Social Work

2nd Year MSW

DESCRIPTION

The concentration 2nd-year field experience provides students the opportunity to build on the professional foundation of the first year and develop skill sets that target the community as the focus of practice.   The skill sets include critical thinking; community/organizational communications; community assessment and resource development; community/organizational development; leadership and management; and research, evaluation and technology.  These skill sets enable students to assess, develop, maintain, and evaluate community partnerships.  Specialized field placements that incorporate traditional as well as nontraditional sites are used for experiential practice.  These field sites support the building and strengthening of communities through involvement in community partnerships and the creation of new community resources.

Concentration year students are placed at one field site for the two required semesters of field education.  They must complete a minimum of 500 professionally supervised field placement hours.  During the two semesters, students are required to complete 18 hours (two and a half days) per week in placement. Students are also required to attend field seminar classes as part of the field education component.

PURPOSE, OBJECTIVES AND SKILL SETS

The primary purpose of concentration year field education is to enable the social work student to apply the knowledge, values, and skills of creating and maintaining community partnerships and to apply critical thinking skills in the integration of academic learning with field-based practice.  The second-year objectives are categorized within the six skill sets of the community partnerships concentration. The following objectives within each skill set are to be achieved during the two-semester field placement:

A. Critical Thinking (e.g., analytic skills, problem-solving, evaluation of practice)*

1. Applies critical thinking skills within the context of professional social work practice.
   
   
2. Understands the value base of the profession and its ethical standards and principles, and practices accordingly.
   
   
3. Practices without discrimination and with respect, knowledge, and skills related to clients’ age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
   
   
4. Uses supervision and consultation appropriate to social work practice within communities.
   

   *Critical thinking is infused within each of the other five skill sets.  However, it is identified as a separate skill set to reinforce its significance in the social work curriculum.  
        
   B.  Community/Organizational Communications (e.g., participatory skills, group facilitation, negotiation and mediation, training and consultation skills, record keeping, project monitoring

5. Uses communication skills differentially across client populations, colleagues, and communities.

6. Demonstrates communication/facilitation skills in building community partnership structures.

   C.  Community Assessment and Resource Development (e.g., goal setting, assets mapping, project identification/development, resource identification/development, grant writing, social entrepreneurship)

7. Conducts community assessments and engages in community resource development.

   D.  Community/Organizational Development (e.g., capacity building, partnership development, partnership structures, constituency building, grassroots development, community education, policy formulation)

8. Demonstrates skills for influencing necessary organizational and community change to address populations at risk and advance social and economic justice.

9. Demonstrates skills for influencing policy formulation and change in communities.

   E.  Leadership and Management (e.g., strategic planning, supervision, project management, human resource management, fiscal management, fund raising, marketing, public relations)

10. Applies knowledge and leadership skills in managing projects, and working with community groups and/or organizations.

    F.  Research, Evaluation and Technology (e.g., information technology skills, information management, scientific method, program planning and evaluation)

11. Applies advanced information technology skills to community-based practice.

12. Demonstrates skills in quantitative/qualitative research design, data analysis, and    knowledge dissemination.
    
    
    Link to skill sets chart