RETHINKING TERTIARY SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA

Mickey Skidmore, AMHSW, ACSW

It is perhaps the most humbling and highest honour when one of your student states “I want to do what you do.” And since I’ve been a casual academic with WSU I have been privileged to hear this on more than one occasion. Likewise, this has also led to other questions associated with this theme. What is the pathway or process to becoming a Clinical Social Worker in Australia? Regrettably, from my experience there is not a straight-forward answer to such questions.

I find it disheartening that when a Social Worker in Australia wishes to build upon the foundation of their educational training that there is no clear progression to an MSW. Many reluctantly pursue a Masters of Counselling for example. In the United States, the MSW is the terminal “working” degree for Social Workers. It is in many respects recognised pragmatically as similar to a PhD. Moreover, professionals who have earned this degree are highly sought out by employers in numerous and wide ranging fields and workplaces. In Australia the MSW programs are typically  (two year) “qualifying” degrees designed to attract international students and provided them with a pathway for professional recognition as a Social Worker. However, this is essentially a repackaged bachelors degree highlighting core Social Work principles and not a genuine Masters degree — at least as I know it.

In November 2019 I was a presenter at the AASW National Conference in Adelaide, SA (the last such live event prior to the onset of COVID). In addition to my presentation (Advocacy for the Inequality of the Social Work Profession), I was also asked to be part of a panel discussing the structure of tertiary Social Work Education in Australia. What I took away from the general comments from the audience was almost a conspiratory mindset that the powers-that-be were looking for ways to gauge students with two more years of exorbitant tuition fees. They conveyed a sentiment that their Social Work education was already pricey.

While I may be recognised at some level as an example of what a Clinical Social Worker can look like, my path to accomplishing this would not be a process likely to be replicated in Australia. And increasingly I hear comments from my students that the process to achieve this in is unclear and ill-defined. And even if they find their way to some version of this, they must then contend with the lack of Social Work recognition in the mental health field overall. 

Despite efforts from the AASW, (the credentialing program effort has not had the intended impact) it has been difficult to move the needle in this regard. Social Workers remain the left-handed; red-haired; step-children in the Allied Health field. While there is a slow, gradual and reluctant recognition of AMHSW in some sectors, there are still uneven tiers of compensation — often for similar or in some cases even the same work and risk environments. In order to address this delegation to being a less-than, secondary afterthought of a profession, perhaps it is time to seriously reconsider the tertiary Social Work Education structure of University Social Work programs in Australia.

I have always accepted the view that each country has the right to determine how they will construct the various aspects of their society. Many other western countries have established the minimum criterion of a masters degree (in most disciplines) to be recognised as being able to engage in clinical work. It is curious that Australia sets itself apart in this regard. The background of my own Social Work journey provided a well-rounded liberal arts education along with a solid foundational core of Social Work principles and values in my BSW, setting the stage for the beginning of Social Work practice.

However, the practical working degree, in particular involving complex issues and/or clinical work required additional advance theoretical training and skill development focused on primary areas of Social Work practice: Health; Mental Health; Children & Families; and Indirect Social Work. Again, the structure of Australian Social Work programs looks nothing like this. Separate and apart from the working degree is the PhD in Social Work which prepared students for a career in research and academia.

The Australian model for educating, training and preparing students for Social Work practice is clearly a different approach than many models around the world. Having not come from the Australian framework, it is easy for me to observe and conclude that these differences have contributed in diminishing the value of the profession overall, and contributed to its own struggles to be recognised as a profession worthy of national registration or licensure. 

The poor design, inadequate utilisation and floundering of the Clinical Division of the Australian College of Social Workers was a missed opportunity. The current AASW credentialing scheme holds very little practical value for most of its members other than reinforcing an insistent strategy of the AASW becoming an increasingly online endeavour. The AMHSW credential is the sole exception, and affords Social Workers recognition as a Medicare providers for their clients.

I have conveyed my professional impressions and experiences many times while residing in Australia. Overall, the Social Work profession is still too often disrespected; degraded; disenfranchised; demoralised; and devalued — in contrast to other Allied Health professions. The general public does not have clear understanding of the Social Work profession. Nor do many professionals within healthcare settings, which I find disturbing. But even more disturbing is that too many of them are not really interested in learning the unique and wide ranging skill set and contributions Social Workers can bring to the party.

Perhaps reconsidering the framework of tertiary Social Work education programs in Australia would re-establish a better and stronger foundation on which to build subsequent generations of Social Work practitioners in Australia. In the meantime, I will continue to highlight my efforts of what a Clinical Social Worker can look like and hope that more students will emulate aspects of these efforts towards a more clear recognition of Clinical Social Work practice in Australia.