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Volume 1, Number 2 Spring 1996 |
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Minding the Media and Analyzing the Agenda: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to Social Work Undergraduates Although most students rely on the media as a primary source of information, many of them may lack the reasoning ability to make intelligent decisions about its form or content. When there is a decrease in the cognitive complexity of the reasoning process, there is a propensity toward stereotyping and prejudice as well as cynicism and despair. As social work educators, we must teach students critical thinking skills so that they become "mindful" of the nature of the media and how it sets the political agenda in this country. We must employ teaching strategies that help students to understand the media and use it effectively, both as consumers and producers of information and images. The mindful reasoning process will empower students to analyze a complex social problem, to construct a reasoned response, and to advocate effectively for humane social welfare policies. Taking the Mountain to Mohammed: Enhancing Rural Human Services Through Distance Education Social work education is the primary gatekeeper for the profession. However, it has been slow to pursue the delivery of its educational programs in off-campus locations and many rural human services providers who have not had the advantage of social work education often become locked into jobs with little opportunity to upgrade their competence and credentials. The result has been that clients, too, are locked into workers with less than the desired qualifications. Increasingly, distance education technologies have emerged that have proven successful in reaching off-campus students and providing high quality learning experiences. Also, the Council on Social Work Education's Commission on Accreditation has recently developed guidelines that should reduce the risk for schools venturing into distance education. Now is an opportune time for baccalaureate social work education programs (as well as master's programs) to seriously consider the role they might play in enhancing rural human services through distance education. This paper identifies some of the factors a program might consider when contemplating distance education. Influence of Administrative Structure on BSW Program Objectives This paper reports results of a study that explored relationships between administrative structures of BSW programs and both program efforts and achievement levels in relationship to six major issues confronting BSW programs. In particular, the research investigated Sheafor's hypothesis that there are significant differences among administrative structures in the level of effort required to maintain identity, visibility, autonomy, access to resources and linkages: but none in efforts related to governance. Two hundred and forty-three of the 354 BSW program directors surveyed returned usable questionnaires. The study found negligible relationships between administrative structures of BSW programs and levels of program efforts and achievement of program objectives. Implications of the study for BSW programs and suggestions for future research are discussed. Advising BSW Students About Choice of MSW Programs: Rankings of Graduate Schools of Social Work by BSW Directors The advising function is an important part of the faculty role. One aspect of advising is assisting students in the selection of a graduate program. Directors of undergraduate programs were surveyed to determine what they saw as the most outstanding graduate schools of social work. These findings are reported along with the respondents' judgments of the criteria by which MSW programs should be evaluated. Implications of the findings are discussed, especially with regard to what an undergraduate advisee or other inquirer should be told in response to the frequently raised questions, "What are the best schools of social work?" and "Where should I go to school for an MSW?" Client Death and the BSW Student: A Report From the Field Experience Undergraduate social work students are often placed in field placements such as nursing homes, hospitals, and mental health centers where they face the potential death of a client. This study surveyed 98 Fieldwork Coordinators at accredited BSW programs in the United States. The study found a large majority of the Coordinators (72 percent) reported that their students had experienced the death of a client; most Coordinators (53 percent) did not have a formal program in place to assist students when these incidents occurred; and that they had relied on Field Instructors and Seminar Instructors to intervene in these incidents. Coordinators also identified a sense of guilt and responsibility as the salient issues for students when they experience the death of a client. The paper concludes with suggestions as to how programs can be more proactive in helping students cope with these often traumatic incidents. The Color of the Wrapping Paper: Teaching Cultural Diversity in a Children's Services Course Children are one of society's populations most at risk for harm. It is essential that social workers be educated to work effectively with all children; this demands that they be taught to be culturally sensitive. An approach to incorporating content on cultural diversity intensively throughout a baccalaureate social work course on children's services is described. Course goals, organization, teaching methods and assignments are discussed. One assignment, based on the instructor's own research, requiring students to interview parents of races different than their own is outlined in detail. Student evaluations of the course reveal an increase in the ability to recognize strengths in children and families from various cultural backgrounds. Who's in Charge Here Anyway? Student Management Teams as an Empowerment Tool This article identifies Student Management Teams (SMT) as an effective tool to increase student responsibility for classroom learning and to provide instructors with ongoing feedback about the equality and effectiveness of instruction. The SMT is a group of two to six students from one course who have volunteered to work with the instructor for the improvement of the course through the semester by observing and evaluating the pedagogical methods, by large, and by meeting with the instructor on a regular basis throughout the semester. Results from 202 students in five social work classes indicate that SMTs are perceived as having positive effects on students' educational experiences. This article describes the rationale for the implementation of Student Management Teams, discusses the results of a study which examined perceptions of SMTs, and describes how to implement a Student Management Team.
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