MASTERS SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM ASSESSMENT REPORT

Transcription

1 MASTERS SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM ASSESSMENT REPORT This report covers the academic year and includes activity during the summer of 2011 Outcomes The current mission is to prepare graduate social work students for a life long commitment to: competent, evidence informed, principled, strengths-based, family-centered social work practice; leadership and service to urban communities; addressing human rights issues including social, racial and economic injustice; and to a spirit of inquiry. The outcomes measured are reflective of the program's goals, which are derived from the programs mission. The program objectives, stated below, are indicators of identified professional competency outcomes, which are explicitly indicated in the assessment tools utilized. Outcomes established and evaluated demonstrate achievement of competency in all areas indicated in the current program goals and objectives: GOAL 1: Provide students with foundation knowledge and skills for competent Social Work practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. 1A: Demonstration of understanding and application of a generalist model in practice. 1B: Demonstration of understanding and application of a strengths based approach to practice. 1C:Demonstration of understanding and application of a family centered approach to practice. 1D:Demonstration of understanding of the historical context of current social work practice knowledge and skills 1E:Demonstration of the development of communication skills essential for competent Social Work practice, and their application to work with clients, colleagues, supervisors, administrators, and others in the community served GOAL 2: Provide students with advanced knowledge and skills for competent Social Work practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. 2A: Demonstration of understanding and application of knowledge from the advanced curricula utilizing generalist, strength based, and family centered approaches to practice 2B: Demonstration of understanding and application of knowledge from the advanced curricula in multi-modal practice, utilizing supervision, consultation, and organizational resources: direct practice concentration 2C:Demonstration of understanding and application of knowledge from the advanced curricula in 1

2 multi-modal practice, utilizing supervision, consultation, and organizational resources: policy and administration concentration 2D:Demonstration of understanding and application of knowledge from the advanced curricula in multi-modal practice, utilizing supervision, consultation, and organizational resources: school social work concentration GOAL 3: Prepare students for practice with diverse urban populations. 3A: Demonstration of the ability to understand and apply the effects of culture, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, gender, mental or physical ability, and the "family structure" on clients of social work service, and on social work practice 3B: Demonstration of an understanding of poor, vulnerable, and stigmatized individuals, families, groups and communities. 3C: Demonstration of the ability to apply a non-discriminatory social work practice to a diverse urban client population. GOAL 4: Prepare students to advocate for transformative social and economic justice. 4A: Demonstration of knowledge of factors affecting social and economic justice, including the history and development of social welfare policy 4B: Demonstration of the ability to plan, effect, and evaluate advocacy activities and to promote social justice in communities served. GOAL 5: Prepare students for development of critical thinking, and evaluation of social work practice 5A: Demonstration of the ability to use written and oral communication skills in practice related activity 5B: Demonstration of the ability to critically evaluate practice activity. GOAL 6: Prepare students to understand and apply values and ethics in Social Work practice 6A: Demonstration of understanding of social work values and ethics in practice. 6B: Demonstration of application of professional values and ethics to practice activity, within the structure of service delivery systems and organizations in the community. GOAL 7: Prepare students for lifelong leadership service 7 A: Demonstration of leadership in application of integrated, advanced knowledge to understanding problems of service populations, and to articulation of practice and policy solutions 7 B: Demonstration of leadership in enacting effective empowerment activity with service populations. 7 C: Demonstration of leadership in application of theoretical knowledge to practice, to effect change. Method of Assessment. 2

3 Foundation Practice Self-Efficacy (FPSE) Survey, designed to demonstrate student self-evaluation of achievement of knowledge and skills taught in the foundation courses and field internship; FPSE Advanced Practice surveys (FPSE Advanced Direct Practice Survey; FPSE Advanced Administration and Policy Survey; FPSE Advanced School Social Work Survey. Findings related to knowledge and skill areas in the program objectives are summarized below, as well as findings informing about the learning context. Where possible, comparisons were made with similar 2008, 2009 and 2010 findings. A rubric established for evaluating the findings related to program curriculum is represented by 80% or above, indicating a high level of confidence and/or perceived confidence. Percentages reported below indicate those whose responses on items were 80 or above in confidence level, and those that fell below. Assessment Findings/Interpretations/Conclusion Surveys were administered to 42 foundation, and 44 advanced students (32 direct practice, 10 school social work, and 2 administration and policy) during Spring Semester. Important findings are summarized below: DEMOGRAPHICS (FOUNDATION AND ADVANCED) Most students in the program are female (95% at foundation level and 80% at the advanced level). At the foundation level, 81% of the students are African American, 14% are White and 5% are Latina. At the advanced level approximately 71% are African American, 16% are White, and 13% are Latina. This demographic represents an increasing ethnic diversity of students, and is influenced by the largely Latina student cohort from El Valor. Sixty percent (60%) of the foundation, and 50% of advanced students, are employed full time. Another 19% of foundation students and 39% of advanced students are employed part time. This represents a significant challenge, particularly with advanced students, as they are meeting both course work and field internship during the advanced year. The predominant employer support to these students is allowing flexible work schedules. Some receive more than one type of employer support. Tuition reimbursement, time off, and reduced work loads are minimally available. A significant number of students report no employer support while they are attending the graduate program (24% at the foundation level, and 33% at the advanced level). The students are relatively experienced coming into the program, with 20% of foundation level students having six or more years of related experience, and 48% of advanced level students having six or more years. Approximately 34% of the students overall come with no related work experience. IMPACT OF ACHIEVING THE MSW DEGREE (ADVANCED STUDENTS) Graduating students perceptions about how completing the program will impact their career trajectory remained very similar during the past three years, with some variation. Roughly a quarter of the students expected to continue in the same employment venue after graduating, and approximately one half expected some salary increase, with a slight decrease in that percentage in 2011; 19% of last year s cohort expected a 3

