CONFERENCE CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORK IN SE ASIA:
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
Phnom Penh, Cambodia:
JULY 21-22, 2015
New Deadline: January 31, 2015
The Department of Social Work at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, in collaboration with the Social
Work Professional Council of Cambodia and University of Washington-Royal University of Phnom Penh
Social Work Partnership, announces a Call for Abstracts for the upcoming conference “Professional Social
Work in SE Asia: Education and Qualifications” which will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on July 21 &
22, 2015.
The conference goal is to address contemporary issues, challenges and strategies for educating professional
social workers and building the capacity of social work in Southeast Asia.
Objectives for the conference are to….
 Learn about educational innovations for preparing professional social workers in SE Asia
 Explore ways to address challenges to building the capacity of social work education in SE
Asia, and
 Build networks and partnerships across social work programs.
Themes cross cutting the conference are:
 Competencies for professional social work education
 Student-centered instructional practices
 Integrating field learning and classroom experiences
 Administration of a professional degree program
 Advancing diversity and cultural competence
Example conference session topics that fit 1 or more of the themes include:
 Team-based learning to develop professional competencies
 Technology in education
 University / Community partnerships that promote social justice
 Strategies to admit and retain capable students
 Teaching innovations to promote student-centered learning
Conference sessions will be
 Individual paper presentations (15 minutes in length and grouped with 3-4 other papers);
 roundtables (15 minutes of presentation followed by 45 minutes of interactive, in-depth
discussion);
 poster presentations are a visual presentation of issues or “findings” by an individual or group (will
be grouped together in a 1 hour session);
 workshops are intended to enhance faculty knowledge and skills in the development, design, and
implementation of social work curriculum or provide administrators with knowledge and skills to
enhance program development or administration (2 hours).
We encourage submissions from social work faculty, academic administrators, and students. All
presentations will be in either English or Khmer.
Abstracts should illustrate how the submission will contribute to enhancing the field of social work
education in Southeast Asia and address at least one of the conference themes. Abstracts of no more than
500 words should be submitted in English to DSWConf2015@gmail.com by January 31, 2015 using the
attached submission form. Sample abstracts are attached here just for informational purposes.
The following factors will be considered during the abstract review process:
o Relevance to the conference goals and themes
o Originality of ideas and methods
o Specificity of methods and findings
o Clarity of theoretical and/or applied implications
o Quality of writing
o Use of proper abstract format
Abstracts will be peer reviewed and rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being poor, and 5 being excellent.
The scores of the reviewers will be averaged to determine acceptance status.
If you have any questions, please email the conference co-chairs:
Kimkanika Ung, Royal University of Phnom Penh, kkanika_ung@yahoo.com
Tracy Harachi, University of Washington: tharachi@uw.edu
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FORM
PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORK IN SE ASIA:
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
Title:
Theme:
_______________________________________________________
(mark at least 1 theme below)
_____ Competencies for professional social work education
_____ Student-centered instructional practices
_____ Integrating field learning and classroom experiences
_____ Administration of a professional degree program
_____ Advancing diversity and cultural competence
Lead Author (First, Last Name):
___________________________________________
Title:
___________________________________________
Institution:
___________________________________________
Email:
___________________________________________
Phone:
___________________________________________
Street Address:
___________________________________________
City:
___________________________________________
State/Province:
___________________________________________
Country:
___________________________________________
Co-Authors:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Rank Preferred Format (1st, 2nd, 3rd):
_________ Paper Presentation
________
Roundtable
_______ Poster
After attending this session participants will [MUST FILL IN BELOW]:
 Learn about:

Acquire strategies to:

Explore ways to address:
_______ Workshop
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FORM CONTINUED
Abstract (500 words maximum):
SAMPLE ABSTRACT #1 - Paper
Title: Preparing Students in Person Centered and Participant Directed Competencies for the Aging and Disability
Network Occupations
Objectives for the conference (MUST FILL IN):
•
Learn about: person-centered and participant-directed competencies to work with older adults
•
Acquire strategies to: infuse PC/PD competencies into curriculum and measure their attainment
•
Explore ways to address: the growing needs of the older adults in a changing policy and practice context
According to a recent national survey of social workers in area agencies on aging (AAA) there is a need for
additional training in person-centered and participant-directed (PC/PD) competencies. While AAA directors
stressed the importance of training, the survey found that AAAs often lack the resources for staff development and
training in PC/PD competencies. The need for such preparation is shaped by a rapidly changing policy and practice
context. Given these changes, it is imperative that students acquire PC/PD competencies to work effectively with
older adults and persons with disabilities in community-based health and LTSS. To address the need for
workforce development in PC/PD, this paper will present findings from a national project to prepare social work
students with PC/PD competencies to work effectively within the Aging and Disability Network as well as
community-based long-term services and supports. The project partners nine schools of social work with nine
aging and disability network agencies for the purposes of articulating and infusing PC/PD competencies into social
work curriculum. Effective strategies to infuse such competencies into required curriculum will be discussed, and
examples of teaching resources (e.g., lectures, case studies, modules) and measures of student competency
attainment presented.
SAMPLE ABSTRACT #2 - Roundtable
Title:
Yes, We Now Have Gerontology Competencies: But How Do We Teach Them?
Objectives for the conference (FILL IN):
•
Learn about: the development process of gerontological competencies for social work education
•
Acquire strategies to: address common challenges when teaching from a gerontological
competency-based approach
•
Explore ways to address: measuring competency attainment through teaching resources especially
assignments
The Gero-Ed Center prepares faculty and students to meet the geriatric workforce needs of our aging society
through a competency-based approach to gerontological social work content infusion. A competency-based
education approach focuses on student outcomes that are based in practice behaviors; that is, what a student
must learn and be able to do. It stipulates 10 competencies common to all social work practice. Programs may
build on and apply these 10 competencies in an area of advanced practice, such as aging, which derives from their
mission, goals, and context. The question is: how do faculty at social work programs teach these competencies to
ensure that their students attain them? What teaching resources can measure competency attainment? This
presentation will suggest strategies to answer these important questions. An overview will be presented of the
work the Center has undertaken to develop gero-specific competencies and support faculty in designing and
infusing their own gero competencies throughout their curriculum. Next, we will describe the challenges and
achievements of an instructor’s process to integrate and teach the competencies in her social work program.
Ample time for questions and comments will be provided to engage the audience.