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Purpose of the Social Work
Program
The purpose of the Social Work Program at Campbell University is to prepare
generalist practitioners for entry-level practice with individuals, families,
groups, organizations, and communities. The program also seeks to provide
service to the community and to the denomination of which it is a part.
Educational objectives of the program are based on the belief that effective
generalist practice includes the ability to problem-solve, to conduct
interventions at macro and micro levels, to practice within a framework
of professional ethics and values, and to utilize research. This practice
is based on a body of knowledge and possession of specified skills, concern
for the needs of vulnerable and oppressed peoples, and involves work toward
the ends of social and economic justice.
Students in the program are prepared to assume multi-level roles and
to make use of basic techniques suitable for intervention with individuals,
families, groups, organizations, and communities. Students are expected
to develop a professional identity manifest in the professional use of
self, in the ability to draw on professional values and ethics in decision-making
throughout the helping process, and in their sensitivity to the needs
of people of diverse backgrounds who are institutionally oppressed, minorities
of color, differently abled, female, poor, or otherwise vulnerable. This
sensitivity should be evident in the ability to empathize appropriately
with the client, willingness to understand the client's culture, and in
the way in which practice is conducted.
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Program Goals
1. To
prepare students for entry-level generalist professional social work
practice with individuals, families, groups, and communities.
2.
To provide content about the social contexts of social work practice,
the changing nature of those contexts, the behavior of organizations,
and the dynamics of change.
3. To prepare graduates who are aware of their
responsibility to continue their professional growth and development
within the context of professional social work practice.
The generalist practitioner must have basic knowledge and skills to work
with a wide variety of different-sized systems including individuals,
families, groups, organizations, and communities.
The program teaches the problem-solving process of data collection,
assessment, evaluation, and termination.
Generalist practitioners are well grounded in the system’s perspective
as well as social work values. Generalist practitioners play many
roles ranging from enabler to community organizer.
Generalist practitioners must be prepared to work with a diversity of
people from different ethnic groups, cultures, economic statuses,
genders, ages, and religious and sexual orientations. An expected
objective of the program is that students demonstrate an understanding
and respect for diversity. The liberal arts curriculum of the
program, as well as the professional foundation curriculum, offers the
students the opportunity to examine diversity throughout their course of
study.
Students are expected through their curriculum to understand the social
context of social work practice as well as the behavior of organizations
and the dynamics of change.
The generalist practitioner must be well grounded in the values and
ethics of the profession. The program stresses the values of
respect for the dignity and uniqueness of the individual, the client’s
right to self-determination, and the right of clients to needed
resources to survive and function in the community. The program
strives to make social institutions more humane and responsive to human
need and to demonstrate respect for the acceptance of the unique
characteristics of diverse populations.
The program has an assessment plan and procedure to ensure that linkages
between the mission, goals, and objectives are maintained. The
outcomes, or results, provide the data for assessment. Multiple
assessments of the program ensure that the program maintains a high
degree of quality, responsiveness, and visibility.
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Objectives
Graduates of the program are expected to achieve the following (educational)
objectives:
1. To apply skills of critical thinking and inquiry.
2. To practice within the values and ethics of the social work profession
and with an understanding of and respect for the positive value of diversity.
3. To demonstrate the professional use of self.
4. To understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination
and apply the strategies and skills of change that advance social and
economic justice.
5. To understand the history of the social work profession and its current
structures and issues.
6. To apply the knowledge and skills of generalist social work to practice
with systems of all sizes.
7. To apply knowledge of bio-psycho-social variables that affect individual
development and behavior and use theoretical frameworks to understand
the interactions among individuals and between individuals and social
systems (individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities).
8. To analyze the impact of social policies on client systems, workers,
and agencies.
9. To evaluate research studies and apply findings to practice and, under
supervision, evaluate their own practice interventions and those of other
relevant systems.
10. To use communication skills differently with a variety of client
populations, colleagues, and members of the community.
11. To use supervision appropriate to generalist practice.
12. To function within a structure of organization and service delivery
systems and, under supervision, seek necessary organizational change.
The objectives for the program are organized in sequential learning
modules. The learning model includes: a survey of the professional history,
policy history and analysis, human behavior and social environment, practice
(methods), research, and two field practice experiences. The use of written
examinations, research papers, role play and simulation, professionals
in the community, campus events, the student Social Work Club, professional
conferences, visits to the North Carolina General Assembly (Legislature),
career-related events on-and-off campus, demonstrate the breadth of educational
experiences in the undergraduate social work program at Campbell University.
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Expectations of the Students
1. To uphold the values and ethics of the profession
2. To learn about and deal with cultural diversity
3. To learn about working toward social and economic justice
4. To abide by the University Honor Code of Conduct
5. To attend classes, participate and contribute to the learning in the
classroom, and turn in assignments when they are due
6. To pursue their education with openness to learning about new ideas,
diversity, and themselves in relationship to others
7. To inform the Department about barriers, academic and personal, that
may interfere with their ability to effectively practice social work
8. To pursue their social work education in an active manner taking primary
responsibility for their learning. This requires movement toward self-directed
learning in which faculty are viewed as guides, facilitators, and collaborators
in the learning process and students view themselves as responsible beginning
professionals
9. To participate in the ongoing development of the Social Work Program
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Social Work as a Profession
"Social work is the professional activity of helping individuals, groups,
or communities to enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning
and to create societal conditions favorable to their goals." (National
Association of Social Workers) Social workers provide many different kinds
of services to individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Social workers serve clients and the community in public welfare agencies,
hospitals, mental health centers, and many other settings. Social workers
with master's and doctoral degrees are administrators of programs, teachers
in colleges and universities, and independent practitioners. Career opportunities
in social work are expected to grow in the years ahead as our country
addresses the task of helping single-parent families, the homeless, displaced
homemakers, abused children, and many others who are disadvantaged or
oppressed.
The Campbell University student who embarks on a career in social work
can be proud of his or her choice and look forward to many and varied
opportunities for service to others in the years ahead.
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