The foundation practicum is taken concurrently with GRSW 501 and 502. This course examines the school as a social institution that serves to educate and socialize children into American society and the role of the social worker in such a setting. Emphasis is placed on discovering similarities and differences between social work and education values and tasks, and the process of integrating social work values into a school setting. Social work with special populations, including racial, cultural and sexual minorities, is discussed. This course also examines specific handicaps to learning and the role of the social worker in helping students, schools and families adjust to and cope with special needs.
Emphasis is placed on evaluation of school social work practice.
Clinical interventions with children that fit within a school setting are included. This course will explore the dynamics of human behavior and prepare a foundation of knowledge on which to build clinical practice skills. Through a study of systems theory and the identification of the biological, psychological and sociological variable influencing development, students gain a theoretical base for application to the assessment in client systems. Special emphasis in this course is on the important factors of human diversity as they affect the dynamics of human behavior. This course examines family constellations across the life cycle.