Development of an inquiry-based social work degree programme
Study programmes preparing for social work registration in Aotearoa/New Zealand are expected to be of four years duration in the near future. One polytechnic took the requirement to extend their three-year programme to four years as an opportunity ‘to create something different’. I was contracted to provide educational guidance to the process. Using the teaching team’s values and beliefs regarding social work and social work education as the basis, it became clear that an inquiry-based programme would best align with the team's thinking. I facilitated the development of the programme and its courses. I also created and facilitated a partially online professional development programme during which lecturers learned to develop an inquiry-based course for the new degree.