Chapter 3

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Social work education is a phenomenon of the twentieth century.
Social work’s prominence among the profession results from community demands for trained staff to administer a multibillion dollar human service system.

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The first agencies trained their own staffs in the “fundamental theory and practice of charity”.
Charity Organization Society of New York offered instruction to 30 students in a three month summer program in l898.
At the turn of the century, an Institute of
Social Science was established as part of an extension of the University of Chicago.

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Social work education provides excellent opportunities for students in undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs.
In response to mounting pressures for manpower in the human services, practice degree programs have been instituted at the bachelor’s degree level.

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In 2001 the Board of Directors of CSWE adopted an Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards
(EPAS) that defined the purposes of social work education as follows:
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The purposes of social work education are to prepare competent and effective professionals, to develop social work knowledge, and to provide leadership in the development of service delivery systems. Social work education is grounded in the profession’s history, purposes, and philosophy and is based on a body of knowledge, values, and skills.
Social work education enables students to integrate the knowledge, values, and skills of the social work profession for competent practice.

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The preparation of effective social work professionals is expected at both the baccalaureate and master’s level.
The baccalaureate programs prepare students for advanced social work practice while the master’s programs prepare students for advanced social work practice in a specific concentration.

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The concentration can be in a social work method, such as direct practice or community organization and planning, or in a field of practice such as mental health, family services, health and child welfare.
CSUB offers a Master’s level program with two concentrations:
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Child and Family Services
Health and Mental Health Services

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Values and Ethics
Diversity
Populations at Risk and Social and
Economic Justice
Human Behavior and the Social
Environment
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Social Welfare
Policy and Services
Social Work
Practice
Research
Field Education

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The number of MSW students graduating from 141 programs was 15,061, in 1999.
The master’s program prepares students for professional service and leadership.
Education is structured to provide opportunity for the application of skills and knowledge acquired in the classroom to actual social work situations through an integrated field-work experience.

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Students are also given opportunities to participate in school governance, to involve themselves in school policy and procedure formulation and implementation, and to engage in all dimensions of the learning process.
Social work education is an open system with different patterns of education encouraged.

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Understand and incorporate the basic values, concepts, and methods of social work.
Acquire and utilize understanding of human behavior and the social environment, of social policy and services, of institutional reconstruction, and of forces shaping public policy.
Achieve competence and basic skill through study and practice in one method, or in a combination of related methods by which services are provided.

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Understand the unique features of minority and disadvantaged peoples, the significance of their problems, and of their contributions to the resolution of issues in effecting social change.
Acquire mature and sensitive attitudes toward one’s self and others, which result in becoming accountable and a disciplined helping person.
Develop a commitment to the spirit of inquiry and to research methods through which inquiry can be pursued in advancing professional knowledge and practice.

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Establish an identification with the profession of social work and the need to integrate knowledge, feeling and responsible action in becoming a professional person.
Become oriented to the contribution of the professional social work association and develop a conviction that the student will carry responsibility for specifying the dimensions of its concerns and practices.
Gain the ability to work with and support other professional disciplines and volunteer and paraprofessional groups in the belief that many of the social and personal ill of our time can be overcome by intelligent and cooperative intervention.

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Qualifications for candidates to be admitted to the master’s program include:
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Evidence of superior ability, character, and personality
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university
Undergraduate background in the arts and sciences with some emphasis in the social sciences

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Study centers on social work theory and practice, research and statistics, social and behavioral science theory, social welfare policy and planning, and educational theories and methodologies.
To enrich the educational program, courses from other departments of the university are usually recommended.

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An essential part of social work education, designed to qualify practitioners to meet the demands of an ever-changing social service kaleidoscope.
Prepares workers to accept change.
Recognizes that degree producing programs can provide entry-level qualifications for practitioners.

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Continuing education makes it possible for workers to update their knowledge and skills, acquire new knowledge, advance on the job, and to prepare for new roles and responsibilities.
Helps one become a “wise man” as defined by Andre Gide Nobel Prize winner, l947: “The wise man is he who constantly wonders afresh.”

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The only official accrediting body in social work education.
Requires all schools on all levels to stress generalist practice and a generalist perspective.
The social worker needs to understand and be able to work with the interaction of multiple human systems.