Courses

SOWK B500-A CONNECT Program for First-Year MSS Students

Fall 2024

GSSWSR CONNECT is a cohort-based program for all incoming first-year MSS students. CONNECT follows a small group cohort model paired with community wide events for GSSWSR faculty, staff, and all students. Cohorts are facilitated by GSSWSR Ph.D. students and meet once per month seven times during the academic year. CONNECT content links to the arc of the academic year and includes topics relevant to academic, social, and professional domains. The program seeks to counter isolation, normalize support-seeking, and facilitate community building. One of the primary goals of the program is to share information, resources, and skills that support graduate social work student academic, social, and professional success. The program was developed in collaboration with various GSSWSR faculty, staff, and students and in consultation with Bryn Mawr College undergraduate Deans.

Back to top

SOWK B500-B CONNECT Program for First-Year MSS Students

GSSWSR CONNECT is a cohort-based program for all incoming first-year MSS students. CONNECT follows a small group cohort model paired with community wide events for GSSWSR faculty, staff, and all students. Cohorts are facilitated by GSSWSR Ph.D. students and meet once per month seven times during the academic year. CONNECT content links to the arc of the academic year and includes topics relevant to academic, social, and professional domains. The program seeks to counter isolation, normalize support-seeking, and facilitate community building. One of the primary goals of the program is to share information, resources, and skills that support graduate social work student academic, social, and professional success. The program was developed in collaboration with various GSSWSR faculty, staff, and students and in consultation with Bryn Mawr College undergraduate Deans.

Back to top

SOWK B501 Foundation Practice I

Fall 2024

As the first course in our Foundation Practice sequence, Foundation Practice I covers the core knowledge, values, and skills applicable to practice with individuals, families, small groups, organizations, and communities and is taken by all students in the MSS program. In conjunction with the other foundation courses, this course examines the field of social work and forms the base from which students later develop knowledge and skills in our advanced specializations. We teach Foundation Practice from a generalist perspective and, as such, focus on elements of the social work knowledge base that are important and relevant to all fields of social work practice. This course explores the history and purpose of the social work profession and introduces students to the unique role of social work as a distinct field, amongst the helping professions. The mission of social work is conceptualized broadly as reflecting the person-in-environment and strengths perspectives, with emphasis on working with diverse populations at risk. This course also reflects the school's mission, goals, and objectives of promoting a global perspective, social justice, and human wellbeing. Over the course of the semester, Foundation Practice students learn about the centrality of social work values and ethics, the critical role of helping relationships across fields of social work practice, the challenges of forming assessments of diverse populations across and within national borders, building skills of advocacy, and cultural competence, the knowledge and skills for developing and analyzing policies and services, and the importance of utilizing research-based knowledge and evidence of best practices in evaluating practice effectiveness. Additionally, all students acquire knowledge and skills to formulate community, organizational and biopsychosocial assessments. Critical thinking skills are emphasized as students are taught to integrate policy, theory, and research in practice.

Back to top

SOWK B502 Foundation Practice II

Spring 2025

As the second course in our Foundation Practice sequence, Foundation Practice II extends Foundation Practice I in its continuing examination of the core knowledge, values, and skills for differential use of self; advocacy and leadership; use of evidence and best practices to guide practice behaviors, interventions and evaluation with individuals, families, small groups, organizations and communities. Taken by all students in the MSS program, Foundation Practice II specifically builds on the generalist perspectives from other generalist courses, including Foundation Practice I, emphasizing assessment to focus on students' capacities to plan and implement theory-guided interventions within systems and to move within and between micro and macro practice to help clients at these multiple levels to achieve their goals. Critical thinking skills are emphasized as students are taught to integrate policy, theory and research in practice that seeks to promote social and economic justice by examining the effects of social exclusion and oppression on individuals, families, communities, and organizations; and recognizes the importance of a global perspective. The management and delivery of services are also considered along with improving services for marginalized populations. Together with Foundation Practice I, Foundation Practice II provides the generalist perspective on which the advanced practice concentrations will build. Across Foundation Practice I and II, there is a logical and developmental approach; working with students to build systematically from social work ethics to relationship building and formulating assessments, to goal setting and intervention planning -including culturally responsive interventions that address the needs of individuals, families, communities, groups, and organizations-to strategies for policy practice and advocacy and for evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions. Foundation Practice II follows the structure of all practice courses with class time devoted to discussion of field-based practice and experience.

Back to top

SOWK B503 Research Informed Practice I

Fall 2024

Social workers' research literacy is a social justice issue. We have a professional obligation to: 1) be informed consumers of existing research to facilitate practice decisions, based on the best research evidence available, at the client, program, community, national, and/or international level; 2) use our research expertise to critically assess the development and implementation of empirical research impacting social work services consumers; and 3) evaluate our practice and expand the research-based knowledge of our profession. Responsive to these obligations, this course facilitates the development of an understanding of the scientific method as a systematic, rigorous approach to professional knowledge building as well as to the evaluation and extension of existing knowledge to practice at the client, program, community, national and international levels. Explicit links are made between sound research and effective, evidence-based practices. Throughout, students learn to critique existing research in terms of the quality of its evidence, its relevancy to women, racial, ethnic, and other minority groups, and people from different socioeconomic classes; and to develop procedures for coping with organizational and sociopolitical issues in developing and implementing agency-based research. Practical dilemmas that arise in designing and implementing agency-based research are also presented and workable solutions suggested. Along with Research Informed Practice II, the other foundation course in the research sequence, this course enables students to incorporate empirical research into all aspects of social work practice. Students will develop the research skills necessary to evaluate interventions designed to bring about change at any system level.

Back to top

SOWK B504 Research Informed Practice II

Spring 2025

Following the prerequisite course, Research Informed Practice I (B503), this course prepares students to seek answers to fundamental questions about social work practice, social policy, and social programs through the analysis of quantitative data. Along with Research Informed Practice I, this course enables students to become critical consumers of empirical research, as well as gain an appreciation for the use of statistics in evidence-based practice. Through emphasizing the application of key statistical techniques and interpretation of results, students learn how to use statistics appropriately in their practice. Particular attention is paid to the legitimate and illegitimate use of statistical techniques and the misuses of data in support of discriminatory theories and practices toward vulnerable and at-risk populations. Familiarization with statistical methods used to examine issues related to poverty and other social and economic welfare issues assists students in examining research findings considering social work values and ethics. Existing research is critiqued in terms of its relevance and generalizability with the implication that findings for more powerful groups may not be applicable to other diverse groups. Students learn to be careful in how results are interpreted and applied specifically to women, racial, ethnic, and other minority groups, and to vulnerable and at-risk populations. This course reinforces the ongoing requirement that students expand their technological skills from the generalist year into their area of specialization. Students learn how to empirically test theories and hypotheses, and thus apply the content of this course in their social work theory and practice-based courses.

