Emma Reith-Hall and Paul Montgomery discuss their systematic review of the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work.
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Good communication skills are at the heart of effective social work practice. In the UK, the learning and teaching of communication skills is an essential – and mandated – aspect of social work education. Service users and carers are also involved to help ensure the training is contextualised and relevant for practice.
In spite of the widespread teaching and learning of communication skills, less is known about how effective the training is. Emma Reith-Hall and Paul Montgomery have recently published a systematic review which highlighted the lack of rigorous research in this field, but existing evidence points to the importance of experiential learning. In this episode I speak to them both about the review and explore how the teaching and researching of communication skills can be enhanced.
Emma Reith-Hall is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Birmingham and an Associate Professor in the Health and Life Sciences faculty at De Montfort University. Her research interests include the teaching and learning of practice-based skills, including therapeutic interventions and effective communication.
Professor Paul Montgomery is Professor of Social Intervention at the University of Birmingham. His main research interests are the methodology of complex social interventions- in particular trials and systematic reviews.
The full text of the paper we discuss can be found here:
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