Concepts and Precepts In Social Work Education

While a single elective course in human sexuality is a useful supplement to core social work courses in preparing students for the sex-related problems they will encounter, a more comprehensive sequence of learning experiences is necessary for those who wish to develop greater competence in this area.

This article describes such a sequence offered by the University of Hawaii School of Social Work which focuses on treating and preventing sex-related problems experienced by various populations, particularly the sexually oppressed These learning experiences include class and field activities, research projects, and guided experiences as sex educators at local agencies, as producers of a weekly radio program, and as leaders of small discussion groups for a basic sex education course.     

Curriculum Alternatives

Based on the author's conviction that professional social work practice requires assertive self-expression skills of a high order, this study undertook to examine the assertiveness of MSW students at a school of social work in the Western United States. Focusing on this dimension of assertiveness, the study compared males with females, members of minority ethnic groups with nonminority students, casework students with students concentrating in other methods, and beginning students with graduating students.