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Volume 6, Number 1 Fall 2000 |
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Small Social Work Programs: Strengths and Challenges in Student Development and Delivery of Curriculum Small (2-3 full-time faculty) social work programs are the focus of this empirical research that was built upon earlier work presented at the 1996 Baccalaureate Program Directors conference. The current work uses statistical analysis to explore the strengths and challenges of small social work programs as perceived by program directors. Researchers demonstrate various configurations of program structure and size that contribute to the perception of strength and challenge particularly in relation to student development and delivery of curriculum. These findings offer implications for the design and evaluation of all social work programs and for evolving accreditation standards and curriculum policy. Within the context of social work education, the constituency of small (defined here 2-3 full-time faculty) BSW programs have achieved a presence in national conferences, continuity of actors, and a voice-sometimes strident-that demands to be heard. This constituency, however, sometimes sees itself as powerless, and indeed the leadership of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and even Bachelor's Program Director's association (BPD) has come primarily from larger programs over the years. Toward Identifying the Unique Characteristics of Social Work Practice in Rural Areas: From the Voices of Practitioners Although literature has identified cultural values, environmental factors, and specific problems unique to social work practice in rural and small communities, research efforts focused on identification of the differences between rural and urban practice have found little variation. This article presents a new dimension. The findings from a survey of rural practitioners provide a closer look at practice within the rural context. Findings confirm several characteristics found in the literature: direct and indirect practice with multiple client systems, and extensive interface with community based systems of self-help groups and natural helpers. The impact of two factors, the influence of rural cultural norms and values and lack of resources, appears to suggest avenues for further study in order to uncover the unique qualities of rural practice. Implications are drawn for social work education. First-Generation College Students in an Undergraduate Social Welfare Program: Issues, Interventions, and Implications First-generation students are the first in their family to attend college. Prior research has found them to be academically at-risk. This case study examined a group of first-generation college students enrolled in an undergraduate social welfare program (N=42). The results indicate that these first-generation students were more likely to be older, male, Hispanic, and to have parents who are noncitizens of the United States. However, this study did not find high rates of social isolation, or deficiencies in academic achievement or graduate school aspirations, as reported in the literature. Further research is needed to determine rates of first generation students in social work undergraduate programs nationwide, their risk for freshman-year attrition, and the need for interventions to retain this diverse segment of the social work student body. Advancing a Strengths Perspective in the Study of Vulnerable Populations: Seeing Resilient Victims in a Context of Adversity and Oppression This article reports on a study of graduate social work students' perceptions of vulnerable populations, including people of color, women, gay men and lesbians, people who are poor, single parent families, and stepfamilies. Over the course of a semester, students significantly expanded their respect for the unique characteristics of diverse populations. Despite an emphasis on a strengths perspective, however, the students continued to focus on the hardships experienced by nontraditional families without taking into account the discrimination they may suffer. Findings suggest that course content on the strengths of impoverished and nontraditional families remains inadequate. Assessing Generalist Problem-Solving Skills: An Outcome Measure
Cheryl Waites Social work education programs have been encouraged to develop assessment methods that address student outcomes. This exploratory study employs an outcome measure to compare students beginning and exiting a BSW program. A case vignette is used to evaluate their generalist problem-solving skills. The result suggests significant differences between the two groups and demonstrates that graduates of the program have enhanced their generalist competencies. This method of evaluation also enables programs to augment their understanding of student-learning outcomes and skill development. Personal Associations with Potential Clients: A Way of Understanding the Stigma Problems of People with a Mental Retardation Label Social work students often have little understanding of the stigma problems of the client populations with whom they will work. This seems to be the case particularly with clients having disabilities. A course project is described that introduces B.S.W. students to the stigma of people with a mental retardation label through a close personal association with a person with such a label. Through this association, students are helped to both expose their own stereotypes and to observe the daily manifestations of stigma intruding in the life of a labeled person. This association also offers students a potential friendship with a person having a disability. This project has been conceptualized from both the work of friendship projects and the participant-observation research role. It can be adapted to other client populations with similar stigma problems. Educating for Cultural Competence Via Collaborative Groups: A Tale of Two Programs The use of collaborative groups to teach cultural competence to social work students is illustrated through core courses in two undergraduate programs. Students work in small groups to raise an ethnic child from infancy to old age, applying traditional and alternative theories, bio-psycho-social developmental and ecological perspective (HBSE). Students, through use of structured exercises, assess their own ethnicity, diversity awareness, and identification of culturally influenced behavior (Practice II). The authors discuss recent research on collaborative groups, examine the utility of these groups in teaching cultural competence and address strategies to avoid common pitfalls associated with collaborative group learning. Macro- Learning Opportunities: What is Really Happening Out There in Field? The CSWE curriculum policy mandates BSW students be prepared for multilevel interventions. The literature suggests "macro" field opportunities get short shrift. This limits students' ability to use organizational and community strengths to empower clients and effect change. This article reports findings of one program's study of field learning opportunities with a focus on large systems. Research was conducted in an urban, public university's BSW program to assess the range of multilevel field experiences, as reported by students and field instructors. Respondents were asked to provide specific examples of student practice with large client systems. Findings of this study were useful in evaluating the degree to which students and field instructors perceived the field program as providing a generalist experience. Recommendations for enhancing the macro component of the field practicum were provided. Implementing Mastery Learning in the Social Work Classroom This article describes how the essential elements of the teaching method called mastery learning can be structured in the social work classroom. Mastery learning is a behavioral teaching method successfully used in social work education. Research studies on teaching rarely describe teaching methods in enough detail for instructors to discern how the teaching methods were implemented or how they may have been implemented differently. This can give social work educators a limited picture of what a teaching method could look like in their classrooms. The essential elements of mastery learning can be implemented in whole or part and can be structured in either simple or complex ways. Ways in which social work educators can implement mastery learning to better fit their classrooms are presented in this article . |
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