Social Work Field Education in and with Congregations and Religiously-Affiliated Organizations in a Christian Context

Journal Title: Religions - Year 2016, Vol 7, Issue 5

Abstract

Recent attention to human spirituality, research on congregationally-related practice, and growth in employment within religiously-based organizations energize the creation of educational initiatives to prepare future professionals for competent social work practice within these settings. Internship experiences with congregations and religiously-affiliated organizations (RAOs) play a pivotal role in delivering the competencies required by the social work accreditation body. Conceptual tools are needed for understanding congregationally-related practice, for navigating potential conflict between faith and professional practice, and for delivering effective internship experiences. This article, written from the faculty’s perspective of a Christian, religiously affiliated social work degree program, offers a framework for conceptualizing social work with congregations and RAOs and a beginning discussion for sorting out dilemmas in the integration of faith and practice in these settings. Two models, individual placement and rotational model placement, for congregationally-related internship experiences are presented and evaluated. Recommendations for enriched internship learning and future research are offered.

Authors and Affiliations

Helen Harris, Gaynor Yancey and Dennis Myers

Keywords

Related Articles

Fast, Feast and Feminism: Teaching Food and Gender in Italian Religious Women’s Writings

In the wake of Caroline Walker Bynum’s essential studies on the crucial role food played in the lives of medieval religious women, significant attention has been given to the connection between premodern women’s spirit...

Incarnating the Unknown: Planetary Technologies for a Planetary Community

This article suggests that current technological development is based upon outdated ways of understanding human beings as “exceptional” to the rest of the natural world. As such, these technologies help serve to reify...

Pratyabhijña Apoha Theory, Shannon–Weaver ¯ Information, Saussurean Structure, and Peircean Interpretant Agency

This paper builds upon my earlier studies in interpreting interculturally how the Kashmiri nondual Saiva thinkers Upaladeva (c. 900–950 CE) and Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020 CE) in their ´ Pratyabhijña philosophical theol...

Carrying Hope; Pre-Registration Nursing Students’ Understanding and Awareness of Their Spiritual Needs from Their Experiences in Practice: A Grounded Theory Study

Spirituality is integral to health and wellbeing and a fundamental element of nursing care. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that spirituality is a frequently ignored aspect of nursing education and care. From 2008 to 20...

Rethinking Material Religion in the East: Orientalism and Religious Material Culture in Contemporary Western Academia

This paper reviews the historical development of the modern discourse of “Orientalism” and the emergence of material culture as a self-reflexive theoretical transition in the West. Further, it investigates new types of...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP25549
  • DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel7050052
  • Views 328
  • Downloads 7

How To Cite

Helen Harris, Gaynor Yancey and Dennis Myers (2016). Social Work Field Education in and with Congregations and Religiously-Affiliated Organizations in a Christian Context. Religions, 7(5), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-25549