Implicit and Explicit Use of the Strengths Perspective in Social Work Education

Abstract

Most of the literature on the strengths perspective has addressed issues of practice; far less has been written about the role of the strengths perspective in social work education. Empirical studies have tended to focus on content analysis of texts and syllabi rather than data obtained directly from social work faculty. To address this gap, the author conducted a study of faculty teaching Master of Social Work foundation courses. Findings indicate that instructors vary in how implicitly or explicitly they use the strengths perspective, using a range of concepts to capture the notion of strengths. They consider the strengths perspective most useful as a mediator between theory and topic, serving a different function in different courses.

Keywords:

• strengths perspective
• social work education
• strengths versus problems