Originally published here.

Issues of race equality/cultural diversity have been on the UK social work training agenda since the late 1970s; few attempts have been made to assess training inputs or evaluate outcomes. This aspect of social work education remains under-researched but the nature and extent of such training are also highly contested. This paper reports on a study of programme providers across Wales aimed at capturing the nature and extent of training on issues of race equality/cultural diversity.

 The findings suggest attrition of these issues against a strengthened legislative and policy mandate on equalities. Participants note a shift away from specific training on race equality/diversity towards a generic approach being unable to systematically account for student exposure or experience of training on these issues. Programme leads and practice assessors reveal difficulties in narrowing the gap between theory and practice, in assessing competency in this area, and report on competing priorities and failure to engage with black and minority ethnic (BME) users and user organisations in planning and delivery of the curriculum.

The findings indicate a widening gap between professional aspirations and implementation; the paper concludes that higher education institutions (HEIs), practice assessors and BME user groups could work more closely to ensure effective coverage of these issues.

You can read the complete article here.