Social Work Program Goals & Objectives

Goals

The Social Work Program’s goals are:

  1. To prepare graduates for competent entry-level generalist practice grounded in the profession’s history, purposes and philosophy and the mastery of measurable practice behaviors that are based upon the knowledge, values, and skills of generalist Social Work practice.
  2. To prepare graduates for practice with diverse populations, with special attention to the people of Cumberland County, North Carolina and its adjacent areas with an emphasis on the strengths as well as the complexities of diversity.
  3. To prepare graduates for continuing education and further personal and professional development for the betterment of the profession and the community.
  4. To prepare graduates who are committed to the ethics and values of the profession, to social and economic justice, and service to oppressed and at-risk populations.
  5. To understand distributive and restorative justice, human and civil rights, global interconnections of oppression and discrimination.

These goals are met through the liberal arts/general studies perspective, most of which is completed during the first two years of college, and through the social work professional foundation of courses completed during the third and fourth year.

Objectives

The Program’s objectives stem from its mission and goals:

  1. Apply critical thinking skills to professional social work practice.
  2. Practice within the context of social work’s professional values, ethics, and principles.
  3. Practice without discrimination related to age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
  4. Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and apply strategies of social change that promote social and economic justice.
  5. Understand and be able to discuss the history of the social work profession and its contemporary structures and issues.
  6. Apply knowledge and skills of generalist social work practice with systems of all sizes, with special attention to the people of Cumberland County, North Carolina and its adjacent areas.
  7. Apply knowledge of bio-psycho-social factors that affect individual development and behavior across the life span, and use empirically supported theoretical frameworks to understand the interactions among individuals and between individuals and social systems.
  8. Analyze the effects of social policy and understand methods to influence policy decisions.
  9. Evaluate research studies and apply findings to practice and be able to evaluate one’s own practice.
  10. Use communication skills appropriately and effectively to interact with clients, colleagues, and members of the community.
  11. Use supervision effectively to enhance generalist social work practice.
  12. Function within the structure of organizations and seek appropriate organizational change.