Back to top

SOWK B505 Theoretical Perspectives in Social Work I

Fall 2024

This course considers major theories of human behavior and human development over the lifespan. It covers relevant biological, psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral and ecological/systems theory that informs social work practice with diverse populations. The course requires students to achieve mastery of the central propositions of each theory that examine the biological, psychological, social, and cultural determinants of behavior among individuals, families, communities, groups, and organizations. The course focuses on helping students integrate knowledge, find commonalities among strains of thought, and enhance critical thinking. This is accomplished by examining the strengths and limitations of each theory in explaining human behavior and in informing social work practice. Students are encouraged to appraise the goodness-of-fit between theories of human behavior and social work's principles, values, and ethics. The course examines the relationship of each theory to the professional ideals of self-determination, the promotion of social justice, human worth and dignity, understanding and valuing intersectionality and cultural diversity, and cultivation of client strengths. The course also encourages critical appraisal of the ability of selected theories to explain human behavior embedded within varying historical, social, political, and cultural contexts. A focus of the course is to consider each theory's capacity to address issues of intersectionality and diversity such as gender, class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and physical ability. Class materials and discussion also examine the extent to which theories reflect the dominant values of a society, and in doing so, marginalize particular social groups. The course considers ways these biases perpetuate disenfranchisement of populations at risk, by portraying these populations as "abnormal." As such, the course fosters students' ability to recognize bias in theory towards racist, sexist, heterosexist, and ageist ideas.The course complements all generalist courses and practice specializations by contributing to students' ability to understand the complexity of human behavior, critically apply theory to policy and practice, and examine the relevance of theory to social work research.

Back to top

SOWK B506 Assessment and Psychopathology: Across the Lifespan

Spring 2025

This course provides an overview of principles used in the assessment of psychopathology across the lifespan. Emphasis is placed on assessment issues, theoretical formulations, etiology, and research findings related to each diagnosis, and the clinical manifestations of these conditions will be illustrated through case examples and video presentations. In this way, this second semester course builds on content introduced in first semester courses such as "Theoretical Perspectives in Social Work" and "Research Informed Practice I". The uses, strengths, and limitations of diagnostic classification are considered through lectures, activities and assignments that foster a critical analysis of their ecological validity in different contexts. Students learn to use the DSM-5 as a diagnostic tool and to critically evaluate it as an extension of the medical model of assessing human distress. In addition, students are introduced to the person-in-environment system (P-I-E) used to address the strengths and social functioning problems experienced by clients across a range of practice settings. Psychological factors related to physical conditions are considered and cultural influences on the expression and diagnosis of mental disorders are explored. The impact on the assessment process of oppression, discrimination, and trauma, especially as they intersect with race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, will also be examined. A strengths perspective that leads to a competence model of assessment and intervention that is compatible with social work principles and values will be emphasized. This course supports the assessment skills that are emphasized in Foundation Practice I and II, which are then further developed in Clinical Social Work Practice I and II, and essential to competence in field instruction experiences, especially in the advanced placement year. Readings and discussions build on the social and behavioral theories introduced in Theoretical Perspectives in Social Work.

Back to top

SOWK B508 Community Strategies and Assessment: Advocacy and Action

Spring 2025

This course is designed for students intending to do an advanced specialization in Macro Practice: Communities, Organizations, Policy, and Advocacy (COPA). Building on content in generalist practice courses such as Theoretical Perspectives in Social Work, Foundation Practice I and II, and Power, Privilege, and Oppression, students in this course will further develop capacities for applying basic skills and strategies for policy advocacy and community organizing to better understand and address health (broadly defined) in holistic, collective, and critical ways. Taking this comprehensive perspective on well-being, students will be able to understand, distinguish between, and use various community assessment methods to understand individual/collective well-being. Central to this course is the use of case study methodology to enable students to plan and undertake relevant real-world assessments to examine a social issue related to their work in field education. Through this project, students will not only integrate classroom- and field-based learning but will also build on the research informed practice foundation covered in the generalist practice curriculum. Students will have the opportunity to use existing published research as well as secondary data such as census or administrative data. Students will also collect primary data (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups) through research with (as opposed to on) community leaders, community-based organizations, social service providers, and community residents. Students will work with engaged stakeholders to craft their plans, and to interpret and prioritize findings that suggest possible interventions. Plans, findings, and recommendations will be compiled into a final written report which students will share with their stakeholder groups/communities in oral and/or written formats. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on the use of multi-cultural perspectives, advocacy with marginalized and at-risk populations, and practice in a diverse and global landscape. Issues of power and positionality are especially emphasized. Key objectives of this course include that students will: 1) Acquire an understanding of the history of, techniques in, and controversies around community assessment in social work and public health practice, 2) Both generally and in terms of one's personal practice, understand and be able to discuss and navigate around factors inherent in a successful community assessment, including how to identify, anticipate and navigate common pitfalls, 3) Compare different techniques of community assessment, 4) Identify and be able to discuss ethical and cultural concerns regarding community assessment, including the role of historical trauma and collective resilience; the dynamics of insider/outsider tensions; and the practical and philosophical issues regarding cross-cultural work, 5) Collectively demonstrate skills in: planning and undertaking a community assessment, including managing group work and community based research; collecting, organizing, and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data; preparing and presenting professional products for community agencies, and 6) Demonstrate how to take findings from a community assessment and create logical implications for interventions for both policy and direct practice (at varying levels - individual, family, community). This course supports the assessment skills that are emphasized in Foundation Practice I and II, which are then further developed in COPA I and II, and are essential to competence in field instruction experiences, especially in the advanced placement year. Readings and discussions also build on the social and behavioral theories introduced in Theoretical Perspectives in Social Work.

Back to top

SOWK B517 Social Policy Foundations/Analysis

Fall 2024

This course will examine the U.S. social and economic landscape and the effects of government policy choices, beginning from a point of examining the role of government and the political, philosophical, theoretical, and historical forces that fundamentally shape the context of social welfare. The course will provide social work students with the opportunity to examine and discuss policy that relates to issues that are of concern to social workers. Particular attention will be paid to the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion related to social citizenship and welfare, such as racial identity, class, citizenship status, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. Many of the issues that will be discussed relate to the causes and consequences of economic and social inequality, poverty, and low income in the U.S. (e.g., tax policy, health care policy, food, and cash assistance programs like SNAP and TANF, housing policy and education policy). The U.S. system and our various policies will be compared with those of other large countries to help us consider the underlying values and various functions of the government within various economies.

