communication skills in social work essay

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The teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students: a realist synthesis protocol

Emma reith-hall.

Department of Social Work and Social Care, School of Social Policy, Muirhead Tower, Edgbaston, Birmingham, England

Associated Data

Not applicable.

Good interpersonal communication is the cornerstone of social work practice, enhancing the outcomes of people in receipt of its services. Social workers’ communication skills are often identified as an area of concern. Communication skills can be developed and refined through training or education. The teaching and learning of communication skills is firmly embedded in many social work qualifying courses; however, considerable heterogeneity exists regarding such complex interventions and the theoretical underpinnings of which have not been made explicit. Realist synthesis can help explain how, why, for whom and in what circumstances an intervention might work, which is an important first step for helping educators to tailor courses to meet the needs of different learner groups and, where applicable, the employing agencies and government departments who fund them.

Realist synthesis is an interpretive, theory-driven and explanatory approach that aims to explain the interplay between the context, mechanisms and outcomes of interventions. This realist synthesis seeks to understand and explain to what extent, how, why, for whom and in what circumstances complex educational interventions aimed at teaching communication skills to social work students produces its effects. A five-step process will be followed iteratively. In step 1, the initial programme theory will be developed. Step 2 will involve searching for evidence. In step 3, selection and appraisal will take place. Step 4 requires data to be extracted and organised, and in step 5, data will be analysed and synthesised.

The teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education is under theorised. The findings from this realist synthesis aim to help policymakers and educators make informed decisions about the design and delivery of complex educational interventions aimed at improving the communication skills of social work students. The realist synthesis will be conducted and reported in accordance with the RAMESES guidelines and standards.

Systematic review registration

The review is registered with the Open Science Framework. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/BYHC7

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-022-02125-w.

There is considerable consensus within the literature that good interpersonal communication is the cornerstone of social work practice [ 1 , 2 ], enhancing the outcomes of people in receipt of its services [ 3 ]. Serious case reviews and commissioned reports commonly identify social workers’ communication as an area of concern. Since interpersonal communication is a goal-driven and goal-directed process ‘undergirded by perceptual, cognitive, affective, and behavioural operations’ [ 4 ], communication skills can be developed and refined through training or education. Communication skills are firmly embedded within the curriculum of social work qualifying courses in a number of different countries including Australia, the UK and the USA [ 5 – 7 ]. In the UK, teaching communication skills became mandatory following the introduction of the degree programme 20 years ago [ 8 ]. The content, sequencing and pedagogy underpinning the educational interventions were not prescribed; hence, considerable variation exists both within the UK and further afield.

Knowledge and practice reviews have identified that the outcomes evidence underpinning these interventions is limited, and that the theoretical underpinnings of the teaching and learning of communication skills have not been made explicit [ 9 – 11 ]. Some time has passed since these reviews were undertaken, during which considerable research activity has taken place and new routes into the profession have proliferated. In the UK, for example, Think Ahead and Frontline seek to recruit high-achieving graduates, whilst Step Up and the new social work apprenticeship degrees recruit experienced support staff into undergraduate programmes. The time is ripe to revisit the literature on the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education to update our knowledge so that policy and practice decisions can be better informed.

To address the first gap within the literature — the outcomes evidence — a systematic review aimed at investigating whether or not the teaching and learning of communication skills is effective has recently been undertaken [ 12 , 13 ]. Notwithstanding significant methodological challenges, there was overall consistency in the direction of mean change for the development of communication skills of social work students following training [ 13 ]. To address the second gap within the literature — the need to theorise the intervention — a broader range of study designs is required which can explain how and why interventions might work [ 14 , 15 ]. Realist synthesis is particularly suited to this purpose since programme theories help explain how the intervention is supposed to work. Preliminary searching indicates that the body of evidence has grown in the last two decades, suggesting that fresh insights into the mechanisms underpinning communication skills courses in social work education should be reinvestigated. The explanation a realist synthesis can provide about how, why and for whom an intervention might work is an important first step for helping educators tailor courses to meet the needs of different learner groups and, where applicable, the employing agencies and government departments who fund them.

The review protocol is registered on the OSF database ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/BYHC7 ).

Methodology

Realist synthesis.

Realist synthesis is an interpretive, theory-driven approach [ 16 ] which reviews different types of information, evidence and literature about complex social interventions. Methodological inclusivity and pluralism are encouraged. Realist synthesis applies a realist philosophy of science, that is an external (real world) reality exists, but this can only be understood through human interpretation (senses, language and culture) ‘to the synthesis of findings from primary studies’ ([ 15 ], p.93) that aims to explain causation within interventions through context-mechanism-outcome configurations.

The realist approach recognises that no theory can always explain or predict the outcomes of a complex social intervention in every context. Whilst programmes provide opportunities and resources, the outcomes are ultimately determined by the choices and decisions of its participants. Yet, the realist approach assumes that because only a limited number of options are available in any given context, individuals are likely to, though will not always, make similar choices about the resources they use. In realist terms, these semi-predictable reoccurring patterns of behaviour are known as ‘demi-regularities’ [ 16 ]. Realist synthesis seeks to ‘uncover the underlying theories that explain these demi-regularities by critically scrutinising the interaction between context, mechanism and outcome in a sample of primary studies’ [ 17 ], which are commonly expressed as ‘context–mechanism–outcome configurations’ (‘CMOCs’). Mechanisms, defined as ‘underlying entities, processes, or structures which operate in particular contexts to generate outcomes of interest’ [ 18 ], are a defining feature of realist research. They help us understand that it is not the intervention itself which produces outcomes but people’s reactions, reasoning and responses to it that are important.

In realist research, the relationship between context, mechanism and outcome is explored through a variation of the question, ‘What works, for whom, in what circumstances, in what respects and why?’ From this, ‘the reviewer constructs one or more middle-range theories to account for the findings’ ([ 15 ], p. 94). Through an iterative process, realist synthesis seeks ‘to gradually develop and refine the programme theory so that it is more detailed, realist in nature and the inferences within it are supported by data’ [ 19 ]. In later stages of the inquiry, following a series of different iterations, a number of C-M–O configurations are developed and then tested, using the data gathered in the review. The configurations seek to explain in which context(s) and which mechanism(s) are ‘triggered’ to produce which outcomes(s). The refined realist programme theory should be in the ‘middle range’, that is it should be specific enough to permit empirical testing but abstract enough to provide useful explanations transferable to other situations where the same mechanisms may be operating.

The realist approach is particularly suited to education research, where multicomponent interventions are complex and outcomes are highly context dependent and influenced by the reactions, responses and reasoning of both educators and learners. In relation to medical education, Wong et al. (2012, p. 90) [ 15 ] explain that ‘the impact of the “same” intervention will vary considerably depending on who delivers it, to which learners, in which circumstances and with which tools and techniques'. The same point can be made about social work education generally and the teaching and learning of communication skills more specifically. It is for this reason that a realist approach was deemed appropriate for investigating this topic.

The intended objectives of this realist synthesis are as follows:

• To understand and explain to what extent, how, why, for whom and in what circumstances the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students produces its effects. Theory adjudication (determining which theories best explain the intervention) and cross-case comparison (comparing how the intervention works for different groups or in different settings) will be investigated, provided sufficient detail is included within the primary studies.
• To provide recommendations, based on the above explanation, and to help educators make informed decisions about the design and delivery of pedagogic practices.

Review questions

• To what extent does the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students produce its intended outcomes?
• What formal substantive theories are used to inform the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students?
• What are the mechanisms by which the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students are believed to result in their intended outcomes?
• What are the important contexts which determine whether the different mechanisms produce their intended outcomes?
• In what circumstances are such interventions likely to be effective?

These questions, deemed important by key stakeholders, will be iteratively refined once the exultant literature is better understood. Whilst question 1 has been addressed by the aforementioned systematic review [ 12 , 13 ], the author wonders whether additional outcomes, and a greater understanding of the complexity of the intervention, might be demonstrated through a broader range of study designs. Questions 4 and 5 may not be answerable through existing studies and may need to be addressed subsequently, through realist evaluation.

Ethical considerations

Ethical approval was not required for this synthesis because the literature is in the public domain.

Synthesis structure and features

The synthesis is informed by Pawson’s (2006) five stages (identifying the review question, searching for primary studies, quality appraisal, extracting the data, synthesising the data and disseminating the findings) [ 16 ]. An initial explanatory theory will be developed, after which the ‘programme theory’ will be tested and refined against data from empirical studies. A visual representation, informed by Duddy and Wong’s (2018) depiction [ 20 ], which outlines the approach underpinning this realist synthesis, is provided in Fig.  1 below.

Steps of a realist synthesis

Planning and preparation

Background reading.

As a researcher, who is also an academic in the field, I regularly read and review the literature for teaching, research and other scholarly purposes to ensure that my content knowledge and expertise are current and relevant. Through sustained immersion, familiarisation with the literature was already well established before this particular research project began.

Identifying and involving stakeholders

Citing Ryan and Hood (2004) [ 21 ] and Schwandt (2005) [ 22 ], Suri and Clarke (2009) [ 14 ] suggest that ‘the knowledge construction of educational practices can be considered incomplete and oppressive if it undermines the rich knowledge of different stakeholders, especially teachers and students, whose practices and experiences are the sites for educational research’ (p. 412). In realist research, identifying and involving stakeholders is encouraged from the outset. In addition to policymakers, the key stakeholders involved in social work education are students, academics, practitioners, and people with lived experience (sometimes referred to as service users and carers). My commitment to, and experience of, collaboration and partnership working [ 23 – 25 ] supports my ability to work with different stakeholder groups, using their ‘lived experience’ and/or content expertise to focus the review and inform the development and refinement of the programme theory. Deviating slightly from the more established practice of bringing different stakeholder groups together, I have met different stakeholder groups separately. This was partly to ensure that the voices of more powerful groups do not become privileged above less powerful groups and also for more practical reasons — getting everyone together in one place has not been feasible when there is no funding available to reimburse expenses and was not deemed responsible in light of a global pandemic given the existing health conditions of some collaborators. Using a reflexive approach, I, as the researcher, will consider whether this strategy needs to be adapted as the research project progresses. Stakeholders will be involved throughout the research process, as shown in Fig.  1 .

Step 1 — Develop the initial programme theory

Realist inquiry begins (and ends) with a programme theory [ 20 ]. The initial programme theory tends to operationalise a set of assumptions of the programme designers about how the programme is expected to work. Preliminary literature searches and stakeholder consultations allow the programme theory to be iteratively developed and help determine the priorities of the realist synthesis. Discussions with stakeholders have influenced the nature and form of this realist synthesis. For example, the lack of a coherent theoretical framework to inform the teaching and learning of communication skills [ 9 ] is an issue of particular interest for social work academics, which influenced the decision to place more emphasis on identifying candidate substantive theories within the literature. Formal substantive theories ‘provide a bridge to a wealth of existing research and knowledge about a topic’ and operate at a higher level of abstraction than programme theories [ 26 ].

