BSW
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Social work is the helping profession sanctioned by society to ensure the maximum independent social functioning of all people. This purpose of social work practice is achieved in two approaches: first, social workers work toward changing social institutions, organizations, and communities to better meet the needs of people; second, social workers work toward helping people to cope better with life and utilize resources in the social environment. Emphasis on the ethics and values of social work occurs throughout the social work curriculum. Students in the introductory social work course are introduced to the Code of Ethics of NASW, and adherence to and belief in that Code of Ethics is reinforced in all other social work courses.
HISTORY OF BSW PROGRAM AT JSU
Approval for a BSW Degree at JSU was applied to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in 1986. This original request was denied by ACHE. Dean J.E. Wade, Dr. James Reeves, Dr. Bill Carr, and Dr. Harold McGee put time into getting approval from ACHE. The major was finally approved in November, 1987. The first class to graduate with the BSW Degree consisted of fifteen students. They graduated in April, 1988. Initial Accreditation from the national Council on Social Work Education was granted to the program in 1992. This was effective for four years. Retroactive Accreditation status by CSWE status granted to be effective as of April, 1988. Dr. Becky Turner became the initial BSW Program Director in 1988. She also became the Department Head for Sociology and Social Work in 1990. Ms. Gail Childs became the departmental secretary in 1991.
Mr. James Powe was hired in 1995 to be an agency based Field Supervisor at the Alabama Department of Human Resources in Calhoun County. DHR began providing stipends to BSW students who did their Field Instruction at that agency. Reaffirmation of Accreditation from CSWE was granted in 1996 and 2004 to be effective until 2012. Dr. Mark Fagan became the BSW Program Director in 1998. He became the Acting Department Head for Sociology and Social Work in 1999 and Department Head in 2002.
Ms. Kim Womack was hired in 1997 as a BSW Program faculty member. Ms. Dee Barclift and Ms. Robyn Snider joined the BSW Program faculty in 1998. Ms. Charlene Stephens became the program secretary in 1999. Dr. Maureen Newton was added to the BSW Program faculty in 1999. Mr. Jonathan Adams was hired in 2001 as an Agency-Based Field Instructor for DHR in Etowah County. Dr. Nancy Francisco Stewart became a BSW Program faculty member in 2003. Dr. Ann Callahan joined the BSW Program faculty in 2004. Ms. Julie Nix was hired in 2005 as an Instructor and Agency-Based Field Instructor in Etowah County. Ms. Donna Smith retired in 2005 and Ms. Robyn Snider was appointed at University Field Coordinator at that time. Mr. Jonathan Adams assumed the teaching duties vacated by Ms. Snider.
The BSW Program currently has 220 majors, 60 Field Agencies, a Social Work Club, and a chapter of Phi Alpha, the Social Work honor society. The program has the largest number of students for any BSW Program in Alabama. There are 26 student stipends available each year to students doing their Field Instruction. These stipends pay $2,000 per semester.
PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The BSW degree provides the knowledge of human behavior and social environment, the social work value base, and the problem solving skills necessary for helping communities, organizations, groups, families and individuals. The BSW degree provides the opportunity for experience in applying classroom learning to supervised generalist practice in a social service agency. The BSW degree prepares the student for entry into graduate programs which train highly skilled and specialized professional social workers that are conferred the Master of Social Work degree.
The primary objective of the BSW Program is the preparation of students for beginning generalist social work practice upon completion of the BSW curriculum. The aim is to prepare graduates for generalist practice in a variety of practice settings, with a variety of client systems and diverse populations, assuming a number of roles, and using appropriate interventions. A problem-solving model of social work practice is emphasized, preparing students to develop assessment skills concerning transactions between individuals, or any client systems, and their environment.
The preparation for generalist social work practice enables graduates of the program to be prepared for work in any geographic area. Some of the employers who seek graduates with BSW degrees are homes for aging, hospitals, community planning agencies, juvenile agencies, prisons, public and private child welfare agencies, state and federal planning agencies, private industry, health care organizations, and school systems.
In preparing the social work graduate for entry-level generalist practice, the BSW Program is preparing students for useful careers. The BSW Program emphasizes the need for continuous education throughout life and encourages students to participate, along with social work faculty and practitioners, in continuing education opportunities. This is accomplished in a number of ways including providing those opportunities at the university; attending and participating in local, state, and regional meetings, conferences, and workshops; attending and participating in national meetings, workshops, and conferences; and encouraging student involvement in volunteer work in social service agencies.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Bachelor of Social Work degree program is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, values, and interests for life-long learning, ongoing professional development, public service, and entry level generalist social work practice. Through partnerships of service and with a central focus of being a regionally responsive, community-based, and practice-centered program guided by social work ethics and values, the program also seeks to provide leadership to social work practice and education in the community, the state, the region, and the nation.
BSW Program Goals
1. To prepare students for entry-level generalist social work practice with diverse client systems of various sizes and types.
2. To enhance service delivery in social service agencies by providing trained generalist social workers to work in agencies and organizations.
3. To prepare students to develop a professional identity which will incorporate the values and ethics of the social work profession.
4. To prepare students for life-long learning and critical thinking through an educational process which combines a liberal arts perspective with professional social work education.
5. To prepare students who demonstrate a commitment to continue their own professional growth and development that may include graduate social work education.
6. To provide students with content about social contexts encountered in social work practice, the behavior found in organizations, and the dynamics of change.
7. To prepare students for social work practice which demonstrates an appreciation for human diversity and the promotion of social and economic justice.
BSW Program Objectives
1. Apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional social work practice.
2. Practice within the values and ethics of the social work profession and with an understanding of and respect for the positive value of diversity.
3. Demonstrate the professional use of self.
4. Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and the strategies of change that advance social and economic justice.
5. Understand the history of the social work profession and its current structures and issues.
6. Apply the knowledge and skills of generalist social work practice with systems of all sizes.
7. Apply knowledge of bio-psycho-social variables that affect individual development and behavior, use theoretical frameworks to understand the interactions among individuals and between individuals and social systems (i.e., families, groups, organizations, and communities).
8. Analyze the impact of social policies on client systems, workers, and agencies.
9. Evaluate research studies and apply findings to practice, and under supervision, to evaluate their own practice interventions and those of other relevant systems.
10. Use communication skills differently with a variety of client populations, colleagues, and members of the community.
11. Use supervision appropriate to generalist practice.
12. Function within the structure of organizations and service delivery systems, and under supervision, seek necessary organizational change.
13. Demonstrate a commitment to continue their professional growth and development.
14. Increase understanding of and commitment to the social worker's role in promoting social and economic justice.
15. Become empowered so that they, in turn, work to empower client groups.
16. Employ an ethnically sensitive social work practice with diverse and oppressed populations within a social justice perspective.
17. Develop skills in working with clients and colleagues towards social change efforts in response to community needs.
18. Develop skills in integrating and applying knowledge and theory related to economic and social justice issues that were acquired in academic courses to actual social work situations.
These objectives are the heart of the BSW curriculum and the specific objectives for each course flow from them. The BSW curriculum content areas include: social work values and ethics; human diversity; promotion of social and economic justice; populations-at-risk; research; social policy and services; human behavior and the social environment; social work practice; and Field Instruction.