Podcast Scholarship

Having taught social work students in universities for several years I became aware that the student cohort, alongside the tertiary education context, had slowly been changing. While universities were embracing a user-pays higher education model, students were responding by demanding more flexibility in their learning, and more responsivity and currency from their teachers. Since 2004 podcasts had taken the place of traditional lectures as a digital medium being used in the delivery of tertiary education content, but had yet to be embraced in social work education. This is largely due to the reliance in social work education on face-to-face delivery, enshrined in our ASWEAS (Australian Social Work Education & Accreditation Standards) and in the prevalence of traditional teaching modes used by the majority of universities in Australia at that point. Despite this I could see that change was on the horizon, and by embracing this change I could embrace a creativity in my teaching methods, and the learning experience for my students. It was in this context that I turned my mind to podcasting as an educational modality.  

In 2018 I collaborated with three of my colleagues, Lis Murphy, Ben Joseph and Justin Stech, to develop a podcast called Social Work Stories. The Social Work Stories Podcast showcases anonymous social workers telling stories and case studies from their daily practice, which is then debriefed and analysed for the listeners. Alongside my colleague, Lis Murphy, I host the podcast, I create content through conducting recorded interviews and conversations for episodes and story boarding of episodes and narrative arcs, I secure funding for the podcast and create opportunities for knowledge translation, particularly regarding the pedagogy and scholarship of podcasting and its relevance to social work education.

To date we have produced 68 episodes, had over 425,000 downloads, are consistently ranked in the top two social work content podcasts internationally, and are listened to in 96 countries worldwide. To understand more about the impact of the Social Work Stories podcast read the impact statement. When Covid-19 changed the face of educational delivery in universities globally I wrote in The Conversation about the role that podcasts can take for educating our future professional workforce.

Through our social media profiles, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, we know that our listenership is primarily made up of social work students and practitioners. Through the numerous testimonials we receive on podcast reviews, social media and through email contact we are active in creating a global social work community to provide professional support, a sense of connection and belonging:

“I am a BSW student in Lakeland, FL. My undergraduate field placement has been delayed due to complications with the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to receive indirect field hours, I have been listening to and reflecting on your podcast and learning SO MUCH. I love hearing the stories that are featured and appreciate your conversations at the end of each podcast. Keep up the good work! You are providing a valuable experience that connects social workers all over the world.”

I am conscious that in the discussion surrounding the practice stories we are modelling a clinical supervisory dialogue, actively encouraging social workers and social work students to seek out and mimic this dialogue in their own supervision sessions.

“I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed your most recent podcast on burnout and compassion fatigue in social work. I am a palliative care senior SW in a role that I have very much worked for for a long period of time. I am doing a presentation soon on professional grief and compassion fatigue and just this week I was reading up on compassion fatigue (on my phone in the dark at 11:30pm whilst my hb snored beside me-already bad self care) and in reading up on this topic I could really resonate. I went through the motions of being confronted by that, retreating in shame and also not wanting to be forthcoming with seniors etc as I don’t want this to be perceived as me “not coping”, it is my dream role after all, however working amongst so much death and grief does catch up with us. Then this morning on my walk to work I listened to your podcast and felt so validated and inspired. So thank you.” 

A fundamental element to the podcast has been in how we relate to our primary audience, social work students. In constructing the pedagogy of the podcast we drew on two notions: students as partners in the co-construction of content, and mentorship of social work students. Since the beginning of the podcast we have hosted social work students on field education placements and journalism and media studies students on internships. Through providing supervision to these students we have been able to engage them in creating content for the podcast, contributing to production of podcast episodes, and contributing to scholarship in the podcasting field by undertaking podcast research. This can be seen in an article I co-authored with one of our social work students who was able to reflect on their placement learning and its place in their overall social work education (Fox, et al., 2021). We also provide mentorship to social work students internationally through comments left by listeners on social media, or via emails sent directly through our website. Often we are asked to guide students on career choices, choices they are making between social work programs, or electives, or placement opportunities.

“I just wanted to send your team an appreciation post. As a student and now a graduated social worker I absolutely love and deeply value hearing stories from so many different practice areas in the field. I love listening to the sensitivity, love and respect with which the storytellers and you both speak about the work we do. It so closely reflects my feelings about practice that every time that I listen to your podcast I feel affirmed in my choice of becoming a social worker”.

 In recognition of the contribution that the Social Work Stories Podcast has made in digital technologies, social media and social work education we were awarded in 2021 an award from ANZSWWER (Australia New Zealand Social Work & Welfare Education & Research).