The paper examines the role of critical thinking in an experience-based model of social work education. Within this model, the development of a critical approach to our own understanding of, as well as to existing knowledge about, the world is fundamental for students and educators alike. Critical thinking is defined as more than a rational,…

Group supervision is recommended in the literature as an efficient method for field education, especially in the context of reduced agency resources for field instruction. This qualitative interview study explored the experiences of 18 MSW students who received group supervision as the primary method of field instruction. The competence of the…

To facilitate the recovery of people with mental illness (consumers of mental health services), social workers must be strengths-focused and believe in the potential for consumer growth and improvement. Unfortunately, social workers often share the negative, stigmatizing view of mental illness held by much of the general population. In this…

The issue of redundancy has not been well explored in the social work curriculum. The Curriculum Policy Statement requires redundancy in the form of infusion of material across content areas and addresses redundancy vertically between levels of education and year of program. Further, redundancy in the form of repetition with the purpose of…

This article situates expected anxiety and resistance to multicultural learning within the broader context of cognitive, behavioral and affective stages through which MSW students typically progress. The authors discuss the challenges to multicultural learning and the developmental phases of students. The ways in which these developmental stages…

The authors focus on the use of portfolios as a pedagogical strategy to encourage students to reflect on and assess their learning experience. The rationale for the use of student portfolios in social work education includes their capacity to foster self-reflection, integrate the learning experience, prepare students for job searches and…