Guest Editorial—Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

This special issue in the Journal of Social Work Education is a forum for professional and scholarly discourse on military social work education initiatives developed to educate and train social work professionals and students for practice with military personnel, veterans, and their families across the micro–macro continuum. Special emphasis was given to educational and technological trends, innovations, and challenges related to educating the next generation of social workers to provide evidence-based services to a new generation of veterans that incorporate the CSWE’s (2010) advanced knowledge and practice behaviors in military social work and NASW’s (2012) practice standards. Additional focus was given to university–community and university–military partnerships, collaborations, and initiatives that involve community and military stakeholders. Quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and conceptual manuscripts from researchers, educators, and practitioners on military social work education and practice were solicited from the professional social work community. In this special issue we highlight select exemplars of the social work profession’s unique contributions to military social work education. The issue is divided into two sections: (1) discourse on the integration of military social work into professional social work education and (2) innovative military social work education and training programs for doctoral and master’s students, student veterans, and licensed social work professionals—many including program evaluation and other research components. Each section is described in following paragraphs, including a brief overview of representative manuscripts. Integration of Military Social Work Into Professional Social Work Education Four manuscripts highlight military social work as a field of practice requiring specialized knowledge and skills, teaching strategies based on the CSWE competencies and advanced practice behaviors in military social work, the inclusion of military and veteran culture in social work education curricula, and adapting social work field placements for training in military social work practice. Wooten presents a rationale for military social work as a specialized field of practice, the need for military social work education, and opportunities and challenges for professional social work education. She delineates foundation and advanced knowledge in military social work and concludes by proposing an integrated model of intellectual capital to guide strategic planning for professional military social work education in addition to professional infrastructure needed to develop intellectual capital in military social work. For social work educators unfamiliar with military and veteran culture, Daley provides examples of teaching strategies based on CSWE’s advanced practice behaviors in military social work for integration into social work courses, specifically focusing on their application to CSWE’s Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS; CSWE, 2008). He identifies foundation and advanced year military social work educational goals based on EPAS 2.1.1 to 2.1.10 and suggests that the infusion of military social work across the social work curriculum will assist students and faculty in becoming more sensitive to the issues faced by military service members, veterans, and their families. Continuing the application of CSWE’s EPAS to military social work education, Canfield and Weiss proposes the inclusion of military-related material into the foundation courses of undergraduate and graduate social work education because social workers providing services in civilian settings not focused on military-related difficulties may encounter military personnel, veterans, and families who seek services outside of the DoD and VA. Key issues, military examples, and resources are recommended for the integration of military culture into human behavior in the social environment, generalist practice, research methods, and social policy core curricula. With a focus on field education as the signature pedagogy of social work education, Selber, Chavkin, and Biggs advance a promising field instruction model in military social work with the growing student veteran population on American campuses. This innovative approach to field education expands placement opportunities beyond the VA for professional training in service delivery to current and past military cohorts.