Group Work in Foundation Generalist Education

Abstract

Identifying group work content in social work education was the primary purpose of a survey of 212 faculty in BSW and MSW programs. Respondents assessed their knowledge in teaching practice with individuals, families, groups, and communities. Several contradictory findings are reported. The authors found that faculty assigned themselves high self-ratings in teaching practice. Yet, they had difficulty identifying key concepts in group work and requested various forms of assistance. The authors analyze the results and conclude with recommendations for aligning group work content with practice in social work curricula.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Martin L. Birnbaum

The authors wish to acknowledge the helpful comments of Eric Siegel and Myra Weiss. An earlier version of this article was presented at the Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, Orlando, Florida, March 1998.