Strategies for enhancing online teaching in social work education

ABSTRACT

In response to the growing importance of online education in social work education, this article describes the context of online teaching and learning in social work education. Online teaching and learning are further discussed in the context of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We emphasize the importance and need for trained faculty to teach in an online environment, particularly in HBCUs; offer an example of how the University of the District of Columbia, an HBCU, prepares its faculty to teach online; and conclude with specific strategies for online teaching and social work faculty. Finally, we provide recommendations for social work education.     

Utilization of the interprofessional education,practice, and research model in HBCU social work education

ABSTRACT

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are often overlooked as a resource to address the need for a diverse healthcare workforce even though they are an essential component of ensuring diversity. In order to meet the needs of the current patient population, HBCUs’ social work programs must move from silo education, practice, and research pedagogy to inter-professional education (IPE), practice (IPP), and research (IPR) modalities when developing partnerships that promote the elimination of health disparities. This article discusses the contributions of a HBCU’s School of Social Work to the growth of IPE, IPP, and IPR utilizing the Ujima principle of Nguzo Saba. The projects developed were an attempt to provide meaningful and relevant education to social work students while exposing them to a collaborative inter-professional education, practice, and research experience. The three social work projects included intra-university and social community collaborations and exposing students to experiential inter-professional education, practice, and experimental learning. This is an opportunity for social work students to become involved in the evolving best practices pedagogy for inter-professional education, practice, and research which social work must embrace in order to fulfill the National Association of Social Workers imperative of preparing students to work in collaborative health care teams. The expected outcomes of these inter-professional ventures reflect a HBCU’s commitment to increasing the competency in inter-professional modalities aimed at supporting, empowering, and preparing high caliber diverse graduates who will grow the future and lead the world as a diverse healthcare workforce.     

A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Social Work Learning Outcomes in Interprofessional Training with Medicine and Pharmacy Students

ABSTRACT

Social work has moved firmly into a need for partnership training models, as our newest Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards explicitly call for interprofessional education (IPE). Although IPE is not a new model, we have not been consistently involved in training partnerships. Three professional schools formed partnerships to provide IPE events for social work (n = 42), medicine (n = 108), and pharmacy (n = 49) students. Social work students showed positive change on a validated measure of attitudes and beliefs regarding interprofessional practice, and debriefing included rich discussions about challenges of communication and boundaries and perceptions of hierarchy and skills of other teammates in the context of case-based learning, guided by faculty from all three professions.     

Adopting a financial capability and asset-building curriculum at historically Black colleges and universities

ABSTRACT

Social workers currently engage in financial capability practice with low-income and financially vulnerable individuals and families in diverse practice settings, but typically lack professional preparation for this work. In response, several schools of social work have begun adopting financial capability curricula. Using an in-depth interview methodology, this study examines the adoption of a curriculum in financial capability and asset building (FCAB) from the perspectives of faculty and administrators (N = 19) at four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Findings show that key reasons for curriculum adoption are prior working relationships and trust, relevance of FCAB content to student and community needs, and alignment with program, institutional, and professional goals. Using the diffusion of innovation theory to understand curriculum adoption in HBCUs suggests that perhaps trust and relationship building are particularly important in the case of minority serving institutions.     

Social Work Education

The authors assess the current state of social work education and make suggestions for its improvement, which include distinguishing between specialized and professional knowledge courses, teaching interpersonal skills for working with organizations and communities, differentiating subventionary and instrumental interventions, reformulating course content on policy and administration, dealing with the problems of social work’s expanding curriculum, broadening the range of activities and methods taught in social work research courses, providing incentives for collective faculty participation in curriculum development, and acknowledging the persistent anti-intellectual undercurrent in social work.     

Assessment of Integration of Disability Content into Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

Three hundred members of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) responded to a survey regarding the inclusion of disability content in social work courses and supports needed to increase disability content. Although respondents generally agreed that disability content is important in social work education, its inclusion is inconsistent, with most frequent inclusion in courses on diversity and least frequent inclusion in courses on research. Respondents identified barriers to increasing disability content, including lack of resources for teaching, lack of relevant faculty expertise, and an overcrowded curriculum. Strategies and resources for infusing disability content into social work education are discussed.     

