Presentation to 2008 JSWEC Conference. Informed by the work of Holden et al (1999, 2002) and Unrau and Grinnel (2005) research has been undertaken as part of the Evaluating the Outcomes of Social Work Education project funded by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the Higher Education Academy Social Policy and Social Work subject Centre (SWAP) to look at how undergraduates develop self efficacy in research skills. This 3 year project using undergraduate participants following a second year Using Research for Practice unit of study on a qualifying social work programme in England has explored the development of confidence in research skills. Data was collected from 3 consecutive cohorts of students, at the beginning (T1) and end (T2) of the unit of study and a comparison group was recruited from another university. The data was analysed using SPSS software. The project also provides a case study of research capacity building in academic staff with the project researchers being mentored by an experienced researcher experienced in this research methodology. This paper will explore the methodology and findings of the research project and will consider some implications and challenges for the teaching of research skills to qualifying students in order to develop research minded practitioners. References Holden G. Barker K. Meenaghan T. and Rosenberg G. 1999. Research self efficacy: a new possibility for educational outcome assessment. Journal of Social Work Education. Vol 35. Holden G,, Meenaghan T, Anastas J and Mtry G. 2002. Outcomes of social work education: the case for social work self efficacy. Journal of Social Work Education. Vol 38. Unrau Y.A. and Grinnell R.M. 2005. The impact of social work research courses on research self-efficacy for social work students. Social Work Education. Vol 24, no.6.

A collection of six case studies on 'Using Social Policy Research in Teaching' conducted in 2007. It is hoped that the six case studies will stimulate thinking and ideas for integrating research into teaching and learning activities. The case studies represent a snapshot of the tools and techniques employed by lecturers in social policy to illuminate their own and others' research within their teaching in ways that enhance students' learning experiences and equip them to become research minded and research active. They also show how engagement with what might be seen as 'dry' or 'difficult' policy can be highly enjoyable as well as rewarding.