Toward a standards-based classification of group work offerings Robert K. Conyne

Abstract

The authors, members of the Association for Specialists in Group Work professional training standards committee that drafted the present training standards, respond to the Waldo and Bauman article. They underscore the increasing value of the standards in shaping group work training, practice, and research, pointing out that the standards were not intended to classify independent group offerings. For such classification, while recognizing the contribution of Waldo and Bauman, they suggest an alternative standards-based approach. This classification approach uses a methods-by-purpose framework. In addition, the authors draw from this framework to make suggestions to further define and clarify the four group work specializations.