RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIAL WORK LEARNERS

These are the some recommendation for the improvement of the social work learners of Nepal. These recommendations are very useful for the Social Work Learners, Teachers as well as Social work institutions and the countries which have the similar situation of social work in their place. The feed-back, suggestions and queries are welcome. you can fill the feedback form or you also can directly contact me through e-mail (amit.sowk@gmail.com). 

·        The process of curriculum development in social work needs to be strengthened through dialogues and exchange of ideas, experiences, best practices in knowledge and skills development as well as field work practice with stakeholders in social work profession such as other national and international institutions, NGOs, employers and alumni. Practical papers which help to enhance knowledge about social work and develop attitudes required for social work practice must be included. Learner centered approached must be applied in this process. 

·        The syllabus should be designed and modified according to the time and need so that the content is applicable in their own and others’ life as well as easy to understand.

·        One sided teaching method which is also known as traditional teaching method is no more worthy for the development of learners and especially in social work field. Participatory teaching methodologies such as group discussion, learners’ presentations, exposure camps, and experiential learning through field work, skills labs, organizing seminars and conferences and participation in programs must be facilitated, strengthened and focused.

·        Presentations help the learners to develop self confidence, self belief.  Presentations may be in classroom and/or outside the classrooms. The learners should get opportunity to present papers on seminars and conferences.

·        Social work institutes should be able to organize university level, local, regional, national and international seminars and conferences in every academic year. Through seminars and conferences learners also get opportunity to develop professional networking, s/he also can update ideas regarding various issues, learn new things as well as creativity and enhances the prestige of institutes. 

·        Assignments which bring forth the original thinking, creativity and updated knowledge of the learners must be framed which will enhance learners motivations and interest in undertaking assignments. Since assignments have high potential for personal and professional growth of learners they must be compulsorily in corporate in the assessment process. Assignments not only help to gain knowledge, but also improve the competencies among the students and enhance personal confidence, and punctuality.

·        Social work is a profession which helps to build an attitude which enable social work learners to understand the society, their positive as well as negative aspects, problems, probability solution and others. So the learners themselves as well as the institutes and lecturers should motivate and guide them to build social work attitude.

·        Library is the most important source and hub of knowledge. Sufficient books, reference books, social work related magazines, journals, researches, newspapers and e-resources must be available in the library. Social Work institutes must endeavor to improve their library resources and should motivate learners to visit the library frequently.

·        Practitioners can explain the insights they have gained through experience rather than from books, particularly when they are applying the methods. It is essential for social work institutes to hire or request the practitioners and let them share their experience and challenges as well as the opportunities they are getting as a professionals.

·        The world is not stable. Gone are the days of just ‘chalk and talk’. Institutes must enable the lecturers to use multi-sensory devices for teaching by improving on physical as well as technical infrastructure and equipment in classrooms.

·        Co-curricular activities such as exposure visits, organizing and participating in workshops, seminars and conferences must be conducted every year and strengthened. 

·        Since social work education has completed two decades of existence in Nepal, it is high time that at least one local/regional/national association for social workers should be formed or at least build networking with international associations of social work.

·        Networking with government agencies are not satisfactory level among the social work colleges in Nepal although they have good network with non government agencies.  Special focus must be given to build networking with government agencies.

·        Joint efforts of the learners, lecturers as well as institutions are required to address the issues faced by the learners in field work as well as class room.

·        Social work training and educational institutions in Nepal must undertake concerted efforts to explore more areas of social work interventions for enhancing the quality of field work training. Joint workshops could be organized by these institutions in collaboration with potential field work agencies such as educational settings, governmental agencies, correctional settings, health settings and industrial settings and so on as the opportunities accessed by global social work professionals.

·        The entire social work learners are part of administrative work but no one is getting chance to involve in the process of planning. Concurrent field work is a challenge for the trainees as well as NGOs. NGOs cannot plan or give assignments or work for the trainee and trainees too are not able to follow up or make concerted interventions in the field.  So there should be a kind of continuous field work system, that is, block field placement.

·         Most of the students are regularly practicing Social case work and social group work. Nepal is a developing country where most of the people are facing several social issues like poverty, early child marriage and dowry issues which can only be solved through community organization but institutes as well as agencies are not providing training for community organization. Thus, it is important to focus on community organization method and social action for the overall development of community and nation.

·         Nepal just passed the second mass movement again monarchy and most of the Nepalese get opportunity to feel it. After the movement almost every week Nepalese citizens faces the political strikes in the name of backward, deprived and the name of community. Till now whatever movement took place that was mainly politically motivated, but not for social issues. Social work trainees are not getting opportunity to fight against social evils through Social action method which is one of the secondary methods of social work. So, there is a need of social action from social workers rather than politicians.

·        Efforts must be made to provide quality guidance to social work trainees by modifying individual conference as well as group conference. At any cost individual conference should not be neglected since this provides individual attention and guidance to the trainees. 

·        BSW learners are satisfied with the professional guidance from field supervisor than BASW. So there is a need of improvement on the part of the BASW institutes, supervisors and coordinators with regard to professional guidance.

·        Through associations of social work, social workers’ identity must be established without any ambiguity on who is a social worker as social workers are identified with volunteers, NGO employees and politicians. There should be the clear definition of social worker in Nepalese context. The fact that opportunities for practice of social work methods were found to be not so satisfactory and opportunities for program planning and implementation highly satisfactory, points to the danger of faulty identification of social workers as experts in organizing programs or as volunteers rather than professionals who can handle social work methods.

·        Social work with its theory and practicum, itself is an imported profession in Nepal.  Till now only very few literatures related to social work Nepal are available. Efforts must be made to publish materials, books, journals, research particularly on Nepal based social work methods and principles.

·        Still people of Nepal are not aware of social work. Social work is always called as sociology. There is a need that social worker should make them experience that social work is a separate profession and  it works differently from other disciplines and professions. 

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