4 promotion, and 23% of this year s graduating class expect a promotion after graduation. For those staying in the same employment, 63% of the 2009 cohort, 33% of the 2010 class, and 45% of the 2011 class expected new assignments. Around half the students in the 2009 and 2911 classes, and 84% in the 2010 cohort, expect to get more advanced formal education, with some variation in timelines for pursuing post-graduate education. PERCEIVED COMPETENCE: KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL Most of the areas surveyed demonstrated high or very high confidence of students at the foundation and advanced levels in 2011 (see Demonstration of Student Learning section below). Findings reported in this section are limited to those that demonstrate specific positive changes or specific areas of concern. An item that moved significantly upward in 2011 was cultural competence regarding sex. However, several of the areas moved significantly (10 points or more) downward in These included: communication skills; use of supervision; use of consultation; organizational adaptation; organizational change; cultural competence regarding class. Areas that were of most concern (50% or below) in 2011 included: Social Policy Formulation; Social Policy Advocacy & Communication Skills. Areas that were of some concern (60% to 79%) in 2011 included: Critical Thinking; Understanding Oppression; Knowledge of Social Work History; Mastery of the Generalist Model; Use of Theoretical Frameworks; Research Evaluation; Research Application to Practice; Evaluation of Interventions; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Change. Of particular concern is the recent drop in the Communication item, as it is an area central to competency in practice, and emphasized in the foundation practice courses. Other areas appear to have moved, over the recent past years, in a more positive direction, reflecting new faculty emphasis on policy content and application, and on integration of research principals into practice courses and field experiences. However, they remain below an acceptable standard for our program. As these measures are taken at the foundation level, we would expect more positive responses at the advanced level, and in the coming year as foundation students complete advanced courses. The 2011 findings also indicate no significant drop in confidence in any of the content areas. Significant (10 points or more) movement upward was observed in: Knowledge of Social Work History; Use of Theoretical Frameworks; Social Policy Analysis; Social Policy Formulation; Social Policy Advocacy; Research Evaluation; Research Application to Practice; Use of Consultation; Organizational Adaptation.. No items remained in an area of most concern (59% or below). Items that remained in an area of some concern (60% to 79%) included: Social Policy Formulation; and Social Policy Advocacy. Areas of concern continue to be concentrated in social policy formulation and advocacy. This, in part, reflects ongoing concerns about policy curriculum, as noted also at the foundation level. Many of our students do not work or have field internships in environments where they have opportunity to be introduced to advocacy initiatives. Thus, it is deemed 4

5 important to provide these opportunities in the curriculum. It also is related to the small number of students who select the Administration and Policy concentration at the advanced level. At the advanced level, most of the students select the Direct Practice concentration, and a smaller number select the School Social Work and Administration and Policy concentrations. Responses to the concentration-specific questions included in the survey indicate that responses are high-to-very high to all these questions, including Administration and Policy concentration students. In general, movement overall is toward more confidence. Only two items remained as areas of concern: Social Policy Formulation & Social Policy Advocacy. The rest of the items ranked as high or very high levels of confidence. Though concerns remain about particular areas of policy (discussed above), the program apparently provides adequate teaching and other contributions in the classroom, field supervision and experience, advisement, and other supports to the students learning. Particular areas of policy continue to be areas of concern for the overall student population, though not for students who select the administration and policy advanced concentration. It is important to note that most students select the Direct Practice advanced concentration. For the School Social Work concentration, the overwhelming majority of students in both the Post MSW and Traditional Programs (Advanced School Social Work concentration) met and or exceeded expectations for the field practicum objectives. This finding provides evidence that the majority of the students are successful in the application of the ISBE Standards for School Social Workers while in the field setting. All of the students in the Traditional Cohort took the exam on either the February 2011 test date or the April 2011 test date. 100% of the students passed the exam. A composite score of 240 is needed to pass the Type 73 Exam. The exam has 4 subareas. An average of the 4 subareas provides a composite score. The following are the 4 subareas: 1) Social work theories, intervention and services 2) Assessment, Planning and Evaluation 3) Consultation, Collaboration, Advocacy, and Facilitation 4) Learning Community, and the School Social Worker The average composite score for those students taking the exam in February was 266, the statewide average was 267. For the two students taking the exam in April the average composite score was 268, the statewide average for April was 265. None of the students in the Post MSW Cohort took the Type 73 Exam during this school year. Data from recent evaluations of the School Social Work Program indicate fewer students in this cohort choose to take the exam. LEARNING CONTEXT: RESOURCES AND SUPPORT The FPSE Foundation and Advanced Surveys included some questions regarding support and use of resources both within the University and in Social Work Program to facilitate evaluation of the learning context, and to 5

