Social Work Students’ Perception of Education Quality, Commitment, and Competence: Comparison of Indonesia and Taiwan

Abstract

Competency-based education is designed to produce quality graduates and competent practitioners in social work. However, comparative studies to identify how social work education adapts to demands in practice from employers in coordination with the development of the profession across nations are rare. This study examines the influence of education quality and profession commitment on undergraduate social work students’ perceptions of their professional competence in Indonesia and Taiwan. A sample of 872 senior-year students from private and public universities was surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The analysis found that in the two countries, both education quality and professional commitment were positively associated with students’ perceptions of competence. Additionally, students’ commitment was a relatively important predictor in Indonesia but not in Taiwan. Implications for educators and profession development are discussed for societies where social work relies on the state for licensing and funding of practice.

1. Introduction

The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) stipulates that the social work profession aims to enhance the wellbeing of individuals, groups, and communities impacted by social disadvantages through intervention practices, teaching, research, and policy making based on principles of human rights and social justice. Of critical importance is that social workers are professionally prepared to “engage people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing” (International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) 2014). The Council on Social Work Education (Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) 2008) of the United States and the IFSW (International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) n.d.) have specified the need for competency-based education as a foundation for supporting and evaluating educational outcomes. The goal is to produce quality graduates and competent practitioners.

How effective is education in preparing social work students to be capable practitioners? Implementation research has been designed to inform educational institutions about the effectiveness of their efforts to prepare competent graduates (Holden et al. 2017). Existing studies assess the impact of competency-based education within countries as opposed to across international communities (Hessenauer and Zastrow 2013), such as the Netherlands (Baartman and Ruijs 2011), Sweden (Tham and Lynch 2014), mainland China (Guo et al. 2014, 2016), and India (Stanley and Gnanapragasam 2020). Additionally, few studies have been conducted to identify how social work education and the development of the profession work in partnership to ensure readiness for practice.

This study examines the influence of education quality and professional commitment on social work students’ perceptions of their professional competence in Indonesia and Taiwan. In both countries, the curriculum content and teaching materials are mostly adopted from the United States, and a bachelor’s degree in social work is the requirement for the social work license exam. However, the status and state of development of the social work profession are very different. Indonesia is a developing country where social and economic development remains the focus of social work practice. The social work profession and education have evolved rapidly over the past decade. In contrast, Taiwan is a developed country, and the scope of social work practice leans toward clinical and protective services including case management. The licensure system, which is aligned with the curriculum, has been established in Taiwan for over two decades and remains static.

1.1. Competency-Based Education of Social Work

Competency-based education identifies the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to perform professional tasks, and builds educational programs that prepare students to carry these competencies into the workplace. Some major features of competence-based education include using student-centered learning strategies, allowing flexibility in learning to enable students to demonstrate competence, and emphasizing learning outcomes over process.

Principally, competence-based education in social work is developed based on performance outcomes in three domains: Cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The cognitive area covers learning the theoretical and procedural knowledge necessary for social work practice; the affective area is about learning and internalizing attitudes based on social work values, professional identity, and practice contexts; and the psychomotor area refers to the skills needed to perform social work tasks that are developed and strengthened through classrooms and fieldwork activities. Competence-based education, therefore, enables students graduating from social work programs to integrate the application of knowledge, skills, and core values to specific uses in specific practice contexts (Nelson-Newell and Nelson-Gardell 2014).

The most referred-to set of social work competencies is the one regulated by the CSWE of the United States. There are nine competencies identified in the latest version of Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) (Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) 2015), covering ethics, research, policy, and practice. Compared to the previous version made in 2008, the content is consistent, but the structure is simplified with more integration across the levels (individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities) of practice. The accreditation system enforces the educational standards that define competent preparation and certifies programs as demonstrating effectiveness in their educational program and availability of resources for teaching and scholarship (Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) 2015).

At a global level, the IFSW and the International Association of Social Work Education jointly updated a policy of Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training in 2019. There is a compulsory standard that binds every social work education program to produce competent graduates. They identified a core curriculum consisting of two components: Contexts of social work and social work practice. The first component is aimed at building a critical understanding of social-political-economic-culture and historical structures that influence the social work profession. The second component refers to a broad set of competencies needed to perform professional interventions (International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) n.d.). Growing attention has been given to the implementation of competence-based education as a crucial approach to strengthening social work education and practice in other parts of the world, such as the Asian region. Yet, some changes and adaptations are needed so that competence standards brought from the Western world are transformed for other cultural contexts (Guo et al. 2018; Han et al. 2016).

