The Impact of the Arts in Social Work Education: A Systematic Review

Evidence of the effectiveness of arts-based approaches in professional education has been gathering momentum in the last decade embracing disciplines such as medicine, the allied professions, social work and social care. Key texts have emerged promoting use of the arts in professional education and special editions of peer reviewed journals specific to social work in particular, have attempted to capture empirical and other evidence on the value of the arts in social work education. A review of these publications has revealed that more rigorous evaluation is taking place as to how and why arts based approaches might be effective and their editors have acknowledged that measuring the impact of arts based pedagogies on learning and practice is varied and complex. Some have highlighted the need for evaluative methodologies which are suited to understanding subtle and contextually diverse educational interventions which do not easily lend themselves to scientific and technicist measures. This paper attempts to address some of these gaps and issues through reporting on a systematic review of the current body of knowledge specific to the impact of the arts on social work education. We will discuss the rationale for undertaking a systematic review; the methodology and approach used and the identification of significant themes arising from a synthesis of themes from the evidence generated. The findings and implications will be discussed in the context of what art based pedagogies can offer the challenge for contemporary social work in moving more towards person-centered approaches in relation to service users, learners and leaders of social work practice and education.
Keywords: Arts, Social Work Education, Transformational Learning, Evaluative Methodologies, Pedagogies