Disruptive technologies, political discourse, climate change, the list goes on with the forces shaping the future of our society with each passing day. Businesses, let alone educational institutions struggle with how to meet these rapid challenges. I am not alone with feeling overwhelmed at times when met with a new technology, app or program I must learn. But as social work educators, how do we address the onslaught of change occurring in our world and yet be innovative?
Below you see a 1971 VW bug, personally one of my favorite cars...I wish I could own one. At the time it drove at a top speed of a whopping 62 mph with 20 mpg. What does my fantasy car have to do with social work?
Below you see a 1971 VW bug, personally one of my favorite cars...I wish I could own one. At the time it drove at a top speed of a whopping 62 mph with 20 mpg. What does my fantasy car have to do with social work?
Let's start with Moore's Law. In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted, in layman's terms, processing speeds of computers would double every 18 months. This is why technology rapidly accelerates our culture. If we apply this to the 1971 Volkswagen bug, as Andrew Yang described, my fantasy car would now garner a top speed of 300,000 miles per hour and get 2 million miles per gallon of gas. Now that is the car I want! But I digress.
Let's apply a similar framework of innovative change to Social Work Education. Social Work Education focuses on a foundation of skill building as a generalist with advanced practice in either; methods, fields of practice, special populations, or special problems. Find the list of common social work curriculum with concentrations or specializations below. Do they sound familiar? Are your social work programs structured similarly?
Methods
Social work practice, generic, combined
macro-macro
Administration, policy, planning, combination
Community organization
Research-evaluation
Direct practice, clinical practice
Group work
Casework
Family, marital treatment
Other micro practice
Fields of Practice
Combined children and youth, child and
family, or family and children's services
Child welfare
Mental health, community mental health
Health, health care delivery
School social work
Criminal justice
Gerontology
Rural social work
Industrial social work
Special
Populations
Minorities
Women
Special Problems
Substance abuse
Poverty
If these look familiar, they should, most of Social Work Education can be reflected in the above options for students. The problem with this is this list comes from a study on Concentrations, Specializations, and Curriculum Design
in MSW and BSW Programs by Ann Hartman from 1982. As you can see, Social Work Education has not developed as quickly as technology is pushing the development of our society.
There are two prevalent disruptive shifts in higher education for students. Disruption in this sense means innovations which displace competitors. Those social work departments and universities who understand these disruptions will survive. The first is a shift of power from institutions to students. Students want to learn about IT, interact with personalized learning, and aim to co-create their learning through choice. The second is a move from job preparation to career centered jobs including technology and real world applications of foundation and theory on their career path. Social work has been at the forefront of real life applications as the signature pedagogy is field practicums, but needs more work on understanding the disruption of student choice in curriculum development.
After seeing our outdated concentrations and specializations, I began to brainstorm electives for the future of social work education. Which electives would you develop? Which would you like to take? Social work may be a high demand field currently, but we should not rest on our laurels thinking we are safe. Competition is fierce, with online social work program options gaining speed over the traditional face to face degree programs. What processes do we need for future student attraction and retention? How will social work departments make the leap to accommodate future student and societal needs? Which innovative social work programs and universities can we partner with for mentoring?
I developed options for elective diversification according to a foresight framework by balancing projections of political discourse, social work strengths in systems, and the impact of disruptive technologies on vulnerable and marginalized populations. I hope these options start a conversation in social work departments about the future of our profession.
Elective
Diversification
Social Work Integration: Businesses, Government, and IT
Niche Social Work: Small Business Development
Holistic Social Work
Congressional Social Work
Co-creation
of Policy within Congressional Offices
Advocacy
and Politics: Working within a Political System
Intersectionality Expert
Immigration
Rights Advocacy and Policy
Business
Intersectionality Expert
Mental Health Navigation
Technology and Social Work Practice
Impact Technology and Social
Work
Big Data Implications
Disruptive Technologies Impact
on Client Populations
IT Privacy Concerns for Vulnerable
Populations
Gaming Escapes
Ethical Technology Practices
IT Application Research
Social Work Consultation in High
Tech
Healthcare Information Technology
Healthcare
Apps: Research and Application
AI and
Healthcare: Concerns and
Allopathic
and Homeopathic care
Healthcare
with Special Populations: Immigrants
Resource Development Social Work
Work Displacement/Re-skilling
Weather/Climate Crisis
Displacement
Justice System: Advocacy and Policy
Alternatives to Incarceration
Immigration Displacement
Economic Solutions to Work
Displacement
Quality of Life Social Work
Legal Facilitation Social Work
Divorce
Simplification
Domestic
Violence Protection Facilitator
Parental
Mediation
Drug
and Alcohol Abuse Crime Alternatives
Immigration
Translator/Advocacy
Mental
Illness Treatment Alternative Facilitator
Redefine Gerontology
Transitional Social Work
Breakdown of Developmental Stage
Tasks, especially over 50
Goal Development after 50
Holistic Retirement
Grieving through the Lifespan
Please add your suggestions about other types of needed electives in the comments and feel free to share the innovative electives or approaches you have already created at your universities.
For more on the Future of Social Work please see...
Envisioning the Future of Social
Work: Report of the CSWE Futures Task Force April 2018
Laura Nissen Social Work Futures
Social Work’s Grand Challenges
