Has Social Work Heeded the Call? Sex Offender Content in Social Work

Abstract

For more than a decade, social work educators have advocated for social work curricula to include content on both general offenders and the subpopulation of sexual offenders. Although advocates have attempted to guide educators to logical points in routine curriculum where such content could be infused, it is unclear whether educators have responded adequately. This article reports findings from an exploratory study that examined whether master's level social work programs have heeded the call for the inclusion of content on sexual perpetrators into their programs. In addition, the study examined the programs' rationale for the inclusion or exclusion of such material. Data collected via a web-based survey completed by 42 master's level social work programs in the United States indicate that 61% of the schools include some content on sexual offenders whereas five programs included no content on sexual offenders. Faculty reasons for their decisions are discussed.

Keywords:

• Social Work Education
• Sex Offender
• Curriculum Content
• Offenders
• Curriculum Reform
• Web-based Survey