The Current State of Group Work Education in U.S. Graduate Schools of Social Work

Abstract

Social work has historically recognized group work as a core practice methodology; however, group work's prominence within the graduate curriculum has diminished over the years. This article reports the results of a national survey of accredited U.S. MSW programs' curricular offerings in group work. The survey replicates and builds upon a 1994 Birnbaum and Auerbach study to identify changes and trends over this 20-year period. Overall, a further decline in group work curricular offerings was found. Strategies to renew and bolster commitment to group work education are offered.

Improving Student Confidence in Using Group Work Standards

“…Empirical studies over the past 40 years have pointed out how poorly prepared students are for group work and how ill equipped faculty are who teach social work with groups (Bakalinsky, 1982; Birnbaum & Auerbach, 1994; Birnbaum & Wayne, 2000; Goodman, Knight, & Khudododov, 2014; LaPorte & Sweifach, 2011; Simon & Kilbane, 2014; Sweifach & LaPorte, 2009). For example, a national survey of 1,360 master of social work (MSW) students examined the degree to which they learned group theory and practice in foundation group work courses (Sweifach & LaPorte, 2009).…”

“…Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accrediting standards require a group work experience, but there is a lack of adequate course work on the modality, which leaves graduates unprepared for the routine assignment of leading a treatment or task group. As has been noted, “It is one thing to require group work experience in a field placement, but quite another to make it a true learning experience” (Simon & Kilbane, 2014, p. 252). In addition to the lack of exposure to dedicated group work courses, the empirical evidence reveals that students and faculty need effective approaches for learning and teaching foundation group work competencies.…”

Social Work With Groups’ Practice Ethics and Standards

“…As in other studies, the group work class mattered as far as improving respondents’ perceived performance (Macgowan, 2012; Macgowan & Vakharia, 2012, Shera et al, 2013; Sweifach & LaPorte, 2013). This is an important finding, as many BSW and MSW programs do not have a methods class solely focused on group work methodology, and other programs offer group work as an elective that students may or may not take prior to graduation (Simon & Kilbane, 2014). Since groups are increasing and are often facilitated by social workers, it is worrisome that social work graduates may be unprepared to do this type of work with vulnerable populations (Sweifach & LaPorte, 2009).…”

Technology and groupwork

“…Similarly, most MSW programs no longer require even a single course in social groupwork. Furthermore, there are signifi cantly fewer full-time social work faculty members whose primary focus is social groupwork (Birnbaum & Auerbach, 1994;Simon & Kilbane, 2011;Simon & Webster, 2009). These declines have been a concern of groupwork leaders as early as the late 1970's (Tropp, 1978).…”