6 determine specific areas of that context that are perceived by students as supportive and/or as barriers to learning. The findings suggest the range of university support resources are not utilized by many students. The students in the program attend classes in the evenings and on weekends, and typically are not on campus during the day when most university services are available (excepting the library). The findings also suggest a range of opinions about the usefulness of these resources. In 2011 the survey sample responses indicated a significant (10 points or more) increase in positive responses in all categories except the Disability Office. Responses of the advanced students were similar to foundation students responses, with significant increase in positive responses in Counseling Center, Library, and Disability Office categories in Regarding supports and resources within the Masters Social Work Program, students at the foundation level registered fairly positive responses overall. Categories that had below a 50% strong positive rating were: Course Scheduling; Physical Environment; Advisor Availability; Advisor Planning Help; Advisor Professional Planning Help. Students at the advanced level also registered fairly positive responses overall in Again: Advisor Planning Help & Advisor Professional Planning Help were rated below 50%. Advisor Planning Help was rated significantly lower than in previous years. Categories that were rated more positive (10 points or more) in 2011 than in 2010 were: Peer Support; Faculty Support; Course Scheduling; Field Seminar & Overall Field Experience. INTERPRETATION Demographically, the student population is becoming more diverse, in part resulting from the successful integration of the El Valor cohort, which is predominantly Latino. The student population remains predominantly African American. Most of the students are employed full time, and few receive support from their employment beyond flexible time. Students continue to anticipate modest improvements in income and status after graduation, and many expect to continue in their current employment. Notably, approximately half of the graduating students expect to pursue further education after graduation, suggestion some success their valuing lifelong learning. Initial interpretation of the findings, consistent with findings in the recent few years, is that the program continues to be experienced by students as meeting most program objectives, and as a relatively supportive, positive learning environment. At the foundation level, ratings have moved directionally upward over the past three years. At the advanced level, the ratings reflected a high level of confidence in most areas of knowledge, skill, values and practice competency. Concerns related to the curriculum, at both foundation and advanced levels, continue to include particular administration and policy areas of learning and competence: social policy analysis, formulation and advocacy. While the direction of confidence ratings continue to move in a positive direction, these items 6

7 remain below the 80% standard. However, a breakdown of the advanced concentrations indicates that, except for policy advocacy, students in the administration and policy direction are highly confident about these content areas. Further, the six concentration-specific items in each concentration achieved high confidence ratings, suggesting the policy competencies are well integrated by students in that concentration. Social policy categories remain areas of concern across concentrations. Perceived competence in research appears to have moved upward and to be within an acceptable range. This would suggest some focused attention to these policy and administration areas at the foundation level, and special emphasis in those areas that are weak within concentrations. Access and use of university resources are perceived as problematic. Overall, ratings of services tended to be more negative at both foundation and advanced levels, in 2010 than in 2009, and remained negative in Many students in the program work full time while attending school, have field internships, and only are on campus for evening and Saturday classes. Many of the resources on campus are available only during daytime hours, and are geared more for undergraduate students. Also, a portion of the students are a cohort derived from El Valor, and attend most of their classes at a site on the West Side. These students have even relatively less contact with the main campus. These ratings may suggest surveying students to determine more specifically what campus resources are needed by our graduate students. Regarding supports and resources within the Masters Social Work Program, students at both levels registered fairly positive responses overall. A downward trend was visible for advisement and field liaison resources. In particular, advisement categories were negative. This trend is concerning, and may reflect a growing student body size, and limited faculty size and availability. Faculty perceive the program to be in a period of stabilization and growth, with increased numbers of students, increase in electives offered to students, diversification of the student body resulting from a collaborative arrangement with El Valor to bring several Latino students to the program, implementation of a trauma-focused training developed for foster parents and foster care staff of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, increased research and scholarly activity by faculty, and strengthening the research, administration, and advocacy components of the program. Several years of evaluation are demonstrating that the faculty and Program Director are committed to creating and maintaining a personal and supportive learning environment for students, and to enhancing and facilitating peer support among students. Faculty are recognizing a need to review and revise syllabi in response to Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) revision of academic standards for accredited professional Social Work programs, focusing on competencies. Decision Making Using Findings The findings were reviewed at the October 2011 faculty meeting, and focused on assessment findings and 7

