A Curriculum for Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Abstract

Consensus has not been reached regarding the content of human behavior in the social environment (HBSE) courses in schools of social work. Changes in the CSWE Education Policy and Accreditation Standards reflect, in part, the needs of the people social workers serve and the tools necessary to properly equip social workers in that pursuit. While considering the degree of dissension and change within the academic environment, theories of intervention should also provide the practitioner with an understanding of how detrimental behavior develops as well as how undesirable behaviors can be modified or eliminated. It also must provide a description of normal as well as dysfunctional behavior. It is crucial, therefore, that any theory of behavioral change identify the antecedent conditions through which the disordered behavior was acquired. It also must provide very specific behavioral prescriptions and procedures that the practitioner can use to eliminate the undesirable behaviors. An indispensable component of any educational program is the development of critical thinking skills. The HBSE curriculum is no different, and especially requires the use of this skill. In order for students to properly evalu-ate the theories put before them while in the classroom or in practice, instruction must be given on how to evaluate and students given subsequent opportunities to apply these instructions. This article will focus on the micro and macro evidence-based curriculum, a new educational standard under the Council of Social Work Education, in the human behavior in the social environment module.

PUSH(ing) Limits: Using Fiction in the Classroom for Human Behavior and the Social Environment

“…Katherine Van Wormer (2006) describes HBSE as "the bedrock of social work knowledge" (p. 9). Zaparanick and Wodarski (2004) discussed in detail the implications of the Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) accreditation standards related to the HBSE curriculum. They wrote, "[Courses] are especially problematic when students are provided few academic exercises which would enable them to witness the application of concepts to practice phenomenon" (Zaparanick & Wodarski,p.…”

Early Brain Development for Social Work Practice: Integrating Neuroscience with Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

“…Such models describe (but do not explain) development as a sequence of stages wherein specific developmental tasks (behaviors) are mastered in sequence; individuals who fail to satisfactorily complete one stage are expected to experience difficulties successfully achieving subsequent stages. HBSE courses in social work typically feature the models of Erikson, Vygotsky, Piaget, and others (e.g., see Zaparanick & Wodarski, 2004), though little attention has been paid to linking such theories directly to social work practice, and those links are far from obvious (see discussion in Thyer, 2001).…”

The Developmental Life Course Perspective: A Conceptual and Organizing Framework for Human Behavior and the Social Environment

“…Not only does it offer a bridge between content on individual and macro level processes, it offers much-needed empirical depth in its conceptualization of the person-inenvironment approach. The lack of empirical support within HBSE curricula has been noted by Zaparanick and Wodarski (2004). The goal of this article is to describe the DLC and its application to both the content and the instruction of a HBSE curriculum.…”