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The profession of social work faces a perfect storm of increasingly complex practice contexts, intensifying demands, and escalating burnout. This crisis requires immediate, critical, and substantive action by social work education. Social work programs function to prepare competent practitioners who can navigate these demands and complexities with efficacy, while sustaining themselves. For too long, practitioner well-being has been significantly neglected. This article promotes a basic tenet: "Social work education has a pivotal responsibility and pragmatic role in providing serious, credible attention to the well-being of practitioners." Social work curricula must integrate teaching of self-care as a professional competency. This article provides philosophical rationale and practical strategies for doing so. Through comprehensive attention in implicit and explicit curricula, social work programs can prepare practitioners who can enact social work's long-standing mission of human rights, social justice, and human well-being. Everyone (e.g., faculty, field supervisors, administrators) has a role and responsibility. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has particular effect in setting standards for social work programs, and, by extension, the profession itself. Thus, the article concludes with a call for CSWE to include self-care in the accreditation standards core competencies required by all social work programs. The profession's future compels taking proactive, preventative action "now."

Writing is a skill that spans many competencies. The Council on Social Work's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards promotes a holistic view of competence informed by knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive and affective processes. This teaching note contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning by describing a professional writing course that uses a holistic pedagogical approach. We provide pragmatic strategies and assignments that can be readily adapted by other faculty and programs.

Educating for human rights and justice requires attention to the well-being of those being prepared to pursue these aims. This article describes an MSW program's implementation of teaching self-care as a core practice skill. This curricular innovation stems from the increasing literature documenting the deleterious effects of burnout in professional helping and the need to address this concern in educational curricula. Further, this curricular change is a result of increased student exhaustion affecting academic performance and professional preparedness, and the ethical imperative to address this phenomenon. We describe specific components, strategies, and assignments in the curriculum as well as assessment of the curricular innovation. This curricular example is readily adaptable for other programs.

Abraham Flexner contended that "something more than a degree or claim" is needed to make a profession. He further asserted that the definitions of a profession require recasting over time. This article critically considers recasting licensing as something more for social work. Analysis of past and present discourse on licensing in social work revealed three overarching themes: (a) advocacy and rationale for licensing, (b) scrutiny and critique of licensing, and (c) the disconnect and dissonance between professional licensing and social work education. Moving forward, we suggest recasting social work's professional paradigm in the common framework of competency, with licensing part of the continuum of professionalization. This recasting can promote critical congruence between social work education and ongoing professional competency.

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) has become a significant social movement. The newest "Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards" of the Council on Social Work Education explicitly identify SoTL as important in advancing social work education. This article considers social work education's role, relationship, and responsibility in relation to SoTL. Providing a critical understanding of SoTL's background, the article summarizes SoTL's history and current status. Next, we explain the rationale for social work education to focus on SoTL. Then, the article provides pragmatic steps and strategies for performing SoTL. The article concludes with a discussion of specific recommendations for social work education in moving forward in the SoTL movement.

Licensing has been a dynamic tension for the social work profession for many years, specifically in social work education. Increasingly, social work programs are using factors related to social work licensing (pass rates, number of test takers, etc.) as an indicator of programmatic success. Yet few, if any, published papers examine curricular innovations designed to prepare students for social work licensing exams. This article describes the initiative that one MSW program implemented to address licensing preparedness. After a brief overview of social work licensing, this article describes the contextual rationale, implementation, and evaluation of the Licensing Preparation Initiative (LPI). Since its inception in spring 2011, LPI data suggest that students are more knowledgeable about the process for applying to sit for the exam and the content areas of the exam, more prepared to take the social work licensing exam, and more confident in their ability to pass the social work licensing exam once they graduate. This article concludes with specific strategies and resources for designing a curricular initiative to address licensing preparedness.

This article describes how to develop a comprehensive teaching philosophy from articulation through implementation to evaluation. Using literature and teaching-learning experiences, we discuss pragmatic steps for using a teaching philosophy to inform, engage, and evaluate teaching-learning. We promote an integrated teaching philosophy to ensure competent practice in social work education.

