Fairtlough, Anna. 2006. Making Practice Learning Part of our Core Business: A Case Study of Organisational Change. Social Work Education, 25(5), pp. 518-532. ISSN 02615479 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

Implementing the new degree in social work in Britain will require practice agencies to deliver an increased number of practice learning opportunities to students undertaking social work training. Indeed the Practice Learning Taskforce (2004) estimates that, in London, a 70% increase from 2002/3 to 2006/7 will be needed. In order to achieve this practice agencies are being urged to transform themselves into learning organisations. Given that social work programmes in many areas are already struggling to find sufficient placements for their students this is likely to be hugely challenging. Research carried out by Lindsay & Tompsett suggests that, in order to achieve this, social work agencies need to bring planning for practice learning more centrally into the organisation's strategic planning. This paper presents a case study of the author's experience in an English social services department that attempted this. It concludes that practice agencies, in moving towards becoming learning organisations, need to pay attention both to the structural arrangements they develop and the organisational processes involved.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1080/02615470600738916
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Social, Therapeutic & Community Engagement (STaCS) > Social Work
Dates:	Date Event 2006 Published
Item ID:	1828
Date Deposited:	12 Mar 2009 15:42
Last Modified:	10 Jul 2017 08:43
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/1828

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