Group Work in Foundation Generalist Classes: Perceptions of Students about the Nature and Quality of Their Experience

Abstract

Social group work education appears to be in trouble. The literature details a progressive disintegration of group work educational opportunities while highlighting an incremental increase in the use of groups in agencies. This makes for a concerning scenario. This article presents data from a national study of 1,360 first-year MSW students. The current study explored the extent to which students are exposed to group work content and knowledge in foundation classes. A discussion of implications and recommendations, using case vignettes, are provided to illustrate and amplify findings, as well as to highlight challenges that lie ahead for group work education and practice.

The Faculty Field Liaison: An Essential Role for Advancing Graduate and Undergraduate Group Work Education

“…In the 1970s a generalist curriculum was developed, and the group work method became minimized in many schools. In recent decades there has been increasing concern that traditional group work education in social work educational programs is threatened (Knight, 2009;Leeman, 2009;Simon & Webster, 2009;Sweifach & LaPorte, 2009). …”

“…Furthermore, research suggests that internship field instructors lack the competence to help students create groups and identify group process (Birnbaum & Wayne, 2000). Also it seems that the lessening of group work education in the classroom may have led to a lessening in the number of field instructors competent to supervise the learning of group work (Birnbaum & Auerbach, 1994;Glassman & Kates, 1988;Steinberg, 1993;Sweifach & LaPorte, 2009). It is important for students to have not only a group work experience in the internship, but also competent group workers as field instructors in the internship to guide them in understanding and learning from the experiences (Clements, 2008;Knight, 2009;Shulman, 2010).…”

“…Clements (2008) reported that social workers with no group work training have difficulty utilizing the mutual aid model, leading to the social worker controlling the group, focusing on individuals rather than the group-as-a-whole, and struggling with unanticipated moments in the group. Social work students report uncertainty with using mutual aid in groups (Sweifach & LaPorte, 2009).…”

“…KEYWORDS faculty field liaison, field instructor, supervision, student internships, group work education, group work practice INTRODUCTION In recent years social work authors have cited research indicating significant group work activity is evident in social work agencies (Hessanauer & Lind, 2013;Knight, 2009;Sweifach & LaPorte, 2009). Group work is a popular and useful method for a variety of clients in social work agencies, and the push for cost-effective treatment has made group work an increasingly important aspect of social work practice (Clements, 2008;Knight, 2009).…”

Development and Application of a Standards-Based Inventory of Foundation Competencies in Social Work with Groups

“…A national survey of 1,360 MSW students examined the degree to which they learned group theory and practice in foundation group work courses (Sweifach & LaPorte, 2009). The study reported that almost one half of the sample (47%) reported that "little to no time at all" (p. 307) was spent on group work during the foundation year.…”