Catalog Description
- Transfer Status
- CSU
- Prerequisite
- SWHS 1
- Unit(s)
- 3.00
- Lecture: 17.00 Contact hours/34.00 Out of class hours/51.00 Total hours/1.00 Unit(s)
- Lab: 102.00 Contact hours/0.00 Out of class hours/102.00 Total hours/2.00 Unit(s)
- Total: 119.00 Contact hours/34.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
Course Description: This course provides the student who is participating in a supervised field experience in a community organization, agency, or institution with a weekly class meeting that provides the academic elements to the experiential course offering. Students will develop skills that would facilitate gaining employment in the human services field. This course offers the student a supervised field experience in a community organization, agency, or institution, allowing the student to apply knowledge and learn new skills outside of the classroom environment. Students will observe, practice, and develop skills that would facilitate gaining employment in the human services field. Lab hours include structured field experience in a social work or human services setting. (C-ID SWHS 120A/SWHS 120B).
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
- Identify and characterize the major components of social work and human services practices.
- Apply a basic Code of Ethics, e.g., National Association of Social Workers (NASW) or National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) to the field experience.
- Reflect upon the application of ethical and professional standards to use of self within specific agency settings.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental legal guidelines, privacy and information management related to the standards of professional practice.
- Explain the purpose and skills of cultural engagement and humility (i.e., recognizing cultural competence, multiculturalism, and cross-cultural collaboration as areas for ongoing professional development).
- Demonstrate personal self-awareness, non-judgmental assessment and support capability, and readiness for professional development including feedback from supervision.
- Apply ethics, values, and skills that recognize and explore professional use of self.
- Evaluate the field experience in relation to course objectives, career plans, and personal growth.
- Apply theoretical knowledge to the field experience.
Course Content
Topic Titles / Suggested Time Topic
Lecture
| Topics | Lec Hrs |
|---|---|
The developmental journey of becoming a social worker or human services practitioner and the nature of social work and human services practice as a helping profession | 3.00 |
Codes of Ethics (e.g., NASW or NOHS) and social justice principles | 3.00 |
Legal context of social work practice/human services, and the role of supervision in the professional development journey | 3.00 |
Resources and services that clients need and depend upon | 3.00 |
Examination of the needs, interests, resources, values and opportunities of people who vary in terms of race, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, spirituality, gender, age, abilities, economic status, or language | 3.00 |
Exploring the progressive nature and skills of a generalist practice | 2.00 |
| Total Hours: | 17.00 |
Lab
| Topics | Lab Hrs |
|---|---|
The developmental journey of becoming a social worker or human services practitioner and the nature of social work and human services practice as a helping profession | 12.00 |
Codes of Ethics (e.g., NASW or NOHS) and social justice principles | 12.00 |
Legal context of social work practice/human services, and the role of supervision in the professional development journey | 12.00 |
Resources and services that clients need and depend upon | 12.00 |
Examination of the needs, interests, resources, values and opportunities of people who vary in terms of race, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, spirituality, gender, age, abilities, economic status, or language | 12.00 |
Exploring the progressive nature and skills of a generalist practice | 12.00 |
Protocols for visiting social work and human services work sites | 10.00 |
Historical development of social work and social welfare | 10.00 |
Different levels of social work practice | 10.00 |
| Total Hours: | 102.00 |
Methods of Instruction
- Class Activities
- Collaborative Group Work
- Field Experience/Internship
- Group Discussions
- Guest Speakers
- Homework: Students are required to complete two hours of outside-of-class homework for each hour of lecture
- Lecture
Methods of Evaluation
- Quizzes
- Papers
- Oral Presentation
- Journal
- Written Assignments
- Class Discussion
- Documented completion of required field hours
Examples of Assignments
Reading Assignments
- Read the chapter on Days in the Lives of Social Workers and write a one-page response to the reading. The response needs to address 2–3 agencies that employ social workers or work hand in hand with social workers.
- Review the web link about Why Choose the Social Work Profession. Write a one-page summary of the article and why they are considering this profession for a career.
Writing Assignments
- A journal assignment will be turned in every two weeks and will be one-page in length. List 2-3 interactions with fieldwork supervisor, or other employees at the fieldwork location. Self-reflect on what you have learned or been enlightened by in the past two weeks.
- Write a 1-2 paragraph response to a web link article presented by the instructor on the social work job market. The response must list at least one data point from the web article.
Out-of-Class Assignments
- Visit a social services office in person. The office must serve the local community and students must bring back any handouts or web links that provide information about that office. A short 5-7 minute presentation will be made in-class and be graded.
- Interview a current social service employee. A one-page summary of that interview will be submitted for a grade. The summary must address questions about the daily activities of the social service employee along with the challenges and rewards of the that job.
Recommended Materials of Instruction
Grobman, L.M. (2020). Days in the lives of Social Workers. The New Social Worker Press, 5th. 9781929109845.
Cournoyer, B. R. (2017). The Social Work Skills Workbook. Cengage Learning, 8th. 9781305633780.
Myers Kaiser, P. (2016). The Human Services Internship: Getting the Most from your Experience. Cengage Learning, 4th. 9781305087347.
Raymond Fox. (2013). Elements of the Helping Process. Routledge, 3rd. 9780415808804.
Zero Cost Textbook
Social Work and Social Welfare 2nd edition, Cullen and Cullen, 2021 (CC BY-NC).
Other Learning Materials
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics
Minimum Qualifications
Counseling (Masters Required)
Psychology (Masters Required)