The primary objective of undergraduate social work education is to prepare majors, upon graduation, to fulfill the responsibilities of beginning level social work positions. In meeting this objective, a quality field placement experience is an essential part of baccalaureate social work preparation. Field placement is designed to provide students an opportunity to learn within an agency setting, and to employ the knowledge, skills, and values acquired through their on-campus course work.
Undergraduate social work education is considered a professional educational program and field placement is a key component of this educational process.
Mission Statement of the Social Work Department
The Baccalaureate Social Work Program (BSW) at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater seeks to prepare social work students so as to ensure that they obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for beginning generalist social work practice as competent and effective professionals in urban and rural areas. The program has an emphasis on the strengths of client systems. Recognizing that people are an integral part of their environment, the program utilizes an ecological model of human behavior. Another emphasis of the program is on preparing social work professionals who are committed to services to the poor and oppressed, and who are committed to promoting social and economic justice for populations-at-risk. The social work program also has a commitment to developing social work knowledge and providing leadership in the development of social delivery systems.
Program Goals of the Department
Teaching Goals:
- Providing curricula and teaching practices at the forefront of the new and changing knowledge base of social work and related disciplines.
- Providing curricula that build on a liberal arts perspective to promote breadth of knowledge, critical thinking, and communication skills.
- Preparing social workers to evaluate the processes and effectiveness of practice.
- Preparing social workers to practice without discrimination, with respect, and with knowledge and skills related to clients' age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation
- Preparing social workers to alleviate poverty, oppression, and other forms of social injustice.
- Preparing social workers to recognize the global context of social work practice.
- Preparing social workers to formulate and influence social policies and social work services in diverse political contexts.
Research Goals:
- Developing knowledge
- Developing and applying instructional and practice-relevant technology.
Service Goals:
- Maintaining reciprocal relationships with social work practitioners, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Promoting continual professional development of students, faculty, and practitioners.
- Promoting interprofessional and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Specified Objectives of our Educational Program
Graduates of our baccalaureate social work program must be able to:
Apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional social work practice.
Practice within the values and ethics of the social work profession and with an understanding of and respect for the positive value of diversity.
Demonstrate the professional use of self.
Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and the strategies of change that advance social and economic justice.
Understand the history of the social work profession and its current structures and issues.
Apply the knowledge and skills of generalist social work to practice with systems of all sizes.
Apply knowledge of bio-psycho-social variables that affect individual development and behavior, and use theoretical frameworks to understand the interactions among individuals and social systems (i.e., families, groups, organizations, and communities).
Analyze the impact of social policies on client systems, workers, and agencies.
Evaluate research studies and apply findings to practice, and, under supervision, evaluate their own practice interventions and those of other relevant systems.
Use communication skills differentially with a variety of client populations, colleagues, and members of the community.
Use supervision appropriate to generalist practice.
Function within the structure of organizations and service delivery systems, and under supervision, seek necessary organizational change.
