The Indiana University School of Social Work is dedicated to educating students to be effective and knowledgeable professional social workers prepared for practice in the twenty-first century. Social Work practitioners are committed to the alleviation of poverty, oppression, and discrimination. The school is dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life for all people, particularly the citizens of Indiana, and to the advancement of just social, political, and economic conditions through excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Within the context of a diverse, multicultural, urbanized, global and technologically oriented society, the school prepares social workers who will shape solutions to a wide range of interpersonal and social problems by developing and using knowledge critically as they uphold the traditions, values, and ethics of the social work profession.
The BSW Program is committed to
Indiana University School of Social Work Baccalaureate Program has set forth five educational goals as follows:
Following a minimum of two years post-graduate supervised social work practice experience, BSW graduates of Indiana University are eligible to apply for legal licensure by the State of Indiana. Upon receipt of a complete application and a passing score on a standardized examination, the Indiana State Health Professions Bureau designates the BSW graduate a Licensed Social Worker (LSW). You can visit the Bureau at www.in.gov/pla/.
The IUSSW BSW curriculum combines liberal arts with professional social work foundation content to prepare graduates for direct service. Students complete two supervised field practicums, working more than 560 clock hours in human service organizations.
Upon completion of the Baccalaureate Social Work Program, graduates will be able to:
The above mentioned educational objectives emphasize the BSW program commitment to a number of themes including:
Values and ethics
The social work literature provides many definitions of generalist practice. One of the definitions that has been helpful to the conceptualization of the curriculum is the one developed by Louise C. Johnson in early 1980s and later revised as follows:
A generalist practice is that in which the client and worker together assess the need in all of its complexity and develop a plan for responding to that need. A strategy is chosen from a repertoire of responses appropriate for work with individuals, families, groups, agencies, and communities. The unit of attention is chosen by considering the system needing to be changed. The plan is carried out and evaluated. (Johnson & Yance, 2001)
The definition provided by Suppes and Wells (2009) highlights the breadth of generalist practice:
A professional social worker who engages in a planned change process- discovering, utilizing, and making connections to arrive at unique, responsive solutions involving individual persons, families, groups, organizational systems, and communities. Generalist social workers view clients and client systems from a strengths perspective to build upon the innate capabilities existing in all human beings. They respect and value human diversity. Generalists seek to prevent as well as to resolve problems. Generalist social work practice is guided by the NASW Code of Ethics. It is committed to improving the well being of individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations and furthering the goals of social justice (p. 7).
The National Association of Social Workers states:
Generalist social work practitioners work with individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations in a variety of social work and host settings. Generalist practitioners view clients and client systems from a strengths perspective in order to recognize, support, and build upon the innate capabilities of all human beings. They use a professional problem solving process to engage, assess, broker services, advocate, counsel, educate, and organize with and on behalf of client and client systems. In addition, generalist practitioners engage in community and organizational development. Finally, generalist practitioners evaluate service outcomes in order to continually improve the provision and quality of services most appropriate to client needs.
Generalist social work practice is guided by the NASW Code of Ethics and is committed to improving the well being of individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations and furthering the goals of social justice.
Approved by the Board of Directors, 2006. Retrieved from www.bpdonline.org/ on May 21, 2009.
BSW graduates are prepared to work effectively with individuals, families, small groups, communities, and organizations in a variety of settings. Graduates are employed in both public and private agencies. They provide both direct and indirect services to individuals, families and groups, and are often involved in organizational planning and management. Some of the settings in which they may be employed include:
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