Preliminary searches

A series of preliminary scoping searches aimed at retrieving substantive theories from the literature have been undertaken. The first of the preliminary searches entailed searching the Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) website for any grey literature sources by selecting ‘communication skills’ from the subject topic menu of the resources and services section. Two more structured searches were also undertaken: a database search of the Web of Science and a discipline-specific journal search of Social Work Education , the British Journal of Social Work and the Journal of Social Work Education . The searches were guided by the BeHEMoTh (behaviour of interest, health context, exclusions, model, theory) approach [ 27 ], using various terms to describe the behaviour of interest (communication/interpersonal), adapting the health context (social work education) alongside the suggested terms for theory or model (theor*/model*/framework*, concept*). No exclusions were applied, and the theory concepts were not restricted to title and abstract as it was anticipated that information about theories might be located in the main text and reference lists.

The combined searches produced a total of 39 records. Ten grey literature resources were retrieved from the SCIE website, including the aforementioned knowledge reviews. Six records were retrieved through the web of science search and twenty-three through the discipline-specific journal search (4 from Social Work Education , 6 from the British Journal of Social Work and 13 from the Journal of Social Work Education ). Each record was added to an EndNote group folder. Fifteen records were excluded for the following reasons: duplication ( N  = 1), the record was a book review ( N  = 4), the topic was not about the teaching and learning of communication skills ( N  = 6) and the population did not comprise social work students ( N  = 4). The remaining 24 records were read in full. A PRISMA flow diagram of the preliminary searches is depicted in Fig.  2 .

PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for preliminary searches to identify substantive theories

Reference and citation tracking

Recognising that theory might be contained within a sibling paper, reference and citation tracking were undertaken manually and using Google Scholar, which led to the identification of two additional records.

Discussions with stakeholders

Following the preliminary searches, discussions with stakeholders took place regarding substantive theories. Contact was made with social work academics involved in the teaching and/or researching of communication skills. Their content expertise confirmed that relevant candidate theories had been identified.

Substantive theories

The key substantive theories underpinning the teaching and learning of communication skills which were explicitly referred to in the literature found through the theory search outlined above are included below:

• Experiential learning theory
• Reflective practice
• Adult learning theory
• Theory of living human systems
• Relational/cultural theory
• The postmodern and post-structural approach
• Task-centred and behavioural approaches
• Humanistic/person-centred counselling approaches, including microskills training
• Psychosocial theory

Experiential learning theory and humanistic person-centred approaches were most frequently mentioned in the studies identified through the theory search, a finding supported by a recent systematic review [ 13 ]. Experiential learning theory synthesises the contribution of scholars, including educational psychologists and philosophers, who positioned experience as playing a fundamental role in learning, training and educational development of adult learners who bring their personal and professional experiences with them. Experiential learning involves learning by experience, in which the learner takes on an active role, followed by reflection and analysis of that experience, which further develops their learning.

Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle [ 28 ] was the most frequently cited reference to theory in the records identified through the preliminary searches, followed by Donald Schön’s (1983) [ 29 ] work on reflective practice and Knowles’ (1978) [ 30 ] adult learning theory. These theories are associated with a constructivist view of education, ideas that can be traced back to John Dewey.

Ivey and Authier’s (1971, 1978) [ 31 , 32 ] microskills approach provides a systematic method for teaching beginning communication skills to counsellors and therapists. It shares similarities with the above theories, although its roots lie in psychotherapy, particularly in humanistic person-centred counselling approaches, developed by Carl Rogers (1951, 1961) [ 33 , 34 ]. The other theories were mentioned in just one study. These included Agazarian’s (1997) system-centred therapy for groups [ 35 ], Miller and Stiver’s (1997) ‘relational/cultural theory’ [ 36 ] and Jessup and Rogerson’s (1999) postmodern and post-structural approach [ 37 ]. A brief overview of the substantive theories identified through the preliminary searches are provided in Table ​ Table1 1 .

Overview of substantive theories

The theories are not mutually exclusive, and there is significant overlap between them. The role of the substantive theories will be considered in the realist synthesis.

Development of programme theory

From the combined preliminary searches and discussions with stakeholders, an initial programme theory was developed.

A wide range of teaching and learning activities were identified, which involved combining formal input (on theory or background) from an instructor with experiential or practice-based activities such as group exercises, group discussions, role-plays, simulations and skills laboratories, video work, observation, feedback and reflection. Service user and carer involvement and shadowing experienced social workers in practice were also identified within the literature identified through the preliminary searches. The different activities and components that communication skills courses comprise contributed to a ‘theory of action’. Some of the resources also described how the intervention is thought to work. Pedagogic methods that encouraged learning by doing and reflection were common, explaining why assessment, evaluation, feedback and reinforcement were frequently commented on in the literature.

In terms of the intended programme outcomes, the studies referred to confidence [ 43 , 44 ] and interpersonal communication skills [ 45 ]. Knowledge and attitudes were also mentioned within the domains of ‘knowing’ and ‘being’ [ 46 ]. Discussions with different stakeholder groups consulted during the development of the systematic review protocol suggested that self-efficacy, knowledge, attitudes and skills were the outcomes of importance [ 12 , 13 ] and are captured within Carpenter’s (2005) framework for social work educational outcomes [ 47 ].

Pawson (2006, p. 74) [ 16 ] suggests that the initial rough theory should contain some key features of realist explanation, comprising ‘conjectures on the generative mechanisms that change behaviour, ideas on the contexts that influence its operation, and hunches about the different outcome patterns that ensue’. Successful outcomes appeared to be dependent upon students engaging in ‘learning by doing’ and ‘learning through reflection’, tenets which are supported by two of the substantive theories (experiential learning theory and reflective practice). A safe learning environment was deemed to be an important context for the learning by doing component to take place. Figure  3 shows the initial rough programme theory.

Initial rough program theory

From the studies identified through the preliminary search and discussions with stakeholders (students, people with lived experience and social work academics), it was also possible to identify some tentative and provisional context-mechanism-outcome configurations, as stated below, where C = context, M = mechanism and O = outcome.

• In a safe learning environment [C], students will experience a sense of trust [M] and manage performance-related anxiety, fear and embarrassment [M], enabling them to engage [M] in practice opportunities to improve their communication skills [O].
• Students are more likely to demonstrate effective communication skills [O] when practice scenarios are authentic [C] because they perceive it to be believable [M] and/or useful [M], which motivates them [M] to perform well.
• In the context of supportive and constructive working relationships [C], students will take feedback on board [M], evaluate [M] and reflect on their skills [M], developing knowledge [O] and confidence [O] to demonstrate communicative improvements [O] in subsequent practice opportunities.
• In a ‘containing’ and attuned reflective space [C], students will make sense of their own internal worlds and those of others [M], developing self-awareness [O], use of self [O] and emotional capacity [O] to communicate effectively within the helping process [O].

Elements of the first three CMOCs featured repeatedly in the studies. A microskills approach underpinned by humanistic/person-centred counselling, behavioural psychology and experiential learning theory appears to underpin various different participative teaching and learning activities, whereby skills are practised, evaluated and reflected on and then reinforced through further practice. The fourth CMOC, underpinned by a psychosocial approach, appeared to operate at a deeper level and considered how understanding and using ‘the self’ develops in relationships with others. Although this CMOC was most evident in the literature about communicating with children and young people and referred to some very specific activities including tutor modelling, child observation and reflective groupwork, it was possible to glean from the more generic studies that this CMOC would also operate in learning how to communicate with adults. This idea will be tested in the realist synthesis.

Themes relating to power and control also emerged in the studies reviewed for the preliminary search. The role of service user and carer involvement in social work education was highlighted in some of the studies, whereas others considered the importance of students feeling in control of their learning. Although it was not possible to develop a relevant CMOC, this may become possible in the review of the wider body of literature located through the main search.

The purpose of realist research is to ‘gradually develop and refine the programme theory so that it is more detailed, realist in nature and the inferences within it are supported by data’ (Wong, 2015, p. 2) [ 19 ]. To support this endeavour, the initial programme theory will be further developed and refined through the subsequent steps in the approach underpinning this realist synthesis, as shown in Fig.  1 .

Step 2 — Searching for evidence

The main systematic search of the literature aimed at identifying relevant documents and articles from which the programme theory will be developed and tested takes place in step 2. Academics, service users and carers, students and practitioners have been asked for suggestions for key words for the intervention, programme recipients and intended outcomes. An information specialist has helped the researcher formulate the search string for this particular search (based on population and intervention concepts only) using a combination of subject headings and free text, adapted for each database. The basic search string is as follows:

• (“social work student*” OR “student social worker*”)
• (communicat* OR interpersonal OR interview*)
• (train* OR educat* OR teach* OR learn* OR curricul*)

Study design and features will not form part of the search criteria of the realist synthesis since ‘nuggets’ of information [ 48 ] can be gleaned from quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research as well as policy documents, opinion pieces and other grey literature. Social science and education databases are less well indexed than those used in medicine and health sciences, so a comprehensive and inclusive search has been constructed. The databases and platforms comprising the formal search are as follows:

• Education Abstracts (EBSCO)
• ERIC (EBSCO)
• MEDLINE (OVID)
• PsycINFO (OVID)
• Web of Science Database Social Science Citation Index
• Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest)
• ASSIA Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ProQuest)
• ClinicalTrials.gov
• Database of abstracts of reviews of effectiveness
• The Campbell Library
• Cochrane Collaboration Library
• Evidence for Policy Practice Information and Coordinating Centre (EPPI‐Centre)
• Google Scholar — using a series of searches and screening the first 5 pages of results for each search
• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses

Study selection will not be restricted by language, publication date or publication status.

To supplement the systematic search, more emergent techniques of reference and citation tracking will be used, alongside contacting content experts (leading authors and researchers in the field) who will be asked to recommend additional empirical studies or other relevant grey literature.

Documents will be screened by title and abstract (and full text if required) by the researcher and co-reviewer. Discrepancies will be discussed, and a consensus reached, involving other stakeholders if required.

Background searching has revealed that studies tend to focus on one small aspect of the anticipated initial programme theory; therefore, inclusion criteria will be broad, typically containing information about the following:

• Theories (substantive or informal) relevant to learning and teaching communication skills
• Intervention components, e.g. videoing and feedback
• Outcomes (including proximal outcomes) — knowledge, attitudes and values, self-efficacy and skills
• Different student groups, e.g. undergraduate or postgraduate students
• Information about the learning environment and/or relationships including the role of tutors and peers

Exclusion criteria include the following:

• Records that do not relate to an empirical study about a relevant intervention for the teaching and learning of communication skills
• Studies that are not about students on social work qualifying courses
• Studies that focus on learning in placements/practicums only

It is expected that a series of additional searches will take place during the later stages of the review, particularly as gaps in the literature ascertained through the main systematic literature search are identified. Different inclusion/exclusion criteria will apply, and these will be devised iteratively with support from an information specialist. Literature from counselling training and medical education is not currently the focus of this review but may be drawn upon later, to elucidate further information about how particular intervention components work or to explore where similar mechanisms are in operation. Refinements to the programme theory will inform the nature of these additional searches and will be reported in full in the project write-up. The results of each search will be presented using PRISMA style flow diagrams.