1.2. Students’ Perception of Professional Competency and the Influential Factors

A list of factors has been identified in the literature associated with students’ perceptions of professional competence. We adopt an ecological approach to summarize the factors in the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of the environment surrounding students. At the micro level, professional commitment matters. Commitment, calling, and passion are interchangeable terms in related studies, which refer to the meaningful sense felt by individuals toward their work. Professional commitment has been regarded as an individual characteristic that can affect someone’s sense of competence as it motivates them to pursue their professional goals (Dobrow and Tosti-Kharas 2011). A study in China confirmed that students with higher levels of calling towards the social work profession reported higher levels of professional competence (Guo et al. 2014). A recent study with students in China also found that students who wanted to pursue their education in advanced social work reported higher levels of competence than their counterparts (Guo et al. 2018). Other personal characteristics such as gender (Guo et al. 2018) and psychological attributes (Stanley and Gnanapragasam 2020) have been found to be significant predictors of competence.

At the mezzo level, education quality, which is dependent on faculty, instructors, and practicum partners, is regarded as a very important predictor. A study among 534 undergraduate students in the United States revealed that a positive learning environment is associated with professional identity as a social worker, self-autonomy, and independence (Hessenauer and Zastrow 2013). Perception about the educational environment has been confirmed as a significant predictor of competence. Satisfaction with the content of the curriculum is positively associated with greater competence (Guo et al. 2018). Similarly, a study by Guo et al. (2014) found that perceptions of higher competence were commonly reported by students from social work programs with greater career-oriented characteristics. A career-oriented environment is characterized by various attributes including an educational environment that delivers substance and tools of practice in line with students’ careers, emphasizes the importance of transferring skills for use in various practical contexts, and applies various teaching methods that encourage students to reflect and become fully involved. Noticeably, the practicum or internship is crucial in social work education linking education with career development (Tham and Lynch 2014; Flanagan and Wilson 2018; Fors 2016). Those who are satisfied with their placement tend to report greater confidence about what they will face in their job and confidence in their skills to perform adequately in future jobs.

At the macro level, the development of the social work profession reflects the status of professional education and practice, and the linkage between both in society. Among the few studies that have been conducted with first-hand data, the research team of Wang et al. (2015) compared the perceptions of professional competence between social work students in mainland China and the United States. Chinese students reported lower levels of professional competence than American students. The authors suggested that one reason for this difference is that developed countries, compared to less developed ones, allocated more resources and support for social work education so graduates might experience relatively effective educational processes. The authors of this study, who had education experience overseas, recommend further examination of this finding. The standardization of social work education in Western regions is more advanced than in less developed regions (Noble 2004). It is not merely due to resource availability but also the coherence among education, practice, and licensing systems. In Indonesia or Taiwan, the professional community of social work has yet to reach an agreement about what should be taught in school in order to prepare students for employment. Such a gap may lead to students’ confusion about the knowledge, skills, and competencies that will be expected when they enter the workforce, thereby buffering the effects of education quality and personal commitment to the profession.

1.3. Profession Development of Social Work in Indonesia and Taiwan

Indonesia and Taiwan share some similarities in the development of the social work profession according to the reviews of Fahrudin (2019) and Ku (2019). Social work practice was introduced by international aid agencies after World War II. The earlier focus was on social-economic development closely tied to literacy education, public health, and infrastructure development. To date, the dominant social welfare problems faced by and resources available to social workers vary in Indonesia and Taiwan primarily due to the different stages of social and economic development for each country. Indonesia’s GDP per capita in 2021 was approximately $4292 and the country is still categorized as a middle-level human development state by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) standards. Community development, poverty alleviation, child welfare, and natural disaster assistance are the most prominent social work foci in Indonesia. Many social policies and services are rapidly emerging, but people’s recognition of social work, government administration, funding systems, and workforce development is in flux (Fahrudin 2019). Meanwhile, Taiwan’s GDP per capita is estimated to reach around $35,510 in 2022 (International Monetary Fund 2022) and has been ranked among countries with very high human development levels (National Statistics, R.O.C./Taiwan 2022). Legislation guiding social welfare systems was established in Taiwan much earlier than in Indonesia (in the 1980s). The most discussed practice fields are child welfare, family services, care for older adults, and people with disability (Ku 2019; Lin 2010; Lin and Shen 2008).

