DH Showcase Event 22/06/ What (a) difference a degree makes: the evaluation of the new social work degree in England Glasgow School of Social Work Sharpe Research Social Care Workforce Research Unit

2 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 About the study  (still ongoing)  Funded by Department of Health  Undertaken by team from: Glasgow School of Social Work Sharpe Research Social Care Workforce Research Unit  Assisted by: DH adviser – Marie McNay Stakeholders’ Reference Group Advisory Group of people with experience of using services or caring

3 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Outline of presentation  Presentation covers: Study context Methods Key findings from interim report Discussion

4 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Context for evaluation  Government plans for modernisation of public services New degree level qualification in social work introduced in 2003  Widespread support within profession  Accompanied by financial investment Bursaries Advertising campaign Funding for additional social work places Increased resources for practice learning

5 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Challenges for evaluation  Evaluation not just retrospective Has to be prospective too  Major changes since study commissioned Every Child Matters and Children Act 2004 Our health, our care, our say  Separation of children’s and adults’ services Options for Excellence All emphasise need for skilled, accountable workforce Can the new degree prepare social workers to deliver these changes?

6 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Methods  Multi method evaluation  Three main approaches 1.Analysis of baseline data 2.Survey data 3.Case studies in six higher education institutions (HEIs)

7 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Baseline data  Secondary analysis of anonymised population data from the General Social Care Council (GSCC) All students enrolling  ‘HEI Fact find’ Two short /telephone surveys of HEIs offering new degree in and

8 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Survey data  Three types of informant  Main focus is on data from online surveys of students Seven waves of students surveyed between Questionnaire content developed through focus groups  In addition, information collected from: Sample of employers in 2006 Sample of leavers in 2007

9 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Case studies  Six HEIs  Based on ‘realistic evaluation’ (Pawson & Tilley)  Data from: Key informants in each HEI (e.g. programme leaders, admissions tutors) Students Service users and carers involved in degree Practice teachers and assessors Vignettes completed by students  All collected at two time points: Towards beginning of programmes Towards end of programmes

10 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Recruitment  Enrolments have increased since new degree was announced in 2001

11 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 More of the same or different?  Need ‘a highly skilled, valued and accountable workforce drawn from all sections of the community’ (Options for Excellence)  Similarities with DipSW Fewer than 20 per cent are men Around 20 per cent are from a black and minority ethnic group Around 10 per cent have a disability  Differences from DipSW Around 10 per cent define themselves as Black African Almost 15 per cent are aged under 20

12 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Impact of bursary % Going ahead without bursary Definitely studied now3029 Possibly studied now2220 Would postpone study2623 Definitely not now2226 Base n  Bursary is an important factor in students’ decisions to study social work

13 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Why study social work? (1) Understanding motivations is important in terms of attracting and retaining students during their studies and once they are in the workplace ‘Most important’ motivation % 04-05% Helping individuals improve their quality of life 3742 Tackling injustice 1816 Continued

14 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Why study social work? (2) ‘Most important’ motivation % 04-05% Interesting work 97 Good career prospects 89 High job satisfaction 46 Variety of day to day work 33 Well paid 22 Exercising individual responsibility 21 Base n

15 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Where students want to work  Students don’t have a single area in which they want to work once qualified Sector% 04-05% Children’s services (generic)60 Children with physical disabilities3134 Children with learning disabilities4241 Older people4135 Adults with physical disabilities2726 Adults with learning disabilities3332 Adults or children’s mental health5855 Base n

16 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 But what skills do they need?  Vignettes present students with case studies relevant to practice in Children’s services Adults’ services  Initial analyses of first year answers Tendency to be task focussed Issues about identifying risk and priorities Lack of clarity about social work role

17 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Acquiring professional knowledge  Time Two Vignettes have potential to show differences in answers as students acquire professional knowledge  Practice teachers and assessors reports on their experiences of first and final year students

18 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Making improvements (1)  Using student views to make changes GSCC audit of degree and re-accreditation Quality Assurance Agency review of subject benchmark  Six areas where biggest mismatch between expectations and experiences Quality of teaching; availability of books/journals; support from tutors; timetabling; study support; and ICT training

19 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Making improvements (2)  Three areas where students reported low satisfaction have implications for ‘readiness to practice’ Important to remember these responses from first year students % ‘Very satisfied’ Computer/IT skills2221 Research methods1723 Interdisciplinary/inter- professional working 2324 Base n

20 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 But….  Important to remember that these are interim findings May change when all the data has been collected

21 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Discussion (1)  Researchers increasingly expected to ‘future proof’ their studies  Need to identify new and ongoing issues Longstanding debates about what constitutes good professional practice Context of professional practice changes  Need to link interventions to outcomes for people using services and carers  Long term impact will only emerge over time

22 DH Showcase Event 22/06/2007 Discussion (2)  These ideas are captured in this quotation about the complexities of the social work task: …in producing a social worker who is able … be aware of the tensions of their role and be able to hold those tensions and also be able to use their own reflective processes to both make decisions, support others who are making decisions, but also gets support, gain[s] support from self but also ….[has] the confidence to…build a sense of self- esteem, so that social workers can ask for help when they need it… and work with others closely and … to keep, humanity