Search results for ‘Subject term:"social workers"’ Sort:
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Brain drain of social workers from Hong Kong
- Author:
- WONG Chack-Kie
- Journal article citation:
- Indian Journal of Social Work, 54(4), October 1993, pp.579-587.
- Publisher:
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences
This paper looks into the brain drain phenomenon of social workers from Hong Kong. It was found that social worker emigrants were affected by their pessimistic views about the future of Hong Kong. However, it was also found that change-orientation, particularly anti-establishment oriented changes, was negatively associated with emigration. Based on these findings, the paper discusses the importance of social work profession's commitment to the community.
Receptivity and readiness for cultural competence training amongst the social workers in Hong Kong
- Authors:
- LEE Vincent W P, LAI Daniel W.L., RUAN Yong-Xin
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 52(1), 2022, pp.6-25.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This research examined understandings of cultural competence of social workers in Hong Kong, their needs and challenges in serving culturally diverse groups, and their willingness and receptivity to receive cultural competence training by using constructivist grounded theory. Individual qualitative interviews were conducted with thirteen frontline and managerial practitioners and educators in training institutions in the social work profession. Data were analysed by identifying major themes. The findings show that social workers in Hong Kong tend to encounter language barriers and various forms of cultural shocks in serving ethnoculturally diverse clients. The professional code of practice is not sufficient in promoting culturally competent practice and there are institutional barriers to the enhancement of cultural competence of the social services. Mainstream social work units are generally not well prepared to provide services to non-Chinese communities. In response to these obstacles, professional training should provide future Hong Kong social workers with opportunities to interact with ethnoculturally diverse communities through service-learning. To tackle institutional racism, leaders should have cultural awareness and promote culturally inclusive practices. Inclusion of staff members from diverse cultural backgrounds would increase the capacity of the organisations to better serve clients of diverse needs. Anti-racism training should be made as an essential professional development component for social work students, practicum students, practitioners and managers. (Edited publisher abstract)
Managing risk in the pro-empowerment era of mental health care: a cross-cultural study of social work perspectives in Hong Kong and Sydney
- Author:
- CUI Jialiang
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 51(3), 2021, pp.831-848.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Risk management and empowerment have become key features of social work practice. Despite their increasing salience, relatively little is known about the perspectives of mental health social workers regarding how they navigate competing risk management approaches in modern practice that supports empowerment. The socio-cultural influences on risk management have also received insufficient attention in social work research. Focusing on these issues, this paper explored the perspectives of social workers in two geographically and culturally distinctive settings (i.e., Hong Kong and Sydney). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with frontline social workers and were analysed using thematic analysis. Similar views were expressed by participants in both settings regarding assessment of clients’ readiness for risk-taking. Differences were identified in their practices of negotiating the perspectives of other key stakeholders and can be attributed to the influences of distinctive cultural and socio-political contexts. These insights may contribute to the development of more systematic, localised and practice-based risk assessment guidelines for mental health practitioners working towards the empowerment of clients. (Edited publisher abstract)
The dialectical stance in nurturing the net generation of social workers: the interplay of changeableness and unchangeableness
- Author:
- CHEUNG Sandra Oi-Ngor
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 14(2), 2016, pp.69-88.
- Publisher:
- Whiting and Birch
Generational gap and different socio-economic context between social work students (and social workers) and clients hinder the sense-making of clients’ needs for rendering responsive services. Similarly, a generation gap is found between practice teachers (or fieldwork instructors) and social work students, which may affect the practice teaching and learning process. This current discussion addresses the challenges faced in training the Net Generation (born after 1980) of social work students. A dialectical stance – embracing the changeableness in pedagogy and the unchangeableness in the practical moral nature of social work practice – is proposed for preparing social work graduates to have the capability to practice for the good of human beings. Building on the findings of her previous study, the author illustrates this dialectical stance based on five pairs of practice teachers and their students in an exercise of pedagogical practice wisdom in social work practice teaching in Hong Kong. Implications for practice teachers are also drawn. (Edited publisher abstract)
Functions of social work supervision in Shenzhen: insights from the cross-border supervision model
- Authors:
- HUNG Suet Lin, NG Shui Lai, FUNG Kwok Kin
- Journal article citation:
- International Social Work, 53(3), May 2010, pp.366-378.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Social work supervision has been recognised as an essential component to the development of social work in mainland China. One model of social work practice in mainland China is the Shenzhen social work model. A major characteristic of this model is the cross-border social work supervision project, in which professional social work supervision is purchased from Hong Kong. Cross-border supervision is seen as desirable as social work training in China is still developing and there is a lack of people who can provide the necessary supervision for on-the-job professional supervision. This article is based on the findings of an evaluation study on the first two phases of a cross-the-border supervision service project performed by a Hong Kong non-governmental organisation. The Hong Kong Christian Service was contracted to provide social work supervision for 33 social workers employed by 2 employer organisations and placed in 11 user organisations. This evaluation study comprised focus groups with the social workers and the social work supervisors, and also reflective papers written by the social workers on their experiences. The paper discusses 6 areas in which the social workers had expectations of their supervisors: emotional support; practical guidance; education in social work knowledge; skills and values; performing as a role model; and communicating and negotiating with concerned organisations for resources and support. This paper sheds light on the nature of social work supervision in Shenzhen and the constraints of cross-the-border supervision.
