A Geriatric Education Center Faculty Development Program Dedicated to Social Work to Social Work

Abstract

This paper describes the effort of the California Geriatric Education Center (CGEC) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to rectify the severe shortage of social work faculty trained in aging as reported in a recent national survey of schools of social work. The lack of gerontological social work faculty is a major barrier to the development of aging curricula in BSW and MSW programs. The CGEC Social Work Faculty Development Program (SWFDP) presents a model for faculty development in gerontology which addresses major issues in social work education.

Does the MSW Curriculum Contribute to the Professional Specialization of the BSW-Educated Social Worker?

“…Few studies have focused on the equilibrium between the three domains of the profession in BSW or MSW programs (O'Neil and Wilson-Coker, 1986;Damron-Rodriguez et al, 1992;Ferraro, 1991), and even fewer studies have focused on the differentiation between the BSW and the MSW programs in this context. Generally, the findings of this study appear to confirm the general trends revealed in the limited body of extant research.…”

“…Some curriculum research focuses on the development of programs of concentration in the BSW and MSW degrees as a single unit (Damron-Rodriguez et al, 1992;Lubben et al, 1992;O'Neil and Wilson-Coker, 1986;Rittner and Wordarski, 1999). These studies deal primarily with the development of curricula in each area of concentration by means of interviews of social work educators or students, but not with the issue of the value of the MSW curriculum in social work practice.…”

“…Although considerable research has been done on the evaluation and accreditation of BSW curricula, few studies deal with the MSW curriculum, although the differentiated roles of the master's and bachelor's degrees are referred to in the literature. Some curriculum research focuses on the development of programs of concentration in the BSW and MSW degrees as a single unit (Damron-Rodriguez et al, 1992;Lubben et al, 1992;O'Neil and Wilson-Coker, 1986;Rittner and Wordarski, 1999). These studies deal primarily with the development of curricula in each area of concentration by means of interviews of social work educators or students, but not with the issue of the value of the MSW curriculum in social work practice.…”