On top of the differences, the social work profession in both countries is struggling to earn greater public recognition. The traditional culture in both countries regards caring and helping jobs as voluntary, charity, or family obligations so they are not properly paid (Fahrudin 2019; Nugroho and Santi 2014; Yu 2013). Therefore, social work remains less preferred compared to other social sciences and medical professions when young people select their college majors. To improve professional status, educational requirements and licensure are set in law, and many jobs are funded by the government. Furthermore, the social work education community assures competence-based education to meet global standards set by the IFSW and the CSWE to promote public recognition (Nugroho and Santi 2014; Fahrudin 2019; Chou et al. 2006; Chang and Mo 2007; Feng 2008; O’Leary et al. 2019; Fahrudin and Yusuf 2016).

One strategy for improving the public recognition of the profession in both countries is building the licensing system through close cooperation between social work educators and government agencies. In Indonesia, the exam for license certification for a generalist social worker started in 2012 and has been overseen by a semi-governmental body. A law on social work was introduced in 2019 to strengthen and extend the role of the profession in response to increasing societal needs and problems. Taiwan’s social work licensure started in 1997 and has been implemented by a government agency ever since. After more than two decades of effort, the recently built certification system of advanced expertise in areas such as medical services and gerontology is managed by a professional organization through a competitive contract funded by the government. Social workers in practice are encouraged to earn a license, particularly for employment in protective services, medical settings, and agencies funded by the government.

Before any independent department or program was launched, social work in both countries developed as a branch or concentration in sociology, education, or political science. As the demand for a professionally prepared workforce grew, the undergraduate degree became the primary level of social work education, including a licensure requirement in both countries. Despite the efforts to develop a knowledge system in line with local contexts, the curricula, theoretical foundations, and textbooks used for tertiary education in both countries are greatly shaped by education models, thoughts, and scholars from the West, especially the United States, where many of our social work educators obtained their education.

Indonesia

The undergraduate program of social work in Indonesia was first offered in the mid-1960s. Currently, there are 33 higher education institutions offering undergraduate programs. The majority of them are public institutions and are administered by the Ministry of National Education and Culture. Some universities are governed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and one is ruled by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The vast majority of lecturers do not have a doctoral degree and many lack a degree in social work as well as practice experience (Fahrudin 2019). By general regulation of higher education, a faculty member for an undergraduate program must hold a master’s degree or above. The Ministry of National Education (MONE) is working to require a doctoral degree as the standard for social work faculty at the undergraduate level. A limited number of qualified practitioners teach at the university due to both time constraints and program administrative rules.

Competency-based education in higher education has been promoted by the MONE starting in the 2000s. The policy aims to ensure that social work programs have graduates with the ability to respond to societal needs and labor force demands. In 2012, the MONE introduced a National Qualification Standard that requires institutions to set outcome-oriented learning for their graduates. The Indonesian Social Worker Association (IPSPI) introduced standards regarding core competencies for undergraduate social work programs that are assessed in a national competency exam. The core competencies set by IPSPI include the integration of knowledge, values, and skills to perform generalist social work tasks. As a response to the policy, in 2015, IPPSI regulated that 40% of the total 144 credit points required at the undergraduate level must be allocated for the core social work curriculum. The remaining credit units (60%) can be allocated for external and internal institutional requirements. The core social work curriculum covers 17 courses with a minimum of 2 field practicums (Nugroho and Santi 2014). Currently, the core social work curriculum with outcome learning set for undergraduate education has been applied widely among undergraduate social work programs in Indonesia. However, no systematic study has been conducted to assess the extent of its implementation and effectiveness.

Taiwan

The first social work program in higher education was established in the 1970s (Feng 2008). To date, there are 24 undergraduate programs, 23 master’s, and 5 doctoral programs (Taiwan Social Work Education Association (TSWEA) 2021). Over 90% of the 324 full-time faculty members have doctoral degrees, compared with 65% in the 1990s (Ku 2019), as a result of higher education policy. The Ministry of Education has been urging every program in higher education to fulfill this standard through routine accreditation (Yu 2013). Among a series of higher education reforms in the 1990s, there was a dramatic increase in social work programs particularly in occupation-oriented colleges and private universities. The content and quality of professional education have been a concern since the newly recruited faculty members may not have related teaching or practice experiences (Feng 2008; Yu 2013; Lin 2010). The curricula look universal across programs due to the legally mandated education requirements of the license exam. The list of courses evolved slowly over the years and is not necessarily in line with the practice demands. The primary reason is that a government agency regulates licensing, and the professional community has limited influence on the teaching content (Feng 2008; Ku 2019).

