Elections have become the new battleground for democracy and civil rights. Yet few social work programs provide opportunities for students to gain competency in electoral politics and voter engagement. This article describes an elective course for Master of Social Work students offered in the runup to the 2018 and 2020 elections. Using classroom…

It is imperative to consider the significance of intersectionality in social work practice and education because of its purpose of understanding and addressing multiple forms of oppression. This article proposes a tool, the Intersectionality Analysis Cluster, which could be used across the social work curriculum and various academic degree levels…

Online/virtual educators face challenges related not only to technology and pedagogy, but also to student assessment, which remains a critical function to reinforce. Brief assessment tools can be used by the instructor to tailor the learning experience, and where appropriate, to reinforce student-centered learning. In this qualitative study, we…

A prototype standardized client was created and programmed to respond to students in the 3D virtual world of Second Life. This automaton, called a "chatbot," was repeatedly interviewed by beginning MSW students in a practice course as a learning exercise. Initial results were positive and suggest the use of simulated clients in virtual…

Field practicum plays a central role in social work education by socializing social work students to the profession and facilitating the integration of theoretical knowledge with skill development. Students can be apprehensive about beginning practicum and often lack adequate formal preparation for the practicum experience. This study evaluates…

There has been a call for social work programs to better prepare students for field education. This qualitative study examined an innovation titled Practice Fridays developed to enhance competence in MSW students in a classroom setting. Students (N=57) described what they learned through this simulation-based learning activity and the processes…

This study describes the use of guided learning activities that exposed aspiring helping professionals to the challenges and discrimination experienced by individuals living in poverty. Pretest/posttest and qualitative analysis of participants' reactions to a Poverty Simulation and a Bridges Out of Poverty Workshop were analyzed to explore…

Field practicum is an active learning process. This study explores the different learning stages or processes students experience during their field practicum. First-year master's of social work students in field practica were asked how much they had engaged in educational learning activities such as observation, working independently, process…

Sixty-four master's of social work (MSW) students reported on observational-participatory and conceptual linkage learning activities used in their first- and second-year field placements. Greater use of some activities was associated with student satisfaction and perception of quality but not with field instructors' ratings of student performance.…