Writing in Social Work Education – Annotated Bibliography

Heron, G. & Murray, R. (2004). The place of writing in social work: Bridging the theory-practice divide. Journal of Social Work, 4(2), 199-214.

While social work practitioners have not traditionally sought publication in scholarly journals, the authors argue that their experience working with clients can inform both policy and practice. Many practitioners are resistant towards scholarly writing and publishing due to a lack of confidence, limited time or the feeling that it is not meaningful work.

To encourage practitioners to write for scholarly journals, issues of identity must be addressed. Practitioners that assume a researcher aspect to their identity will be more likely to engage in scholarly pursuits. Social work research tends to be dominated by academia; to incorporate practitioners in the field requires a substantial shift in thinking about research and writing for publication. While leaving practice for academia may very well result in greater scholarly production for any individual, it also represents a shift in the writing context and potentially the values of the individual and the quality of the writing.

The authors move on to explore institutional barriers to writing for publication for practitioners working with children in residential care settings. A lack of power and opportunity may stifle residential care staffs’ potential for writing. Encouraging writing for practitioners in social work education programs and encouraging journals’ to be more receptive to practitioners may increase the emphasis practitioners’ place on writing in the long-term.

Horton, E.G. & Diaz, N. (2011). Learning to write and writing to learn social work concepts: Application of writing across the curriculum strategies and techniques to a course for undergraduate social work students. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 31(1), 53-64.

Students entering a social work education program often have life experiences and a commitment to helping vulnerable populations that uniquely qualifies them to work with clients. However, they may not have the writing skills necessary to clearly articulate case plans which can be detrimental to their clients’ futures. Clear case plans

1 CalSWEC Title IV-E Curriculum Enhancement : Writing for Social Work and service recommendations are critical in order to ensure that insurance payments are rendered and law enforcement and policymakers act in clients’ best interest.

In order to improve students’ writing abilities, Horton and Diaz developed a course for undergraduate social work majors based on Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). Evolving out of a 1970s pedagogical reform movement, WAC supports student learning and critical thinking by responding to open-ended questions and supporting points of view that may differ from their own.

Horton and Diaz’s WAC course incorporates knowledge of social work ethics and generalist practice models. Students produce two writing assignments, turning in multiple drafts throughout the semester, which challenge them to apply course concepts to case studies in an organized and professional manner. Completing multiple revisions demonstrates the importance of writing as a process. As students review and rewrite their papers, they have an opportunity to reflect on the content and develop clearer and more persuasive arguments. Additionally, the course incorporates online writing exercises for the first several weeks of class in order to increase students’ knowledge of basic grammar and punctuation.

Although the course instructors have not yet completed a formal evaluation of the effectiveness of the course, their preliminary findings suggest that the current format does improve students’ writing and critical thinking skills.

Kahn, J.M. & Holody, R. (2012). Supporting field instructors’ efforts to help students improve writing. Journal of Social Work Education, 43(1), 65-73.

While Writing Across the Curriculum has developed techniques for faculty to improve students’ writing and critical thinking skills, the curriculum is also relevant to field instructors. Their knowledge of the inner-workings of agencies and what constitutes “good enough” writing allows them to provide guidance about standards for professional writing.

The authors offer 11 practical recommendations to help field instructors improve students’ writing. These recommendations include: requiring students to write early and often throughout their field placements; clarifying expectations and designing

2 CalSWEC Title IV-E Curriculum Enhancement : Writing for Social Work interventions to address writing problems; sharing concerns about student writing with faculty liaisons; and exposing students to professional language and terminology.

Part of CSWE accreditation requires social work education programs to maintain an open dialogue with field instructors. This dialogue could include strategies to assess and improve students’ writing. Field education settings not only give students’ knowledge of the types of written communication necessary in practice but create an opportunity for students to work with practicing professionals on strengthening their writing skills.

Lillis, T. & Turner, J. (2001). Student writing in higher education: Contemporary confusion, traditional concerns. Teaching in Higher Education, 6(1), 55-68.

The authors consider the relationship of demographic and cultural changes to growing inadequacies in student writing. Assessment strategies are frequently vague, leaving students confused about what is required of them. For example, social work educators may require an introduction without explaining the content or purpose of an introduction. As the student population has become more diverse, more and more students may struggle to understand writing conventions. Specific examples of student writing are given.

Development of new pedagogies should prioritize language use and writing. Social work educators should attempt to clarify requirements, such as ‘avoid plagiarism’ to create a shared understanding of meaning and content with students.

Rai, L. (2004). Exploring literacy in social work education: A social practices approach to student writing. Social Work Education, 23(2), 149-162.

This article addresses specific requirements set for social work education programs in England. The authors argue that two of the requirements, an ability to clearly communicate in written and spoken English and prevention of discrimination, may be contradictory as the focus on English may present a barrier to non-English speakers seeking higher education. Instead of a focus on grammar, spelling and punctuation, the authors’ content that what is needed is a ‘social practices’ approach which incorporates

3 CalSWEC Title IV-E Curriculum Enhancement : Writing for Social Work elements of the discipline and the context. This approach moves from a focus on English language skills to the process of “’meaning making’ – a socially interactive process of creating meaning.” In the discipline of social work, writing must incorporate professional ethics, values, anti-discrimination practice and general practice skills.

The authors go on to identify three forms of writing in social work: essays; practice notes; and hybrid work which includes academic and work-based requirements. These three types of writing rely on authoritative sources and evidence as well as personal disclosure and reflection.

Through in-depth interviews with 15 social work students and assessment of their writing, the authors identified 3 broad areas of students’ experience regarding writing. The first addresses barriers to participation in academic writing. Barriers include a lack of knowledge of the English language and past experience of discrimination in academic. The second area focuses on identity and self-expression. Students who expressed discomfort and anxiety about “surface” language issues, including grammar and spelling, had greater trouble relating to the content of their writing and expressing themselves effectively. These students experienced a disconnect between their own identity and what they expressed in their writing, and this appeared especially problematic for students with limited English. Finally, students experienced a lack of clarity in the expectations held by social work educators and the basis of assessment.

Overall, this article highlights the way issues of identity may influence the meaning of writing to social work students. For non-English speakers or students with limited English, they may experience a mismatch between how they want to express themselves and what they feel is required of them. A possible way to address this disparity may be for social work educators to open a dialogue with students about the relationship between their identity and their writing.

Waller, M.A. (2000). Addressing student writing problems: Applying composition theory to social work education. The Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, 5(2), 161- 166.

4 CalSWEC Title IV-E Curriculum Enhancement : Writing for Social Work Although of central importance to social work practice, writing has not been emphasized in undergraduate social work education. Effective writing incorporates critical thinking, problem solving and organization skills. As social workers cannot be effective advocates for their clients if they are not effective writers, social work schools need to develop students’ literary skills. The increasing diversification of the student population mandates that social work educators be able to assess and develop student writing regardless of the skills the student has upon entering the program.

Waller argues that writing is a process, evolving from free writing to writing for an audience. Effective writing assignments allow students to experience the different stages of the writing process. Writing is not something that occurs at one point in the course, such as a final exam, but rather an on-going project which follows a schedule of writing, responding and rewriting. While the course instructor can offer feedback to the students’, dialogue between peers can also facilitate writing development. The purpose of the feedback is to not criticize or correct but to challenge students to consider alternative approaches to the argument they are putting forth.

Both basic and specialized writing assignments are needed, and can be incorporated throughout the undergraduate social work courses. For example, basic writing skills can be developed in foundation courses such as HBSE while specialized writing skills, such as assessments, policy analyses and case studies, can be part of advanced clinical and policy courses.

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