Professional schools are developing conceptual frameworks that can be used to assess and improve implicit curricula. Students' professional empowerment, defined to include perceived professional competence and identity, may be considered a vital outcome of these efforts. Our study evaluated measures and tested a path model that included…

This article contributes to discourse on signature pedagogy by reconceptualizing how our pedagogies are understood and defined for social work education. We critique the view that field education is social work's signature pedagogy and consider what pedagogies are distinct about the teaching and learning of social work. Using Shulman's…

This study explores the relationship between social work education and a propensity of social workers to leave the profession. A convenience sample was drawn from alumni lists in the mid-South of the United States, with 785 participants completing a Web-based survey. This survey included items specific to demographic information and level of…

This article analyzes perspectives on the goals of the social work profession and social activism of a cohort of MSW students before and after attending their graduate program. This study provides insights into the question about whether and how preexisting values, experiences, and background characteristics affect beginning and ending…

Given the United States' population changes and the increasing impact of globalization, international context and experience in the MSW curriculum are essential. Gaining popularity as a vehicle for such experience are short-term international courses, defined as educational trips outside the United States lasting from 1 to 3 weeks. To achieve…

Edicts within the Council on Social Work Education's 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards address the importance of understanding the intersection of personal and professional values. Twenty MSW students, chosen on the basis of diverse cultural and personal characteristics, were interviewed about their motivations for pursuing a MSW…

This investigation is a secondary analysis of a data set (N=283) drawn from a national, probability sample of clinical social workers in the United States. The original study used a cross-sectional, correlational survey design to gather information on practitioners' personal religious/spiritual beliefs and practices; professional attitudes,…

This article presents a theoretical process model for students engaging in dialogic learning about issues of race and anti-oppression. The model identifies conditions present in the dialogue process and demonstrates how these conditions, when coordinated with certain interventions and strategies, help to create particular outcomes for…

In this study, 230 licensed social workers participated in a cross-sectional survey to examine participants' self-perceived change in knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) following formal and informal continuing professional education (CPE). Self-perceived change scores were significantly higher for informal than formal CPE. Higher motivational…

Two articles and rebuttals provide contrasting views on whether convicted felons should automatically be denied admission to a social work education program. One view focuses on the importance of the gatekeeping role in the profession whereas the other emphasizes the special understandings that such an individual, if truly reformed, can offer the…

A qualitative survey explored the professional educational experiences of 63 Native American social workers and social work students. Most respondents identified the need for more cultural content in the curriculum, personal struggles experienced in pursuing an education grounded in Anglo cultural norms, but also available supports, especially…

A survey of 120 African American and other Black (West Indian) graduates of two masters level programs in social work examined enrollment and career influences. Respondents identified as "very important" influences opportunity for career advancement, acquisition of new skills, professional status and credibility, and understanding professionalism…

Discusses the need to train clinical practitioners in social work to address ongoing issues of oppression. Describes a second-year Master's in Social Work clinical practice sequence taught from feminist, poststructuralist, postmodern, and social constructionist perspectives, where students learn to assess the impacts of oppression, discover…

Identifies challenges to the social work profession in an aging society including the shortage of gerontological social workers, lack of gerontological expertise and competence, negative attitudes towards older adults, inadequate social work curricula in aging, and cutbacks in federal resources. Offers strategies for enhancing gerontological…

A discussion of the increase in multiple authorship of scholarly journal articles in social work looks at the reasons for this phenomenon, implications of multiple scholarship, and potential ethical questions arising from such collaborations. Guidelines from related professions are reviewed, and comments are made concerning when and under what…