Bringing Social Action Back into the Social Work Curriculum

A Model for “Hands-On” Learning

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12780902
AutoresMarie J Raber (Catholic University of America, autor de correspondencia), Marie Raber, Janis Richter (Catholic University of America)
Año1999
Volumen19
Número1-2
Páginas77-91
Fecha de publicación1999-11-17
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Teaching in Social Work (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1540-7349 • E-ISSN: 0884-1233
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1300/j067v19n01_07
OpenAlexW2129629110
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas8

The typical undergraduate social work curriculum addresses social theory yet offers few opportunities to gain practical experience in community organizing, policy advocacy, and social problem-solving - the cornerstones of a social worker's professional identity. To redress this gap, The Catholic University of America has developed a course of supervised field experience for seniors majoring in social work. The course, which melds theory with a class project conceived, designed, and carried out by the students, reflects many commonly accepted principles for social action -determination of goals by the class as a whole respect for each student's abilities, resources, and limitations; effectiveness through self-evaluation and attention to group dynamics; step-by-step successes; a gradual increase in responsibility level; implementation of appropriate assessment and intervention procedures; and embedding of evaluation into project design. Thus, each project exemplifies the community action approach in the real world. Evaluations underscore the benefits for students, who describe feeling empowered, more self-confident, and newly aware of how their efforts enhance society

Action (physics · Class (philosophy · Curriculum · Engineering ethics · Identity (music · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Redress · Sociology · Computer Science · Engineering · Interprofessional Education and Collaboration · Psychology · Service-Learning and Community Engagement · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work