Group Work in Graduate Social Work Education: The Price of Neglect

Abstract

Although social work practice with groups is on the rise, social work education has neglected to prepare students for group work practice. The results of a 1991 survey show that graduate education has practically eliminated group work as a specialized area of study. Most schools offer group work only as an elective, and few students graduate with a course in this subject. Additionally, students in foundation courses learn little about group work theory and have limited or no group field work experience in which to develop practice skills. The authors discuss the consequences of this lack on student learning, faculty development, field education, and the social work curriculum. They make recommendations for schools and CSWE to revitalize group work in the curriculum.     

A National Survey of Australian Social Work Field Education Programs: Innovation with Limited Capacity

Social work field education programs globally are struggling to meet the demands of providing suitable placements for students and need to consider new and innovative placement models to both meet professional accreditation requirements and deliver high quality field education opportunities for social work students. This article reports on the qualitative responses of a national survey of Australian social work field education programs, which explored current challenges, innovative responses, and recommendations for the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) review, as well as hopes for the future of field education, and their capacity to undertake research into this area. Findings suggested that field education programs have been using incremental innovation in field education, including collaboration, partnerships, and new ways of responding to the changing student body. However, it is argued that radical structural change and additional resources will be needed for innovation to be more than merely incremental.

IMPLICATIONS

• Social work field education as a distinct pedagogy needs to be supported through evidence-based research in order to respond to current pressures.

• Collaboration in field education practice and research is valuable, but may be challenged by program competition.

• Structural innovation and accepting diversity in models could offer opportunities for social work education.

     

The Role of Social Work Education in Advancing Social Development in the English-speaking Caribbean

This article presents a discussion of the role of professional social work education in advancing social development in the countries of the English-speaking Caribbean. It addresses issues around the development of the profession in the region, student enrolment, curriculum expansion and programme delivery by the institutions which offer social work education. The events which contributed to the emergence of social work education in the region during the fourth decade of the twentieth century and social work education's continued contribution to regional development are discussed. The prospective use of the new Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development to advance the profession in the region in the twenty-first century is noted. The article concludes by highlighting the many challenges that currently impact social work education in the Caribbean and the fact that the development of social work education in the region is inextricably linked to the region's social development needs. Social work education as delivered through the University of the West Indies is used as the case in point for discussion.     

Service Learning in Baccalaureate Social Work Education: Results of a National Survey of Accredited Programs

Service learning is neither field education nor volunteerism. Rather, it is a pedagogical approach designed to reinforce classroom instruction with concurrent service activities occurring in the local community. This service is driven by community-identified needs. Service learning supports social work values, yet the profession has been slow to embrace it in social work education. This article reports results of a national survey examining the use of service learning among baccalaureate programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The majority of respondents report service learning is a required component of at least one course (generally an introductory or practice-based course) and has been incorporated into their programs for more than a decade. Results also suggest some programs may not implement service learning appropriately as it remains undifferentiated from volunteerism or field education.     

An Experiment in Curriculum Innovation in Graduate Social Work Education

This paper reports on the results of an experiment in student-centered learning. Students were randomly assigned to one of nine groups and one faculty member was assigned to each group for a six-week term. A case example served as a point of reference for selecting seminar content. Evaluation of the experience centered on the extent of student learning and the degree to which students and faculty met their objectives. The students showed evidence of learning but future efforts in this area should concentrate on the clear explication of objectives as well as the faculty facilitator's role.     

A Perspective on Critical Social Work

This paper articulates a perspective on critical social work that draws from poststructuralism and critical theory. Arguing that the critique of positivism, the unreliability of generalizations about humans, and the influence of new social movements have undermined the credibility of mainstream social work practice and theory, the author advocates the need for social work theory and practice that is predicated on social justice. The paper offers a critique of structuralist approaches to practice and then seeks to embed social work practice in epistemic responsibility and communicative responsibility.     

Continuing Social Work Education: Results of a Delphi Survey

This study addresses the need for social work professionals to remain current with the changing bases of knowledge and skills that impact on their daily experience. Continuing social work education is assumed to be one of the most effective means of avoiding professional obsolescence. The purposes of the study were to achieve a level of consensus relative to theories, methodologies, and content areas of continuing social work education and then to project a functional model of continuing social work education useful for intermediate and long-range program planning.     

Volunteerism and Social Work Educators: Findings from a National Survey

Abstract

This study reports the results of a national survey designed to identify the nature and levels of volunteer work that social work educators contribute to the social welfare sector. Findings reveal that nearly all social work educators engage in formal volunteer work and perform a variety of roles in human service agencies. The most common volunteer activities are advocacy, administration and consultation. The least common volunteer activities are evaluation, data management and emergency services. Study results also indicate that tenure status and primary teaching area are positively associated with the amount and type of volunteer work performed.     

