Abstract
Social work graduate education is responsive to and reflective of larger environmental forces, including economic and job market trends, regulations by diverse organizations, and student interests. A national online survey of macro social work educators (n=208) and macro social work practitioners (n=383) explored their perceptions of the intersections between these forces and graduate social work education. Findings indicate that while there remains a consistent level of support for and inclusion of macro social work within MSW programs from both groups, macro practitioners identified a concurrent experience of negative perceptions, attitudes, and experiences toward macro social work education while in their graduate programs. We suggest that social work programs seek out opportunities to integrate macro practice content and field experiences into their curriculum, so that students can be better equipped to respond to the complex systemic challenges they will encounter while in professional practice.
Highlights
Social work graduate education is responsive to and reflective of larger environmental forces, including economic and job market trends, regulations by diverse organizations, and student interests
Using a subset of the data collected in the larger project, this study explored following research questions: 1. What are the perceptions of macro practitioners and faculty of macro social work education?
The findings of this study provide some insight into the state of the macro specialization in social work educational programs, faculty’s perceptions of student’s attitudes towards macro concentrations, and current practitioner’s perceptions of their own macro practice education
Summary
Social work graduate education is responsive to and reflective of larger environmental forces, including economic and job market trends, regulations by diverse organizations, and student interests. In 2013, the Special Commission to Advance Macro Practice was formed to give focused attention to strengthening and advancing macro practice concentrations/specializations and curricula throughout CSWE-accredited programs (Association for Community Organization and Social Administration [ACOSA] 2017) This exploratory study investigated the impact of internal and external factors on macro practice in social work graduate education as perceived by faculty and practitioners specializing in this area. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE, 2015a) Commission on Accreditation develops educational standards that define competent social work practice at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and administers an accreditation process to ensure compliance with those educational standards Another important influence on social work education includes state licensure standards and the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) which develops multiple social work licensing exams to reflect various social work degrees and specializations (i.e., BSW Generalist, MSW Generalist, MSW Clinical). These factors influence the profession in numerous, interrelated ways
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