Standards for social work education in the North American and Caribbean region: current realities, future issues

Abstract

The promulgation of standards for the curriculum and administration of social work educational programs and the application of standards through accreditation processes have been major functions of the associations of educators in both the United States and Canada. In the English‐speaking Caribbean, standards for social work education are developed and maintained by the host universities with use of external quality‐control mechanisms as needed. In this article, a brief description of the region and its social work education programs will be presented. After a very cursory outline of the history and evolution of standards in the region, current mechanisms for developing standards in the region will be described, followed by a brief discussion of the standards themselves. The article will conclude with a discussion of issues in educational standards and accreditation facing the region. Selected aspects of standards will be highlighted to illustrate some of the issues and dilemmas.

Keywords:

• North America
• Caribbean
• Social Work Education
• Accreditation
• Regional Standards

Notes

Correspondence to: Lynne Healy, Professor and Director of the Center for International Social Work Studies, University of Connecticut, School of Social Work, 1798 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117, USA. Tel: [phone]; Email: [email protected]

Standards for higher education in the United States are not set by the government, but by private, non‐governmental organizations and the professions. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is an organization of colleges and universities established in 1996 to oversee ‘voluntary self‐regulation in higher education through accreditation’ (Randolph, 1997, p. 9). It replaced an earlier organization with a similar purpose. CHEA recognizes specialized accrediting agencies, such as CSWE, as the sole legitimate accreditors in their field and sets general principles for their functioning.

The schools of social work in Quebec are accredited by CASSW but have a special status. They are organized into Francophone interest group, the Regroupement des Unités de Formation Universitaire en Travail Social du Québec (RUFUTS). A formal agreement was signed between CASSW and RUFUTS. Among other provisions, it guarantees representation on the Board of Directors and Accreditation Boards and contains a revenue sharing arrangement through which RUFUTS receives a portion of fees paid by the Quebec schools. RUFUTS has been helpful in developing guidelines for application of selected curriculum standards, such as the diversity standards, to Francophone programs (Marilyn Desrosiers, CASSW, personal communication, 25 June 2003).

Federal law in the United States prohibits discrimination on a number of grounds, but sexual orientation is not a protected class. US policies on separation of church and state also grant a degree of independence to religious institutions, including religiously affiliated colleges and universities.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lynne M. Healy

Correspondence to: Lynne Healy, Professor and Director of the Center for International Social Work Studies, University of Connecticut, School of Social Work, 1798 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117, USA. Tel: [phone]; Email: [email protected]