Question

From a curriculum stands point. Do you believe that it is the school's mission to promote affective objectives? Defend your position.

Answer 1

1 Introduction & Statement of Purpose

The field work component of the Smith College School for Social Work education is, for many students, the most salient experience of their social work education. Ideally, the experience serves to develop the best of each student's professional capacity and catalyzes a lifelong investment in the values, goals and skills of social work. In providing the opportunity for intensive field-based learning, the field work agency makes a major contribution to the development of responsible social work practitioners.

These Guidelines reflect the School's appreciation for the centrality of field practice in the development of social work professionals. They have been developed in response to input from faculty, agencies, faculty field advisers, students and the larger social work profession. As the profession evolves, so must educational needs and practices. In that spirit, all participants in this educational undertaking are invited to continue to offer their suggestions.

Objectives of Field Work Practice

The Smith College School for Social Work has over-arching objectives for both the first and second year field internship experiences, which serve to orient all involved in field education. While internship sites vary in emphasis and each assignment within a field internship contributes differently towards these objectives, it is expected that supervisors and students can evaluate each field-based learning experience in terms of its relevance to the stated learning objectives. Providing a program which educates for excellence in social work practice rests on the achievement of the following objectives:

1. Professional Identity
   The student will develop a professional identity as a social worker and as a clinical social worker that is characterized by competence in a broad range of social work skills, knowledge and values.
2. Professional Ethics and Value Dilemmas
   The student will learn to apply the values and ethics of the profession and develop the capacity to tolerate and work constructively with the value dilemmas, conflicts, and ambiguities inherent in the practice of social work.
3. Knowledge
   The student will obtain extensive and varied opportunities to utilize and build upon the theoretical and empirical knowledge gained during the summer academic sessions toward preparation for practice.
4. Skill
   The student will develop a varied repertoire of practice skills fundamental to social work and relevant to a wide range of clients, modalities and types of settings.
5. Student Engagement in the Learning Process
   The student will actively engage in the learning process and develop the capacity to reflect on the work and make active use of supervision and other feedback.