Back to top

SOWK B521 Field Education I

Fall 2024

Supervised experience in using social work skills is provided in a field setting. The field practicum courses are taken concurrently with Foundation Practice I and Foundation Practice II. Students are placed in agency environments in which Field Instructors are agency staff members. Field Instructors are responsible to facilitate students' learning across the two-semester sequence of Field Education. Field Education I and Field Education II are generalist practice field placements; designed to provide students with the opportunity to practice social work skills with the guidance and supervision of professional social workers. Connected to Foundation Practice I and Foundation Practice II, as well as to other generalist curriculum courses, students learn to apply evidence informed approaches to all phases of the helping process including engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Reflecting work in courses such as Power, Privilege and Oppression, students learn to recognize intersectionality within the placement context, and to understand and address issues of privilege and social justice. Students spend two full days/week in the field during regularly scheduled hours of the assigned agency. Within the Field Education practicum, students use a variety of tools, such as the Field Learning Agreement, Process Recordings, and Reflective Journals to facilitate supervision with the Field Instructor.

Back to top

SOWK B522 Field Education II

Spring 2025

Supervised experience in using social work skills is provided in a field setting. The field practicum courses are taken concurrently with Foundation Practice I and Foundation Practice II. Students are placed in agency environments in which Field Instructors are agency staff members. Field Instructors are responsible to facilitate students' learning across the two-semester sequence of Field Education. Field Education I and Field Education II are generalist practice field placements; designed to provide students with the opportunity to practice social work skills with the guidance and supervision of professional social workers. Connected to Foundation Practice I and Foundation Practice II, as well as to other generalist curriculum courses, students learn to apply evidence informed approaches to all phases of the helping process including engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Reflecting work in courses such as Power, Privilege and Oppression, students learn to recognize intersectionality within the placement context, and to understand and address issues of privilege and social justice. Students spend two full days/week in the field during regularly scheduled hours of the assigned agency. Within the Field Education practicum, students use a variety of tools, such as the Field Learning Agreement, Process Recordings, and Reflective Journals to facilitate supervision with the Field Instructor.

Back to top

SOWK B526 Feminist Perspectives on Health

Increasingly, an individual's sense of self and worth as a citizen turns on their health identity. In this course we will draw on theories of gender, race, sexuality, medicalization, and biocitizenship to unravel the ways in which gender structures and medical institutions are mutually constitutive and to explore how this relationship, in turn, impacts individual identity. The course will take a global approach to feminist engagement with health issues with an emphasis on human rights and bodily autonomy.

Back to top

SOWK B531 Communities, Organizations, Policy, and Advocacy I

Fall 2024

This course is for students concentrating in Macro Practice: Communities, Organizations, Policy, and Advocacy. Students develop capacities to apply basic skills and strategies for policy advocacy and community organizing. Through this course, students will refine their identities as macro social workers, including not only developing deep understandings of the ethics and tensions within the field, but also developing ways to navigate the diverse landscapes of macro practice. The core tasks that students will focus on are community level engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation; through the three semester sequence (Community Strategies and Assessment; COPA I and II), students will be able to demonstrate networking, facilitative, and technical knowledge and skills needed for collaborative efforts within community and organizational engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation (e.g. distributive leadership, facilitation, participatory problem/priority identification, decision making, conducting effective meetings, team building, communication, supervision, conflict resolution, management of individuals and task groups, budgeting, fundraising). Students will also be able to, among other things, actively draw on multiple theories and frameworks within community and organizational engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation, including organizational and systems theories; theories of change; theories of community development/organization; theories of policy advocacy; legal processes, reasoning, and analysis. Central to this course is case studies, both fictional and real life; this class works with students' experiences in field to help make sense of field and teach theories and practice skills integral to their work. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on the use of multi-cultural perspectives and advocacy with marginalized and at-risk populations.

Back to top

SOWK B532 Communities, Organizations, Policy, and Advocacy II

Spring 2025

This course is the last course for students in the "Communities, Organization, Policy, and Advocacy" advanced specialization. In this advanced specialization, students build on the knowledge, values and skills from the generalist practice foundation and learn to apply this content for their work with communities, organizations, policy advocacy, and community organizing. Through this course, students will continue to build on their socialization into the profession, and the work in the generalist practice curriculum on social work values, ethics, theories, concepts, and skills for evidence-based practice. Their identities as macro social workers include not only developing deep understandings of the ethics and tensions within the field, but also developing ways to navigate the diverse landscapes of macro practice. The core tasks that students will focus on are community level engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation; through the three semester sequence (Community Strategies and Assessment, COPA I, and COPA II), students will be able to demonstrate networking, facilitative, and technical knowledge and skills needed for collaborative efforts within community and organizational engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation (e.g. distributive leadership, facilitation, participatory problem/priority identification, decision making, conducting effective meetings, team building, communication, supervision, conflict resolution, management of individuals and task groups, budgeting, fundraising). In this final, culminating course of the three-semester sequence, students will use the strong theoretical and philosophical foundation built in previous courses to aid them as they build and sharpen concrete skills needed for macro social work practice.

Back to top

SOWK B535 Clinical Social Work Practice I

Fall 2024

Clinical Social Work Practice I works in tandem with Field Education III to teach skills related to clinical assessment and conceptualization, goal setting, intervention skills, and practice evaluation. The pedagogical strategies in this course include readings, lecture, online and in-person discussion forums, case-focused student presentations and discussions, role-play, audio-visual materials, and written assignments designed to enhance knowledge and skills, and to foster the integration of classroom learning with field learning experience to create a coherent educational experience inclusive of both classroom and field learning. A key area of learning in this course is the differential and reflexive use of self. Clinical Social Work Practice I is intended to support students in developing a reflective and collaborative stance for anti-oppressive clinical social work practice relevant to a range of types of clinical social work, including practice in mental health and medical clinics, hospitals, schools, child welfare agencies, prisons, and other applied practice settings. This first semester, advanced specialization course emphasizes the need for critical analysis of current health and mental health trends, their effects, and their impacts, for clients who are often confronted by serious biopsychosocialspiritual challenges, occurring in the face of system oppression, marginalization, and both personal and historical trauma. This course aims to promote continual and ongoing critical attention to the sociopolitical context of clinical social work practice and dynamics of shared and different social identities for clinician and client (gender, identity, age, race, ethnicity, language, class, sexual orientation, abilities, and/or other aspects of social identity), as well as how conscious and unconscious agency/institutional practices treat groups differently. In addition, this course seeks to integrate awareness of the structural and system oppressive practice within micro level conceptualization and practice work. These critical perspectives are integrated with the study of the ethical principles of social work practice, including those outlined in the NASW (2021) Code of Ethics.

