Bachelor of Social Work Program
THE LEARNING CONTRACT – FIELD EXPERIENCE I & II
STUDENT:
FIELD INSTRUCTOR: AGENCY:
FIELD LIAISON:
CSWE accreditation standards require that a Bachelor in Social Work curriculum prepare its graduates for generalist practice through mastery of a set of 10 core competencies. These core competencies are measurable practice behaviors that are comprised of knowledge, values, and skills. Social Work students relate the educational goals and objectives of the Social Work Program through demonstration of specific competencies that serve to inform and aid evaluation of those students’ preparation for generalist social work practice. These competencies serve as a link between what may be observed or demonstrated in student knowledge, value and skill performance, and the program’s curriculum expectations. In a general way, these competencies and the practice standards operationalize the educational objectives for students, faculty, and administration and provide a common set of definitions to gauge performance and behavior.
Students in field must complete a minimum of 240 hours per semester in placements for a total of 480. These hours must be completed by the end of the last week of class. No more than 20 hours a semester of training and/or educational workshops may be counted toward the required minimum 240 hours a semester, and only with prior permission of both the Field Instructor and Faculty Liaison.
Students are responsible for working in conjunction with their Field Instructor to complete this Learning Contract by the end of the 3rd week of the field placement. Please note that at the end of this document there is a place for both the Field Instructor and student to sign indicating their agreement with the document submitted. The signed Contract should be returned to the Field Liaison during the 5th week of field placement. A copy of this agreement will be returned to the student once signed by the Faculty Liaison. The evaluation of a student’s performance will be documented on the Field Evaluation of Student form. All field forms and documents can be found on our social work website at www.ualr.edu/socialwork/bsw/internships/
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
STUDENT PLACEMENT HOURS AGREEMENT
The student in this placement agrees to the following field schedule. Check the box for times scheduled at Agency
Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday8:00--9:00
9:00-10:00
10:00-11:00
11:00-12:00
12:00--1:00
1:00--2:00
2:00--3:00
3:00--4:00
4:00--5:00
5:00--6:00
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly
*Social workers serve as representatives of the profession, its mission, and its core values. They know the profession's history. Social workers commit themselves to the profession's enhancement and to their own professional conduct and growth.
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP 2.1.1a Advocates for client access to services of social work
FALL / Assist clients in the actual application for services as referrals, addressing service gaps and restrictive eligibility criteria.
Task alternative: / Activity and Supervision Log.
Alt. Doc.
EP 2.1.1b. Practices personal reflection & self-correction to assure continual professional development
FALL / Keep reflective journal of challenges at internship and discuss with Field Instructor.
Task alternative: / Activity and Supervision Log.
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP 2.1.1c. Attends to professional roles and boundaries
FALL / Engage a client according to the Generalist Intervention Model (i.e. Duty to Inform)
Task alternative: / Process Recording(s)
Alt. Doc.
EP 2.1.1d. Demonstrates professional demeanor in behavior, appearance and communications
FALL / Read the agency policy and procedures manual regarding professional behavior, dress code, and communication. (e.g. case notes, memos, email, etc.)
Task alternative: / Reflective Journal Log(s).
Alt. Doc.
EP 2.1.1e. Demonstrates a commitment to career-long learning
FALL / Attend training in the community pertaining to field placement. (i.e. lunch & learn; ethics workshops)
Task alternative: / CEU Log
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
EP 2.1.1f. Uses Supervision and consultation effectivelyFALL / Participate in weekly supervision with prepared topics for discussion.
Task alternative: / Activity and Supervision Log.
Alt. Doc.
2. Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
*Social workers have an obligation to conduct themselves ethically and to engage in ethical decision making. Social workers are knowledgeable about the value base of the profession, its ethical standards, and relevant law.
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP 2.1.2a. Recognizes and manages personal values so that professional values guide practice
FALL / Recognize the differences between a personal values and a professional response during an interaction with a client.
Identify personal values that are in agreement and/or conflict with agency and client population.
Task alternative: / Process Recording(s)
Alt. Doc.
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EP 2.1.2b. Makes ethical decisions based upon applicable Social Work Ethics Codes or LawFALL / Choose a situation that you take an action based on the NASW Code of Ethics and provide a rationale utilizing a critical thinking skills method (AAA).
Task alternative: / Reflective Journal Log(s)
Alt. Doc.
EP 2.1.2c. Demonstrates ability to tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflict.
SPRING / Document your participation in resolving an ethical dilemma in the agency setting.
Task alternative: / Activity and Supervision Log(s)
Alt. Doc.
EP 2.1.2d. Applies strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions.
SPRING / Utilize and document how you used a model for resolving ethical dilemmas at your agency setting to develop an ethical response to client issue(s).
Task alternative: / Reflective Journal(s)
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
3. Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
*Social workers are knowledgeable about the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and reasoned discernment. They use critical thinking augmented by creativity and curiosity. Critical thinking also requires the synthesis and communication of relevant information.
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP 2.1.3a. Distinguishes and integrates multiple knowledge sources, including research based knowledge and practice wisdom.
SPRING / Identify models of assessment, prevention, intervention, and evaluation utilized at your agency.