In response to increasing global changes, this article proposes that social work education add meta-practice to traditional micro-, mezzo-, and macro-practice curriculum areas. Drawing on pertinent literature, the authors conceptualize meta-practice as a necessary paradigm shift for competent and relevant social work practice. Further, the authors offer an initial articulation of how meta-practice uniquely addresses interdependent global concerns, particularly in the framework of sustainability. The article provides an example of how this integrative practice dimension is implemented in a MSW curriculum and concludes with critical consideration of the Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards competencies.

This article describes one MSW program's innovative and informed response to the pervasive problem of inadequate professional writing skills. We articulate the rationale, implementation, and assessment of our systemic response, which includes (a) requiring a professional writing course, (b) implementing curricular infusion of a standard writing rubric, (c) using sequential papers and peer reviews, (d) incorporating writing assessment into admissions decisions and culminating projects, (e) collaborating with the university writing center, (f) offering a writing coach, and (g) mentoring students for professional scholarship. This curricular case example provides specific and comprehensive strategies for other programs to address this ubiquitous educational concern, demonstrates adherence to CSWE's (2008) Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards in multiple dimensions, and contributes to literature on curriculum development. (Contains 1 figure.)

Effective social work education that promotes social justice requires expanded curricular models and creative pedagogical approaches. This article presents a curricular case study demonstrating the use of current events to enhance both implicit and explicit curricula. How the cultural crisis of Hurricane Katrina was used to engender transformative learning for both students and teachers is described. Practical tools and resources that can be adapted by educators to incorporate other current events into their teaching-learning are provided. A critique of the process and suggestions for future implementation are discussed. Student perspectives illustrate the effectiveness of this pedagogical approach to provide transformative learning that promotes social justice.

Summary: There is broad consensus that COVID-19 has had a pernicious impact on social work, in general, and among social work practitioners, more specifically. However, at present, very few, if any, empirical examinations of this impact exist. This exploratory study examined peritraumatic distress among a sample of social workers (N = 3920) in one southeastern state in the United States. Findings: Analysis suggests that distress is impacted by several variables. In general, participants identifying as male, married, reporting good physical and mental health, working in microcontexts, and who were finically secure tended to experience less COVID-19 associated distress. In addition, social workers identifying as LGBTQ* and who had been working mostly remotely experienced higher levels of distress. Applications: Overall, findings indicate the need to provide adept support to social workers practicing during the pandemic. Data suggest the need for targeted support initiatives, typically for those who are from underrepresented groups (e.g., LGBTQ*) or experiencing financial or mental/physical health issues. Certainly, researchers should continue to examine the impact of COVID-19 on social work practitioners and service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To the Editor: In the study, 'Assessing Publication for Tenure' (JSWE 39.1, Winter 2003), Seipel explores 'what social work educators say about how printed publications should be weighted for the [...]

Five themes of subtle and systemic sexism emerged in a content analysis of the Journal of Social Work Education, 1998-1999: discrepancies in pronoun usage, sexist language, inconsistent attention to gender as a variable or construct, and inattention to gender as a framework in understanding topics. The analysis also discovered a preponderance of nongender language, which raises questions about the implicit messages of gender--blind language.

