At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Define Social Work
- Understand how historical developments within the field of Social Work impact the profession today
- Specify the values and principles of the profession
- Understand Social Systems: Communities and Families
- Describe the relationship of Social Work to public welfare
- Define social work methods of intervention and how they are applied to empowering specific client populations
- Develop an awareness of the various areas of professional Social Work practice: school, medical, child welfare, mental health, and counseling.
1. Defining the profession of Social Work:
a. History of SW - From late 19th century social service activism to contemporary practice, we will trace the development of the practice of Social Work over the last 150 years.
b. Social Work and the Ecological Perspective - We will look at how general systems theory and ecology have provided social workers with a framework to understand social systems and the complicated dynamics therein.
2. Values of Social Work - We will look at how a special focus on the helping most marginalized and oppressed populations of the world along with egalitarianism and Intersectionality inform the soul of Social Work.
a. Code of Ethics
b. Social Justice
c. Diversity
3. Define Generalist Social Work:
a. We will examine how the core Social Work functions of consultancy, resource management, and education as intersected by practice, policy, and research provide the generalist framework that all social workers will utilize regardless of speciality.
b. We will look at how Counseling, Casework, Group-work, Community Organizing, and political advocacy are utilized as methods of intervention to empower individuals, families, and communities served by social workers.
4. Develop an awareness of contemporary issues in Social Work fields of practice - This will include the topics of mental health, schools, poverty, the various 'isms, the healthcare system, the criminal justice system, homelessness, Labor, lifespan care throughout the community, and the intersection of many of these topics with each other amongst many other contemporary issues in the lives of individuals, families, and communities.