E-learning is an evolutionary pedagogy in social work. E-learning technologies transform learning so that it can be synchronous or asynchronous. The author provides a systematic discussion of e-learning and its role in social work education. E-learning appears advantageous as a hybrid or blended venue when used in academia and suitable in various formats for continuing education. Theoretical foundations that support positive learning outcomes should guide delivery. Distance delivery, regardless of the media or technology used, is not by itself a contributing variable in students' achievement. The priority of teaching and learning should be on effectiveness of the learning, regardless of the mode of delivery. Current descriptive research on e-learning can be improved by increasing the rigor of methodology and theoretical considerations. This information is necessary as the profession navigates the best ways to meet the changing needs of social work students and social workers in the field.

The Use of E-Learning in Social Work Education

This article presents a review of research studies examining instructional methods reported in the social work education literature published between 1998 and 2008. From a sample of 91 studies, 31 were identified as having used either a single group pre/post test design or a comparison of two or more groups and inclusion of a learning outcome measure. Most of the studies were deficient in either the employment of comparison groups, pre/post designs, utilization of multiple learning outcome measures, or a clear delineation of the connection between teaching methods and learning outcomes. Very few studies were based on previous work. A challenge is made to the field to conduct better designed studies and several suggestions for doing so are offered.

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Research Literature Review on Social Work Education Instructional Methods: 1998-2008.

Evaluating the benefit from the help of the parent-teacher association to child performance.

Similar to all academic disciplines, the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in social work has grown exponentially in both scope and volume during recent decades. Until the COVID 19 crisis, main driving forces were the growing demand for higher education, constant evolving of innovative technologies, cost effectiveness, and accessibility that it offers to those who are not able to benefit from traditional face to face classes because of their geographic locations, responsibilities or disabilities. The Covid19 pandemic drove social work education to become almost exclusively and universally taught online. This required a quick conversion of tradition courses and development of new courses to be taught online. This article discusses and illustrates issues, challenges and strategies related to the interaction between the faculty and technology experts in the context of developing online courses and points to directions for future research. © 2021 Taylor & Francis.

Pedagogy vs. Technology: Challenges in Developing Online Courses in Social Work Education

This study evaluated the effectiveness of interactive television in teaching an MSW foundation research methods course. Specifically, the performance of distant students who received instruction via interactive television was compared with the performance of their peers who received simultaneous face-to-face instruction in an interactive television classroom on-campus and with students who took the course in a traditional classroom. This retrospective analysis of student performance, spanning a four-year period, found that students performed comparably regardless of the setting for the course. The three groups of students studied did not differ statistically on their combined midterm/final examination test scores, the required course paper, or final course grades.

Helen E. Petracchi Acsw

Papers

Student Performance in Three Classroom Settings