Summary: Despite the importance of self-care to social work practice, misnomers about the construct persist. One misperception is that millennials are overly focused on self-care and engage in high-levels of self-care, to the detriment of performing work duties. This study examined the self-care practices of social work practitioners (N = 3079) in the United States. Researcher investigated self-care practices across five domains: Professional Support, Professional Development, Life Support, Cognitive Awareness, and Daily Balance. Findings: Overall, data suggest that social workers in all generations engaged in moderate amounts of self-care. Analyses revealed that millennials engaged in significantly fewer self-care practices related to Professional Support and Daily Balance, when compared to Generation X and Baby-boomer participants. While not statistically significant, millennials scored lower across all other self-care domains. Applications: This is the first known study to explicitly investigate generational differences in self-care within any professional discipline. Within the next five years, millennials will make up nearly 75% of the world's workforce. Findings from this research suggest the need to reshape prevailing anecdotes about self-care and millennials. Further, data offer insights to organizations looking to better support social workers of all generations in engaging in self-care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profession of social work faces a perfect storm of increasingly complex practice contexts, intensifying demands, and escalating burnout. This crisis requires immediate, critical, and substantive action by social work education. Social work programs function to prepare competent practitioners who can navigate these demands and complexities with efficacy, while sustaining themselves. For too long, practitioner well-being has been significantly neglected. This article promotes a basic tenet: Social work education has a pivotal responsibility and pragmatic role in providing serious, credible attention to the well-being of practitioners. Social work curricula must integrate teaching of self-care as a professional competency. This article provides philosophical rationale and practical strategies for doing so. Through comprehensive attention in implicit and explicit curricula, social work programs can prepare practitioners who can enact social work's long-standing mission of human rights, social justice, and human well-being. Everyone (e.g., faculty, field supervisors, administrators) has a role and responsibility. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has particular effect in setting standards for social work programs, and, by extension, the profession itself. Thus, the article concludes with a call for CSWE to include self-care in the accreditation standards core competencies required by all social work programs. The profession's future compels taking proactive, preventative action now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has undoubtedly affected all caregivers, including foster carers. Despite the importance of self-care in assuaging the impact of the pandemic, there is a dearth of research on this topic, and virtually nothing specific to this important group. This study uses a retrospective pre/post design to measure the impact of the pandemic on foster carers' self-care. An invitation to participate in an electronic survey was circulated among carers in a US state and a snowball sample of 1229 compiled. Analyses of their replies revealed significant decreases in self-care practices in the months following the start of the pandemic. Disaggregation of the post self-care scores showed that foster carers who were married, not employed outside their home, reported good mental and physical health and were financially stable exhibited higher levels of self-care compared to their peers. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis showed that three factors – age, financial security and mental health status – were the strongest determinants of post-care practices. The findings suggest the need for concerted efforts by foster care agencies to conceptualise, implement and evaluate initiatives aimed at the self-care and wellness of carers during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the self-care practices of individuals employed as social workers in Poland (N = 250). Whilst personal self-care practices occurred slightly more frequently than did professional self-care practices, overall results indicate that participants only engaged in moderate amounts of self-care. Findings revealed significant differences in self-care by education level and self-reported health status, respectively. Only health status significantly predicted overall self-care. This study indicates the need for more attention to self-care. After a brief review literature, this paper will explicate findings and discuss salient implications derived from this study. This paper concludes by identifying apposite areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the issue is presented, which presents the notion of self-care as an imperative part of the social work practice, noting themes to be presented within the issue including burnout, best practices, and organizational wellness.

