Abstract
A previous qualitative study (Schwartz, Wiley, & Kaplan, 2016) described the faculty experiences and reflections of delivering Master of Social Work (MSW) education via a virtual platform at the University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work during its initial years of operation. Thematic analysis revealed a need for community building amongst geographically diverse faculty. Given social work’s emphasis on the person-in-environment perspective, it is imperative to consider the experiences of those individuals responsible for executing virtual technology-supported programs and delivering education via virtual platforms. The current paper describes innovative institutional and programmatic interventions implemented to promote community and collaboration among faculty who teach virtually. Creating strategic opportunities for virtual and ground-based faculty to connect informally and formally has the potential to foster a culture of inclusivity, connection, and a productive community of practice.
Highlights
A previous qualitative study (Schwartz, Wiley, & Kaplan, 2016) described the faculty experiences and reflections of delivering Master of Social Work (MSW) education via a virtual platform at the University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work during its initial years of operation
As of 2016, over 80% of accredited Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) programs around the United States offer some form of hybrid or online programming (Robbins, Coe Regan, Williams, Smyth, & Bogo, 2016)
Data were uploaded into NVivo 10 software for data management and thematic analysis
Summary
In an effort to examine faculty experiences and reflections on delivering MSW education via the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Virtual Academic Center (VAC) during its first four years of operation, an exploratory cross-sectional study was launched in 2014 (see Schwartz et al, 2016). The first theme focused on building a geographically diverse academic community, the second on community building among faculty, and the third on community building among faculty and students Interviews from this previous study suggested that virtual faculty felt dissatisfied with their opportunities to communicate with colleagues about work processes in a meaningful way. This is reflected in the following quote by a Caucasian, male 50-year old full-time Clinical Field Faculty member (non-tenure track): You don’t really have casual interactions with the other professors. The current paper focuses on how the school of social work has addressed the theme of community building gleaned from the Schwartz et al (2016) study and emerging research on the needs of geographically dispersed virtual instructors
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