Back to top

SOWK B536 Clinical Social Work II

Spring 2025

Clinical Social Work Practice II is the second course in the clinical sequence, examining the major theoretical principles and skills of social work practice. These complimentary courses rely on a bio-psycho-social-spiritual perspective as well as eco-systemic, strengths-based, and risk-and-resilience frameworks. These courses are guided by psychodynamic, person-in-environment, liberation, and developmental theories and student fieldwork experiences for the study of case conceptualization and practice preparation across a wide range of direct practice settings. In this second semester course of the advanced specialization, a key area of learning is the differential and reflexive use of the self. This course is intended to build on concepts introduced in Clinical Social Work Practice I with more focus on the application of these theoretical frameworks. As in the first practice class, we remain cognizant of the socio-political, racial, and spiritual challenges occurring in the face of system oppression and marginalization. During this course, we continue to focus on social work ethics and social justice work through topics attentive to micro-, meso-, and macro- level dynamics of power and oppression as they emerge in clinical practice work in diverse settings. In Clinical Social Work Practice II, we further develop practice knowledge, values and skills while mindfully attending to affective and cognitive processes in our case presentation discussion model that was initiated in Clinical Social Work Practice I.

Back to top

SOWK B538 Issues in Domestic Violence

Spring 2025

Back to top

SOWK B541 Field Education III

Fall 2024

Second year field education provides an opportunity for the student to focus on the further development of skills. It is taken concurrently with Clinical Social Work Practice I (B535), or Communities, Organizations, Policy, and Advocacy I (B531). Advanced specialization year students are assigned to a field setting for three days per week for each of the two semesters. Their work is supervised by an agency staff member who assumes responsibility for facilitating the student's learning. Supervised experience in using social work skills is provided in a field setting. Field Instructors are responsible to facilitate students' learning across the two-semester sequence of Field Education. Through tools such as the field learning agreement, process recordings, journal reflections, supervision, agency site visits by field liaisons, and integration with classroom content via discussion and assignments, students develop the knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive/affective capabilities to demonstrate competency at an advanced level of specialized practice.

Back to top

SOWK B542 Field Education IV

Spring 2025

Second year field education provides an opportunity for the student to focus on the further development of skills. It is taken concurrently with Clinical Social Work Practice II (B536), or Communities, Organizations, Policy, and Advocacy II (B532). Advanced specialization year students are assigned to a field setting for three days per week for each of the two semesters. Their work is supervised by an agency staff member who assumes responsibility for facilitating the student's learning. Supervised experience in using social work skills is provided in a field setting. Field Instructors are responsible to facilitate students' learning across the two-semester sequence of Field Education. Through tools such as the field learning agreement, process recordings, journal reflections, supervision, agency site visits by field liaisons, and integration with classroom content via discussion and assignments, students develop the knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive/affective capabilities to demonstrate competency at an advanced level of specialized practice.

Back to top

SOWK B555 Ethics and Social Work Practice: Considerations, Actions and Leadership

Spring 2025

Social workers are often called the "conscience" of society. Intimately involved with the details of clients' lives, social workers practice at the highly charged intersection of ethical, moral and legal issues. Balancing a need to be sensitive to differences in culture and a responsibility to confront oppression requires a finely nuanced ability to identify ethical dilemmas. Once identified these issues are complex to sort through. Whether acting as a therapist, a community organizer, policy or legal advocate, social workers have a responsibility to make ethical decisions that are informed by thoughtful and thorough ethical reasoning process. In establishing themselves as ethical practitioners, social workers have a responsibility to become competent in: •fostering and maintaining their own ethical practice; •stimulating and participating in discussions about ethics with clients and colleagues;•facilitating the often charged ethical discussions that ensue;•and then helping to bring such discussion to closure and subsequent action The purpose of this ethics workshop is to provide a provocative look at the study of ethics. The objectives are as follows:•Delineate different definitions of ethical practice. •Articulate the numerous challenges to maintaining an ethical practice in the social work field. •Apply the concept of an "ethical work-up" to analyze ethical dilemmas.

Back to top

SOWK B556 Caring for an Aging America

The course broadly explores the biological, psychological, and social aspects of aging into middle and late adulthood for individual, families, communities, and society at large. This is accomplished through exploration of a.) the psychological and social developmental challenges of adulthood, b.) the core biological changes that accompany this stage of life, c.) research methodology for inquiry into aging, d.) the demands and impact on care givers and families, e.) psychopathology common in older adults, f.) social welfare policies and programs designed to ameliorate stress and promote well-being among older adults, and g.) the political, social, and academic discourse around the concept of aging successfully in the 21st century. Throughout the course, the experience of aging, and the ways in which this experience differs by race, ethnicity, gender, class, culture, and sexual orientation are considered. This course builds on theory, knowledge, and skills of social work with older adults introduced in Foundation Practice and Theoretical Perspectives in Social Work I. This course is relevant to the clinical, management, and policy concentrations, in that it focuses on the concepts, theories, and policies central to effective assessment and intervention with older adults.

Back to top

SOWK B557 Organizational Behavior: An Introduction to the Art and Science

Whether as an administrator, staff /service provider or board member, or even as a consumer, we all have multiple opportunities to interact with organizations. This course explores the 10 basic components of organizations which impact people, place, processes, and placement. In this seminar-style class, students will contribute as both teachers and learners in the study of how people, as individuals and as groups, operate within the context of change that surrounds today's organizations. The skills taught in this course will help students think about, advocate within, elicit change from, and lead organizations. We will use a "10-S" model of organizational practice to guide our thinking. This model champions multicultural competency and examines a number of mezzo- and macro-level influencing factors. For instance, we will consider how even an organization's physical setting impacts the delivery of its mission. Also examined is the leadership style of organizational administrations as well as the types of staff and their skills, and the agency's shared values, strategy, structure, systems, and the services provided to diverse stakeholders. In the course of the semester, students will explore these organizational components, their interrelatedness, and reciprocal impacts through individual and small group presentations, self-reflection exercises, and a final paper. A particular emphasis will be placed on ways to invoke both 'right brain' /synthesizing and non-linear thinking with more 'left-brain'/ analytical methods to better understand the responsibilities and various styles of effective leaders. This class will be interactive, co-constructed, and provide foundational theories and practical skills.

