Mission, Goals, And Objectives
MISSION
The mission of Seattle University’s Social Work Program is unique to our program and is closely integrated with the overall mission of Seattle University to provide excellence in education and educate for social justice and to empower leaders.
“The Seattle University Social Work Program seeks to educate, promote and provide leadership in the profession, and advance social work knowledge. We prepare undergraduate students to become competent and effective entry-level, generalist social work professionals who value and respect diversity, anchor economic and social justice as central to their practice, and seek to use their knowledge and skills to improve human well-being.”
Our social work program is housed within Seattle University’s Jesuit and Catholic vision of the person: “…educating the whole person, to professional formation, and to empowering leaders for a just and humane world.” The University values and teaches for diversity, social justice, empowerment and leadership as well as academic excellence.. We are fortunate that the university’s values and our program’s values and mission are consonant with each other.
Keeping the values and vision of the university, and blending this with NASW and CSWE’s values and educational missions, our social work program recognizes the importance of the pursuit of social justice, redressing of oppression, strength in diversity and a social work focus on social problems and human needs.
GOALS
From our mission, we have five Program Goals:
- Prepare baccalaureate students with the knowledge and skills for competent and effective entry-level generalist social work practice.
- Prepare baccalaureate students to practice competently with diverse populations.
- Prepare baccalaureate students to effectively promote and advocate for economic and social justice
- Prepare baccalaureate students for service and leadership to improve human well-being.
- Advance social work knowledge.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The Program Objectives are derived from the mission and goals. These objective address the Program’s commitment to the students and address the knowledge the students will acquire as they complete their social work degree. It also addresses faculty objectives which will further the student objectives.
Upon completion of the social work degree, graduates will:
- Demonstrate the knowledge and skills of generalist social work practice with systems of all sizes
- Use empirically-based theoretical frameworks to understand individual development across the life span and the interactions among individuals and between individuals and families, groups, communities and organizations to form assessments and interventions
- Demonstrate the use of critical thinking skills in social work practice
- Evaluate and apply research studies to practice and use research methods to evaluate own practice
- Understand and function within the structure of organizations and service delivery systems and seek necessary organizational change
- Use effective oral and written communication skills differentially across client populations, with colleagues, and members of communities
- Practice according to professional social work values and ethics
- Use supervision and consultation to enhance practice
- Use self-assessment to enhance practice
- Demonstrate a developing knowledge about diverse populations including age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, faith tradition, gender/ gender expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
- Understand global factors that influence social welfare in international and local context
- Practice competently with diverse populations
- Understand the history and evolution of social welfare policy and practice
- Understand the forms and effects of privilege, oppression, discrimination, and economic inequalities on diverse populations
- Analyze the effect of contemporary social welfare policy and practices on clients and service delivery systems
- Use collaborative advocacy skills and strategies of social change to advance economic and social justice
- Engage in service opportunities during their academic careers to improve human well-being
- Demonstrate leadership capacity and capabilities during their academic careers to improve human well-being
Faculty will:
- Provide leadership and opportunities to engage students in service projects to improve human well-being
- Design and provide a rigorous social work curriculum that actively engages students
- Engage in initiatives that advance social work knowledge
- Engage in scholarship
- Promote and support student scholarship
CONCEPTION OF GENERALIST PRACTICE:
For a complete version of Seattle University’s conception of Generalist Practice please see our Student Handbook page 4. Below is the core of our generalist practice belief:
“The Seattle University Bachelor of Social Work Program’s conception of generalist practice involves the use of social work knowledge, professional values and an array of skills that can be adapted to work with diverse client systems of all sized in a variety of settings. Generalist practitioners are prepared to employ critical thinking to flexibly choose among practice skills and roles employed through a process of planned change to intervene with individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations and a variety of social problems.
Students educated for generalist practice are prepared to assist clients from an ecological and systems perspective which locates the focus of work within the person-in- environment interaction. …“
We believe this holistic view of the client, along with the strength based skills and empowerment theory, allows for comprehensive assessments and interventions. Our students are taught a variety of skills necessary to assess and help a client with planned change. They are also taught the variety of roles a social worker may engage in as they intervene with client systems.
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