The present Act for Professional Social Workers amended in 2007 requires social workers to complete 15 courses, which cover the values, knowledge, and methods of social work. Foundational courses include the introduction to social work with respect to core values and population groups served, human development and social environment with respect to theories and perspectives, and the introduction of social welfare with respect to macro practice. Methods were taught in casework, group work, community work, and research including statistics. Little variation can be observed across Taiwan’s universities in terms of the practicum structure and the array of courses. Certain programs emphasize specific practice competencies by integrating a few more topic-specific courses along with adapting fieldwork and service learning to expand the practicum learning. Certain programs focus on medical settings or child welfare because they belong to medical or education schools, respectively. Few programs encompass issues of indigenous people that might be reflective of local demands and student identities. In recent years, gaps in education and practice caused by the license-bound curriculum have been criticized by the professional community (Ku 2019; Yu 2013; Lin 2010; Feng 2008).

Table 1. Comparison of Social Work Programs in Indonesia and Taiwan.

	Indonesia	Taiwan
Counts of programs	33 undergraduate programs, majority public	24 programs, 7 public and 17 private
Social work educators’ degree	Majority of lectures do not have terminal degrees of PhD or in social work	Most full-time faculty members have doctoral degrees
Requirements for social work license	Undergraduate degree of social work, that is 17 courses and minimum 2 time of field practice	Undergraduate degree of social work, or 15 courses at least 45 credits plus two times of practicum more than 400 h
Required courses of undergraduate program	[values] Introduction to Social Welfare; Social Work Values, Ethics and Human Rights;	[values] Introduction to Social Work; Introduction to Social Welfare, or Social Work Ethics;
	[knowledge] Psychology for Social Work; Sociology for Social Work; Social Policy and Planning; Social Work Practice Theories; Human Behavior and Social Environment;	[knowledge] Sociology; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Policy and Social Legislation; Social Welfare Administration; Human Behavior and Social Environment;
	[skills, micro practice] Generalist Social Work Methods; Social Work Method with individuals and families; Social Work Methods with Groups; Social Work Methods with Communities;	[skills, micro practice] Case Work; Group Work; Community Work;
	[skills, macro practice] Human Service Organization Management; Social Work Practice in Multi-culture Society; Social Work Supervision; Social Work Research Method.	[skills, macro practice] Program Planning and Evaluation; Social Work Management, or Non-Profit Organizations Management; Social Work Research or Social Research; Social Statistics.

provides a comparison of social work programs, faculty, licensing and curriculum requirements.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Research Framework

The research framework (Figure 1) was developed based on a literature review with a particular interest in factors impacting the effectiveness of social work education. We examined five hypotheses. The control variables, including gender and academic performance, are omitted in the hypotheses since they are included in each. Hy1: Professional commitment will affect perceived competence. Hy2: Education quality in preparation for a career will affect students’ perception of competence. Hy3: The profession development of each country will affect students’ perception of competence. Hy4: The profession development of each country will moderate the influence of professional commitment on students’ perception of competence. Hy5: The profession development of each country will moderate the influence of education quality on students’ perception competence.

2.2. Measurement

The dependent variable of competence was measured using Self-Efficacy Regarding Social Work Competencies (Holden et al. 2017). The scale consists of 41 items that measure an individual’s degree of confidence to practice 41 behaviors representing 10 social work competencies set by the CSWE in 2008, which coincides with the updated competencies in 2015. Respondents indicated their degree of confidence in their competence by choosing 1 of the 41 responses from 0 (cannot do) to 100 (highly certain can do). Examples of the items include “Use supervision and consultation”, “Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination”, and “Utilize conceptual framework to guide the processes of assessment, intervention and evaluation”. Cronbach Alpha is 0.9809.

The first predictor of professional commitment was measured using the Calling Toward Profession scale constructed by Dobrow and Tosti-Kharas (2011). Participants were asked to rate 12 items on a 5-point scale where 1 meant extremely disagree and 5 meant extremely agree. Item examples are “I am passionate about being a social worker”, “The first thing I often think about when I describe myself to others is that I will be a social worker”, and “Being in social work is a deeply moving and gratifying experience for me”. Cronbach Alpha is 0.9471.