Faculty Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Web-Based Instruction in Social Work Education: A National Study

SUMMARY

This paper presents the findings of a national study that examined the perceptions of faculty with Web-based teaching experience concerning the effectiveness of Web-based instruction as compared to face-to-face instruction in social work education. The findings suggest that faculty perceived face-to-face instruction to be more effective than Web-based instruction in all curriculum areas. However, the extent of perceived effectiveness of Web-based instruction varied by curriculum area. Also, online teaching in areas such as practice was viewed as least effective, suggesting that the traditional “no significant difference” conclusions between face-to-face and online teaching need to be examined more closely.     

Applied Learning: A Project for Graduate Social Work Students

This paper describes a pilot project to develop an effective applied learning experience for graduate social work students. An asset-based social justice model was used as a guide in the development of the project. Importance was placed on the host community determining its own needs and the contributions the students would provide. A partnership with community stakeholders was developed. The stakeholders decided the needs to be addressed and the faculty prepared the students to meet those needs. Successes and limitations of the pilot project are reviewed.     

Cross-Currents in Practice,Undergraduate, and Graduate Education in Social Work

Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale was administered to master's level social work students at the beginning, midpoint, and end of their two-year educational program to determine the impact of social work education on the vital personality ingredient, open-mindedness. Scores were also used to compare levels of performance in the practicum at the conclusion of training. Students were found to be significantly more open-minded at the conclusion of training, indicating greater student permeability than indicated by previous studies. The mean performance level of open-minded students was not significantly different from that of the closed-minded group.     

The Role of the Graduate School of Social Work in Criminal Justice Higher Education

This article deals with the extent to which graduate schools of social work are providing education in the field of criminal justice. It raises the question of whether the two-year professional social work model can be adopted for graduate education in criminal justice. A detailed survey taken in 1972 revealed that graduate schools of social work provided insignificant course offerings in the broad field of criminal justice.

The article concludes by showing that graduate schools of social work are appropriate vehicles for criminal justice type offerings, while at the same time indicating that those concerned with criminal justice have the opportunity to experiment with the social work model.     

The Place and Relevancy of Practice with Couples in Graduate Social Work Education

Social workers often provide services and therapy for couples; however, little literature has been published that suggests models for teaching—from a social work perspective—marriage counseling or social work with couples. This article reports the results of a survey that examined how faculty in graduate schools of social work are teaching practice content in marriage counseling and their perceptions of its relevancy to social work practice. Findings indicated that some content on social work practice with couples is evident in most master of social work programs. Moreover, faculty perceived social work practice with couples as moderately relevant to all practice settings listed in the survey.     

Changing Gears: Shifting to an Environmental Perspective in Social Work Education

This paper seeks to add to the growing literature on environmental social work education which suggests the need for a fundamental rethinking of the humanistic values and theories informing social work to embrace concerns relating to environmental degradation and climate change. For the most part, social work's interest in the environment to date relates to human needs. Of most concern here is the over-representation of people in poverty and subsistence among those impacted by deforestation and climate injustice. However, even here the emphasis is on the human experience of environmental and climate change when this is an outcome of human actions and structural inequalities. The paper begins with an overview of the theoretical terrain of environmental thought before examining issues in relation to perspective transformation and the implications for under- and post-graduate curriculum development.     

MSW Students' Perspectives on Social Work Goals and Social Activism Before and After Completing Graduate Education

This article analyzes perspectives on the goals of the social work profession and social activism of a cohort of MSW students before and after attending their graduate program. This study provides insights into the question about whether and how preexisting values, experiences, and background characteristics affect beginning and ending students' views of the goals of social work and also whether they anticipate being socially active in the future, utilizing a range of strategies to effect change. It found that students from all methods began with a dual (micro and macro) view of social work goals and much activism and then left the MSW program with the same confirmed person-in-environment perspective and a commitment to all types of social activism in even greater numbers.     

A Study of Work Participation by Graduate Female Social Workers: Some Implications for Professional Social Work Training

Work participation of graduate women social workers, 40 to 60 years old was studied. The average extent of work for the total group was 61 percent of the time since graduation. Extent of work was related to marital status and to the sequence of marriage and social work training. Teenage committment to work had no effect on the extent of work later in life. Higher work rates were associated with more advanced age, fewer children, and more work experience in the pregraduate period Remedial activities at the community, school, agency, and student levels that begin at the time of professional education and could help increase the extent of work activity are discussed in this paper.