Service User Group Preferences of Social Work Students in Seven Countries

The commitment of social work students to disadvantaged populations is examined here. A total of 660 graduating BSW students from 7 countries were asked to specify their willingness to work with 18 service user groups that related to 5 main categories: victims of abuse, the chronically ill & disabled, couples & families, the socially excluded, & addicts & criminals. In all the national cohorts victims of abuse received the highest levels of willingness while the chronically ill & disabled ranked relatively low in the preference ratings. The socially excluded ranked relatively higher within the internal hierarchies of the Brazilian & Australian cohorts than within the hierarchies of any of the other cohorts. 5 Tables, 42 References. Adapted from the source document.