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The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a rapid shift from in-person to remote methods of practice, yet minimal guidance existed for delivering online services. The International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG) Standards, first developed in 1998 and updated in 2005, offered little on online group work. In 2020, IASWG responded by forming a global taskforce to update the Standards. The primary objective was to enhance the Standards with guidelines for remote delivery of group work, ensuring that group workers could effectively use technology to adapt to the changing environment. Thus, the initiative directly addressed two Grand Challenges for Social Work: Harness Technology for Social Good and Create Social Responses to a Changing Environment.
Methods:
The study employed a systematic, collaborative approach involving a diverse taskforce of group work practitioners, educators, and researchers from different continents and linguistic backgrounds. A multimethod approach was used that consisted of multiple stages. The taskforce conducted a thorough review of the IASWG Standards, supplemented by literature reviews and consultations with global group workers. Data collection included qualitative surveys and focus groups at one of IASWG Symposia, followed by a quantitative content validation process using a Likert scale survey, distributed to IASWG members globally.
Results:
Through the qualitative consultations and focus groups, the taskforce identified key themes for effective online group work, including values, privacy, confidentiality, access, equity, inclusion, cultural responsiveness, group norms, phases of group development, mutual aid processes, and the facilitator's role. The data revealed potential benefits such as increased accessibility for marginalized populations and challenges related to communication dynamics and privacy concerns. The qualitative findings helped shape the development of a preliminary list of thirty Online Considerations. The quantitative survey validated the importance of the proposed online considerations, and through an item analysis and review of qualitative feedback about each item, helped identify a final set of 23 items that were integrated into the IASWG Standards. These items addressed ethical issues, technological requirements, cultural competence, and practical strategies for facilitating online groups. The 23 items were approved by the IASWG Board and are now part of the updated IASWG Standards with Online Considerations, in three languages.
Conclusions and Implications:
The Online Considerations for the IASWG Standards mark a key advancement in group work. Given the global proliferation of online group work, the enhanced Standards offer a framework for effective, ethical online group work. The guidelines have implications for practice, policy, and research. They help practitioners navigate the online delivery of group work, support policymakers’ efforts to integrate remote group services, and guide researchers and educators regarding contemporary online group work.
The systematic and inclusive process undertaken by the IASWG taskforce resulted in a valuable resource that reflects the evolving landscape of social work practice. These new Online Considerations demonstrate how two Grand Challenges can be addressed: Using technology to tackle social problems and improve lives through online group work (Harness Technology for Social Good) and developing innovative responses to the impact of environmental changes on practice (Create Social Responses to a Changing Environment).