Back to top

SOWK B558 Managing the Work: Staffing, Services, and Systems

The vast majority of social work graduates - whether clinical or macro direct practitioners - are assigned to supervisory positions within the first two years of employment within an organization. The knowledge and skills learned in this course are intended to prepare students for undertaking these positions. With the primary focus on the work for which an organizational supervisor or manager is responsible, this course includes: the hiring, oversight, performance evaluation, and termination of both paid and volunteer supervisees; the delivery of the organization's services and/or products; and the formal programs and plans that guide the functioning of the organization especially within an environment of constant change and diminishing external resources. Grounded in social work values and ethics, course assignments and activities are drawn largely from the social sciences (e.g., social work, psychology, and sociology) and business (e.g., organizational behavior, human resources, and entrepreneurship). While this course naturally follows SOWK B557, "An Introduction to Organizational Behavior", it was designed to also be taken independently.

Back to top

SOWK B559 Family Therapy: Theory and Practice

Fall 2024

This seminar considers contemporary theories of family therapy within a historical perspective. Building on approaches associated with communication, inter-actional, structural, intergenerational, feminist, symbolic and psychodynamic theories, the seminar emphasizes practitioner decision-making in family treatment. Experiential learning methods utilizing practice simulations and videotapes are used to focus on a range of social work practice issues including family developmental stages, economic strains, single parent, minority and multi-problem families. Students who have not completed Foundation Practice and the first semester of practicum must have the instructor's permission to take this course..

Back to top

SOWK B561 Perspectives on Special Education: The Role of Social Workers

Perspectives on Special Education: The Role of Social Workers is designed as a survey course. The goal is to introduce graduate-level social work students interested in working in schools to a range of topics, challenges, dilemmas, and strategies in understanding and educating all learners, especially those considered to have special learning needs. The field of 'Special Education' is large, thus the need for a survey course; however, the assignments will give participants an opportunity to narrow their area of interest through a research paper on a self-chosen topic area, by observing and writing about a special education classroom of their choice, and by developing a comprehensive learning profile for a specific student. The emphasis of the course will be on clinical material and examples to help students to develop a greater understanding of the populations they will encounter, and how best to work with these youth and their families. Federal and state legislation, and rules and regulations governing educational law specific to special education populations will be referenced to guide the discussion throughout the course, when pertinent.

Back to top

SOWK B564 Group Treatment

Fall 2024

This course explores the group dynamics, theory and processes that are applicable to all groups and explores the specific techniques of group therapies. There is an experiential component of this course. A portion of the time will be devoted to examining our own group functioning. Readings and discussions will focus on the major theories of groups and interventions. Topics include leadership skills, client selection, sub-grouping, group conflicts and clinical management of beginning, maintaining and termination stages of groups. Concurrent practice with groups is desirable.

Back to top

SOWK B565 Clinical Social Work Practice with Children & Adolescents

Spring 2025

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to some of the theoretical and practice issues related to adapting the clinical social work process to work with children and adolescents. Work in the course will concentrate on a social work framework that stresses the complexity of the person-environment transactions and emphasizes strengths and competencies

Back to top

SOWK B566A Child & Family Well-being Integrative Seminar

Fall 2024

Back to top

SOWK B566B Child and Family Well Being Integrative Seminar

Spring 2025

Back to top

SOWK B566C Child and Family Well Being Integrative Seminar

Fall 2024

Back to top

SOWK B566D Child and Family Well Being Integrative Seminar

Spring 2025

Back to top

SOWK B567 Social Work with Substance Use Disorders

This course reviews the major theoretical approaches to understanding substance use disorders and to assessment and treatment with individuals, families, groups and communities. The pharmacology of drugs and alcohol and the nature of addiction are included, as are the influence of culture, ethnicity, gender, the peer group, and social deviance. The principles of self-help and therapeutic communities are applied.

Back to top

SOWK B570D Public Education: Issues in School Social Work

Fall 2024

This course is designed to prepare the students to integrate the practice of social work into the unique context of the public educational system. The students will examine the various roles and responsibilities of school social workers. By also examining the hierarchy of the educational and legal systems in the United States, the student will gain an understanding of the organizations that school social workers work within and the implications of educational laws and regulations on their work.

Back to top

SOWK B571D Education Law for Social Workers

Fall 2024

This course will provide social work students with a working knowledge of the education and related laws that relate to minors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with an emphasis on analyzing and interpreting primary legal sources. The students will learn to identify, locate and discriminate among the various sources of law, as well as understand the hierarchy of the various Federal, State and Local laws and regulations, and how that hierarchy governs their implementation. Students will also examine the complexities of the overlapping, and sometimes conflicting, responsibilities of various agencies involved in the supervision and education of Pennsylvania children, and the role of the social worker within this complex legal and educational framework.

Back to top

SOWK B572 Clinical Social Work Practice in Primary and Secondary Schools

Spring 2025

This course is the core course for the School Social Work certificate program that is in application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education and will replace the previously named Home School Visitor Program. More details are forthcoming. The course presents advanced knowledge and skills essential to providing effective school social work interventions. Students will learn to identify, select, and apply evidence-based prevention and intervention methods for use with individuals, groups, families, school personnel, and communities to enhance student learning, personal development, and school success. In keeping with the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research's commitment to trauma informed practice through an integrated perspective on theory, practice, policy, research, and ethics, and a commitment to advancing social and economic justice, the curriculum will focus on the skills needed to effectively practice as a school social worker to enhance student learning and achievement. The content will include social justice practice skills; models of positive behavioral supports for school wide programs and individuals; crisis prevention, planning, and intervention; school-based counseling skills with individual students, groups, and families; and mediation, conflict resolution, and collaborative problem-solving methods. Specific interventions to support students with the range of diagnostic presentations and disabilities covered under the Individuals with Disability Education Act will be addressed. Ways to promote family engagement and collaboration will be explored as well as a focus on effective measures to promote youth advocacy. Skills to enhance collaboration and consultation between teachers, families, and other school personnel will be addressed. School social worker intervention methodologies will include ways to help schools develop climates that are inviting, inclusive, and foster equity.All students across macro and clinical practice are welcome to enroll, without being in the Certificate Program.

Back to top

SOWK B574 Child Welfare Policy, Practice & Research

This course examines social policies and interventions that address problems of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. First, child maltreatment and dependency are considered in historical, cross-national, and political contexts. Then, theories and research on the causes and consequences of child maltreatment are studied. The legal and political structure of child welfare services in the U.S. is considered, along with the extent to which this system provides a continuum of care, copes with residual problems of other service sectors (e.g., welfare, mental health, substance abuse, and housing), and prevents or perpetuates oppression of women, children, people of color, and other disadvantaged groups. The course focuses on micro-, meso-, and macro-level practice issues and research findings in the areas of child protection, in-home services, out-of-home care, adoption, treatment, and prevention of child maltreatment. Issues of cultural sensitivity and new directions for practice are considered in each of these areas.