Step 3 — Selection and appraisal

The researcher will review all of the documents that meet inclusion criteria during screening, assessing them against the two criteria of the following:

• Relevance (i.e. whether there is any information contained within the documents which can be used to support, refute or refine the programme theory)
• Rigour (i.e. whether the data is trustworthy — or not)

Rigour can be difficult to apply in realist research because it is the ‘nugget’ of information [ 48 ] which needs to be assessed rather than the methodological quality of the whole study. For example, a methodologically weak study is less problematic if the relevant section for the review is simply a description of the programme’s components compared to using the findings of a study where the internal validity is questionable. Recognising that ‘different types of data will be subject to different judgements of methodological coherence and plausibility’, Duddy and Wong (2018) recommend recording the assessment of each piece of information [ 20 ]. This is the approach that will be adopted here to provide a clear and transparent audit trail. Identifying more than one source of data relevant to a programme theory is another strategy suggested by Wong (2018) [ 49 ] which will be adhered to at this stage, to enhance trustworthiness. The focus will be on finding sufficient data that is relevant, coherent and supports the aim of developing programme theory. It is intended that student social workers undertaking an evidence-based practice module will be involved in the selection and quality appraisal process, which will also be overseen and supported by the PhD supervisory team.

Step 4 — Extracting and organising data

All of the documents from every search will be uploaded into the EndNote reference manager software. Documents which meet the inclusion criteria will be copied into a separate group folder, into which the full-text PDF files will be uploaded. The researcher will extract the main characteristics from each document in the included study group, using a data extraction template. Data from each document will be coded according to the contribution it makes to the developing programme theory. Initially, data will be organised into broad ‘bucket codes’, based on the initial programme theory. The realist logic of analysis developed by Pawson and Tilley (1997) [ 50 ] will then be applied. As the data extraction process continues, and the programme theory is gradually and iteratively refined, the data will be recoded and organised into potential C-M–O configurations. The use of data to refine programme theory will be recorded and reported in the project write up. A 10% random subsample of documents will be checked by a second reviewer. Again, discrepancies will be discussed and brought to the attention of an academic acting as an independent adjudicator.

Step 5 — Analyse and synthesise data

Realist analysis and synthesis entail ‘juxtaposing, adjudicating, reconciling, consolidating and situating the evidence’ [ 16 ], with a view to refining the programme theory. In realist synthesis, the analysis and synthesis of the selected data in step 5 occur concurrently with data selection and appraisal in step 3 and data extraction and organisation in step 4. Through inductive and deductive reasoning, the researcher will move back and forth between the steps, using the data to build and test the CMOCs, iteratively refining the programme theory, as shown in Fig.  1 . Additional searches will be conducted as gaps in the literature materialise or where other disciplines can inform our understanding of how particular mechanisms might operate. Stakeholders will be consulted about the development and refinement of programme theory, hopefully adding their own insights and amendments as they see fit. Retroductive reasoning will be used in the later stages, allowing the refinements to programme theory to be ‘made on the basis of what can plausibly be inferred by all the data available’ [ 20 ]. The final synthesis will provide an overview of some of the underlying causal mechanisms which are fired in specific contexts to produce particular patterns of outcomes.

Dissemination

The dissemination strategy will be developed with stakeholder involvement. Findings will be translated into evidence-based recommendations that can be shared with and applied by policymakers and educators. Findings will also be made available to students and experts by experience.

The teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education is under theorised. This realist synthesis will provide theory-based explanations to determine to what extent the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education work and for whom, how, why and in what circumstances. The findings from this realist synthesis will help policymakers and educators make informed decisions about the design and delivery of complex educational interventions aimed at improving the communication skills of social work students.

One limitation of this realist synthesis is that it is being undertaken by a PhD student with no recourse to funding stakeholder involvement activities. Although undergradute students may readily take up the screening opportunities, resource constraints will inevitably have an impact on the extent to which stakeholder collaboration evolves. The PhD student’s supervisory team has content and methodological expertise, including conducting systematic reviews and realist syntheses. Their involvement will add further rigour to the conduct of this research.

Another limitation concerns the state of the extant literature. Although there is a reasonable body of literature about the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education, it is possible that there are gaps, particularly in terms of outcomes and contextual factors, which means some of the research questions might be unanswerable. A comprehensive search will be undertaken with citation and reference harvesting seeking to locate sibling and kinship papers. Authors will be contacted for further information, although now several appear to have research interests in other areas. Stakeholders will be asked to consider any identifiable gaps, which will add to the development and refinement of the programme theory, with the caveat that programme theory can only ever be partial and is of course open to further testing. Despite these limitations, stakeholder interest indicates that a realist synthesis still has much to offer.

Immersion, meticulous data collection, systematic analysis and reflexive thinking are fundamental to the realist approach [ 15 ]. Transparency of methods and decision-making is an essential part of realist synthesis to ensure rigour and credibility [ 20 , 51 ]. To assist this endeavour, the relevant quality and reporting standards and publication standards for realist synthesis will be followed [ 51 – 53 ]. The PRISMA-P statement (included as Additional file 1 ) has been used to develop this protocol.

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge Dr. Denise Tanner, Dr. Mark Monaghan and Professor Paul Montgomery for their ongoing support and encouragement and also the students, practitioners, academics and experts by experience who provided advice and guidance regarding search terms, objectives, initial programme theory and potential context-mechanism-outcome configurations.

Abbreviations

Author’s contributions

ERH is solely responsible for the realist synthesis protocol. The author read and approved the final manuscript.

This work was supported by ESRC DTP funding (Grant number: ES/P000711/1) . The funder has had no role in the development of the protocol or the writing of this manuscript.

Relevance of Communication in Social Work Practice

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Nor Yazidah Yahya

yilmana communication

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Noorul Hilal

Stephanie Hamm

Communication Monographs

Sarah Tracy

HeeSung Kim

Leya Eguchi

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Social Work Effective Communication Essay (Critical Writing)

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Introduction

Effective communication, barriers to effective communication, unaccompanied asylum seeking child with an interpreter, emotional intelligence, risks and challenges.

Communication refers to the transfer of information from one center to another. The information can be about a person’s desire, needs, perception, knowledge, or affective states. This can be in written form or verbal through a certain chain. It may involve conventional or non conventional means such as linguistic and non linguistic forms through either spoken or other modes. There are various forms of communication. The top- bottom means the movement of information from a higher authority to a lower one. There is the bottom –top that refers to the movement of information from a lower authority to a higher one and the horizontal that refers to the movement of information across the same rank. In order for the information to be encoded and be understood, one must ensure that it is properly prepared and sent within the required chain and time. Communication can be classified into verbal- non- verbal, oral- written, intentional- non intentional etc. This clearly implies that for every message passed across there must be a reply from the other side. Oral communication is by word of mouth. The non verbal communication refers to that which takes place in ones mind without speaking. these includes facial gestures, such as smiling and frowning, body language which involves crossing of arms, pointing of fingers, leg shaking of nervousness and upright sitting for the sake of paying full attention and the impression given to others through appearance. The extent of presentation in this case involves our dressing code, body language and body odor.

This refers to the ability to present the required information within acceptable channels at an agreed period of time to the relevant persons. It is a very cardinal aspect in achieving our desired goals in life. It helps to build confidence in us and the people around us. In order for this to be achieved there is need for proper utilization of our communication skills i.e. listening comprehending, encoding, reporting and writing. Sometimes we do not meet our expectations in life due to several factors that impede effective communication in our social setting. It is therefore important that such barriers are tackled in order to enhance our communication effectiveness.

These refer to factors that impede our ability to pass information required to the recipients. They include factors such as the environment, emotions and experience. They distract the receiver of the information from accessing or capturing the whole message and they include: noise, lack of resources such as funds and insufficient time, language, religion and cultural traits. This means that in such instances, we need to exercise patience in order to send to our clients the required message. It is with this view that led to suggestion of this famous statement “standing still enough to absorb the emotional impact of (service users) experiences is something that allows the movement hidden beneath the frozen state or psychological hypothermia to emerge in a tolerable way at the right time” (Kohli, 2001:180).

Standing still long enough in this case, means the endurance that we take as we communicate to our recipients. This means that we take more time than we expected without losing focus on our ideals.It calls for our determination coupled with patience but not to be destructed from our original ideas. The timing in this case is a key aspect that should be taken into account. This is because it is the underlying aspect in determining effective communication. Too much time spent, depending on the matters in consideration could outlive its purpose. The feedback might be achieved but a little bit too late.Therefore the desire is not fully accomplished. To check this kind of eventuality, then the communicator has the challenge of ensuring that the time frame is adhered to. On the other hand, the communicator could have thought that enough time has been spent when that is not really the case.

It is therefore important to take into account the surroundings of your communication and its weight. Conducive environment can only yield good results in the required time frame while poor circumstances will need more time.weighty matters will always require more time so that all eventualities are addressed and dealt with conclusively. The service users play an integral part in determining the length of time . Parents for instance will require more time than children . Managers will sometimes require much less time since the circumstances be demanding an immediate attention.In response to these ideals, I seek to explain how effective communication can be achieved. My service user in this context is unaccompanied asylum seeking child. This is a very sensitive component of the society that needs careful approach when dealing with it.

In its basic definition it refers to children who find themselves in a foreign country either intentionally or unintentionally with a view of acquiring citizenship. According to United Nations high commission for refugees’ article of 1994 an asylum child is defined as a person under the age of 18 who is separated from parents and other adult care givers. The child must be making a claim of refugees’ status and needs to be taken care of and protected, through the countries welfare services. The detailed lives and circumstances of these children and young people have begun to be recorded and understood in the western countries, related to their practical and psychosocial well-being after arrival. It can be argued that no matter why they left their country of origin and how they find their ways into new territories, they become visible to social workers at ports of entry or at duty desks, seeking and continuity of care. The interpreter refers to a person who provides language support and transmits an oral message from one person to another across the language barrier. One should be impartial, and treat all the information with confidentiality. The interpreter’s job is to transmit a message as accurately as possible, and to mirror its source. The professional and the client must allow the interpretation to be made by speaking to each other directly. The set-up should be in a triangle, allowing the interpreter to sit at an equal distance from them. It is always advisable to employ an interpreter rather than ask a relative to help out, as they are a trained linguists and impartial. It important to take into account that c hildren are at growing stage in life.They tend to take into account every kind of communication accessible to them. They are sometimes quick to respond and can easily be destructed from the intended purpose. That is why they require great care when dealing with them.

Emotional intelligence is an important aspect in dealing with children. This can be defined as being able to motivate ones self and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate ones mood and keep distress from swamping the ability to think; to empathize and to hope (Goleman, 1996) in Morrison, 2006: 246.In addressing the children, one has to take into account the environment seriously and the challenges it poses. One of the major components in this case therefore includes, listening and building empathy. This is one of the intra and inter – personal skills that are required in dealing with the children (Morrison, 2006: 246). This means that one has to take time and listen to the views of the child.Having a preconceived notion when dealing with a child tends to lock out fundamental issues. This must be avoided at all times. Most of the times, one thinks a child knows very little and always supposed to receive every direction without being heard. The child in this case could just be wishing to be heard by any person. It could even be possible that the child has the solution at hand. However the negligence accorded to the child negatively affects its emotions. When listened to, a child would be able to interact quite frankly thus enhancing the effectiveness of the communication.