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.     

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.     

Social work and interprofessional education: integration,intersectionality, and institutional leadership

Over the last decade healthcare policies and practices in the US have placed significant emphasis on healthcare integration, mental health parity, and implementation of team-based practice models to improve quality, safety, and affordability of service. With these incentives in mind, schools of social work have joined with national and international health education organizations to reduce disciplinary silos and increase shared learning opportunities across professions and programs. The social work profession has long supported collaborative practice however, students are rarely paired with others in the classroom or intentionally taught about counterparts’ roles and expertise. Social work leaders are also responsible for addressing the intersectionality between collaborative competencies and sociocultural factors. The 2015 EPAS and 2016 Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice create multi-level opportunities for social work educators to provide Interprofessional Education (IPE) innovation and leadership across common curricula and educational settings. The authors examine historic challenges to integrating IPE in social work curricula, provide three examples of IPE/social work initiatives in higher education, describe the intersectionality of the EPAS and the IPEC competencies, and identify institutional benefits associated with the integration of IPE in schools of social work culture and curriculum.     

Multicultural Content in Social Work Graduate Programs

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the results of a national survey of Deans and Directors of graduate social work programs and of social work faculty responsible for teaching graduate-level multicultural courses. The findings indicate the use of a combined infusion and designated course model is the most prominent in addressing the CSWE diversity curriculum content requirement. Although there is substantive content on traditionally oppressed minority populations, there is an increasing number of groups and topics under the banner of diversity. There is heavy reliance on traditional teaching methods and little consistency in the educational resources used to teach the courses. The demographic composition and perceptions of social work faculty who teach multicultural courses are reported. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

A partnership forged: BSW students and service learning at a historically Black college and university (HBCU) serving urban communities

ABSTRACT

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have a long-standing history of engaging the African-American community. In most instances, these institutions are located in predominantly African-American communities. This article intends to offer a discussion of a pedagogical approach used at an HBCU, located in a large mid-Atlantic city. The purpose of this macro-assignment was an effort designed to prepare BSW students for macro-practice with communities through participation in service-learning projects that involved community engagement with urban communities. Outcomes reflect that students have a vested interest in working with underserved communities, which exemplifies the School of Social Work’s mission; said mission is to fully prepare urban social work leaders who are committed to the alleviation of human suffering, social justice, and the improvement of the quality of life for diverse urban populations.     

Spirituality and social work practice at historically Black colleges and universities

ABSTRACT

In 2011 the Council on Social Work Education Religion and Spirituality Work Group was organized “to promote social workers’ knowledge, values, and skills for ethical and effective practice that takes into account the diverse expressions of religion and spirituality among clients and their communities.” In this article we discuss how the mission, charters, and goals of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) addressed the domains of religion and spirituality from their inception. More specifically, the focus of this discussion is the epistemology of spirituality and religion at HBCUs from historical and contemporary perspectives. Content on the exploration of the related themes, religion and spirituality, as manifested in the curriculum, cultural milieu, and social environment of HBCUs will be described. Additionally, we document the role and influence of the African American community, church, and political insurgency. These forces, coupled with the inability or unwillingness of established social service agencies and other social institutions to address issues of inequality and marginalization of African Americans, influenced the essence of the content offered in HBCU schools of social work. Spirituality, advocacy for material aid, and critical race theory are themes that were prevalent in HBCUs curriculum. Finally we show that this “unique HBCU curriculum” was brought about primarily by environmental factors such as racism, segregation, and financial uncertainty, leading to what Du Bois referred to as a double-consciousness.     

The Numerate Social Worker

Abstract

In social work education, almost all efforts to teach quantitative analysis are relegated to statistics and research courses. This approach suggests that the only value of quantitative thinking is in formal research. Arguing to the contrary, this paper outlines some reasons why numeracy is essential to day-to-day social work practice. The mathematics preparation of social work students is reviewed and some attributes of the numerate practitioner are described. Some beginning steps are recommended to implement the proposed instructional strategy of integrating real-life quantitative modules in the curriculum.

