Competency-Based Education for Social Work: Education and Curriculum Issues.

Overview & Synopsis

This study provides a perspective for social work educators who seek a response to the demands for accountability that have emerged simultaneously from the profession itself and from higher education. Part 1 presents an overview of the forces responsible for the move toward quality control in social work education. Part 2 is a detailed review of the University of Montana Department of Social Work experience in developing a summative evaluation for its graduates. Part 3 consists of four critiques of the University of Montana experience from the perspectives of: (1) establishing a competency-based curriculum nationwide; (2) undergraduate social work education; (3) the practice of social work; and (4) graduate social work education. Part 4 provides a case study of the curriculum at the University of Calgary, an example chosen to illustrate some of the problems and issues that may be expected to result from such curriculum development. (Author/MSE)