Social Work Skills Laboratory in Action: Integrative and Reflective Learning through Students’ Participation

The Social Work Skills Laboratory underwent a reform to strengthen integration of theory and practice through experiential and reflective learning. In addition to the conventional in-house skills training, students were divided into small groups, each of which worked with a specific target group and organised a field project. Adopting both qualitative and quantitative approaches in the Action Learning Research, the dual perspectives of teachers and students were systematically examined. Utilising a 40-item instrument to measure students’ self-perception of competence in, and aptitude for, social work, the pre-test and post-test comparison indicated significant improvements along the six dimensions of knowledge, social awareness, communication skills, leadership skills, values and selfconcept. Some of the key themes of the learning outcomes and process were also highlighted and discussed.