Supply and Demand. Evaluation training for Social Work and Social Care in a Swedish Context

Verner Denvall, Shari J Granlöf, Per-Åke Karlsson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Only during the last two decades has the discourse on evaluation been on the Swedish agenda of social work and social care. One assumption is that a conscious need for evaluation knowledge and evaluation capacity has finally surfaced. This based on the view that work efforts of social service organizations are regarded as chiefly authority-based and to a lesser degree based upon scientific knowledge. This article addresses two questions: Which actors are involved in training evaluators in, and of, social work in Sweden and what kind of knowledge is communicated in training programs? Further, is the discourse of evidence-based practice incorporated into the training of social workers?

A national study in Sweden, conducted in 2002, reveals that only a minority of social work and social care students are exposed to the concept and practice of evaluation throughout their education, and this in a most rudimentary way. R&D-units offer practitioners more training in evaluation and related knowledge development activities. However, this work is not conducted in a focused manner nor is every Swedish municipality necessarily targeted.
If evaluation education and training opportunities are viewed in light of a supply-and-demand situation, we may find an explanation to the current curriculum for evaluation in the social work educational system and the corresponding evaluation practice levels in social service organizations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-34
JournalSocial Work Education
Volume27
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Social Work

Free keywords

  • social work
  • social care
  • evaluation
  • evaluation training
  • evaluation education
  • supply and demand
  • social welfare organization
  • evidence-based practice

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