ABSTRACT
Since its first introduction to UK social work training at the University of York in
1981 (see Downes and McCluskey 1985), the enquiry and action learning (EAL)
approach has become increasingly popular on social work courses; it is currently
being used in the Universities of York, Bristol, North London, Nottingham Trent,
Derby and Edinburgh. It is also commonly used within nurse training, more often
referred to here as problem-based learning (PBL). (See Creedy et al. 1992; McMillan
and Dwyer 1990.) The EAL approach is operationalised differently in different
places. Some courses (such as Bristol University) build the entire social work
programme around EAL. Other courses (such as the University of Edinburgh) use
the EAL framework as only a part of the professional training. Whichever model is
in use, there are, nevertheless, some common features in the EAL approach. Expressed
most simply, learning is based on ‘study units’ – scenarios and problems encountered
in practice – rather than on subject-based courses (Burgess and Jackson 1990: 3).
