Integrated Assessment (2004)

Three demonstration projects were initially planned to cover assessment of performance of social work students within three distinct aspects of the social work degree: readiness to practice, academic based coursework and practice learning. The University based coursework project did not proceed. However, as noted above, this area was covered in more detail in the literature. The two demonstrations that ran addressed areas where little appears to have been tested.

The overall aim of the Integrated Assessment Project was to develop innovative flexible and aligned assessment methods to promote deep learning for ethical and effective practice. It comprised of three discrete projects with the following key objectives:

• Project 3.1 New Methods of Assessment
• Project 3.2 Shared Assessment
• Project 3.3. Involvement of Users and Carers

An evaluation of critical incident analysis used as a method of assessment in the context of social work education.

Shared educational experiences between professionals is seen as one way of improving joint working once students qualify in their respective professions. The aim of this shared assessment project is to explore and document the ways in which professionals from disciplines other than social work can contribute to the performance assessment of social work students and conversely where they are less able to do so.

A Practice Audit of current assessment methods in social work education was commissioned by the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education (SIESWE) to provide a resource to assist the development of the new social work degree in Scotland. The aim of the audit was to provide a cross-sectional account of current and recent arrangements for the assessment of social work learning in the UK, analysing educational approaches, resources, models and methods employed.

This report was commissioned by the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education (SIESWE) as a resource on assessment for the development of the new social work degree in Scotland and provides an overview of the current literature on assessment methods being utilised in social work education both in the United Kingdom and beyond. This report begins by reviewing the various methods of assessment in social work education which were found in the literature.

This report describes an audit of current, recent and planned arrangements for enhancing the contribution of service users, carers and employers in the learning and assessment of social work students in Scotland.