The second predictor of education quality regards students’ evaluation of their learning environment. The scale used was developed by Guo et al. (2014) originally in China. Three aspects were measured: Career-oriented teaching methods, program orientation, and career guidance. The scale consists of 12 items rated on a five-point scale where 1 meant extremely disagree and 5 meant extremely agree. Item examples are “multiple teaching methods are integrated to strengthen the learning effects” and “frequent professional education activities are arranged for students to grasp relevant skills”. Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.9142.

The last predictor of profession development, which is also a moderator of the other predictors, is presented by country as a categorical variable with 1 = Indonesian and 0 = Taiwan. Both licensing systems rely on government examination offices and adopted an education curriculum primarily from the U.S. The divergences lie in the agreement on competence and curriculum and their alignment with practice. Indonesia has a rapidly emerging community of social work developing both education and practice. The certification system has run for a decade and the Law on Social Workers was just recently introduced. In contrast, the professional systems have been established in Taiwan for over two decades, thus the education curriculum is generally aligned with the license exam requirements. The gap between the licensing requirements and agency-based practice remains a debate.

Control variables in the following analysis include gender and academic performance. Gender was measured with a single-choice question with answers of male = 0 and female = 1. Academic performance was the self-reported GPA rating from 1 to 4.3. Data Collection and Sampling Quantitative data were collected by a pencil-paper survey of senior social work students regarding their perception of competence, education quality, and professional commitment. Personal information including gender, family income, academic performance, and age was collected without the risk of identifying individuals. The research ethics including the informed consent procedure were carefully considered and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at National Taiwan University.

All instruments for students were translated from English to Mandarin for Taiwan and Bahasa Indonesia for Indonesia by the first two authors. Pretests were conducted with a small number of students from each country. Minor revisions of both questionnaires were made to ensure the instruments were understandable for the participants. Three standardized measures were used.

2.3. Samples

The samples were undergraduate social work students in their final year or close to graduation who were enrolled in or had completed a field placement in 2019. In Indonesia, respondents were recruited from 31 universities/colleges. Stratified sampling was applied by region (western, mid, eastern), ministry’s governance, accreditation level, and type of university (public or private). In Indonesia, 12 universities were invited to participate and 10 joined the study. In total, 520 Indonesian students participated with a response rate of 75%. In Taiwan, 25 universities participated and 2388 students. Stratified sampling was adopted by location, area urbanization level, public or private school, and focused propensity on teaching or research. As a result, 458 students in 9 universities completed the questionnaire, with a response rate of 59%. After screening out missing data of all research variables, there were 516 valid responses from Indonesia and 352 from Taiwan, for a total of 868.

Additional analyses showed no significant differences between the retained respondents and the respondents excluded due to missing data. Of note, the exclusion was primarily because 72 Taiwanese students did not report their GPA. The characteristics of the research participants are listed in

Table 2. Characteristics of survey participants.

Country		Indonesia (n = 516)		Taiwan (n = 352)
Categorical Variable		n	%	n	%
University	Public	447	86.6	60	17.1
	Private	69	13.4	292	83.0
Gender	Female	356	69.0	267	75.9
	Male	160	31.0	85	24.2
Continuous variable		mean	SD	mean	SD
Age		21.31	1.01	22.91	4.66
GPA		3.56	0.28	2.72	0.59

. There were more participants from private universities than public ones in Taiwan but the opposite in Indonesia, which approximates the distribution of education providers. Females accounted for the majority of participants in both countries. The distribution patterns for age were similar in both countries with few experienced practitioners returning to school for a profession degree. We noticed that Indonesian participants reported higher GPAs than Taiwanese participants (t = 28.473, p < 0.001), and the systematic difference will be tackled by centering in multivariate analysis.

2.4. Analysis

STATA 16.1 (Stata, TX, USA) was used to conduct the statistical analysis.

Table 3. Comparison of research variables by country, mean (S.D.), and t-test results.

