Coming Together: A Study of Factors That Influence Social Workers' Connection to Group Work Practice

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to learn the factors that impact a social workers' connection to group work practice and the extent to which their work conforms with the group work model as explicated in the Standards created by the International Association of Social Work with Groups, the group work organization. The goal of this research was to provide empirical data and related insights that will enhance the preparation of social workers for current social work group work practice. This research is a quantitative study completed electronically using a survey research design. The study utilized a survey instrument that measures how practitioners see their work as matching the inventory of competency standards, Standards, developed by Sweifach and Laporte (2013). A great amount of valuable information emerged from the participants' responses. The majority of the subjects were exposed to group work in both their classroom environments and field experiences which may have played a significant role in their pursuit of group work. The subjects highlighted that having field instructors and classroom teachers who were knowledgeable about group work practice supported their learning. Furthermore, this study found that having an opportunity to independently facilitate a group was most helpful in learning group work. The study also identified factors that impact group work practice in contemporary agency settings such as agency function and field of practice.