Social Work Education: Doctoral

Author(s):  
James E. Lubben

Social work doctoral education in the U.S. commenced almost 100 years ago. Although initial growth was slow, the number of universities offering doctoral degrees in social work has rapidly grown over the last 25 years. During this time, the Group to Advance Doctoral Education (GADE) in social work has fostered excellence. There is considerable variation in program emphasis. Financial support for doctoral education in social work appears to be growing along with employment opportunities for graduates. Emerging trends and issues will pose major challenges for doctoral education in social work.

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram A. Cnaan ◽  
Toorjo Ghose

This article is intended to forecast major environmental changes that may impact social work doctoral education and assess what should be done in anticipation of these changes. We apply an open system and future studies perspective to guide our work. We present a set of predicted societal changes that will impact social work as a profession and doctoral education in particular. We then present and discuss major expected changes in higher education and further assess some of their potential impact on social work doctoral education. We conclude with a synthesis of how these pending changes may impact social work doctoral education and what can be done in anticipation of these changes.


10.18060/12 ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry R. Cournoyer ◽  
Margaret E. Adamek

Although doctoral programs in social work are not accredited by the Council on Social Work Education nor subject to the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS, 2001), DSW and Ph.D. programs are affected by the nature and quality of baccalaureate and masters’ socia lwork education. In this article, the authors discuss the implications of the 2001 EPAS as they relate to BSW and MSW graduates’ motivation and preparation for doctoral education.


10.18060/201 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice K. Johnson Butterfield

What does it mean to internationalize doctoral education by working abroad? What does it mean to internationalize doctoral education in one’s home country? This article offers a perspective based on the Social Work Education in Ethiopia Partnership, which established Ethiopia’s first-ever master’s degree in social work in 2004. To ensure sustainability of the MSW program, a doctoral program in Social Work and Social Development was launched in 2006. This article describes the development and research base of the doctoral program. Beginning in the first semester, teams of doctoral students join with poor communities in action research.Overall, these efforts lead to an emerging model of university-based development. Through engaged action research, faculty and students use human capital resources and the educational process to function as “development actors.” Some ideas for internationalizing doctoral education are offered. Deans and directors in the United States and Canada are challenged to expand doctoral education within a developing country and to prepare doctoral students to include international perspectives in their teaching and research.


Somatechnics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Kristin Smith ◽  
Donna Jeffery ◽  
Kim Collins

Neoliberal universities embrace the logic of acceleration where the quickening of daily life for both educators and students is driven by desires for efficient forms of productivity and measurable outcomes of work. From this perspective, time is governed by expanding capacities of the digital world that speed up the pace of work while blurring the boundaries between workplace, home, and leisure. In this article, we draw from findings from qualitative interviews conducted with Canadian social work educators who teach using online-based critical pedagogy as well as recent graduates who completed their social work education in online learning programs to explore the effects of acceleration within these digitalised spaces of higher education. We view these findings alongside French philosopher Henri Bergson's concepts of duration and intuition, forms of temporality that manage to resist fixed, mechanised standards of time. We argue that the digitalisation of time produced through online education technologies can be seen as a thinning of possibilities for deeper and more critically self-reflexive knowledge production and a reduction in opportunities to build on social justice-based practices.


Author(s):  
Lobelo David Mogorosi ◽  
Dumisani Gaylord Thabede

For relevance to societal reality and challenges, countries should structure their social work education to deal with specific conditions and cultures. From its global North (i.e. Western Europe and North America) origins, social work has contributed to the expansion of the discipline and profession to the developing world, including South Africa. During the three decades (from the mid-1980s until the present day) during which they have taught social work in South Africa, the authors have witnessed half-hearted efforts to really integrate indigenous knowledge into the curricula. In writings and professional gatherings, scant attention was paid to curricula transformation imperatives enriching practice. To its credit, the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) advocates for decolonisation and indigenisation of social work education. Discussing decolonisation and indigenisation in social work curricula, the paper critiques assumptions of global North ideas, cloaked as if universally applicable. An example is about some principles of social casework – a method of choice in South Africa – which mostly disregards cultural nuances of clientele with a communal collective world view that relies on joint decision-making. A culturally sensitive approach is adopted as theoretical framework for this paper. The paper concludes with recommendations that should help ensure that social work curricula strive towards being indigenous, contextualised and culturally appropriate.


Author(s):  
Kwaku Osei-Hwedie ◽  
Doris Akyere Boateng

As the discussions and debates rage on about the content and direction of social work in Africa, the challenges associated with weaning the profession off its Western and North American roots become apparent. The desire to indigenise or make the profession culturally relevant is well articulated in the literature. Some efforts have been undertaken toward achieving this desire. However, it is evident that despite the numerous discussions and publications, it appears that efforts at indigenising, localising, or making social work culturally relevant have not made much progress. While what must be achieved is somewhat clear; how to achieve it and by what process remain a conundrum. The article, therefore, revisits the issue of making social work culturally relevant in Africa and its associated challenges. Despite the indictment of current social work education and practice in Africa, it appears that many academics and professionals have accepted that what is Western is global, fashionable, and functional, if not perfect. Given this, perhaps, “we should not worry our heads” about changing it. Instead, social work educators and practitioners in Africa should go back to the drawing board to determine how current social work education and practice can be blended with a traditional African knowledge base, approaches and models to reflect and align with the critical principles and ideals within the African context. This is with the hope of making the profession more relevant to the needs of the people of Africa.


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