Country Variable	Indonesia (ID) (n = 516)	Taiwan (TW) (n = 352)	T
Competence	7.34 (1.25)	6.78 (1.18)	6.60 ***
Professional Commitment	4.97 (0.98)	4.26 (1.27)	9.34 ***
Education Quality	3.63 (0.47)	3.59 (0.57)	1.26

Note: The valid ns of the variables may not be equal because of missing data. *** p < 0.001.

presents comparisons of the sample in Indonesia and Taiwan regarding the main variables. It is noteworthy that Indonesian participants reported higher average scores than Taiwanese participants in all the variables, and as indicated by the results of the independent sample t tests, the differences in professional commitment and professional competence between the two countries are statistically significant (p < 0.001). Indonesian students on average had stronger competence and commitment to social work than Taiwanese students. Moreover, a higher mean commitment with a smaller standard deviation among Indonesian students may indicate a devoted characteristic. Therefore, the original scores of education quality and professional commitment were centered by country before they were entered into the multivariate analysis. Additionally centered is the control variable of GPA. In case multicollinearity was an issue in this study, correlations of the three variables plus control variables were examined. Modest correlations were identified between GPA and the perception of competence. All three research variables positively and moderately correlated with one another, with the coefficients ranging from 0.337 ** to 0.475 **. Overall, the variables are appropriate to be examined in regression models. The research hypotheses were examined using multivariate regression models. Categorical variables such as profession development and gender were treated as dummy variables with 1 as the default and 0 as the counterpart.

3. Results

A regression model was conducted to examine the research hypothesis. The results are listed in Figure 2. The theoretical hypotheses Hy1, Hy2, and Hy3 were supported by the data. That is, professional commitment, education quality, and profession development influence professional competence as perceived by a social work student irrespective of gender and GPA. The effects of professional commitment and education quality are positive. Indonesian students tend to have a better perception of their own professional competence, which should be understood along with the results of mediation effects. Profession development moderated the effect of professional commitment on competence (Hy4).

Figure 3 demonstrates how profession development works differently in Indonesia and Taiwan. The difference here refers to the systems that govern the profession including social work education, license requirements, and practice scope. The greater divergence among curricula implemented across universities and discrepancy from the practice actually improved Indonesian students’ strong identity toward the social work profession and appears to motivate them to pursue the ideal competencies expected by educators. However, the moderation of profession development on education quality (Hy5) was not supported. The difference in professional commitment between the two countries did not broaden or buffer the influence of education quality to a statistically significant level. To further examine predictors’ effects in the research framework, regression models were built, and the results are listed in

Table 4. Results of regression models on competence.

	Model 1 (ID & TW)	Model 2 (ID & TW)	Model 3.1 (ID Only)	Model 3.2 (TW Only)
Gender	−0.260 **	−0.248 **	−0.222 *	−0.338 *
GPA	0.238 **	0.236 **	0.429 *	0.186
Professional Commitment (X1)	0.288 ***	0.372 ***	0.466 ***	0.291 ***
Education Quality (X2)	0.589 ***	0.503 ***	0.410 ***	0.585 ***
Profession Development (X3)	0.534 ***	0.533 ***	-	-
X3 × X1	0.187 ***	-	-	-
X3 × X2	−0.199	-	-	-
Constant	6.989 ***	6.980 ***	7.496 **	7.047 ***
n	868	868	516	352
Adjusted R2	0.275	0.272	0.225	0.265

Note: The reference group for profession development is Taiwan; the reference group for gender is male. Professional commitment, education quality, and GPA were centered on respective county means. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.

.

Model 1 examines the research hypotheses and the regression coefficients that were presented earlier in Figure 2. Based on the results from Model 1 (Table 4), we calculated predicted values of competence scores using every student’s observed variable values. We then calculated the mean of predicted values by the professional commitment score separately for Indonesian and Taiwanese students. Since the scores of professional commitment were centered on the means, those with commitment scores equal to zero indicate that the person has an average level of social work commitment for his or her country. Figure 3 illustrates the moderating effects of profession development on social work commitment and competence. For example, the mean predicted competence score for an Indonesian student with an average commitment level is 7.33 (C.I. = 7.24–7.43), and an otherwise similar Taiwanese student would have a mean competence score of 6.80 (C.I. = 6.69–6.91). The ever-expanding gap between the two predicted lines in Figure 3 suggests that the slope of commitment for Indonesian students is steeper than that for Taiwanese students. Professional commitment is highly relevant for Indonesian students in their rating of social work competence.

