Smith College: School for Social Work


	School for Social Work > Academics > MSW Program > Progam Goals and Objectives

PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Program Goals
Students will learn and demonstrate knowledge and skills at a beginning Masters level as generically applicable to systems of all sizes:

The foundation provides knowledge of generic social work theory and skills applicable to systems of all sizes, including: core social work values and ethics; cultural and ethnic diversity; dynamics of social and economic injustice and their impact on populations at risk, particularly people of color, women, gays and lesbians, working class and poverty populations and those discriminated against due to age, religion or disability; a range of psychological and social theories, emphasizing the interrelatedness and reciprocal influences of the biological, psychological, social and cultural dimensions of human functioning; the historical development, impact and current functioning of American social welfare policies, institutions and services; practice methods with individuals, families, groups and communities; qualitative and quantitative research which generates and tests knowledge and which provides models for the evaluation of practice; and the application of knowledge from all these sources into practice in the field.

The foundation also includes development of a commitment to a vision of the social work profession as an instrument to promote social justice through empowerment of vulnerable populations, as well as an instrument to facilitate growth and problem-solving on the levels of individual, family, group, organizational and community levels.

Students will learn and demonstrate knowledge and skills with greater depth, breadth and specificity in the following areas consistent with the school’s concentration in clinical social work:

The concentration curriculum seeks to add breadth, depth and specificity to foundational knowledge in clinical social work contexts, including values and ethics, multicultural competence, anti-racism skills, attention to social justice, practice methods with populations at risk and application of evidence-based practice.

The concentration also includes knowledge of a range of contemporary formulations of psychodynamic and developmental theories, as well as: trauma theory; systems theory; feminist and culturally specific theories; family-centered, narrative theories; cognitive and life stage theories; conflict and critical theories; and the practice models which are based on them and the ability to assess their differential relevance to each clinical situation, based in part, on evidence of effectiveness.

Integration at the concentration level is emphasized via knowledge of links between practice and theory, between research and practice, and between social policy and practice.

Role of scientific inquiry in knowledge development, skills of advanced evaluation of practice, and conduct and dissemination of research are components of the concentration curriculum.

To support the development of knowledge through faculty and student scholarship:

The promotion of student scholarship and beginning contributions to professional knowledge are demonstrated through case summaries, community project reports, anti-racism project reports, theses and thesis dissemination.

Promotion of faculty scholarship is demonstrated through professional and academic presentations and publications, training and consultation, with support from the Clinical Research Institute and Center for Innovative Practice.

To work toward becoming an anti-racism institution:

The School supports students’ anti-racism efforts in student agency assessments, the anti-racism field assignment, links to critical thinking, self reflection in several courses and participation in community-wide training activities for anti-racism work. The School also supports faculty efforts in scholarship, practice and service with ongoing anti-racism training and pro-active hiring efforts.

The School is committed to being pro-active in policy development and hiring efforts as well as in providing anti-racism training for administration and staff.

We believe that Smith’s four program goals are consistent with the CSWE defined purposes of social work education and encompass their content. Through our Sequence-based administrative structure, the CSWE required content areas are each addressed. Five of the required content areas reflect the traditional sequences. Values and ethics, social and economic justice and populations at risk, and diversity are covered within each of the School’s Sequences. Knowledge building and anti-racism are also addressed within our sequence structure to meet our program-specific goals. However, both of these goals have implications beyond the curriculum.

Program Objectives

Objective 1: Students will learn and demonstrate achievement of the knowledge, skills and values of a social work foundation, including:

1.1	a range of relevant biopsychosocial and cultural theories to inform practice,

1.2	practice theories and intervention models relevant to individual, family, group and community practice,

1.3	relevant research approaches and methods, including practice evaluation,

1.4	the historical development of social work policies and the impact of social policies on clients’ lives,

1.5	through the first year field experience, practice with systems of varying sizes including community organization and an agency assessment,

1.6	ethics and values based on the NASW Code of Ethics,

1.7	variations in practice methods to advance social and economic justice,

1.8	variations in practice methods to be relevant to the needs of culturally diverse clients, as well as clients who differ on the basis of gender, religion, socioeconomic class, and disability,

1.9	skills of self-awareness, self-reflection and critical thinking at a fundamental level.

Objective 2: Students will learn and demonstrate achievement of the knowledge, skills and values of a concentration in clinical social work, including:

2.1	greater depth and specificity in biopsychosocial and cultural theories to inform clinical social work practice,

2.2	intervention models on the individual and multi-person systemic levels relevant to clinical social work settings,

2.3	ability to implement an independent research project and a thesis,

2.4	in-depth knowledge of the social policies informing a particular field of practice,

2.5	through the second year field experience, skills for specialized clinical social work practice and anti-racism practice,

2.6	greater depth in the application of the ethics and values of the profession,

2.7	variations in practice methods to address the needs of oppressed populations,

2.8	skills of self-awareness, self-reflection and critical thinking for clinical social work.

Objective 3: Support the development of knowledge through faculty and student scholarship:

3.1	Students will learn and demonstrate beginning contributions to professional knowledge development through case summaries, community project reports, theses and thesis dissemination.

3.2	Faculty knowledge development is demonstrated through professional and academic presentations and publications, training and consultation.

Objective 4: Work toward becoming an anti-racism institution:

4.1	Students will learn and demonstrate anti-racism efforts and skills in courses, field assignments and participation in SSW community-wide initiatives.These include student agency assessments, the anti-racism field assignment and links to critical thinking, self reflection course assignments, participation in community-wide training activities and community wide anti-racism activities.

4.2	Faculty efforts are documented in scholarship, practice and service.

4.3	Community-wide efforts include ongoing anti-racism training and review, policy development and hiring efforts.

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