Children quite often admire the people who identify with their problems and are able to share with them emotionally. In relation to Tracey’s story she was only able to open up after meeting a wonderful man who loved and supported her to the extent that she could not bottle up her feelings. She was even encouraged to cry in tough circumstances (Moles, 1950s: 3). Empathizing with a child creates room for one to understand the real problem on the ground.It makes the child to be more frank and open up completely. This means that one is able to capture the insights involved and develop better understanding of the issues at hand. It is always necessary to view the child in its proper perspective. Understanding the child and promoting a common behavior leads to an agreement with it. It also helps to promote the key principles of anti discriminatory practice and professional integrity (Coward et al, 1993: 2). This means that the child feels engaged in the process and that it will gladly identify with the decision arrived at. The child will also feel that all its interests have been taken into account, since there was an active participation from both sides.

Experience in communication is an important matter when dealing with asylum seeking children. It helps in determining the exact matters that are to be addressed. It provides a clear picture in that; one is not in a hurry to determine the course of action to be taken. Past mistakes provide a learning atmosphere, so that the same problems do not arise again. Such kind of mistakes include obscuring rather than informing, blurring the boundary between fact and opinion and promoting imprecise value-ridden statement (Coward et al, 1993: 2) This gives the direction to be taken in projecting the right issues to be dealt with. It builds the required dynamism in dealing with facts while developing the impetus to face them. Experience creates a functional system in an interpreter, such that one is able to approach facts from an informed point of view. It provides a clear and definite framework to work with rather keep on gazing on theories that have never been used.In order to pursue a workable frame work, careful projection should be done. This means that there is proper dissection of all the underlying factors.The problems faced from early experiences are diagnosed comprehensively and the way forward, arrived at in an improved state.This means that a careful analysis takes place. A reasonable approach is only reached to, after all the demerits and merits have been concluded.When dealing with such children’s issues, it is important to take into account the fact that they tend to believe in instant answers to their problems. They are vulnerable to pressure and their patience wears out quite quickly. They believe in lasting solutions to their problems. Part time solutions are not encouraged if the long term answer proves to be negative or not to the standards perceived by the child.

It is such kind of delicate scenario that requires careful assessment of the direction to be followed when dealing children matters. Whenever faced with challenges, the child believes that a solution will be arrived at without further reference to a third party. Referring them to another person, means a big let down. This is because they have in built trust in you. Incase one need to refer to another person, so as to have a conclusive answer, it necessary for the interpreter, to post pone the issue then consult before coming up with the final verdict.Careful Projection should also take into account the hurdles that may occur and how they can be solved. In creating this plan one should be able to come up with conceited factors i.e. confirmation of every source of information provided for by the child. This helps in determining the authenticity of the information passed on to you. The interpreter is able to detect if the information given is reliable and can be acted upon (Coward et al, 1993: 3). It builds confidence in one such that the same information can be quoted elsewhere without fear of contradiction and or victimization. Certain precautionary measures must always be to be taken into account.

Lack of resources and service delivery

In cases where there is lack of resources and unsatisfactory service delivery then the blame is squarely on the interpreter (Heffernan, 1996:142). This calls for one to be responsible for the actions they take. This is because lack of funds or essential services limits the freedom of the meeting the desired goals. Projection should then work within acceptable means even in terms of resources.

Another aspect that is critical when addressing the asylum children issues is withdrawal. (Anderson, 1991: 3) added that children seeking asylum uses silence or economy of truth as a protective measure in order to arrive relatively safely and that they might have been told that only a particular version of the truth will enable them to remain because that is what the interrogators want to hear. This springs up when the child feels that the problems are not being addressed in a proper manner. It makes one not to be willing to disclose the information required. This occurs when one is tries to gain control of the situation in a bid to forge a workable solution. It is therefore important that ones move with great caution when striking a balance between the problems to be handled, the solutions we offer and the control of the situation. Self awareness is important in working with children. It affects the emotions and how to seek help (v).one should not be carried away by emotions to the extent that reason does not prevail. As much as we require to empathize with the children one should also avoid the making of rush decisions driven by emotions.

Controlling the emotions is designed in manner that we seek to avoid withdrawal.Behavioral statements provides a greater accuracy and clarity. (Coward et al, 1993: 4). Further probing should always take place whenever one realizes that certain information is being withheld. It is such kind of information that could provide the requisite solution. Judgmental statements always lead to withdrawal. One ought to be careful about these kinds of behavior. It tends speak more about how the child thinks of you and the expected results. A child develops a preconceived notion that you have already made up your mind and that you are just weighing options in the decision to make, Instead of giving an ear to what is being said. Coward and other writers in their works of 2003 outlined how such issues can be handled. One is capable of having the feelings about the facts being raised. However this does not mean that the feelings are wrong but they should kept in control. They should be brought forward especially if such feelings are playing a significant role in part of the difficulty in making of progress.The feelings should not be discarded but recorded to help in future analysis of the problem raised.

In order to arrive at this conclusion one needs not to be on the defensive side. Confidence and partiality to ones feelings helps in controlling such situations too Coward et al, 1993: 2). Understanding the effects of non verbal communication (Morrison, 2006: 246) helps to avoid withdrawal. Non verbal communication gives the listener a greater perspective of intentions than the verbal one. A smile will make one feel accommodated thus promoting a conducive environment. It makes on feel comfortable in disclosing all the required information without fear. However a frown on the face makes one uncomfortable.This tends to instill fear in the child. It may even lead to lose or hiding of vital information. On the other hand one should be keen on how the child responds when asked about certain events. This helps in assessing how the situation was at scene of the occurrence. It helps to provide a prelude on what kind of actions should be taken.History also plays a bigger part in leading to withdrawal. This is because one tends to believe that once accused of a certain wrong then it is always the same person that should commit the same offence.

If a child understands that such kind of arguments exists then withdrawal will be the only option left.Human beings are prone to change. Children are no exceptions in these circumstances, they tend to learn from past mistakes and try to avoid similar ones in future.One should therefore have an open mind set whenever faced with such situations. Every problem should be looked into with the new approach it deserves. History should only be consulted if there are hints of repetition being cited. Our sitting position when attending to the children should be strategic in order to be able to capture the nonverbal communication. Eye to eye contact could be important in gauging the validity of the information being given. However at other times, it might prove futile, especially when dealing with a shy child. It is therefore necessary to consider the character traits of any given child before engaging in a discussion. This can be handled better by creating a rapport.

The asylum child’s background

A child’s background is crucial in understanding the circumstances surrounding a certain character trait such as withdrawal. In some homes their could be poor communication between the child and a parent of certain sex. This kind of a hallo effect could easily make way for the child to hate any individual of that particular sex. The Tracey’s story is a clear example of how she depicted men dressed in black like priest used to torment her. (Moles, 1950s: 4). This made her fear such men and never wanted to associate with them. These kinds of instances automatically lead to withdrawal being manifested in children whenever faced with similar situations. If the child develops anger towards the social expert, it is upon one to control the situation by avoiding being in emotional conflict. Cooling down the tempers should be of top priority. One should then find out what led to that kind of annoyance. This can sometimes be double faced in that it could be either as a result of ones interaction with child over an issue that annoyed the child or the topic being discussed hurt the victim to the extent that discussing it brings with it bitter memories that the child had wished to forget forever.

Another aspect that normally comes up during such confrontations is the freezing that tends to capture the child. In a bid to explain the genesis of such problems (Coward et al, 1993: 2) focused on how the language we use can make a victim feel more intimidated. They pointed out words such as aggressive, anti-authority and manipulative. In their argument it can clearly be depicted that these terms tend to label the individuals involved thus negating the real problems facing them.This can also be applied to such children, in that they interpret such kind of names as judgment.In fact it tends to make them feel manipulated and ready to face the consequences even if they are innocent. Another aspect that makes one to have a frozen attitude is if the ills committed against the child were done by a person of authority. This is because they tend to think that the same could still discover that they reported their cases.It means that they are in fear of the consequences if the suspects are not dealt with. Sometimes the attackers could have issued threats of dire consequences if they were reported to the authorities. The child in this case is aware of the suspect’s capability to repeat the same attacks.

Issues touching on close relatives also tend to make the child not willing to disclose full information. Members of the inside family i.e. parents; brothers and sisters might not be willing to be seen fighting their own family. This is because it clear to them they will still go back to the same family. These kind permanent social institution have created a strong attachment to their members to the extent that none of them would wish to be separated from them.Freezing can still be as a result of the gravity of the matters at hand.A child might not be comfortable to reveal serious crimes committed against them such as torture and incest. This is because tend to have a psychological effect on the child. These traumatic experiences scare the child from speaking. They even affect the reasoning ability. On trying to recall such events the child seems to be confused on the mode of communication the whole situation can be characterized by sobbing. In order to effectively communicate in such incidences then it is important that one takes into full consideration of the matter before hand. This will help in creating a conducive atmosphere where the child is not in fear of any person. It is difficult for the child to pose accusations against an elderly person of the family in the presence. This means that one is forced to conduct such kind enquires in a totally different set up. One has to give due diligence such matters as they deserve. The greater the attention, the greater the response from the child. The child needs to assured of the security and the confidentiality of the information shared. This gives the child the assurance that no repercussions shall be faced for engaging in the discussion. The child should be assured that on sharing of such information then appropriate action would be taken. In Tracey’s account of her life she clearly indicated that she only wrote about her painful experiences with the assurance that she would finally get rid of the demons that had rocked her life for over 45 years (Moles, 1950s: 4). The victim is assured of justice being done before narration of the story. It makes the child happy and tends to inspire the urge to be fully engaged in the discussion.

Hypothermia

With regard to hypothermia, it refers to the psychological state that one undergoes after suffering a terrible situation in life.this means that the victim is traumatized to the extent of not being able to speak about it.In relation to our service user, it brings to fore the brutal attacks and injustices that the child faces in life. This includes murder of the child’s parents in their presence and great bodily harm. These tend hurt the child in their minds and the pain drains them completely, interfering with the brain functional system. The horrors send shivering signals to the spinal code and affects mental buildup. In other instances it can lead to one running mad. This results in stagnation of bodily activities since the brain that controls everything through the spinal code is damaged. When asked to narrate about the events that occurred, the child will not be able to communicate as a result of the numbness. In relation to Tracey’s story she clearly indicated that horror made her unable to tell her foster parents of the occurrences because they had been locked up in her sub-conscious (Moles, 1950s: 3). The sexual abuse by the priest and subsequent torture by the nuns destroyed her nerve system. It is therefore necessary that children are not exposed to such horrific scenes.in certain situations the child might be able to avoid being a witness but not in others. For instance robbers do not have morality whenever they are carrying out their activities.

In order to get to the bottom of the event one needs to begin by counseling the child. A psychiatrist should be quite involved if the social service provider does not have the skills to do so. It is necessary for one to show in depth love to the child to encourage it that all is not lost and the situation can be redeemed. The child should develop in the mind that you are ready to assist and rescue.All you need is the story to be heard. The child should be assured the physical security. Tracey only gave her story after realizing that at her age of 52 she had met a man she adored for his strength belief in her (Moles, 1950s: 4) Guaranteeing this means that you can put with the child for purpose of instilling the virtue of hope in the child. One should realize that you are a stranger to the child until both of you get to live together for the sake of acquaintance. While living together one should engage in cultivating visions in the child.this can be done by engaging the child in discussions about the promising future.The child is encouraged that these aspirations are within reach despite the drawbacks.The setbacks should be listed and discussed at depth. Solutions should form the better part of such stories.

