E-Training and Professional Development of Social Workers at Public Schools in Muscat Governorate

The study aimed to explore the reality of e-training in developing the professional performance of social workers at public schools in Muscat Governorate as well as identifying the justifications, requirements and challenges of using e-training in the development of social workers’ professional performance. The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach. A comprehensive social survey was distributed among 162 male and female social workers and 7 male and female social counseling supervisors in the Directorate General of Education in Muscat. An electronic questionnaire was used with the social workers, and an interview was conducted with the social counseling supervisors. The study arrived at several findings, the most important of which about the justifications for social workers’ e-training were the large number of trainees accommodated by e-training and the help received from local and international experts and specialists in social services. Another finding was that the social workers possessed cognitive, value-based, skill-related, and technical requirements at a rate exceeding 70%. Among the most prominent challenges they faced were the difficulty of attending e-training courses during working hours, the heavy workload, and the poor quality of communication services. The study made some suggestions such as reducing the workload, establishing an electronic platform dedicated to e-training in social work and increasing both financial and moral incentives for trainees and trainers. The study proposed an electronic platform for the e-training of social workers in line with modern trends to promote the digital culture of the social work profession.