NI social worker to present research at international conference

Mark Irwin (Social Services Training and Development Consultant – Southern Health and Social Care Trust) will be presenting his research “An examination of practice assessment within the direct observation of social work students in the SHSCT” at the forthcoming International Practice Teaching Conference at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow during April 2014.

Mark conducted this research as part of his post qualifying (PQ) study on the Application of Research Methods in Social Work offered by the University of Ulster within the MSc Professional Development in Social Work.  Through this study he gained six requirements from the Specialist Award in Social Work within the NISCC PQ Framework. Mark said that the course was essential in preparing, guiding and supporting his work in this field of social work: “The profession needs to work from a strong evidence base and the Research Methods course facilitates this process. Social work must therefore test and quantify practice issues to guide good practice and ‘what works’. We also need to know why it works and conducting projects of this nature assists in this regard.”

“The research was a mixed methods study and the views, perceptions and experiences of practice teachers and students were gathered via interviews and questionnaires eliciting qualitative and quantitative data.”

“We were particularly interested in instances where practice teachers became involved in proceedings, and the parameters associated with this phenomenon. The findings proved to be interesting as they challenge some of the current views on this particular facet of observations.”

“The work also examined what factors affect the quality of direct observations including utilising rigid frameworks or structures to facilitate the process. Communication and the purpose of direct observations were central themes and the validity of service user feedback was also explored. The area of addressing cultural and sectarian issues was addressed, and is particularly pertinent in the Northern Ireland context. One of the big questions answered was measuring the effectiveness of direct observations as an assessment method.”

This research has been used to train social work students and also prospective practice teachers within Northern Ireland in addition to being published as a journal article.

To read the Research Article – “Examination of Practice Assessment Within SHSCT, visit: “http://niscc.info/download.ashx?r=514