One should begin with minor drawbacks, before progressing to major ones.as solutions are offered to each situation.Confidence will start building up in the child. This will lead to the revelation of the hidden acts committed.It will enable one to emerge in a tolerable way. One is viewed not as an enemy but a friend and a savoir.

To compliment these arguments several scholars have outlined facts that underscore the importance of stories. In his works Simmons brings to fore the elementary facts about stories. They have many dimensions ranging from political, social, psychological and historical. (Simmonds, 2000: 3) according to him, children are often vulnerable to traumatic experiences during times of war, civil conflict and persecution. However he believes that they have an enormous resilience capability.This is usually enhanced by stories. He emphasizes that stories are not just important for its self but for the significance of the child. The stories help children to identify with some of the characters involved. They evoke emotions and help to understand how the child was tormented. He further argues that stories work best because they represent an important truth about reality (Simmonds, 2000: 6). In dealing with hostile and unfriendly solutions. They also help to develop the capacity of the child to anticipate the world of relationships in their minds in a realistic and helpful way.

This is further complimented by (Winnicot7) by stating that relationship are core to the development of self and capacity to relate well to others. Karpman (1968) outlined the three critical roles that stories present; the role of the victim, persecutor and the rescuer. Concerning the victim, they play the role of defense, against the characters aggression, the persecutor the defense against vulnerability and the rescuer the defense against the individuals’ vulnerability and aggression. These roles are complimentary to each other. This argument tries to explain the attachment theory as the most highly regarded view in the importance of internal models of experience in relationship, as the capacity to relate to others in the emotional and social world. However there are precautionary measures that must be looked into when engaging in story telling.

If the stories are fragmentary with disjointed elements they will have little impact and might prove to be dangerous. (Simmonds, 2000: 15).one should therefore have a well organized and focused story that serves the purpose for which it’s being told. Distortion can make the story lose its meaning especially when they had earlier own used as narratives to serve other purposes. (Simmonds, 2000: 4) this means that originality of any story being told is fundamental in addressing the issues at stake. Repeated stories could negatively impact on the child if it had outlived its purpose. The mode of telling stories also plays a key role in determining its impact on the child. Most of the children prefer oral transmission. This is because it helps them to be engaged by actively contributing. This helps in fostering relationship.

When dealing with asylum seeking children, it important to consider the risks involved. (Simmonds, 2000: 15) argued that social workers are inevitably caught up in tensions concerning the political, social, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors. He states that they should be firm in influencing these platforms. In cases where they lack power to do so then it is upon them to stand as observers to these events and their responsibility to children is it to stand and tell stories. It is evident that the political class would not sit and watch as their image is tainted especially, if one of them is involved in brutal activities against children. This should not deter one from fighting for justice of these children to prevail.

In a nut shell effective communication involving an asylum child and an interpreter requires several aspects for it to be achieved. All these factors are intertwined and complementary. It is therefore necessary that patience is upheld to achieve it.

Anderson, P, ‘ You don’t belong here in Germany’ on the social situation of children in Germany , Journal of Refugee Studies, O.U.P 14(2), 2001: pp.187-199

Coward (et al). When language Becomes a Label . BASW; Venture press.1993

Forced Migration Review. September 2004: Home for Good? Challenges of return & reintegration Vol.12 (1), pp123-136. 2004.

Heffernan, K. Social work, public management and language of service user . In British journal of social work (2006)36

Karpman, S. Fairy tales and script drama analysis . Bulletin, 1. 1968: 39 –43

Kohli, R. ‘ Social work with unaccompanied asylum seeking young people ’ 2001

Simmonds The adoption narratives; stories we tell and those we can’t .2000 In Katz, I and Treacher, The Dynamics of adoption: social and personal perspectives. London; Jessica Kingsle 2000

Moles, Robert Tracey’s story- Abuse at Goodwood Orphanage Adelaide , South Australia 1950’s Network Knowledge. Web.

Morrison, T. Emotional intelligence, emotion and social work; contexts, characteristics, complications and contributions. In British journal of social work 2006:37

United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Refugee Children Guideline for Protection and Care. Geneva UNHCR; 1994

Wincott, D. Playing and the Reality . New York: Basie Books.1971

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• Published: 12 December 2022

The teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students: a realist synthesis protocol

• Emma Reith-Hall   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7939-0835 1  

Systematic Reviews volume  11 , Article number:  266 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Good interpersonal communication is the cornerstone of social work practice, enhancing the outcomes of people in receipt of its services. Social workers’ communication skills are often identified as an area of concern. Communication skills can be developed and refined through training or education. The teaching and learning of communication skills is firmly embedded in many social work qualifying courses; however, considerable heterogeneity exists regarding such complex interventions and the theoretical underpinnings of which have not been made explicit. Realist synthesis can help explain how, why, for whom and in what circumstances an intervention might work, which is an important first step for helping educators to tailor courses to meet the needs of different learner groups and, where applicable, the employing agencies and government departments who fund them.

Realist synthesis is an interpretive, theory-driven and explanatory approach that aims to explain the interplay between the context, mechanisms and outcomes of interventions. This realist synthesis seeks to understand and explain to what extent, how, why, for whom and in what circumstances complex educational interventions aimed at teaching communication skills to social work students produces its effects. A five-step process will be followed iteratively. In step 1, the initial programme theory will be developed. Step 2 will involve searching for evidence. In step 3, selection and appraisal will take place. Step 4 requires data to be extracted and organised, and in step 5, data will be analysed and synthesised.

The teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education is under theorised. The findings from this realist synthesis aim to help policymakers and educators make informed decisions about the design and delivery of complex educational interventions aimed at improving the communication skills of social work students. The realist synthesis will be conducted and reported in accordance with the RAMESES guidelines and standards.

Systematic review registration

The review is registered with the Open Science Framework. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/BYHC7

Peer Review reports

There is considerable consensus within the literature that good interpersonal communication is the cornerstone of social work practice [ 1 , 2 ], enhancing the outcomes of people in receipt of its services [ 3 ]. Serious case reviews and commissioned reports commonly identify social workers’ communication as an area of concern. Since interpersonal communication is a goal-driven and goal-directed process ‘undergirded by perceptual, cognitive, affective, and behavioural operations’ [ 4 ], communication skills can be developed and refined through training or education. Communication skills are firmly embedded within the curriculum of social work qualifying courses in a number of different countries including Australia, the UK and the USA [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. In the UK, teaching communication skills became mandatory following the introduction of the degree programme 20 years ago [ 8 ]. The content, sequencing and pedagogy underpinning the educational interventions were not prescribed; hence, considerable variation exists both within the UK and further afield.

Knowledge and practice reviews have identified that the outcomes evidence underpinning these interventions is limited, and that the theoretical underpinnings of the teaching and learning of communication skills have not been made explicit [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Some time has passed since these reviews were undertaken, during which considerable research activity has taken place and new routes into the profession have proliferated. In the UK, for example, Think Ahead and Frontline seek to recruit high-achieving graduates, whilst Step Up and the new social work apprenticeship degrees recruit experienced support staff into undergraduate programmes. The time is ripe to revisit the literature on the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education to update our knowledge so that policy and practice decisions can be better informed.

To address the first gap within the literature — the outcomes evidence — a systematic review aimed at investigating whether or not the teaching and learning of communication skills is effective has recently been undertaken [ 12 , 13 ]. Notwithstanding significant methodological challenges, there was overall consistency in the direction of mean change for the development of communication skills of social work students following training [ 13 ]. To address the second gap within the literature — the need to theorise the intervention — a broader range of study designs is required which can explain how and why interventions might work [ 14 , 15 ]. Realist synthesis is particularly suited to this purpose since programme theories help explain how the intervention is supposed to work. Preliminary searching indicates that the body of evidence has grown in the last two decades, suggesting that fresh insights into the mechanisms underpinning communication skills courses in social work education should be reinvestigated. The explanation a realist synthesis can provide about how, why and for whom an intervention might work is an important first step for helping educators tailor courses to meet the needs of different learner groups and, where applicable, the employing agencies and government departments who fund them.

The review protocol is registered on the OSF database ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/BYHC7 ).

Methodology

• Realist synthesis

Realist synthesis is an interpretive, theory-driven approach [ 16 ] which reviews different types of information, evidence and literature about complex social interventions. Methodological inclusivity and pluralism are encouraged. Realist synthesis applies a realist philosophy of science, that is an external (real world) reality exists, but this can only be understood through human interpretation (senses, language and culture) ‘to the synthesis of findings from primary studies’ ([ 15 ], p.93) that aims to explain causation within interventions through context-mechanism-outcome configurations.

The realist approach recognises that no theory can always explain or predict the outcomes of a complex social intervention in every context. Whilst programmes provide opportunities and resources, the outcomes are ultimately determined by the choices and decisions of its participants. Yet, the realist approach assumes that because only a limited number of options are available in any given context, individuals are likely to, though will not always, make similar choices about the resources they use. In realist terms, these semi-predictable reoccurring patterns of behaviour are known as ‘demi-regularities’ [ 16 ]. Realist synthesis seeks to ‘uncover the underlying theories that explain these demi-regularities by critically scrutinising the interaction between context, mechanism and outcome in a sample of primary studies’ [ 17 ], which are commonly expressed as ‘context–mechanism–outcome configurations’ (‘CMOCs’). Mechanisms, defined as ‘underlying entities, processes, or structures which operate in particular contexts to generate outcomes of interest’ [ 18 ], are a defining feature of realist research. They help us understand that it is not the intervention itself which produces outcomes but people’s reactions, reasoning and responses to it that are important.

In realist research, the relationship between context, mechanism and outcome is explored through a variation of the question, ‘What works, for whom, in what circumstances, in what respects and why?’ From this, ‘the reviewer constructs one or more middle-range theories to account for the findings’ ([ 15 ], p. 94). Through an iterative process, realist synthesis seeks ‘to gradually develop and refine the programme theory so that it is more detailed, realist in nature and the inferences within it are supported by data’ [ 19 ]. In later stages of the inquiry, following a series of different iterations, a number of C-M–O configurations are developed and then tested, using the data gathered in the review. The configurations seek to explain in which context(s) and which mechanism(s) are ‘triggered’ to produce which outcomes(s). The refined realist programme theory should be in the ‘middle range’, that is it should be specific enough to permit empirical testing but abstract enough to provide useful explanations transferable to other situations where the same mechanisms may be operating.

The realist approach is particularly suited to education research, where multicomponent interventions are complex and outcomes are highly context dependent and influenced by the reactions, responses and reasoning of both educators and learners. In relation to medical education, Wong et al. (2012, p. 90) [ 15 ] explain that ‘the impact of the “same” intervention will vary considerably depending on who delivers it, to which learners, in which circumstances and with which tools and techniques'. The same point can be made about social work education generally and the teaching and learning of communication skills more specifically. It is for this reason that a realist approach was deemed appropriate for investigating this topic.

