Social Work Education Vol. 23, No. 4, August 2004, pp. 365–381

Going Beyond Training: Theory and Practice in Managing Learning Kate Skinner & Bill Whyte

The establishment of new bodies to replace the Central Council for Training and Education in Social Work (CCETSW) and to regulate the social work profession provides the opportunity to establish an improved progressive system of qualifications and continued professional development in the coming years. With the current pressure on social work agency budgets it is imperative that precious training resources—staff and money—are used to make the maximum impact on service delivery. Our involvement in the provision of a range of training programmes leads us to believe that much of the staff development and training effort invested by agencies in their staff often seem to have a limited impact on effectiveness. A change in approach is needed so that learning is placed at the heart of organisational processes to maximise the benefits of affirmation and growing professional confidence. This is essential if we are to continue to ‘nurture’ valuable professional staff and ensure that services remain flexible, creative and respon- sive in meeting ever-rising public expectations.

This paper examines some of the challenges of evidence-based practice and the demands for routine evaluation and objective-setting. The advantages and disadvantages of a competence specification approach within the development of service and occu- pational standards as the basis for professional education are discussed. The paper argues that strategies for practice learning require the development of learning organisa- tions and a better academic and agency partnership to support more effective pro- fessional education and continued professional development.

Keywords: Post-qualifying Social Work; Social Work Training; Deep Learning

Introduction

The integration of all local authority social work services within Scottish social work departments as a result of the Kilbrandon report (SED, 1964), with its

Correspondence to: Bill Whyte, Criminal Justice Social Work Development Centre for Scotland, University of Edinburgh, School of Social and Political Studies, 31 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh EH8 9LJ, UK. Email: [email protected]

ISSN 0261-5479 print/1470-1227 online © 2004 The Board of Social Work Education DOI: 10.1080/0261547042000244991

366 K. Skinner & B. Whyte

emphasis on social education and social learning approaches to change, made an organisational leap which set Scotland on a distinctive path in the social work field. This change has had long lasting effects on practice ideologies and on academic teaching in Scotland. However serious questions about the capacity of generic social work training to equip people to operate as social workers within local authorities in Scotland has been a live issue since the implementation of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, which provides the legislative framework for these services.

Since the establishment of Scotland’s Parliament, the Scottish Executive has published proposals for ‘modernising’ social work (Scottish Office, 1999, Cm 4288) and legislation to set up a Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has been implemented. The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 maps out a future for social work within a regulated framework, which will require the registration of practitioners operating from a baseline of service objectives and standards. The Council’s role i