AN EXPLANATORY STUDY ON POLICY PRACTICE EXPERIENCE OF SOCIAL WORKERS IN THE FAMILY SERVICE SECTOR IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Being an advocate for one’s clients is integral to being a social worker. Yet, opportunities and actual policy engagement by social workers in Singapore may be perceived as limited. There is little understanding of the policy practice experience and the motivations of social workers from direct practice settings. Using the Policy Practice Engagement (PPE) conceptual framework created by Gal and Weiss-Gal (2015), this study explores and explains the opportunities, levels of facilitation and motivations which lead social workers to engage in policy practice in Singapore’s family service sector. This study is important to social work practice as direct practice social workers are critical to policymaking as they are a voice for clients that may otherwise be neglected by macro-level policymakers. This study is based on a qualitative study of 10 social workers from the family service sector on their experiences with policy practice. The data was analysed using applied thematic analysis. The findings reveal that there is a newfound openness in the government and that supportive organistional culture is important. The role of more senior social workers is also found to be important to build up self-efficacy amongst newer workers. The study also discusses how institutions such as the SASW and universities can play a larger role to support social workers to be equipped for policy practice. However, barriers such as organisational limits and the need to build up moral courage amongst young workers were also discovered in this study. Implications to the social work practice and policy were also proposed along with areas for future research to build up the research base on policy practice.