Self-care can be an important tool in assuaging professional burnout, workplace stress, vicarious or secondary trauma, and other deleterious employment circumstances. Despite this importance, few studies have examined self-care among social work practitioners. This exploratory study examined the self-care practices of self-identified social workers (N = 2,934) throughout the United States. Primary data were collected with an electronic survey. Data indicate that social workers in the sample engage in moderate self-care practices. Analyses revealed group differences in self-care by several variables including geographic locale of participants' primary place of employment, race, educational level, and social work licensing status, among others. Significant predictors of self-care included perceived health status (self-report), education level, being a supervisor, and financial status. Overall, findings from this study indicate the need for a systemic response to improving self-care practices among social workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, social workers recognize the importance of self-care to practice. However, research examining self-care among social workers is nominal. Of particular paucity are works that explore self-care in international contexts. This exploratory study examined self-care among social workers (N = 200) in Slovakia. Findings indicate that participants engaged in moderate levels of self-care. Moreover, data indicated significant differences in self-care by health status, and number of weekly hours worked was a significant predictor of self-care. After a review of literature, this article explicates findings, identifies discussion points, and concludes by identifying implications for social work education, research, and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have empirically examined training approaches aimed at improving self-care among field supervisors. This brief documents the assessment of The Self-Care Wellshop™, a training that was delivered to field supervisors (N=40) in one southeastern state. Evaluators employed a retrospective pre-post design to examine variables of interest. Overall, findings indicate that participants were satisfied with the training. As well, analyses reveal significant increases in self-care knowledge and value associated with self-care. Data from this study suggest that specific attention to proffering self-care trainings to field supervisors can be beneficial and may have implications for socializing students matriculating into the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being a social work faculty member in academe can be challenging. Evidence suggests that faculty members, in general, experience high levels of stress and occupational burnout. Furthermore, harassment, bullying, and mobbing are commonplace. These problematic circumstances may be compounded for females, junior faculty, and under-represented (e.g. peoples of color) faculty groups. Engaging in adroit self-care practices is one way to assuage these problematic employment circumstances. Yet, there is a dearth in the literature that examines self-care practices among social work educators. This exploratory study examined the self-care practices of social work faculty (N = 124) at Council on Social Work Education accredited institutions in one southeastern state in the United States. Overall, data suggest that social work faculty do engage in adequate self-care practices, when compared to studies of general social work practitioners. Data also suggest differences in self-care by academic rank and professional licensing. After a brief review of literature, this paper will explicate results and identify salient discussion points and implications for social work education. This is the first paper known to the authors to explore self-care among social work faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indubitably, the challenges facing health-care social workers are becoming increasingly complex. Whilst these problematic professional circumstances compound the need for self-compassion among health-care social workers, few studies, if any, have explicitly examined self-compassion among this practitioner group. This cross-sectional study explored self-compassion among a sample of practitioners (N = 138) in one southeastern state. Results indicate that health-care social workers in this sample engage in self-compassion only moderately. Further, occupational and demographic/life characteristics (e.g., age, years practicing social work, average hours worked per week, health status, and relationship status, among others) are able to predict self-compassion scores. After a terse review of relevant literature, this paper will explicate findings from this study, discuss relevant points derived from said findings, and identify salient implication for health-care social work praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite growing interest in self-care, few studies have explicitly examined the self-care practices of healthcare social workers. Thisexploratorystudy investigated self-care among practitioners (N = 138) in one southeastern state. Overall, data suggest that healthcare social workers only moderately engaged in self-care. Additionally, analyses revealed significant differences in self-care practices by financial stability, overall health, and licensure status, respectively. Interestingly, perceived health status and current financial situation were significant predictors for overall self-care practices. After a brief review of the literature, this narrative will explicate findings, elucidate discussion points, identify salient implications, and conclude with areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increasing complexities in field education require new field practica models. Concomitantly, growing evidence supports the need for wellness initiatives in social service organizations. This article describes a piloted model of a partnership between two universities and an agency, in which MSW students' field practicum focused on conceptualizing, planning, implementing, and evaluating a wellness initiative at a social service organization. The article offers a template for other professional programs to adapt. The authors describe the components of the field practicum, in relation to EPAS competencies. The authors critique the placement experience, concluding with future recommendations and further applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work practice is regulated in all the 50 USA, 10 Canadian Provinces, Great Britain, and Australia, to name a few. Though practitioners, educators, and researchers are increasingly attentive to regulatory dynamics, there remains a dearth in the literature related to social work licensing, specifically within the context of social work education. This exploratory study examined the US graduate social work students’ (N = 223) general knowledge and perceptions about social work licensing. Data suggest that though students value and have a desire to be licensed, some ambiguity and ambivalence persist around the topic. This paper explicates key findings and discusses implications derived from this study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Licensing has been a dynamic tension for the social work profession for many years, specifically in social work education. Increasingly, social work programs are using factors related to social work licensing (pass rates, number of test takers, etc.) as an indicator of programmatic success. Yet few, if any, published papers examine curricular innovations designed to prepare students for social work licensing exams. This article describes the initiative that one MSW program implemented to address licensing preparedness. After a brief overview of social work licensing, this article describes the contextual rationale, implementation, and evaluation of the Licensing Preparation Initiative (LPI). Since its inception in spring 2011, LPI data suggest that students are more knowledgeable about the process for applying to sit for the exam and the content areas of the exam, more prepared to take the social work licensing exam, and more confident in their ability to pass the social work licensing exam once they graduate. This article concludes with specific strategies and resources for designing a curricular initiative to address licensing preparedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional regulation, namely licensing, has been a dynamic source of debate for the social work profession. Amid this debate, schools of social work are increasingly considering licensing factors as a mechanism to gauge programmatic outcomes. However, nominal literature exists on social work curricula and licensing. Further, few published articles explore social work licensing from the perspective of those most affected: social work students. This exploratory study used a scaled questionnaire, with supplemental open- ended questions, to examine undergraduate students' (N=207) perceptions about social work licensing. Data from this study suggest that although undergraduate students are confident in their ability to pass the exam, they are ambiguous about the process for taking the exam and need additional preparation. After a review of the literature, this article explicates key findings from the study, discusses implications for undergraduate social work education, and identifies relevant areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes how to develop a comprehensive teaching philosophy from articulation through implementation to evaluation. Using literature and teaching-learning experiences, we discuss pragmatic steps for using a teaching philosophy to inform, engage, and evaluate teaching-learning. We promote an integrated teaching philosophy to ensure competent practice in social work education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to increasing global changes, this article proposes that social work education add meta-practice to traditional micro-, mezzo-, and macro-practice curriculum areas. Drawing on pertinent literature, the authors conceptualize meta-practice as a necessary paradigm shift for competent and relevant social work practice. Further, the authors offer an initial articulation of how meta-practice uniquely addresses interdependent global concerns, particularly in the framework of sustainability. The article provides an example of how this integrative practice dimension is implemented in a MSW curriculum and concludes with critical consideration of the Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience on how the simple life lessons taught by her mother provided the framework for her personal and professional life, as well as the end-of-life care for her mother.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of attending to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The article illustrates the multilevel process of organizing for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights carried out by concerned citizens in Louisville, Kentucky. It describes how a grassroots campaign, the Fairness Campaign, lobbied successfully for a local ordinance protecting GLBT rights in Louisville. Broader implications for advocacy and organizing efforts include and understanding that significant change require coalition building and systemic intervention, that organizers need to be ready to take advantage of key opportunities to take action, and that action must be sustained even beyond victory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the Spring 2009 special issue of the journal "Reflections" is presented.