8 exploration of changes needed. Changes discussed, and being implemented include: 1. Develop clear and specific advocacy assignments in both foundation and advanced concentration practice courses; the foundation assignment could be an exercise in development of an advocacy plan; the advanced assignment could be a small group activity which requires students to plan and carry out a specific advocacy activity and report on its impact. 2. Develop a clear and specific advocacy assignment in both foundation field and advanced field concentration syllabi; provide orientation and basic training to field instructors for supervising the advocacy assignments; create a list of possible advocacy assignments for field instructors. 3. Continue to include clear and specific research/evaluation assignments in foundation and advanced concentration practice courses; the foundation level assignment could be selecting a practice approach/method and reviewing and evaluating literature that reports evidence of effectiveness of that approach; the advanced assignment could be developing an outcome evaluation plan for a practice approach/method that the student is learning about. 4. Develop a clear and specific research/evaluation assignment in foundation field demonstrating use of evidence to evaluate credibility of an approach used in the foundation field internship; provide orientation and basic training to field instructors for supervising the research/evaluation assignments; create a list of possible research/evaluation assignments for field instructors. 5. Develop and conduct a brief survey with current students at the January 2012 All Student Meeting to obtain feedback on: a. the learning context, including support and resource needs identified by the students, and their use and assessment of available university and program resources; their assessment and use of advisement and field liaison resources and arrangements; and their use and assessment of field seminars b. Advisement needs and availability and use of advisors for support of their progress in the program 6. Provide the students with a current listing and description of available university and program resources at the January 2012 All Student Meeting. 7. Provide the students with a guide to use of the library and data bases available through the library at the January 2012 All Student Meeting. Faculty discussed the ongoing concern about student use of advisors and field liaisons, and access to these resources. A general impression is that the growing number of students assigned to advisors, challenges the active use of advisors and advisor outreach to students. 8

9 Demonstrating Improved Learning Most of the areas surveyed demonstrated high or very high confidence of students at the foundation level in In all areas, confidence level moved directionally upward between 2008 and 2010, suggesting a positive impact of changes in the curriculum. The findings suggest continued strength in most areas of curriculum content and process. At the foundation level, students are minimally exposed to research and policy curricula, and these are areas that are traditionally difficult for Social Work students. The positive trend in all these areas, however, may suggest the impact of (1) a more recent faculty emphasis in the policy area, and (2) a concerted effort by faculty to integrate research content into all required courses, and in the field internship experience. These findings indicate consistently strong confidence of graduating students in most of the important curricular areas. Confidence in research evaluation and research application to practice has moved upward, taking these two areas out of the "concern" category, for now. Comparison of advanced students in 2011 with advanced students in 2010, 2009 & 2008, indicated, overall, a high level of confidence in most areas of knowledge, skill, values and practice competency. Comparison of the same cohort on responses at foundation and advanced levels indicates that in most areas, responses at the advanced level were consistent with ratings at the foundation level, with some variation both upward. Items that moved significantly upward (10 points or more) included: Knowledge of Social Work History; Use of Theoretical Frameworks; Research Evaluation; Research Application to Practice; Evaluation of Interventions; Cultural Competence re: Race; Cultural Competence re: Sex. These comparisons suggest maintenance of high confidence in most essential areas of knowledge and skill by this cohort of students between completion of foundation courses and completion of the program. Publicizing Student Learning Assessment findings are posted on the CSU Social Work Program website. They were also distributed to students at the All Student Meeting in January of 2012, and students were invited to give feedback to the Assessment Committee. Assessment results are uploaded on the CAS assessment site on LiveText. Copies of the assessment reports and assessment plans are kept in the Assessment file in the Social Work office, SCI 116 A. Accomplishments and Challenge. The program is in a period of stabilization and growth, evidenced by: increased numbers of students; an increase in electives offered to students; diversification of the student body resulting from a collaborative arrangement with El Valor to bring several Latino students to the program; implementation of a traumafocused training developed for foster parents and foster care staff of the Illinois Department of Children and 9

10 Family Services; increased research and scholarly activity by faculty; and a strengthening of the research, administration, and advocacy components of the program. 10