Surviving hegemony through resistance and identity articulation among outreaching social workers
- Authors:
- CHEUNG Chau-Kiu, NGAI Steven Sek-Yum
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 26(1), February 2009, pp.15-37.
- Publisher:
- Springer
An understanding of outreaching social work in Hong Kong is viable through an analysis of discourses constructed and experienced by social workers. The discourses address hegemony by the government and consent, resistance, and identity arising from social workers. These discourses were the focus of the present study, which relied on repeated in-depth interviews with 20 practitioners in the outreaching social work field. The results give insight in three main ways: they unfold the discourses of hegemony and consent in terms of effectiveness, accountability, and social control; they address the discourses of resistance in terms of incompatibility, social defence, and others; and they examine professional identity in terms of respect for self-determination, relationship building, youth development, and unionization. All the discourses and identities emerged from a process of international spill over. Moreover, the study found that social workers realized that the hegemonic crisis triggered identity development because of the need to preserve the profession. The study implies that the social work profession has high levels of commitment and internationalization, both of which help proliferate the profession.
Applicability of Kozan's Harmony Model of conflict management for social workers in Hong Kong
- Author:
- KIT-WAN Ho
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 18(1), June 2008, pp.26-38.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
A qualitative study was carried out to test if Kozan's Harmony Model is applicable to professional social workers having both cultural and professional values, in Hong Kong, a collectivist society. The main causes of conflicts are indentified and themes such as concern for relationship, face, observation of hierarchy, emotion expression, and third-party intervention are analysed and discussed. Kozan's model seems not fully applicable to these professionals. Implications for professional practice and training are also suggested.
Adventures in re-searching the features of social work supervision in Hong Kong
- Author:
- TSUI Ming-Sum
- Journal article citation:
- Qualitative Social Work, 7(3), September 2008, pp.349-362.
- Publisher:
- Sage
The study examines the features and process of social work supervision in Hong Kong. A successful client outcome is the main objective, but supervisors perceive supervision as a rational and systematic process, whereas supervisees expect emotional support and teamwork. The supervisory relationship is both personal and professional. Tension is reduced by the traditional Chinese cultural values of reciprocity: qing, yuan, and 'face'. The strategy of using supervisory authority is 'consensus by consultation and consent' - which reduces conflict and gains acceptance. The journey of this study charts the interactions among the authors personal, professional, and academic identities. In order to conduct the research, the author had to be more 'academic'. However, without professional experience, the information could not be interpreted in a meaningful manner. When the data was reviewed in relation to the effect of traditional Chinese values, the author was also reminded that they shared these beliefs.
Reflective practices: challenges to social work education in Hong Kong
- Author:
- LEUNG Lai Ching
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Education (The International Journal), 26(6), September 2007, pp.632-644.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This paper discusses the views of three Hong Kong social work practitioners on how they make sense of what they learned at university and how they reconstruct that social work knowledge through reflection on their practice. It suggests that unreflective and uncritical discretion results in social workers making assumptions or imposing their own beliefs, which inhibits their practice. Three issues that are commonly faced by fresh graduates are highlighted in the critical reflections of the three social work practitioners: (1) value conflict; (2) unawareness of the self; and (3) abuse of power in practice. The competency-based approach is still the mainstream approach to social work education in Hong Kong, but it is argued that social work educators should aim to help students to engage in a process of continuous professional reflection whereby they explore multiple ways of framing and understanding a practice situation and hence find alternative ways of knowing and acting in practice.
A beginner's practice in Hong Kong
- Author:
- HE Connie Xuefen
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Education (The International Journal), 26(6), September 2007, pp.649-652.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This article presents the author's experiences as a social worker in Hong Kong where she obtained her social work qualification, having moved there from Mainland China following one year of study. The author discusses the challenges of practice in community networking in a public housing project where many residents are also recent immigrants from Mainland China. Some dilemmas of being newly qualified in a new country are discussed.