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Volume 5, Number 1 Fall 1999 |
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Fighting for Field: Seven Threats to an Important Component of Social Work Education Field education programs have historically been viewed as the single most important component of social work education at both the baccalaureate and graduate levels. However, a number of factors may affect the ability to execute quality field education programs. This article identifies and discusses seven significant threats to field education in social work programs, including the academization of schools of social work, loss of autonomy in the larger academic systems; the devaluation of field directors; growth of programs; gatekeeping; changes in the student population; and a lack of faculty commitment to field education. Two of six recommendations to address these problems are also challenged. The Impact of Expansion: Adding an MSW Program to an Existing BSW Program The recent trend of BSW social work departments' growth and development to include an MSW program has posed challenges for faculty, staff, students, and administrators. To explore the impact of adding an MSW program to an existing BSW program, a national study was conducted with 91 respondents from 17 social work schools with new or emerging MSW programs. Questionnaires with qualitative and quantitative components were distributed to a range of stakeholders. An organizational development framework incorporating themes of change in collegial relationships, increased workload, positive impacts of expansion, and issues of differential status between BSW and MSW programs is used. Illuminating the normalcy of transition and change, this work serves to alert social work departments, schools, and programs to the challenges encountered when implementing an MSW program in schools with an existing BSW program. Foundation Knowledge and Field Instruction: A Replication Study This study replicates and builds on an earlier study (Cavazos, 1996), which found that baccalaureate students' knowledge of the social work foundation did not deepen as a result of field education. Seventy field interns were tested during the first and last week of the block field internship. Two baccalaureate programs with significant differences related to the interns' ethnicity, duration of the internship, and the use of foundation-related field assignments were selected for comparison. Interns took the Area Concentration Achievement Test in Social Work (ACAT), which tests knowledge of the social work foundation. No pretest, posttest ACAT performance differences were found for either program, further challenging the assumption that social work knowledge deepens as a result of field education. Implications are discussed and recommendations are offered for continued research. Team Teaching in Social Work Education: Forging a New Allegiance within the Social Work Program A team teaching approach in the Introduction to Social Work/Social Welfare class has been implemented to facilitate the gatekeeping process by becoming familiar with students early in their social work academic careers, to familiarize students with the teaching styles of the full-time faculty, and to provide students an opportunity to learn through a variety of teaching methods. All full-time faculty share instructional responsibilities in the Introduction course. A considerable investment of time is required on the part of the faculty to ensure continuity and transition throughout the semester. Preliminary evaluative results indicate this approach is successful in meeting the stated goals. Spanish for Social Workers: Preparing Students for Multicultural Social Work Practice Cultural awareness is important in the field of social work. However, it is inadequate for problem-solving with non-English speaking clients. It is necessary to couple cultural sensitivity with useful language skills for effective social work practice. Unfortunately, social work educators have largely neglected the task of preparing students for practice with populations whose language they do not already speak. This task can be incorporated into social work education. The authors describe an innovative language instruction and cultural sensitivity program designed for BSW students. Incorporating elements of intensive language immersion with non-traditional content, screening, and attention to group dynamics, this approach enriches the social work curriculum and prepares students for practice with Spanish-speaking clients. Children's Literature and Popular Movies for Knowledge of Lifespan Development Using Bloom's taxonomy of knowledge as a framework, this paper argues that, in order for Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE) undergraduate students to develop a strong theory base, they must be educated and evaluated at the "application" level of learning. This paper describes an approach to teaching developmental theory at this level by using children's literature and popular movies. The approach is described and examples of the ways in which course material was integrated and applied to student selection of books and movies are provided. Discussion of student feedback to the course assignments is also explored. The Portfolio Approach for Generalist Social Work Practice: A Successful Tool for Students in Field Education This article introduces the use of a portfolio approach for integrating the generalist educational experience for baccalaureate students. To assess the benefit of this type of educational tool, students and field instructors completed an evaluation instrument. Responses from students and field instructors revealed that the portfolio was an excellent approach to enhance the integrative aspects of learning needed for students in a generalist social work field experience. Though the sample is limited to one social work undergraduate program, these findings further illustrated that the portfolio helped students demonstrate learning outcomes tied to the generalist social work approach and improved the quality and depth of the learning experience in the field setting. Roots of Activism: A Qualitative Study of BSW Students This paper presents the results of a qualitative study of socially/politically active BSW students and recent BSW graduates. The purpose of this study was to explore how undergraduate social work students came to assume their activist roles. The study included intensive interviews with 11 participants through the use of a semi-structured interview format. Although the routes to activism were varied, one finding that emerged from the interviews was that most of the participants had begun their "activist" orientations at relatively early ages; many beginning in middle school. Participants' definitions of the activities encompassed by "activism" and their motivations for continued activism are elucidated. A discussion is also presented regarding ways in which social work educators can increase social/political activism interest and skill levels in undergraduate students.
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