Task alternative:
EP 2.1.3b. Analyzes different models of assessment, prevention, intervention and evaluation
SPRING / Identify models of assessment, prevention, intervention, and evaluation utilized at your agency.
Task alternative: / Individual Assessment Paper
Alt. Doc.
EP 2.1.3c. Demonstrates effective oral communication with all client systems (micro/mezzo/macro).
SPRING / Complete documentation of interactions and assessments of individual clients, groups, families and communities.
Task alternative: / Agency Progress Note(s)
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
4. Engage diversity and difference in practice.
*Social workers understand how diversity characterizes and shapes the human experience and is critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as the “inter-sectionality” of multiple factors including age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Social workers appreciate that, as a consequence of difference, a person’s life experiences may include oppression, poverty, marginalization, and alienation as well as privilege, power, and acclaim.
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP 2.1.4a. Practices in a way that demonstrates recognition of the extent to which a culture's structures & values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create or enhance privilege & power
FALL / Prepare for client contact by reviewing agency records to determine if societal marginalization has occurred.
Task alternative: / Activity and Supervision Log(s).
Alt. Doc.
EP 2.1.4b. Gain sufficient self-awareness to eliminate the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse clients
FALL / Keep reflective journal to record personal reactions to clients.
Task alternative: / Reflective Journal Log(s).
Alt. Doc.
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EP2.1.4c. Recognize and communicate understanding the importance of how client differences shape their life experiences.SPRING / Review with client (micro / mezzo/ macro) when summarizing your assessments, how their uniqueness has affected their experience(s).
Task alternative: / 2nd / Fan / Group Assessment(s).
Alt. Doc.
EP2.1.4d. View themselves as learners and engage those with whom they work as cultural informants.
SPRING / Discuss a client’s case during an agency team meeting, document what was learned.
Task alternative: / Activity and Supervision Log(s).
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
5. Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
*Each person, regardless of position in society, has basic human rights, such as freedom, safety, privacy, an adequate standard of living, health care, and education. Social workers recognize the global interconnections of oppression and are knowledgeable about theories of justice and strategies to promote human and civil rights. Social work incorporates social justice practices in organizations, institutions, and society to ensure that these basic human rights are distributed equitably and without prejudice.
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP2.1.5a. Understands the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination affecting clients and/or staff of the agency.
SPRING / Discuss a case in Field Seminar of the ways in which your client(s) have been marginalized and the cultural and societal dynamics which promote the marginalization.
Task alternative: / Policy Paper
Alt. Doc.
EP2.1.5b. Advocates for human rights and social & economic justice.
SPRING / Follow a bill promoting civil rights for marginalized group(s) and discuss in Field Seminar.
Task alternative: / Reflective Journal Log(s)
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
EP2.1.5c. Engage in practice that advance social and economic justice.SPRING / Describe your plans and actual actions taken that promote social and economic justice. Participate in NASW Lobby Day training and initiatives. Assist in agency’s annual report, auditing, program evaluation, and/or client.
Task alternative: / Policy Paper.
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
6. Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
*Social workers use practice experience to inform research, employ evidence-based interventions, evaluate their own practice, and use research findings to improve practice, policy, and social service delivery. Social workers comprehend quantitative and qualitative research and understand scientific and ethical approaches to building knowledge.
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP2.1.6a. Demonstrate ability to utilize practice experience(s) to aid in research design, or agency investigations or data collection.
SPRING / Assist in agency’s annual report, auditing, program evaluation and/or client.
Task alternative: / Activity and Supervisor Log(s).
Alt. Doc.
EP2.1.6b. Demonstrate the use of current research findings to improve your social work practice, or agency policy, and/or service delivery.
SPRING / Review scholarly journals and integrate acquired information with client service plans or intervention.
Task alternative: / Progress Notes
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
7. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development.
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP2.1.7a. Uses conceptual frameworks about human behavior to guide assessment, intervention and evaluation
FALL / Apply HBSE concepts to better understand a client.
Task alternative: / Micro/ Mezzo/ Macro Assessment
Alt. Doc.
EP2.1.7b. Demonstrates understanding of Person-in-Environment context in analyzing situations.
FALL / Complete a bio-psycho-social assessment of a client’s system.
Task alternative: / Micro/ Mezzo/ Macro Assessment
Alt. Doc.
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Bachelor of Social Work Program
8. Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.
*Social work practitioners understand that policy affects service delivery, and they actively engage in policy practice. Social workers know the history and current structures of social policies and services; the role of policy in service delivery; and the role of practice in policy development.
Practice Behavior / Agency Task/Activity / Documentation of Field Task / Activity / Date of CompletionEP2.1.8.a. Analyzes, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance social well-being.
SPRING / Prepare and present information in support of a policy or program reform.
Task alternative: / P3 Agency Paper
Alt. Doc.
EP2.1.8.b. Collaborate with colleagues and/or clients/consumers for effective policy actions.
SPRING / Attend an agency policy development meeting.
Task alternative: / P3 Agency Paper and P2 Group Paper
Alt. Doc.
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9. Respond to contexts that shape practice.
*Social workers are informed, resourceful, and proactive in responding to evolving organizational, community, and societal contexts at all levels of practice. Social workers recognize that the context of practice is dynamic, and use knowledge and skill to respond proactively.