory for the social work profession but emphasized the difficulty of assigning theoretical knowledge to practice situations.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings of this study have important implications for social work programs as well as social work practices/agencies. The data revealed that the political, economic, and social changes, which took place in recent years, significantly changed the social welfare system and affected the practice of social work in the country. Therefore, consensus has to be reached; social work programs have to come up with innovative ways of linking theory based knowledge to practice, and social work practice must adopt new strategies to meet the challenge of an evolving SW profession.