Linking Research and Practice in Diverse Settings

Abstract

This paper describes an applied research course that engages students in agency evaluation projects. This not only helps students develop research skills but also instills in them a positive perspective on the necessity for, and the process of, conducting research. The experience also provides opportunities for faculty service and scholarship.

Service Learning: A Useful Pedagogy to Engage Community Health Education Students in a Resource Management and Grant Writing Course

“…This is the case for this course; however, over time, we learned that additional reasons for students discomfort with the class include (a) the high research expectations, (b) the demands of a writing-intensive course, and (c) how the unpredictable nature of working with funders and community-based nonprofit organizations requires a more flexible syllabus than students experience in other courses (Horn-Mallers, Ruby, & Garcia, 2015). Students’ concerns related to the research required in grant writing are not unique (Rubin, 1992; Ziefert, Brown, & Krajewski-Jaime, 1995) nor are the challenges students encounter in this course. Through a service-learning approach to grant writing, the instructor has attempted to address these concerns by providing students with an authentic learning experience and an environment that focuses on professional development and responsibility for individual contributions and learning.…”

Social Work Education and Student Research Projects: A Survey of Program Directors

“…For example, the 2003 standards for both MSW and BSW programs require graduates to "evaluate research studies, apply research findings to practice, and evaluate their own interventions" (CSWE, 2003, p. 33 Although CSWE (1994CSWE ( , 2003CSWE ( , 2008 (Dunlap, 1993;Poulin, 1989;Proctor, 2002Proctor, , 2003Thyer et al, 1997), the specifics of how, what, when, and where research competencies should be integrated into social work curricula have varied over time and across programs (Bogal & Singer, 1981;Drake, Hovmand, Jonson-Reid, & Zayas, 2007;Dunlap, 1993;Poulin, 1989;Ziefert, Brown, & Krajewski-Jaime, 1995). The number and variety of articles across decades demonstrate ongoing efforts to improve social work research education, but also indicate the ambiguity and wide variation in the ways in which social work educators bring research into the curriculum.…”