Back to top

SOWK B577A SSWC and HSV Integrative Seminar I

Fall 2024

The School Social Worker and Home and School Visitor Integrative Seminar is a supervisory group for students interested in pursuing the School Social Worker or the Home and School Visitor Certification. This seminar focuses on the integration of the practice of social work into the unique context of the public educational system in Pennsylvania. The various roles and responsibilities of SSW and HSV workers in an educational environment will be examined. This seminar will allow further exploration of the application of knowledge learned.

Back to top

SOWK B577B SSWC and HSV Integrative Seminar II

The School Social Worker and Home and School Visitor Integrative Seminar is a supervisory group for students interested in pursuing the School Social Worker or the Home and School Visitor Certification. This seminar focuses on the integration of the practice of social work into the unique context of the public educational system in Pennsylvania. The various roles and responsibilities of SSW and HSV workers in an educational environment will be examined. This seminar will allow further exploration of the application of knowledge learned.

Back to top

SOWK B579 Independent Study

Back to top

SOWK B582 Tutorial

Back to top

SOWK B583 The Queering of Social Work for Practice with LGBTQIA+ People (And Everyone)

Fall 2024

This class will cover a wide range of psychological and social issues impacting LGBTQIA+ people seeking care and treatment as well as organizing together in response to homophobia, transphobia, and intersectional oppression and marginalization. We will examine historical and ongoing patterns of pathologizing and regulating diverse genders and sexualities in clinical practice and social policy, and ways that social workers, other care providers, and community members have engaged in clinical activism to create more affirmative models of care. As a class we will take on the following questions: What does it mean to take a developmentally-sensitive approach to gender and sexuality with children, adolescents, adults, and older adults? How do trauma and trauma-informed approaches impact queer- and trans-affirmative social work and organizing? How has queer, trans, feminist and intersectional theory and activism impacted clinical social work practice broadly, and what are the limits of this change work? How can clinical practice and macro approaches hold space for multiple marginalized identities at once? How should we continue to change the field in response to these questions and a broader queer agenda?

Back to top

SOWK B586 Special Topic: Social Work, Trauma, and the Arts

Social Work, Trauma, and the Arts provides instruction for social work students seeking to understand and apply the arts to encounters with traumatized individuals, communities, and systems. The course, which uses creative engagement and didactic strategies, is divided into three phases. In the introductory phase, participants will learn basic information about (1) the impact of trauma, (2) the consequences of trauma exposure, (3) the neurobiological implications of traumatization, and (4) best practices and common factors in trauma treatment. In the second phase, students will explore the relationship between social work, creativity, and trauma healing. Students will critically analyze (1) the concepts of creativity and destruction, (2) the role of various artistic media in facilitating trauma healing, and (3) the congruity of these arts based practices with social work values. In the third phase, participants will consider ways to integrate the arts into both clinical and macro contexts. Students will create and share a plan for implementation of a creative, arts-based intervention in a clinical or macro social work setting.

Back to top

SOWK B586-D Special Topic - Trauma Informed Social Work with Children and Adolescents

Section 001 (Fall 2024): Trauma Informed SW w/Child. & Adol.

Fall 2024

Back to top

SOWK B586-G Special Topic: Social Work and Disaster Relief

Social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing (The Global Definition of Social Work). Social work has begun to develop and prioritize responses to disasters as an integral part of curriculum and practice. The social work profession is highly grounded in the principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility, and respect for diversities. Their active involvement in responses to disaster is pivotal to create a plan for those links and bridges vulnerable populations to required resources before, during and after an emergency or disaster.This course promotes the importance of the global context and bridges "micro" and "macro" practice of social work. It is apparent that the invisible assets of a community affect the community preparedness before the disaster and rebuilding process after the disaster. Evidently, strong social cohesion orchestrated through utilization of invisible assets of a community accelerates community re-building process in disaster affected areas. Therefore, there is a need for some persuasive work for formulating policy directives that will emphasize community collaboration, solidarity, coordination, and utilization of social networks as a vehicle for effective service delivery before, during and after an emergency. Every social worker and the communities they serve will eventually be affected by a disaster. This course offers a framework to prepare future social workers for effective disaster management. It integrates current practice with this rapidly rising area of need.

Back to top

SOWK B586-H Special Topic: Social Work & Human Trafficking

This course is a graduate-level course designed to help students gain a better understanding of contemporary human trafficking and its different forms in the real and the virtual world, both domestically and globally. This course considers human trafficking from the 4P framework: prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership. Students will learn about the field from academic readings, policy papers, movies, and real case discussions. The course is comprised of three units. The first unit focuses on defining human trafficking and important terminology in this field; introducing different forms of human trafficking and their prevalence in the US and globally. We will examine the convergence of human trafficking with other illegal activities. We will discuss the vulnerability to human trafficking; reasons for the growth of these phenomena in conflict regions, developed, developing, and transitional societies; the social, political, and economic consequences domestically and in regions across the globe; cultural and gender aspects of human trafficking. We will also examine what we learn about racial discrimination and human trafficking and the reason the US has so many domestic victims of human trafficking.The second unit of the course explores issues that arise from a trauma-informed social work perspective and includes a discussion of the impact of physical, emotional, and psychological trauma experienced by victims of human trafficking. We will examine "push" and "pull" factors; identification procedures and tools in different settings; interviewing and its ethical considerations; potential risks and protection procedures. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the support system and services available for victims of human trafficking, both domestically and globally. The third unit focuses on the roles that entities such as government, the economy, the media, organized crime, and culture, play in these complex human rights and social (in)justice issues. We will look at the diverse challenges of addressing human trafficking globally and the many kinds of policy responses that are needed from the government, civil society, and the private sector. The new challenges will be discussed: the impact of climate change and the role of technology in facilitating human trafficking. This course offers a framework to prepare future social workers for responding to human trafficking both on micro and macro levels.

Back to top

SOWK B586-J Reproductive Justice & Social Work Praxis

Spring 2025

Reproductive Justice (RJ) is a critical intersectional framework developed for analyzing and addressing the issue of reproductive health and reproductive rights that goes beyond the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate. Additionally, RJ is a movement that uplifts and centers the voices of marginalized communities in promoting issues of social justice. In this course, RJ will be the primary framework to examine the topics of maternal and child health and critique several structures in the United States' society that perpetuate reproductive health disparities. This course will apply RJ as a theoretical framework to be a guide for clinical and macro social work praxis. By the end of this course, students will be able to discuss the three pillars central to the RJ framework (The Right to Have a Child, The Right to Not Have a Child, and The Right to Parent in Safe & Healthy Communities) and know how to incorporate these in social work practice. Students will also develop skills to analyze social problems using an RJ lens and discuss how RJ's framework informs social work praxis with individuals, families, groups, and communities.

