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1st Year MSW

DESCRIPTION

The foundation 1st-year field experience provides students the opportunity to practice generalist social work.  It also prepares students for the community partnership concentration.  As a generalist, first year students are expected to work with different client systems, i.e., individuals, groups, families, organizations and communities and apply a range of skills and interventions.  The foundation field placement emphasizes engagement in direct practice roles with less focus on intervention in communities.  Field experiences focus on individuals, groups and families with limited tasks focused on organizations and communities.  Due to the community partnerships specialization of the second year, work with organizations and communities dominates the second year field placement.

Foundation year students are placed in one field setting for the two required semesters of field education.  They must complete a minimum of 400 professionally supervised field placement hours.  Students are expected to complete 16 hours/week during the two semesters. 

After completing a field orientation at the beginning of Fall semester, students enter field placement approximately three weeks into the semester.  The delayed field entry allows time for weekly orientation and field seminar meetings prior to the student’s first day at the field site.  This provides a structured time frame to review the goals, objectives, and learning outcomes of the foundation field education; to discuss field site, school, and student expectations; to review field education policies and procedures; and to clarify roles and responsibilities of the student, field supervisor, and faculty liaison.


PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The primary purpose of foundation year field education is to enable the social work student to apply the generalist social work practice skills in a field setting and apply critical thinking skills in the integration of academic learning with field-based practice. The learning outcomes define practice in general terms applicable to a range of practice settings. 

The fourteen learning outcomes for the 1st year foundation field experience are:

  1. Demonstrate critical thinking skills in the application of social work knowledge, values, and skills. 
  2. Demonstrate application of social work knowledge, values, and skills with individuals (micro practice).
  3. Demonstrate application of social work knowledge, values, and skills with families and groups (mezzo practice).
  4. Demonstrate application of social work knowledge, values, and skills with organizations and communities (macro practice).
  5. Demonstrate an understanding of the community in which the field site functions (i.e., demographics, strengths and resources, special issues, etc.).
  6. Demonstrate understanding of the field site – its history, mission, goals, structure, policies, client systems, service delivery, and role in the community.
  7. Demonstrate professional behavior that reflects the application of the values and ethics of the social work profession.
  8. Demonstrate the application of knowledge on diversity and human behavior and the social environment in understanding individual development and behavior across the life span and the multilevel interactions among individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  9. Demonstrate application of advocacy and social change strategies that advance social and economic justice by addressing the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination as they impact client systems and service delivery.
  10. Demonstrate application of social policy knowledge and skills in order to client systems and service delivery.
  11. Identify relevant research studies and demonstrate the application of findings to practice.
  12. Demonstrate application of oral and written communication skills differentially with client populations, colleagues, and communities.
  13. Demonstrate responsibility for professional growth and appropriate use of supervision.
  14. Formulate personal learning outcomes related to one’s interests/needs that can
    be addressed within the context of the field placement.