The intended objectives of this realist synthesis are as follows:

To understand and explain to what extent, how, why, for whom and in what circumstances the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students produces its effects. Theory adjudication (determining which theories best explain the intervention) and cross-case comparison (comparing how the intervention works for different groups or in different settings) will be investigated, provided sufficient detail is included within the primary studies.

To provide recommendations, based on the above explanation, and to help educators make informed decisions about the design and delivery of pedagogic practices.

Review questions

To what extent does the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students produce its intended outcomes?

What formal substantive theories are used to inform the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students?

What are the mechanisms by which the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students are believed to result in their intended outcomes?

What are the important contexts which determine whether the different mechanisms produce their intended outcomes?

In what circumstances are such interventions likely to be effective?

These questions, deemed important by key stakeholders, will be iteratively refined once the exultant literature is better understood. Whilst question 1 has been addressed by the aforementioned systematic review [ 12 , 13 ], the author wonders whether additional outcomes, and a greater understanding of the complexity of the intervention, might be demonstrated through a broader range of study designs. Questions 4 and 5 may not be answerable through existing studies and may need to be addressed subsequently, through realist evaluation.

Ethical considerations

Ethical approval was not required for this synthesis because the literature is in the public domain.

Synthesis structure and features

The synthesis is informed by Pawson’s (2006) five stages (identifying the review question, searching for primary studies, quality appraisal, extracting the data, synthesising the data and disseminating the findings) [ 16 ]. An initial explanatory theory will be developed, after which the ‘programme theory’ will be tested and refined against data from empirical studies. A visual representation, informed by Duddy and Wong’s (2018) depiction [ 20 ], which outlines the approach underpinning this realist synthesis, is provided in Fig.  1 below.

Steps of a realist synthesis

Planning and preparation

Background reading.

As a researcher, who is also an academic in the field, I regularly read and review the literature for teaching, research and other scholarly purposes to ensure that my content knowledge and expertise are current and relevant. Through sustained immersion, familiarisation with the literature was already well established before this particular research project began.

Identifying and involving stakeholders

Citing Ryan and Hood (2004) [ 21 ] and Schwandt (2005) [ 22 ], Suri and Clarke (2009) [ 14 ] suggest that ‘the knowledge construction of educational practices can be considered incomplete and oppressive if it undermines the rich knowledge of different stakeholders, especially teachers and students, whose practices and experiences are the sites for educational research’ (p. 412). In realist research, identifying and involving stakeholders is encouraged from the outset. In addition to policymakers, the key stakeholders involved in social work education are students, academics, practitioners, and people with lived experience (sometimes referred to as service users and carers). My commitment to, and experience of, collaboration and partnership working [ 23 , 24 , 25 ] supports my ability to work with different stakeholder groups, using their ‘lived experience’ and/or content expertise to focus the review and inform the development and refinement of the programme theory. Deviating slightly from the more established practice of bringing different stakeholder groups together, I have met different stakeholder groups separately. This was partly to ensure that the voices of more powerful groups do not become privileged above less powerful groups and also for more practical reasons — getting everyone together in one place has not been feasible when there is no funding available to reimburse expenses and was not deemed responsible in light of a global pandemic given the existing health conditions of some collaborators. Using a reflexive approach, I, as the researcher, will consider whether this strategy needs to be adapted as the research project progresses. Stakeholders will be involved throughout the research process, as shown in Fig.  1 .

Step 1 — Develop the initial programme theory

Realist inquiry begins (and ends) with a programme theory [ 20 ]. The initial programme theory tends to operationalise a set of assumptions of the programme designers about how the programme is expected to work. Preliminary literature searches and stakeholder consultations allow the programme theory to be iteratively developed and help determine the priorities of the realist synthesis. Discussions with stakeholders have influenced the nature and form of this realist synthesis. For example, the lack of a coherent theoretical framework to inform the teaching and learning of communication skills [ 9 ] is an issue of particular interest for social work academics, which influenced the decision to place more emphasis on identifying candidate substantive theories within the literature. Formal substantive theories ‘provide a bridge to a wealth of existing research and knowledge about a topic’ and operate at a higher level of abstraction than programme theories [ 26 ].

Preliminary searches

A series of preliminary scoping searches aimed at retrieving substantive theories from the literature have been undertaken. The first of the preliminary searches entailed searching the Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) website for any grey literature sources by selecting ‘communication skills’ from the subject topic menu of the resources and services section. Two more structured searches were also undertaken: a database search of the Web of Science and a discipline-specific journal search of Social Work Education , the British Journal of Social Work and the Journal of Social Work Education . The searches were guided by the BeHEMoTh (behaviour of interest, health context, exclusions, model, theory) approach [ 27 ], using various terms to describe the behaviour of interest (communication/interpersonal), adapting the health context (social work education) alongside the suggested terms for theory or model (theor*/model*/framework*, concept*). No exclusions were applied, and the theory concepts were not restricted to title and abstract as it was anticipated that information about theories might be located in the main text and reference lists.

The combined searches produced a total of 39 records. Ten grey literature resources were retrieved from the SCIE website, including the aforementioned knowledge reviews. Six records were retrieved through the web of science search and twenty-three through the discipline-specific journal search (4 from Social Work Education , 6 from the British Journal of Social Work and 13 from the Journal of Social Work Education ). Each record was added to an EndNote group folder. Fifteen records were excluded for the following reasons: duplication ( N  = 1), the record was a book review ( N  = 4), the topic was not about the teaching and learning of communication skills ( N  = 6) and the population did not comprise social work students ( N  = 4). The remaining 24 records were read in full. A PRISMA flow diagram of the preliminary searches is depicted in Fig.  2 .

PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for preliminary searches to identify substantive theories

Reference and citation tracking

Recognising that theory might be contained within a sibling paper, reference and citation tracking were undertaken manually and using Google Scholar, which led to the identification of two additional records.

Discussions with stakeholders

Following the preliminary searches, discussions with stakeholders took place regarding substantive theories. Contact was made with social work academics involved in the teaching and/or researching of communication skills. Their content expertise confirmed that relevant candidate theories had been identified.

Substantive theories

The key substantive theories underpinning the teaching and learning of communication skills which were explicitly referred to in the literature found through the theory search outlined above are included below:

Experiential learning theory

Reflective practice

Adult learning theory

Theory of living human systems

Relational/cultural theory

The postmodern and post-structural approach

Task-centred and behavioural approaches

Humanistic/person-centred counselling approaches, including microskills training

Psychosocial theory

Experiential learning theory and humanistic person-centred approaches were most frequently mentioned in the studies identified through the theory search, a finding supported by a recent systematic review [ 13 ]. Experiential learning theory synthesises the contribution of scholars, including educational psychologists and philosophers, who positioned experience as playing a fundamental role in learning, training and educational development of adult learners who bring their personal and professional experiences with them. Experiential learning involves learning by experience, in which the learner takes on an active role, followed by reflection and analysis of that experience, which further develops their learning.

Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle [ 28 ] was the most frequently cited reference to theory in the records identified through the preliminary searches, followed by Donald Schön’s (1983) [ 29 ] work on reflective practice and Knowles’ (1978) [ 30 ] adult learning theory. These theories are associated with a constructivist view of education, ideas that can be traced back to John Dewey.

Ivey and Authier’s (1971, 1978) [ 31 , 32 ] microskills approach provides a systematic method for teaching beginning communication skills to counsellors and therapists. It shares similarities with the above theories, although its roots lie in psychotherapy, particularly in humanistic person-centred counselling approaches, developed by Carl Rogers (1951, 1961) [ 33 , 34 ]. The other theories were mentioned in just one study. These included Agazarian’s (1997) system-centred therapy for groups [ 35 ], Miller and Stiver’s (1997) ‘relational/cultural theory’ [ 36 ] and Jessup and Rogerson’s (1999) postmodern and post-structural approach [ 37 ]. A brief overview of the substantive theories identified through the preliminary searches are provided in Table 1 .

The theories are not mutually exclusive, and there is significant overlap between them. The role of the substantive theories will be considered in the realist synthesis.

Development of programme theory

From the combined preliminary searches and discussions with stakeholders, an initial programme theory was developed.

A wide range of teaching and learning activities were identified, which involved combining formal input (on theory or background) from an instructor with experiential or practice-based activities such as group exercises, group discussions, role-plays, simulations and skills laboratories, video work, observation, feedback and reflection. Service user and carer involvement and shadowing experienced social workers in practice were also identified within the literature identified through the preliminary searches. The different activities and components that communication skills courses comprise contributed to a ‘theory of action’. Some of the resources also described how the intervention is thought to work. Pedagogic methods that encouraged learning by doing and reflection were common, explaining why assessment, evaluation, feedback and reinforcement were frequently commented on in the literature.

In terms of the intended programme outcomes, the studies referred to confidence [ 43 , 44 ] and interpersonal communication skills [ 45 ]. Knowledge and attitudes were also mentioned within the domains of ‘knowing’ and ‘being’ [ 46 ]. Discussions with different stakeholder groups consulted during the development of the systematic review protocol suggested that self-efficacy, knowledge, attitudes and skills were the outcomes of importance [ 12 , 13 ] and are captured within Carpenter’s (2005) framework for social work educational outcomes [ 47 ].

Pawson (2006, p. 74) [ 16 ] suggests that the initial rough theory should contain some key features of realist explanation, comprising ‘conjectures on the generative mechanisms that change behaviour, ideas on the contexts that influence its operation, and hunches about the different outcome patterns that ensue’. Successful outcomes appeared to be dependent upon students engaging in ‘learning by doing’ and ‘learning through reflection’, tenets which are supported by two of the substantive theories (experiential learning theory and reflective practice). A safe learning environment was deemed to be an important context for the learning by doing component to take place. Figure  3 shows the initial rough programme theory.

Initial rough program theory

From the studies identified through the preliminary search and discussions with stakeholders (students, people with lived experience and social work academics), it was also possible to identify some tentative and provisional context-mechanism-outcome configurations, as stated below, where C = context, M = mechanism and O = outcome.

In a safe learning environment [C], students will experience a sense of trust [M] and manage performance-related anxiety, fear and embarrassment [M], enabling them to engage [M] in practice opportunities to improve their communication skills [O].

Students are more likely to demonstrate effective communication skills [O] when practice scenarios are authentic [C] because they perceive it to be believable [M] and/or useful [M], which motivates them [M] to perform well.

In the context of supportive and constructive working relationships [C], students will take feedback on board [M], evaluate [M] and reflect on their skills [M], developing knowledge [O] and confidence [O] to demonstrate communicative improvements [O] in subsequent practice opportunities.

In a ‘containing’ and attuned reflective space [C], students will make sense of their own internal worlds and those of others [M], developing self-awareness [O], use of self [O] and emotional capacity [O] to communicate effectively within the helping process [O].

Elements of the first three CMOCs featured repeatedly in the studies. A microskills approach underpinned by humanistic/person-centred counselling, behavioural psychology and experiential learning theory appears to underpin various different participative teaching and learning activities, whereby skills are practised, evaluated and reflected on and then reinforced through further practice. The fourth CMOC, underpinned by a psychosocial approach, appeared to operate at a deeper level and considered how understanding and using ‘the self’ develops in relationships with others. Although this CMOC was most evident in the literature about communicating with children and young people and referred to some very specific activities including tutor modelling, child observation and reflective groupwork, it was possible to glean from the more generic studies that this CMOC would also operate in learning how to communicate with adults. This idea will be tested in the realist synthesis.