4. Discussion

The findings reflect the literature in that (1) education quality is important to prepare graduates for job requirements, (2) professional commitment toward social work is linked to students’ competence, and (3) the profession development within a country has a significant effect on students’ competence and a moderating effect between professional commitment and the competence of students. Education plays a crucial role in preparing students for the values, knowledge, and skills required in practice, which is seen in both Indonesia and Taiwan. If a student feels satisfied with the alignment between learning in the social work program and job requirements in the profession, he or she is more confident about their competence for future work. Education will enhance competence even more if a student is strongly committed to the profession.

The findings provide encouragement for educators looking to implement a career-oriented curriculum that supports positive experiences in the classroom, through practicums, with supervisors, and with peers. Moreover, students care about communication and relationships with their program, which requires adequate staffing and available mentoring from faculty members. These elements of education quality should be a priority for investments. It is important to consider what factors might be at play that resulted in professional commitment being viewed more positively in Indonesia than in Taiwan as seen in Figure 3. At the early stage of the development of the profession, Indonesian students aspire to be social workers because many of them care about the pressing social problems facing their country and want to be the change makers. The recent implementation of licensing, accreditation standards for education programs, and new programs of social work all look hopeful. These opportunities motivate Indonesian students to study hard in school and stay firm about the profession. As a result, the self-perception of competence is high. However, the job market has not been promising in that governments do not require related education degrees for positions in offices, and non-profit organizations do not offer decent salaries. When the students surveyed complete the undergraduate program and seek employment, they may experience difficulty in balancing their professional identity and job availability, as well as transferring what they learned in school to practice on the job. A longitudinal study following students from the undergraduate program to their early career would be helpful to clarify the actual effect of competence on job performance, the influence of education on both, and the possible changing roles of commitment.

In contrast, the job market has been well established in Taiwan including employment agencies, license requirements (or not), degree preferences, pay and benefits, and even standardized practice manuals in certain protective services. Social work students can expect to develop their careers from school by course taking, practicum selection, volunteer experiences, and/or part-time jobs. Some students drop the program or pursue other majors in their undergraduate years. The number of distracted students is evident in public universities where students generally have adequate academic capacity and/or family support to transfer among majors. The relatively stable status of profession development flattens the moderating effect of education quality on students’ competence. It is more difficult for students to express a commitment to social work if they do not feel interested in the beginning. The learning experience may be positive, but it does not influence their commitment. Unfortunately, we did not include questions such as motivation to choose the social work major or intention to be a social worker in the survey and are not able to perform a further examination of this finding. Future research is needed to better understand the factors that diminish the impact of education quality.

In relation to the discussion and implementation of competence-based education in other countries, the findings highlight the importance of the context of social work. Development of the professional community, licensing system, education system, public recognition, career expectation, and job markets is not moving forward coherently as promoted in the model of CSWE and IFSW. Both Indonesia and Taiwan take a legislative approach to licensing social workers, and the government is the primary employer of social workers. The rapid development of social work may promise job availability and stimulate enrollment in education programs, but the link between education and practice is vague. The measurement of competence would have been more appropriate if it was based on local skills and practices instead of CSWE standards. However, there is little agreement about the competence–education–practice continuum, and little is written in professional groups’ statements, research literature, or legal statements in each country. This study is a preliminary attempt to explore the relationship between education quality, commitment, and competence of social work students in preparation to be practitioners. Qualitative research is necessary to clarify the common ground across societies and gaps among students, educators, government regulators, and potential employers.

5. Conclusions

Based on the findings, we urge the professional community in Indonesia, Taiwan, and other societies where social work development has not reached a consensus to discuss competence standards. The purpose is to enhance the integration among systems of education, practice, and licensure. This study finds that the readiness of a student to be a social worker in terms of values, knowledge, and skills largely depends on how well his or her educational experience aligns with the professional career. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the curriculum, course content, teaching materials, and assignments to adapt to what is needed in practice and expected by future colleagues and employers.

As reviewed in the literature, the focuses of education development are very much on external mechanisms such as requirements of licensing exams, the education degree of faculty members, number of practicum hours, and credits of courses. We argue that the internal agreement on the fitness between education and practice deserves more attention. A clear vision of competence would result and better guide educators and students through carefully examining what is needed in the field, what should be promoted in practice, and what ought to be taught in school. This would be a solid foundation for the social work profession in Taiwan or other societies where education quality greatly determines students’ learning outcomes, to transcend the limits of a state-regulated license system and retain autonomy on teaching content and materials. Moreover, it is critical for social workers in Indonesia, or other societies where commitment is a strong predictor of competence, to bridge the gaps between education and practice.