Formative practice in the Social Sciences: comparing Social Work and Sociology

Abstract

Professional practice in Social Work is not new. In southern Spain, for example, such practice dates back to the 1960s. In 2010, studies in this discipline were incorporated into the university education system. This article has three main objectives: (1) to determine which skills students of social work and sociology acquire when taking part in practical and professional courses; (2) to investigate how formative practice contributes to critical professional practice in both these dis- ciplines and how it impacts problem solving in social work; and (3) to identify the strengths and weaknesses of professional practice in social work and analyse their causes and consequences. To achieve these objectives we used a qualitative methodology in which we analysed secondary sour- ces and conducted semi-structured interviews with participants involved in formative practices on each degree. Our results show that the Bologna Plan has strengthened knowledge areas such as so- cial work more than others with greater academic traditions (such as Sociology) by expanding their training practices, providing greater critical perspectives, and promoting better integration between theory and practice. Weaknesses are also observed, however. These include an insufficient number of teaching centres and a disconnection between supervision groups that has led to differences in the training students receive.