Themes relating to power and control also emerged in the studies reviewed for the preliminary search. The role of service user and carer involvement in social work education was highlighted in some of the studies, whereas others considered the importance of students feeling in control of their learning. Although it was not possible to develop a relevant CMOC, this may become possible in the review of the wider body of literature located through the main search.

The purpose of realist research is to ‘gradually develop and refine the programme theory so that it is more detailed, realist in nature and the inferences within it are supported by data’ (Wong, 2015, p. 2) [ 19 ]. To support this endeavour, the initial programme theory will be further developed and refined through the subsequent steps in the approach underpinning this realist synthesis, as shown in Fig.  1 .

Step 2 — Searching for evidence

The main systematic search of the literature aimed at identifying relevant documents and articles from which the programme theory will be developed and tested takes place in step 2. Academics, service users and carers, students and practitioners have been asked for suggestions for key words for the intervention, programme recipients and intended outcomes. An information specialist has helped the researcher formulate the search string for this particular search (based on population and intervention concepts only) using a combination of subject headings and free text, adapted for each database. The basic search string is as follows:

(“social work student*” OR “student social worker*”)

(communicat* OR interpersonal OR interview*)

(train* OR educat* OR teach* OR learn* OR curricul*)

Study design and features will not form part of the search criteria of the realist synthesis since ‘nuggets’ of information [ 48 ] can be gleaned from quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research as well as policy documents, opinion pieces and other grey literature. Social science and education databases are less well indexed than those used in medicine and health sciences, so a comprehensive and inclusive search has been constructed. The databases and platforms comprising the formal search are as follows:

Education Abstracts (EBSCO)

ERIC (EBSCO)

MEDLINE (OVID)

PsycINFO (OVID)

Web of Science Database Social Science Citation Index

Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest)

ASSIA Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ProQuest)

ClinicalTrials.gov

Database of abstracts of reviews of effectiveness

The Campbell Library

Cochrane Collaboration Library

Evidence for Policy Practice Information and Coordinating Centre (EPPI‐Centre)

Google Scholar — using a series of searches and screening the first 5 pages of results for each search

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses

Study selection will not be restricted by language, publication date or publication status.

To supplement the systematic search, more emergent techniques of reference and citation tracking will be used, alongside contacting content experts (leading authors and researchers in the field) who will be asked to recommend additional empirical studies or other relevant grey literature.

Documents will be screened by title and abstract (and full text if required) by the researcher and co-reviewer. Discrepancies will be discussed, and a consensus reached, involving other stakeholders if required.

Background searching has revealed that studies tend to focus on one small aspect of the anticipated initial programme theory; therefore, inclusion criteria will be broad, typically containing information about the following:

Theories (substantive or informal) relevant to learning and teaching communication skills

Intervention components, e.g. videoing and feedback

Outcomes (including proximal outcomes) — knowledge, attitudes and values, self-efficacy and skills

Different student groups, e.g. undergraduate or postgraduate students

Information about the learning environment and/or relationships including the role of tutors and peers

Exclusion criteria include the following:

Records that do not relate to an empirical study about a relevant intervention for the teaching and learning of communication skills

Studies that are not about students on social work qualifying courses

Studies that focus on learning in placements/practicums only

It is expected that a series of additional searches will take place during the later stages of the review, particularly as gaps in the literature ascertained through the main systematic literature search are identified. Different inclusion/exclusion criteria will apply, and these will be devised iteratively with support from an information specialist. Literature from counselling training and medical education is not currently the focus of this review but may be drawn upon later, to elucidate further information about how particular intervention components work or to explore where similar mechanisms are in operation. Refinements to the programme theory will inform the nature of these additional searches and will be reported in full in the project write-up. The results of each search will be presented using PRISMA style flow diagrams.

Step 3 — Selection and appraisal

The researcher will review all of the documents that meet inclusion criteria during screening, assessing them against the two criteria of the following:

Relevance (i.e. whether there is any information contained within the documents which can be used to support, refute or refine the programme theory)

Rigour (i.e. whether the data is trustworthy — or not)

Rigour can be difficult to apply in realist research because it is the ‘nugget’ of information [ 48 ] which needs to be assessed rather than the methodological quality of the whole study. For example, a methodologically weak study is less problematic if the relevant section for the review is simply a description of the programme’s components compared to using the findings of a study where the internal validity is questionable. Recognising that ‘different types of data will be subject to different judgements of methodological coherence and plausibility’, Duddy and Wong (2018) recommend recording the assessment of each piece of information [ 20 ]. This is the approach that will be adopted here to provide a clear and transparent audit trail. Identifying more than one source of data relevant to a programme theory is another strategy suggested by Wong (2018) [ 49 ] which will be adhered to at this stage, to enhance trustworthiness. The focus will be on finding sufficient data that is relevant, coherent and supports the aim of developing programme theory. It is intended that student social workers undertaking an evidence-based practice module will be involved in the selection and quality appraisal process, which will also be overseen and supported by the PhD supervisory team.

Step 4 — Extracting and organising data

All of the documents from every search will be uploaded into the EndNote reference manager software. Documents which meet the inclusion criteria will be copied into a separate group folder, into which the full-text PDF files will be uploaded. The researcher will extract the main characteristics from each document in the included study group, using a data extraction template. Data from each document will be coded according to the contribution it makes to the developing programme theory. Initially, data will be organised into broad ‘bucket codes’, based on the initial programme theory. The realist logic of analysis developed by Pawson and Tilley (1997) [ 50 ] will then be applied. As the data extraction process continues, and the programme theory is gradually and iteratively refined, the data will be recoded and organised into potential C-M–O configurations. The use of data to refine programme theory will be recorded and reported in the project write up. A 10% random subsample of documents will be checked by a second reviewer. Again, discrepancies will be discussed and brought to the attention of an academic acting as an independent adjudicator.

Step 5 — Analyse and synthesise data

Realist analysis and synthesis entail ‘juxtaposing, adjudicating, reconciling, consolidating and situating the evidence’ [ 16 ], with a view to refining the programme theory. In realist synthesis, the analysis and synthesis of the selected data in step 5 occur concurrently with data selection and appraisal in step 3 and data extraction and organisation in step 4. Through inductive and deductive reasoning, the researcher will move back and forth between the steps, using the data to build and test the CMOCs, iteratively refining the programme theory, as shown in Fig.  1 . Additional searches will be conducted as gaps in the literature materialise or where other disciplines can inform our understanding of how particular mechanisms might operate. Stakeholders will be consulted about the development and refinement of programme theory, hopefully adding their own insights and amendments as they see fit. Retroductive reasoning will be used in the later stages, allowing the refinements to programme theory to be ‘made on the basis of what can plausibly be inferred by all the data available’ [ 20 ]. The final synthesis will provide an overview of some of the underlying causal mechanisms which are fired in specific contexts to produce particular patterns of outcomes.

Dissemination

The dissemination strategy will be developed with stakeholder involvement. Findings will be translated into evidence-based recommendations that can be shared with and applied by policymakers and educators. Findings will also be made available to students and experts by experience.

The teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education is under theorised. This realist synthesis will provide theory-based explanations to determine to what extent the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education work and for whom, how, why and in what circumstances. The findings from this realist synthesis will help policymakers and educators make informed decisions about the design and delivery of complex educational interventions aimed at improving the communication skills of social work students.

One limitation of this realist synthesis is that it is being undertaken by a PhD student with no recourse to funding stakeholder involvement activities. Although undergradute students may readily take up the screening opportunities, resource constraints will inevitably have an impact on the extent to which stakeholder collaboration evolves. The PhD student’s supervisory team has content and methodological expertise, including conducting systematic reviews and realist syntheses. Their involvement will add further rigour to the conduct of this research.

Another limitation concerns the state of the extant literature. Although there is a reasonable body of literature about the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education, it is possible that there are gaps, particularly in terms of outcomes and contextual factors, which means some of the research questions might be unanswerable. A comprehensive search will be undertaken with citation and reference harvesting seeking to locate sibling and kinship papers. Authors will be contacted for further information, although now several appear to have research interests in other areas. Stakeholders will be asked to consider any identifiable gaps, which will add to the development and refinement of the programme theory, with the caveat that programme theory can only ever be partial and is of course open to further testing. Despite these limitations, stakeholder interest indicates that a realist synthesis still has much to offer.

Immersion, meticulous data collection, systematic analysis and reflexive thinking are fundamental to the realist approach [ 15 ]. Transparency of methods and decision-making is an essential part of realist synthesis to ensure rigour and credibility [ 20 , 51 ]. To assist this endeavour, the relevant quality and reporting standards and publication standards for realist synthesis will be followed [ 51 , 52 , 53 ]. The PRISMA-P statement (included as Additional file 1 ) has been used to develop this protocol.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

Context, mechanism, and outcome

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols

Realist and meta-narrative evidence syntheses: evolving standards

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Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge Dr. Denise Tanner, Dr. Mark Monaghan and Professor Paul Montgomery for their ongoing support and encouragement and also the students, practitioners, academics and experts by experience who provided advice and guidance regarding search terms, objectives, initial programme theory and potential context-mechanism-outcome configurations.

This work was supported by ESRC DTP funding (Grant number: ES/P000711/1) . The funder has had no role in the development of the protocol or the writing of this manuscript.

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Effective Communication Skills for Social Workers

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Social Work Counseling Techniques

Distinguishing characteristics of social work, why acceptance is important as a social worker.

• How to Conduct a Client Interview
• Violations of Ethical Boundaries in Social Work

Effective communication skills are one of the most crucial components of a social worker’s job. Every day, social workers must communicate with clients to gain information, convey critical information and make important decisions. Without effective communication skills, a social worker may not be able to obtain or convey that information, thereby causing detrimental effects to clients.

Listening Skills

A significant portion of a social worker’s job involves interviewing clients and other parties involved in a client’s care. To provide the most effective services and counseling, a social worker must develop the ability to listen carefully and pay attention to details. This may involve learning to take detailed notes so as to easily recall what was said later. Effective listening also involves paying attention to how the social worker reacts as the client is speaking. This means avoiding giving signs that the social worker disagrees with something a client has said, interrupting a client, rolling eyes, doodling, multitasking, or yawning and appearing generally disinterested in what the client is saying.

Getting Information

Often social workers have to gain information from people who are not willing to part with that information or who may be difficult to understand. A social worker must know how to ask the right questions to get the necessary information or to alter the language of the questions to help a client understand what was being asked. Social workers may also benefit from knowing how to use alternate tactics for getting information, such as role playing or word association.

Nonverbal Behaviors

A social worker’s nonverbal behaviors can go a long way when it comes to communicating. Social workers should make eye-to-eye contact when speaking with clients and those involved with their care. Giving a smile can signal warmth and make a social worker seem more approachable. Keeping a distance of three to five feet between the social worker and the client can also help improve the level of comfort in the room, although a social worker also needs to keep in mind that cultural norms for physical distance vary, so that some clients may want to be closer than the social worker is used to.