Back to top

SOWK B586A Social Group Work In-Action: Sociometry, Psychodrama & Experiential Trauma Group Therapy

Fall 2024, Spring 2025

This course will introduce students to Sociometry, Psychodrama, and Group Psychotherapy while also integrating essential teachings from trauma-specific experiential models. Throughout the semester, we will learn, experience, and practice using a variety of strengths-based experiential sociometric and psychodramatic techniques while also considering their application within a multitude of social work settings with diverse client populations and treatment concerns. Upon completion of this course, students will have acquired nearly half of the 90 required hours for certification in experiential therapy (CET).The theoretical underpinnings of sociometry and psychodrama compliment social work's emphases on person-in-environment, mutual aid, the importance of human relationships, the dignity and worth of each individual, and social justice. Psychodrama's role theory, along with spontaneity-creativity theory, provides a non-pathologizing conceptualization of the individual personality and the process of change. Sociometry, which is the study of the inter-relationships of humans, allows one to examine the underlying social forces impacting the structure and functioning of a group. Sociometric tools will provide social workers with experiential methods of highlighting and strengthening connections within a group while examining the distribution of social wealth and the impact of the sociodynamic effect. Psychodramatic processes, which can be adopted for use with any content or theoretical perspective, offer social workers potent tools for creating both intrapsychic shifts and interpersonal change.Psychodrama is one of the first body-oriented forms of psychotherapy, moving beyond just words and narrative. "However important verbal behavior is, the act is prior to the word and 'includes' it" says Jacob Moreno, founder of psychodrama. Co-founder, Zerka Moreno, later states that "even when interpretation is given, action is primary. There can be no interpretation without previous action". Neuroscience research, which will be incorporated throughout the curriculum, has demonstrated that traumatic memories are stored in non-verbal parts of the brain and body, which are more accessible through the creative arts therapies. This course will focus on clinical applications of action-based group work for trauma survivors, while also demonstrating how these tools can be used in any group setting.

Back to top

SOWK B589 Advancing Professional Skills in Evaluation for Clinical and Macro Practice

Spring 2025

Advancing skills in evaluation are critical to professional development and integral to delivering high-quality and effective services for both clinical and macro social work agency and organizational settings. As informed consumers of research, social workers are better able to practice and facilitate evaluation decisions that are evidenced-based. Consequently, evaluation is a marketable skill necessary for advancing the field of social work.This is an online elective course with a mix of live classes (synchronous) and online discussion forums and activities (asynchronous). Client and community voice, as well as culture, are centered through the Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Equitable Evaluation (CREE) perspective. In addition, the needs and strengths of marginalized communities including Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, and poor communities across the lifespan are highlighted with the intention to inform evaluation approaches, for the enhancement of individual, community and agency/organizational health and mental health services.In addition, the cross-cutting themes of GSSWSR will be highlighted in terms of trauma-informed approaches, social justice, and issues related to power, privilege, and oppression.The qualitative approach to evaluation research methods, data collection and analysis is emphasized. The course content will integrate the work of a community-based organizational partner, professional panel presentations, group discussions, practitioner interviews and development of an evaluation plan outline. There are two main assignments for this course. The first main assignment is a 30-minute qualitative interview process with a social work practitioner, and the second main assignment is a one-page description and PowerPoint presentation of evaluation plan outline. The lead instructor, Dr. Tamarah Moss, brings her lessons learned and applied experiences from leading and collaborating on community-based and agency-based evaluations in the United States and internationally. This elective course is open to MSS students who have taken Research Informed Practice I, and at least one semester of field education. PhD students are also welcome. Students should note that the course is designed to offer an emphasis on qualitative methods, research and practice for graduate students.

Back to top

SOWK B590 Social Work Practice with Immigrants and Refugees in the United States

This elective course will examine the major theoretical principles and practice skills of clinical social work with immigrants and refugees. This class uses a bio-psycho-social framework that embraces eco-developmental and strengths perspectives. This elective course expands and enhances the study of the clinical engagement processes, assessment, intervention planning and implementation, and the processes associated with client transfer and clinical endings paying special attention to the needs of transnational social work clients across diverse settings of services. Immigrants and refugees bring into social work practice an assemblage of human strengths and challenges that have their origin in the social forces that shape human experiences. Because emigration and relocation processes result from global and regional political, economic, and institutional forces, and these categories are often divided among separate fields of study, this course incorporates readings from policy, sociology, psychology, global mental health, journalism, and clinical social work practice in an effort to help students grasp the complexities involved in this area of clinical practice. The course emphasizes a cross-cultural approach, which starts with the recognition that immigrant and refugee clients and clinical social workers share their human condition. From there we move towards understanding the role that differences, especially cultural and power differences, play in shaping the processes and outcomes of social work encounters with this population. The course is organized around three areas: the migration process, the clinical encounter, and social work services. When possible, the course incorporates a gendered and life span perspective and suggests avenues for including what we know into the clinical care of children, adults, and elderly clients with immigrant backgrounds.

Back to top

SOWK B593 Mindful Facilitation: Engaging Difference

Mindful Facilitation: Engaging Difference, is an advanced elective course which builds on the foundational knowledge and skills gained in the required Power, Privilege and Oppression course. It is an elective designed for both clinical and COPA concentration students, to help them further develop specific strategies and skills to engage clients, supervisors, colleagues and peers in acknowledging, discussing and working-through issues related to differences in social identities. Students will gain transferable skills applicable to social work practice in a variety of settings in the United States. Core concepts of this class derive from Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality and Mindfulness Facilitation of Cross Cultural Dialogues. Thus it is assumed that in the United States, social work practice is greatly influenced by race and racism and how this intersects with other forms of social oppression. It also acknowledges the need for students to acquire skills in order to assist people in exploring and combating forms of social oppression which may overlap with other problems of living encountered in social work practice.

Back to top

SOWK B594 Trauma Informed Social Work

Fall 2024

In this required course, students will address key knowledge, values and skills that support trauma-informed approaches to social work practice. Students will learn core concepts of trauma-informed social work from an EcoBioDevelopmental framework. This framework will help students understand the impact of adversity and traumatic stress on health and well-being across the lifespan. Throughout the course, we examine how risk and protective factors shape the impact of traumatic stress on individuals, families, and communities. Connected to the strategic foci of the GSSWSR, this course builds on foundation level content in our curriculum, including an emphasis on power, privilege, and oppression.

