Welfare Program Evaluation Course for Social Workin the Graduate School of
the Japan College of Social Work

Nobuyuki Niekawa 1) Kenta Shindo 1)
Machiko Ohara 1)
Iwao Oshima 2)

Virag Viktor 1)

1) Japan College of Social Work, 2) Tohoku Fukushi University

TopicsThe need for evaluation education in welfare graduate schools•Social welfare, social work, social change and development, EBPs
Case: Welfare Program Evaluation Course in Japan College of Social Work
• Master/ Doctoral degree, curriculum

Evaluation: achievements and challenges• Alumni, evaluation of the evaluation program, evaluation culture in Japan

The need for evaluation education in welfare graduate schools
Social welfare represents…
•the value of aiming for a better society where people can live happily•the policies, systems, and practices to achieve that goal. = Social work

Global Definition of the Social Work Profession (IASSW & IFSW, 2014)• a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotessocial change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment
and liberation of people… ≒ Macro-practice (cf. mezzo-/ micro-practice)

Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training (IASSW & IFSW)• some of 30 core curricula of the standard focused on macro-practice.

The need for evaluation education in welfare graduate schools
Evidence-based practices (EBPs)•scientist-practitioner model•5-steps: Ask, Acquire, Appraise, Apply, and Assess/Audit
Guidelines for Curriculum and Educational Systems in Graduate Schools of Social Welfare (Japan)• Requires macro-practice competency and practical research skills.
Therefore…
• “research methodologies for program development”• “research methodologies for development, formative evaluation,dissemination for EBP”
• “methodologies for empowerment evaluation with stakeholder
participation”

Case: Welfare Program Evaluation Course in Japan College of Social Work
Japan College of Social Work (JCSW)•welfare college established in 1946
•master's program was established in 1989/ the doctoral program in 1994.

“Welfare Program Evaluation Course” focuses on…
• program evaluation by Rossi et al.
• the educational content address EBP, macro -practice social work,
effective program development and restructuring, continuousimprovement and formative evaluation, and implementation anddissemination.

Case: Welfare Program Evaluation Course in Japan College of Social Work
Subject group

Subject name
General theory of welfare program evaluation

Program
Evaluation
Subjects

Welfare program evaluation theory I, II, III
Special Lecture on Welfare Program Evaluation I, II
Welfare program evaluation training
Introduction to social welfare research methodology

Research Method Research topic setting theory
Subjects
Basic theory of social welfare research method
Quantitative/ Qualitative data analysis methodology for practicalInternational
Social Welfare Specialized English
Relations subjects Asian Social Welfare ResearchEvaluation: achievement
Numbers of students who complete the course•Masterʼs course: 41 (35% of graduates), Doctoral course: 6 (13% of graduates)

Now, the graduates…
• engage in evaluation practice.
• engage in welfare education including evaluation as education and research
positions at universities and graduate schools• engage in research activities that utilize program evaluation
Practitioner/ Peer Based Empowerment Evaluation Research and training Center (PBEE-RC)• based on the EBP Technical Support Center concept• Collaborative researchers, graduate students, and graduate school graduates
are also participating in this projectEvaluation: challenges

・Evaluation of this course itself is not carried out systematically yet.
・there are currently insufficient opportunities in Japan’s social
welfare field for students/ graduates to practice evaluation.