Building Trust

Social workers must often build someone’s trust in order to effectively communicate. Communication with a client will not be successful if the client feels the social worker does not have her best interest in mind or if the social worker does not genuinely listen to the client. Building trust also involves not minimizing what a client has to say. Even if the social worker does not agree with the client or wants to focus on something more important, it is often necessary to focus on the client’s agenda rather than the social worker’s to help build trust and make the client feel important or as though she has some say.

Handling Conflict

Often, social workers encounter conflict. Knowing how to diffuse conflict and not let it interfere with the issues that need to be dealt with is key. Social workers should avoid threatening or warning clients, judging clients or making inappropriate generalizations that could lead to conflict. Social workers should also refrain from raising their voices, even if a client begins to yell first. For particularly difficult clients, a social worker may choose to bring a mediator or other impartial party into the room during any conversations to help diffuse conflict.

• Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills; Dean Hepworth
• The Social Work Skills Workbook; Barry Cournoyer
• Social Care Institute for Excellence: Overview of Communication Skills in Social Work

Stacy Zeiger began writing in 2000 for "Suburban News Publication" in Ohio and has expanded to teaching writing as an eighth grade English teacher. Zeiger completed creative writing course work at Miami University and holds a B.A. in English and a M.Ed. in secondary education from Ohio State.

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Effective Communication Skills For Social Workers

James Wilshiere

20355 Users

Effective communication is the heart of social work. That’s why this article intends to help you to learn Communication Skills For Social Workers. How to thoroughly educate yourself on the subject is another thing that we will talk about.

Table of Contents

What is effective communication skills in social work.

If you are asked to imagine the most humanitarian field of work, what do you think of at first? Social work is definitely at the top of that list. Empathy, communication, patience and critical thinking are just a few of the social work skills required in this profession.

Great communication skill is fundamental to professional relationships that demand compassion. That’s why cmmunication skills for social workers . In fact, in any occupation, communication is critical.

Successful communication is, which helps us better understand people, thus, situations. It helps us celebrate diversities, build respect and trust. And to create situations for solving problems and sharing creative ideas.

Importance of Communication Skills in Social Work

Lack of efficiency in communication between social workers and clients can lead to severe consequences. In addition, poor cmmunication skills for social workers  can contribute to the harm and lack of care for clients.

For example, failed communication among professionals can even lead the children to face severe consequences who are under the care of social services.

Moreover, without practical cmmunication skills for social workers , one won’t be able to do the following:

1. Find out what service users, carers or other professionals seeking for.

2. Produce the kind of data others need.

3. Check complex situations correctly.

4. Negotiate, interfere or mediate authoritatively, sensitively, and appropriately.

6 Effective Communication Skills in Social Work

Communication occurs face-to-face, virtually, via images and notes, and in sign language. Also, through touch or via interpreters in the situation when there is no common language. 

Besides, technological media now supplement letters, paper records, and formal court reports. Therefore, social workers need to be careful to use E-blogs and social networking sites with professional codes of conduct. 

According to the book ‘ Communication and Interpersonal Skills in Social Work (2008)’ by Juliet Koprowska, communication is both interactive and context related. Therefore, it needs careful consideration. However, several barriers may be involved in communication—barriers like authority, language, ability, personality, gender, age, class.

By identifying and removing barriers, we can achieve proper communication. One can achieve this by practising lenience and an impartial approach to communication.

Social workers must exhibit several skills while interviewing or imposing a client. There are six different sectors to work on to develop your cmmunication skills for social workers . Let’s look at what they are and why they are important-

1. Verbal Communication

2. Non-Verbal Communication

3. Active Listening

4. Self-awareness

6. Personal Learning

Verbal Communication

Two main verbal communication skills are listening skills and interview skills. These are crucial for building effective and respectful relationships with service users, which lie at the heart of the best social work practitioner. 

Verbal communication is a crucial skill in social work practice. It refers to facial interactions. Which includes the impact of actual words we use while speaking. Social workers must be aware of HOW and WHAT they say in certain situations.

For example, if the social worker does not get the situation correctly, it will inevitably create barriers. Further, social workers tend to work for vulnerable sections of society. Therefore, it is possible that their involvement may invoke reactions of fear or shame. As a result, this will cause them to feel not listened to or misunderstood. 

Furthermore, the social worker must obliterate any disbelief or power issues to build a transparent relationship with each client. Either this power is real or anticipated in particular situations.

On the other hand, unity plays a vital role during the interview process. It may not be entirely achievable to destroy the power imbalance. Yet, being aware of the need to achieve unity is another key. And unity can be achieved by using the proper verbal language. So that the service user can fully understand and be listened to. 

Indeed, verbal cmmunication skills for social workers also play a significant role. Especially when you’re working with other professions and even colleagues. It is also essential for assessments and decision-making.

Social workers can show respect, warmth, and non-judgement for clients through such skills.  To learn more about this, check out this course on Effective Communication Skills.

Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication is a major component of interpersonal skill collection. It includes facial expression, posture, eye contact, and personal presentation. Also, non-verbal communication can contradict or support verbal communication. 

The influence of non-verbal communication is not a new concept in this profession. There are two dimensions of non-verbal communication-

• Decoding or sensitivity 
• Encoding or expressiveness

Non-verbal Decoding

Non-verbal decoding refers to understanding the emotions carried through other’s non-verbal signs, such as facial expressions, voice tone, and body movements. 

Non-verbal Encoding

Non-verbal encoding refers to the capacity to express emotion through non-verbal signals. You can gather much knowledge of non-verbal communication by using observation skills.

According to professionals, there are five thousand hand gestures. And one thousand body postures exist along with that. Therefore, precise observation skills can be essential for social workers interviewing a client.

For example, the service user may tell the social worker they are coping fine and don’t need any help. However, a good social worker will contradict this by observing the client’s facial expression or body language. A social worker must be aware of their capability for non-verbal communication. Although, this capability is always somewhat limited. This capacity will provide them with an opportunity to analyse their role and impact. 

Active Listening

Listening is the most utilised form of communication. Listening may appear straightforward. But, listening qualifies as the most prominent kind of communication. However, active listening skills need to be learned, practised in training, and developed. Also, it needs to be refreshed for practical use in real situations. 

Active listening describes particular and demanding alertness on the social worker. Especially when involved in interviewing a client. Active listening is about being present emotionally, psychologically, and socially; not just physically. 

The social worker can convey total interest and understand a client by using skills such as- paraphrasing, thoughtful questioning, open and closed questioning

Self-awareness

The concept of self-awareness is vital in social work interviewing. Experts define self-awareness as “The process of getting to know your feelings, attitudes and values”. A key aspect of self-awareness is being aware of how others may perceive us. For example, in an interview, the social worker may think they are being laid back. However, for the client, it may be perceived as being uncaring.

Supervision is, therefore, an essential tool to explore any issues and gain feedback. Further importance of self-awareness is, understanding how external factors may affect social workers. Social workers should be aware of notions such as triggers, transference, and blind spots during the interview.

Be aware that the worker could be affected by a situation without knowing. Therefore, the use of ‘self’ is significant.

Empathy is another major communication skill in social work interviewing. This skill requires knowing or appreciating the sentiments of others. Social workers must display sensitivity and respect to their client’s feelings. 

However, a social worker needs to be able to differentiate between empathy and sympathy. Therefore, it is a fundamental skill to achieving empathy, not merely expressing sympathy.

Personal Learning

Communication today is very influential. Both in the business world and private life. You need strong communication skills to do any good for society, despite the category of your profession. 

Speaking, listening, and writing are vital skills that a social worker needs to tap into every day unless they don’t want to perform best in their profession.

Final Thoughts

Effective communication is the centre of social work practice. One of the significant elements is effective cmmunication skills for social work  profession. Social workers interact with clients to gain data and knowledge. Good listening skill is another of many skills a social worker must have. 

The bottom line is that a good social worker must provide the most efficient services and counsel through their communicational skills. As a social worker, your role is vital, as you are the person who can communicate clearly with all sides and get them to agree. Therefore, a successful contribution to society.

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• Relationships

How to Communicate Effectively

Seeing the world through another's eyes can help with communication..

Posted July 22, 2024 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

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We all live in relationship with many others at any given time, from our romantic partners to our children, our extended families, our close friends, other acquaintances, and work colleagues, to name a few. Meaningful relationships depend on effective communication and where relationships often fail is in a failure of communication.

There are many levels to communication, the most obvious being verbal through the words we speak. A deeper layer of communication is through body language , and it has been estimated that 95% of all communication happens in this manner.

Words can often get misconstrued and body language misinterpreted, so the question arises, how do we effectively communicate with each other? I do not have a simple answer to this question and all I can say is that it takes much patience and a willingness to listen deeply to the other person.

There is, however, a deeper level of communication that few of us ever venture to explore and this is becoming the one you are communicating with. What do I mean by this?

When we are engaged in communication with another, there is usually a reason behind it, whether we need something from them, we are trying to help or guide them or we are catching up on lost time. What most people fail to do when connecting with someone else is to put themselves in that person’s shoes.

What do I mean by this and why does it matter? I can best illustrate this with an example. I am a critical care physician and communicate a lot with nurses in the intensive care unit. Nurses come to me with many concerns about their patients who usually have multiple issues at any given time.

Early on in my career , I often did not take some of their concerns seriously, as I did not understand the importance of what they were trying to convey. One common nursing concern is a low urine output. When the cause of this is not obvious, it is easy to blow it off and ignore it at that moment. Sometimes, this is the right call, as I’ve seen this issue resolve with no specific intervention. More times than not, however, a low urine output is a sign of low blood pressure, sepsis, severe heart failure, medication side effects, or a number of other issues.

The cause is not as important as acknowledging it as a legitimate concern that needs to be addressed. I did not understand this until I was able to put myself in the nurse’s shoes. I started to realize that they are not only concerned for their patient’s well-being, but their license is on the line, which is why they must report every concern, even if I see it as insignificant. I was only able to do this by putting myself in the nurses’ shoes when engaging with them.

So how does one go about seeing a situation from another individual’s perspective?

This is a multi-step process, which proceeds as follows:

• You must first seek to listen to the other person not only with your ears but with all your faculties, including your eyes, because body language and facial expressions communicate a lot that words often do not.
• You need to ask clarifying questions in a compassionate and understanding manner when you don’t understand what the other person is trying to communicate to you.
• You then reframe the other person’s ideas and concerns in your own words to affirm whether you understand them correctly.
• You ask them how they are feeling about what they are conveying to you and try to discern this through scrutinizing their body language.
• Express to them that you are trying to understand their point of view and ask them to help you do that.
• Communicate what action you are going to take with the information that has been shared with you, and then act.
• Follow up with the individual who originally communicated with you to see if their concerns have been adequately addressed.
• If this is not the case, regroup, reframe their concerns and readdress the issues at hand until you reach a mutual understanding.

Communication is a two-way street, which is more effective when you can put yourself in the other person’s shoes by following the steps outlined above. This will help to enhance all of your relationships, personal and professional, and take them to a higher level of understanding and empathy, two qualities that are severely lacking in our disconnected world.

Nauman Naeem, M.D., is a pulmonary and critical care specialist, author, mentor, and speaker in the intersection of flow, awareness, peak performance and optimizing physiology.

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