Abstract Despite the importance of self-care to social workers, in general, and those employed in child welfare contexts, specifically, few studies have explicitly examined this area of inquiry. This research brief explores the personal and professional of social workers employed in child welfare (N = 623) in the United States (U.S.). Overall, findings indicate that participants engage in minimal amounts of self-care. Analyses revealed significant differences in self-care by Race , Education Level , Licensing Status , Marital Status , Supervision Status , Professional Organization Membership, and Financial Status, respectively. Findings indicate the need for more explicit attention to education and training related to self-care, and more organizational supports for child welfare workers. Despite the importance of self-care to child welfare workers, few studies have explicitly examined this area of inquiry (Bloomquist, Wood, Friedmeyer-Trainor, & Kim, 2015 ; Grise-Owens, Miller, & Eaves, 2016 ; Lee & Miller, 2013 ; Miller, Donohue-Dioh, Niu, & Shalash, 2018 ; Newell, 2018). This research brief explores the personal and professional of child welfare workers employed in child welfare (N = 623) in the United States (U.S.). After pithily examining relevant background information, this brief will explicate findings from this study and discuss salient implications derived from the data. Highlights • This research brief explores the self-care practices of child welfare workers (N = 623) in the United States. • Overall, findings indicate that participants engage in minimal amounts of self-care. • Findings indicate the need for more explicit attention to education/training and organizational supports related to self-care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]