scholarly journals Perceptions of Macro Social Work Education: An Exploratory Study of Educators and Practitioners

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 522-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Hill ◽  
Christina L. Erickson ◽  
Linda Plitt Donaldson ◽  
Sondra J. Fogel ◽  
Sarah M. Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Macro Practice ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
Macro Social Work ◽  
Work Education

Social work graduate education is responsive to and reflective of larger environmental forces, including economic and job market trends, regulations by diverse organizations, and student interests. A national online survey of macro social work educators (n=208) and macro social work practitioners (n=383) explored their perceptions of the intersections between these forces and graduate social work education. Findings indicate that while there remains a consistent level of support for and inclusion of macro social work within MSW programs from both groups, macro practitioners identified a concurrent experience of negative perceptions, attitudes, and experiences toward macro social work education while in their graduate programs. We suggest that social work programs seek out opportunities to integrate macro practice content and field experiences into their curriculum, so that students can be better equipped to respond to the complex systemic challenges they will encounter while in professional practice. 

Strengthening Competency in Policy Practice: An Experiential Model for Student Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-158
Author(s):  
Dawn Apgar ◽  
Mackaully Parada
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Helping Professionals ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Macro Practice ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Policy Engagement

Competence in micro and macro practice is required by the Council on Social Work Education because it is essential for skilled practice by helping professionals. Social work educators have historically struggled to identify learning opportunities for students in policy practice that are interesting and help reinforce its relevance to direct helping. It is imperative that new methods of policy engagement be implemented in social work curricula. This article describes an innovative model, based on an experiential statewide collaborative of all undergraduate social work education programs, to develop and assess student competency in policy practice. Evaluation results indicate that students found this model more effective in teaching about the importance of policy practice than traditional policy courses and in conveying the importance of policy to their work in the field.

Developing and Implementing an MS Access 2000 Database for Baccalaureate Program Assessment and Continuous Improvement

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-123
Author(s):  
Wanda K. Whittlesey-Jerome ◽  
Kenric D. Speed
Keyword(s):  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Data Entry ◽  
Program Assessment ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
Work Education

Strong program evaluation is a hallmark of quality social work education. All social work programs applying for candidacy, accreditation, or reaffirmation of accreditation are required to assess and evaluate their effectiveness according to the guidelines set forth by the Council on Social Work Education. The role of technology in program evaluation is growing in interest to social work educators, and new trends in strengthening program evaluation are emerging. In today's academic climate, the degree to which a program monitors its effectiveness will impact its ability to effectively educate future social work practitioners. In this article, the authors discuss the steps for developing and implementing an MS Access 2000 database for program assessment and continuous improvement in a baccalaureate social work program. Examples include data entry forms and copy-ready reports for reaffirmation generated from the database. Strengths and limitations of the database are explored, and issues of validity and reliability are discussed.

Using Professional Advisory Committees to Achieve Excellence in Social Work Education

2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
Tracy J. Dietz ◽  
Linda S. Moore ◽  
David Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Advisory Committee ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Advisory Committees ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Social Work Program ◽  
To Receive

Social work programs are mandated by the Council on Social Work Education to develop and maintain ongoing relationships with social work practitioners and others involved in social services and policy making. A Professional Advisory Committee is one way for programs to receive input from community professionals to strengthen the educational goal of preparing competent, effective professionals. To date, there is little literature in social work on program advisory committees. However, higher education and management literature, along with social work literature on task groups, can provide some direction for developing, maintaining, and effectively using a Professional Advisory Committee in social work program development.

scholarly journals Exploring How Practicing Social Workers Define Evidence-Based Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1237-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill M. Chonody ◽  
Barbra Teater
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Continuing Education ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Work Education

This research note presents findings from a study that sought to garner a better understanding of the way in which practicing social workers defined Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). As part of a larger quantitative study, 137 social work practitioners provided a definition for EBP through an online survey and indicated the extent to which they: consider themselves an evidence-based practitioner; believe practitioners should apply EBP in social work; and were prepared through their social work education to use EBP. Content analysis of the practitioners’ definitions of EBP revealed that the majority of respondents described EBP as an intervention or a product versus a process. Regardless of the definition that was provided, descriptive statistics revealed practitioners reported on average that they identified somewhat as an evidence-based practitioner, believed that practitioners should apply EBP in practice moderately to always, and felt only moderately prepared by their social work education for EBP. The findings suggest an opportunity in social work education may exist to further reinforce the process of EBP to delineate it from the evidence-based interventions that may also be taught, especially in clinical programs. Dissemination may also need to occur through mandated continuing education hours, much like ethics has been added as a requirement in some states.

scholarly journals Social Work Education in Ethiopia: Past, Present and Future

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wassie Kebede
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
History Of ◽  
Work Education ◽  
History Of Social Work

The study presents the history and current status of social work education in Ethiopia. Five heads of social work schools, eight social work educators and 35 social work professionals participated in the study. Data from participants were gathered through online survey. Qualitative tools were designed for each group and distributed by email. In addition, review of literature was made to generate data about history of social work in Ethiopia. Results of the study revealed that social work education was closed for 30 years [1974-2004]. In less than two decades since its re-birth in 2004, social work education is expanded to 13 universities. The study further revealed that social work education in Ethiopia experiences various challenges related to poor curricula contents, limited number of social work educators, and absence of coordination to regulate the quality of education and practice. The study suggests the need for immediate revision of curricula and creating harmonized and modularized curriculum. The study also suggests to establish a national social work council and professional association to regulate the quality of social work education and practice.

Critical Pedagogy in Online Social Work Education: Changing Conceptions of Time in the Neoliberal University

Somatechnics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Kristin Smith ◽  
Donna Jeffery ◽  
Kim Collins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
Work Education

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.

"Do not Worry Your Head": The Impossibility of Indigenising Social Work Education and Practice in Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwaku Osei-Hwedie ◽  
Doris Akyere Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
North American ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
The People ◽  
African Context ◽  
Drawing Board ◽  
Work Education

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.

The Feminist Perspective and Social Work Education

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Isabel Rose ◽  
Daria Hanssen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Feminist Perspective ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
History Of ◽  
Work Education ◽  
History Of Social Work

Although the feminist perspective has been significant throughout the history of social work, its presence in the contemporary profession seems less prominent. This qualitative pilot study explores the views of social work educators (N=56) on the role of the feminist perspective in social work education and their experience with student responses regarding the tenets of feminism as applied to social work education and practice. Although a majority of respondents expressed support for integrating feminism into the curriculum, some sought guidance on the presentation of the feminist perspective in social work education and practice. In addition, an analysis of social work scholarly periodicals for feminist topics and perspectives revealed an apparent fading of feminism in the literature.

The Future of Social Work Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-88
Author(s):  
Spencer James Zeiger
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Faculty ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
The Future ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Study Participants

Former social work educators, and social work educators standing on the threshold of The Next Chapter, have wisdom to share regarding the future of social work education. We must pay attention to their ideas; our profession is at stake. Topics covered in this chapter include doctoral preparation (with the growth of social work education programs in the United States and a large wave of social work educators retiring, attracting well-prepared new faculty has never been greater); online concerns (most study participants were reluctant to give online programs a ringing endorsement); and the need for increased content on aging (as baby boomers progress through their lifespan, and as life expectancy increases with medical advances, the number of older adults requiring social services will continue to rise).

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