Numerate: marked by the capacity for quantitative thought and expression (Webster's, 1985)     

Translating knowledge into practice: using simulation to enhance mental health competence through social work education

ABSTRACT

Simulation-based learning (SBL) is an innovative experiential teaching method where students and instructors interact with a simulated client to foster students’ holistic competence in practice. Considering the context of North America where social workers are the largest service provider in the field of mental health, it is critical for educators to enhance competencies in students during the social work program. Guided by competency- and simulation-based, adult learning frameworks, this paper illustrates the development and integration of a range of educational activities into a treatment-focused advanced mental health course in the social work curriculum. We conclude by discussing how SBL enhances students’ mental health competence and provide recommendations when developing SBL in the mental health curriculum in social work education.     

Lessons Learned From Using Adobe Connect in the Social Work Classroom

Adobe Connect is synchronous web conferencing software available to colleges and universities. This pilot study sought to understand student and faculty participation in use of this software as part of an already established hybrid master's level social work curriculum. This software was utilized in two courses: concentration year field practicum and advanced social work practice. Student feedback and satisfaction are presented. Lessons learned for using such software are explored.     

Licensure as a Dilemma for Social Work Education: Findings of a National Study

Abstract

This paper reports on the first national survey to study the perceptions of MSW social work faculty of the relationship between licensing examinations and social work education. A non-random sample of 242 faculty from 39 systematically selected accredited schools from all states with licensure responded. The questionnaire focused on the impact of the national licensure examination on teaching, curriculum, and students. Among the major findings was that students are perceived as regarding the licensure exam as important to the profession and significant to their future. Faculty, however, only take the examination into consideration in the advisement process. Generally, they are unfamiliar with the examination's content, and they disregard it in curriculum development and in teaching.     

Difficult Conversations in a School of Social Work: Exploring Student and Faculty Perceptions

Difficult conversations about isms, power, privilege, and oppression are an essential part of social work education, and they present unique challenges for students and faculty. The current study examined students’ and faculty’s perceptions of the safety of the classroom and the competence of the faculty in facilitating difficult conversations at a graduate school of social work in New York City. Student and faculty versions of a survey were distributed to both groups. Results indicated students rated the experience of having difficult conversations at the school significantly more negatively than the faculty did. The majority of respondents expressed the need for courses and training to be more fluent in having difficult conversations. Future directions are discussed based on the findings.     

Volunteer Work in the Introductory Course: A Special Curriculum Component

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of a school of social work in requiring volunteer work of students enrolled in the introductory undergraduate course. Consideration is given to the history of students' agency participation, program structure, and variety of placements. Observations by students, faculty and agency workers are included. Case examples of volunteer placements are described. Advantages and drawbacks of the program are assessed.     

Financial Capability and Asset Building in Social Work Education: Is It “The Big Piece Missing?”

ABSTRACT

Although social workers recently have renewed the profession’s historical focus on the financial well-being of vulnerable families, they receive little professional education to prepare them for this work. This study examines the implementation and outcomes of infusing a financial capability and asset building (FCAB) curriculum in a variety of social work courses in 11 minority-serving baccalaureate colleges and universities. Analysis of in-depth interviews with 24 faculty and administrators finds that respondents believe students gained understanding and appreciation for FCAB. Faculty also reported greater confidence in teaching FCAB concepts and skills. Pre- and posttest surveys with 261 students indicate changed attitudes, confidence in helping clients with basic financial management, knowledge about financial capability, and improvement in some personal financial behaviors.     

Faculty mentoring: Applying ecological theory to practice at historically Black colleges or universities

ABSTRACT

This article examines student mentoring at historically Black colleges or universities (HBCUs) through the lens of ecological theory. By examining the person’s human behavior on a micro level and the HBCU on a macro level, the researchers will examine faculty mentoring as a positive influence that assists students in advancing their educational pursuits. Specifically, this article examines how the faculty mentor assists students with navigating the various outer and inner forces that may impede more functional behaviors as they transition to graduate school. This information is important in helping to codify and promote the unique role that HBCU faculty and administrators play in the lives of their students from a student perspective. This article will help to demonstrate why the HBCU experience is not only valued, but necessary in higher education.