Back to top

SOWK B595 Power, Privilege and Oppression

Spring 2025

Power, Privilege, and Oppression is a required foundational course for all MSS students and is intended to help students develop awareness of structures of inequality, systemic oppression, and individual privilege as they relate to social work service delivery. Power, Privilege, and Oppression asks students to reflect on relevant issues in social work and social service history, as well as in the present. Students will be asked to analyze agency experience related to power and social identity and are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences of intersectional social identities in interaction with others and in context. This course draws from theoretical models of critical race theory and social identity formation and development. Materials for this course are drawn from various disciplines including social work, psychology, sociology, anthropology, education, history, and gender studies. This course is divided into four modules: American Racism & White Supremacy, Systemic Oppression, Intersectionality and Social Identity Development, and Modes of Resistance.Students reflect on events, and professional and scholarly journals in their discussions and written assignments. Documentaries and film clips are used in classroom instruction and student assignments to further integrate learning and highlight topics. Students acquire knowledge from class readings, film and video screenings, class discussion, written assignments and small group and dyad work to develop a foundational understanding of structural inequality and a beginning framework for culturally informed and anti-oppressive social work practice. The working assumption of this course is that developing skills of anti-oppressive social work practice is an ongoing, lifelong process, fundamental to our profession.

Back to top

SOWK B596 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Approaches

Spring 2025

This course examines cognitive behavioral therapy and other cognitive approaches to social work practice, teaching skills that focus on clients' problem-solving abilities, build on client strengths, target specific thought patterns that impede clients from reaching goals, and assess outcomes in terms of changes in thinking and behavior. Cognitive behavioral approaches have considerable evidence of effectiveness for a wide array of issues and disorders, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], grief, substance use, and personality disorders. Knowledge of these approaches is especially valuable to social workers, given that they are the largest provider of mental health services in the U.S. At the same time, the cognitive behavioral model of the relationships among events, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions is applicable to numerous contexts and challenges, whether in mental health services or another type of social work practice. To best benefit from knowledge of cognitive behavioral approaches, social workers should have familiarity of applying them with individuals, children, families, and diverse cultural groups.

Back to top

SOWK B597 Select Topics

Back to top

SOWK B605 Special Topics

Back to top

SOWK B676 Making Space for Learning: Pedagogical Planning and Facilitation in Higher Education Contexts

Fall 2024

This course/pedagogy workshop series is designed for graduate and undergraduate students interested in exploring, developing, and refining pedagogical conceptions and approaches appropriate to higher education contexts. The workshops and course consist of weekly, interactive, two-hour sessions. Undergraduates complete additional weekly hours in field work and meet weekly as a group to process the field work. The weekly meetings of all participants aim to create a space for reflection, analysis, questioning, and planning. You will draw on your experiences as students, T.A.s, and teachers across a range of disciplines and at different stages of your formal preparation and careers, and you will complete templates, respond to critical questions, and generate questions about and plans for effective teaching practice. There are readings assigned weekly (required of those enrolled in the course and recommended for those participating in the workshops). Beyond published texts, a significant portion of the 'content' of the sessions will be generated by participants through reflection and discussion. This course/workshop series counts toward the Dean's Certificate in Pedagogy, which is overseen by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Back to top

SOWK B681 Social Theory

This seminar covers a range of theories useful for understanding social structure and social process at various levels of social organization. The purpose is (1) to increase familiarity with different theoretical perspectives, and (2) to allow practice in identifying and using conceptual frameworks suitable for guiding analysis in dissertations or other professional and scholarly work. In addition to assigned readings discussed in class, students will have the opportunity to prepare and present individual papers based on original texts by one or more major social theorists of their choice.

Back to top

SOWK B682 Data Analysis I

Fall 2024

Data analysis is seen as one step in the research process. Statistical methods of analysis include descriptive and inferential statistics with major emphasis on partial and multiple correlation and regression, and analysis of variance and covariance. Knowledge of the assumptions and conditions under which statistical methods are valid, and discrimination in the selection, application, and interpretation of statistical tests are developed.

Back to top

SOWK B683 Data Analysis II

Spring 2025

Advanced training in multivariate data analysis is preceded by training in file construction on the Vax 8200 computer. Among the topics covered in this seminar are multiple factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and path analysis, time series analysis, logit probit and log linear analysis. The seminar concludes with an introduction to models used in the social sciences. Students are expected to prepare a paper based on an original multivariate data analysis of an existing data base, utilizing the Bryn Mawr Vax 8200 computer and SPSSX.

Back to top

SOWK B684 Qualitative Inquiry: Methods

Fall 2024

This course is the first of a two-semester sequence in qualitative inquiry. Both semesters address the philosophical underpinnings, ethical conundrums, and the assessment of rigor within qualitative research. Course aims for the entire sequence are both conceptual and practical. These courses prepare students for qualitative research that is ethical, rigorous, reflexive, and relevant to social work practice and the enhancement of social work's evidence base. The first course in this sequence, offered in Semester 1, is B684: Qualitative Inquiry: Methods which prepares students to conceptualize, design, and carry out research by providing an in-depth understanding of methods, focusing on open-ended interviews, focus groups and ethnographic observations, all designed to deepen students' understanding of qualitative inquiry and to promote sophistication in using these methods, either alone or with quantitative approaches. The first semester also covers issues such as the role qualitative approaches play in social work research and related disciplines; the development of research problems appropriate for qualitative methods; development of conceptual lens to guide inquiry; reflexivity; sampling strategies; development of interview guides, with appropriate probes; and an introduction to mixed methods. Assignments will include learning how to critique existing qualitative research studies and to plan and collect one's own data. Students will develop a small class project, consisting of either two intensive interviews or one focus group. These data will be transcribed and loaded into NVivo for analysis in the second course in this sequence, Qualitative Inquiry: Analysis.

Back to top

SOWK B685 Research Methodology I

This course considers major issues in the design and conduct of empirical research. Students are introduced to historical trends, landmark studies, epistemological and methodological debates, and current issues in social work research. Emphasis is on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to identify relevant and manageable research topics. Experimental and naturalistic research methods are covered, and students read and critique examples of research in these two traditions. Integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches is considered a strength in research design. Examples of faculty research are provided to illustrate applications of research methods at all levels of social work practice.

Back to top

SOWK B686 Research Methodology II

This is a continuation of Research Methodology I. Survey research and secondary analysis of data are discussed and examples are examined. Important methodological details are then considered along with adaptations required for different types of research. Topics include: sampling, statistical power, measurement, data collection, data management, and the initial phases of data analysis. The course focuses on the knowledge and skills necessary to read research articles critically, plan and cost research proposals, develop research proposals, acquire funding, write research reports, and achieve publication of research findings. