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Publications on the IASWG Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups

The Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups were developed by an expert panel of group work educators, practitioners, and researchers. The IASWG recognizes that social work practice with groups reflects a broad domain of professional practice. These Standards reflect the distinguishing features of group work and illuminate the unique perspective that social group workers bring to practice.

There have been a number of publications on the Standards. Among these are a series of empirical studies on the development and application of an inventory based on the Standards, and others that have used the inventory in teaching about the Standards. The following is a list of the publications.

  • Abels, P. (2013). History of the Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups: A partial view. Social Work With Groups, 36, 259-269. doi: 10.1080/01609513.2012.763009
  • Cohen, C. S., Macgowan, M. J., Garvin, C., & Muskat, B. (2013a). Introduction to the special issue on the IASWG Standards for Social Work with Groups. Social Work with Groups, 36, 106-110. doi: 10.1080/01609513.2012.762490
  • Cohen, C. S., Macgowan, M. J., Garvin, C., & Muskat, B. (Eds.). (2013b). IASWG Standards for Social Work with Groups: Research, teaching and practice [Special Issue of Social Work with Groups] (Vol. 36). New York: Routledge.
  • Cohen, C. S., & Olshever, A. (2013). IASWG Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups: Development, application, and evolution. Social Work With Groups, 36, 111-129. doi: 10.1080/01609513.2012.763107
  • Kirwan, G. (2013). The group values of educational encounters: Working with service users and students in a participatory classroom environment. Social Work with Groups: A Journal of Community and Clinical Practice, 36, 191-207.
  • Lee, C. D. (2018). Social Work With Groups’ Practice Ethics and Standards: Student Confidence and Competence. Research on Social Work Practice, 28, 475-481. doi: 10.1177/1049731516655456
  • Macgowan, M. J. (2012). A standards-based inventory of foundation competencies in social work with groups. Research on Social Work Practice, 22, 578-589. doi: 10.1177/1049731512443288
  • Macgowan, M. J. (2013). Development and application of a standards-based inventory of foundation competencies in social work with groups. Social Work with Groups, 36, 160-173. doi: 10.1080/01609513.2012.753836
  • Macgowan, M. J. (2015). An inventory of standards for the practice of social work with groups: An empirical test in Scotland. Groupwork, 24, 6-25. doi: 10.1921/13701240302
  • Macgowan, M. J., Dillon, F., & Spadola, C. (2018). Factor Structure of a Standards-Based Inventory of Competencies in Social Work with Groups. Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work. doi: 10.1080/23761407.2018.1464996
  • Macgowan, M. J., & Vakharia, S. P. (2012). Teaching standards-based group work competencies to social work students: An empirical examination. Research on Social Work Practice, 22, 380-388. doi: 10.1177/1049731512442249
  • Macgowan, M. J., & Wong, S. E. (2017). Improving Student Confidence in Using Group Work Standards: A Controlled Replication. Research on Social Work Practice, 27, 434-440. doi: 10.1177/1049731515587557
  • Roy, V., Pullen-Sansfaçon, A., Doucet, M., & Rochette, M. (2013). IASWG Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups: The case of Quebec practices. Social Work with Groups, 36, 145.
  • Shera, W., Muskat, B., Delay, D., Quinn, A., & Tufford, L. (2013). Using a group work practice standards inventory to assess the impact of a “Social Work Practice with Groups” course. Social Work with Groups, 36, 174-190. doi: 10.1080/01609513.2012.745110
  • Sweifach, J., & LaPorte, H. H. (2013). Assessing use of the Standards for social work practice with groups by school social    workers: A national study. Social work with groups, 36, 130-144.

Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups is available in English, French, and Spanish. For educators, teaching tools have been developed, which can be helpful. 

Please take a minute to download or read the Report of the Survey on AASWG Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups. There have been many publications on the Standards, including a special issue of Social Work with Groups dedicated to the Standards. Click here for the references to the empirical research and articles on the Standards.