"Social Work within a community discourse: integrating research, teaching and learning on the Master of Social Work (MSW) programme"

This paper presents the outcomes of a one-year NAIRTL-funded project aimed at strengthening the links between theory, research and practice for teaching and learning on the Master of Social Work (MSW) programme at UCC. The project, which was informed by our primary research into social workers' use of the community work discourse in their practice, integrates the research findings into a resource for use in the teaching of a community work module on the MSW programme. The purpose of the resource is to facilitate student engagement with the contemporary practice dilemmas and themes that emerged from our research. The resource utilises written and audio material derived from 15 qualitative interviews with social workers practising in different contexts. The material is used for both teaching and assessment purposes within the context of an enquiry-based learning approach.This paper will discuss the research process and key findings, explore how we involved first year MSW students as stakeholders in the development of the teaching and learning resource, and present selected elements of the resource.We will illustrate how the integration of research and teaching has impacted significantly and positively on our teaching practice and fostered an approach that is 'student-centred, negotiated, discursive and reflexive' (Brew, 1999, p. 296) and based on the development of students as active participants rather than passive learners.Brew, A. (1999) 'Research and Teaching: Changing Relationships in a Changing Context', Studies in Higher Education, 24(3), pp. 291-301.