Social work educators have few guidelines to help them evaluate master's of social work applicants with criminal records. This study surveyed 280 field supervisors and asked them to rate their likelihood of rejecting a student with a criminal record depending on crime type and mitigating factors. Results found that supervisors' perception of risk…

The new Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) identify assessment as "an integral component of competency-based education." It is not new, however, that programs must demonstrate plans to assess attainment of competencies or expected program outcomes and show how data collection and analysis inform curriculum decisions. Previous…

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,…

More than one third of Americans practice complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Social workers continue to provide most first-line health, mental health, and psychological referral and direct practice services in the United States, despite a lack of systematic education and training opportunities in CAM. Schools of social work are…

This research evaluated the effectiveness of the Public Child Welfare Certification Program, a specialized child welfare program delivered in bachelor of social work (BSW) curricula across the state of Kentucky. This evaluation gathered data for 10 years on satisfaction with the program, preparation for work in the state's child welfare agency,…

This article explores the role of human relations in the process of curriculum change in social work education. Social capital, the theoretical framework that underpins this research, explains how social resources are made available to social work faculty and groups for their own benefit. Using data from 88 surveys completed by social work…

This article explores the conditions under which international social work field placements may be effectively administered. The positive and negative potential of international placements is examined. A review of empirical and theoretical literature in the related fields of service learning and international volunteering reveals that role taking,…

Social work doctoral education is essential to the continuation of the profession through its production of educators and researchers. Predicted shortages of educators give urgency to the problems of dissertation delays, lengthy time to completion, and attrition. Using Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of learning, in this article we review the…

A variety of pedagogical techniques have shown promising results in promoting acceptance and affirmation of gays and lesbians among students in social work, allied health, and education professions. In this article we examine whether 211 students enrolled in a human sexuality course in a southeastern university changed their attitudes toward gays…

Substance abuse has been identified as a significant social problem. Social work is uniquely positioned to affect this problem. Kennesaw State University has established a substance abuse concentration as part of its master's of social work program. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of this curriculum. The curriculum is…

The intent of good education is to meet the needs of learners. How educators go about meeting those needs varies from one context to the next, and has lately been affected by the advent of technology-enhanced learning tools. Today, computer technology applications enable teachers to accelerate the pace of learning, increase the depth of in-school…

These are the times that try practitioners' educational bottom lines. Thomas Paine, an American revolutionary and pamphleteer of the eighteenth century, found that the revolution through which his writings steered America's colonial ancestors put both their souls and his on trial. However, even after being vilified by his former countrymen, this…

It is time for a new focus in American education, a focus on intranational globalization. Inviting students to explore the multiple perspectives and life experiences of America's multicultural groups has the potential to build empathy and tolerance for the great variety of citizens who inhabit and make up our country--African Americans, Native…

How can a classroom teacher reconcile the need for students with diverse backgrounds and abilities to master specific learning objectives within a content area with the simultaneous need for them to build their technology skills? Student-made digital multimedia could be the answer for students at all grade levels. Student achievement and effective…

Global distribution of West African goods--coffee, chocolate, gold, diamonds (and at one time, ivory)--has linked this region to the outside world for centuries, yet its development remains slow. Not simply the ancestral home of humankind, Africa's western legacies include colonization, partition, and loss of untold millions to slavery and wars of…