People from ethnic minority backgrounds are increasingly more likely to study social work, new research commissioned by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) has found. However, Black and Asian students on full time undergraduate social work degree courses are less likely to pass at first attempt than students from White backgrounds.

The research, undertaken by the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King’s College London, found that ethnicity affects whether a student achieves the social work qualification or if they take longer to complete their studies. It found that the majority of Black and Asian students do succeed in their courses but are more likely to take longer to achieve this. Whether students receive funding was also found to be very strongly associated with their completion rates. Variations in progression by ethnicity echo similar patterns found in many other Higher Education courses but this is the first time a professional regulatory body has taken the initiative to try to find out more about why this happens. Further research and analysis of the trends are currently underway.

The GSCC, the regulator of social workers and their education and training, also published today ‘Raising Standards: Social Work Education in England 2007-2008’. In it, it calls for universities and employers to put in place systems to tackle the trend of worse progression amongst people from ethnic minorities and other groups which could include better support, better funding or different teaching methods and practice placements, while maintaining standards. These systems will form part of the yearly inspection by the regulator and could lead to courses losing their accreditation if support systems are not in place.

Other findings include:

A notable increase in African social work students, which has risen again this year by 2.3 per cent to a total of 14.2 per cent of students.

Younger students (younger than 30 years old) are significantly more likely to withdraw when compared to older students (aged 30 or over).

Students’ prior education level is not significantly associated with any of the possible progression outcomes, which demonstrates how social work programmes are successful in promoting achievement among all students, whatever their previous levels of academic attainment.

Rosie Varley, Chair of the GSCC, said:
“We are pleased to see that social work continues to be one of the most diverse professions and enables people who may have otherwise been put off by Higher Education to reach their potential. We need a broad and diverse workforce that is reflective of the society we live in if we are to provide high quality social work to those who need it. However, the finding that some of these students are less likely to progress than others needs to be urgently addressed.”

“That is why we are calling on universities and colleges to take these findings very seriously and to take action to address it. As the regulator, we will make sure that this is considered as part of our inspection regime. Given the current low public perception of social work, it is vital that we all do everything we can to continue to encourage the right people into what is a rewarding and extremely important profession and to support them while they are learning.”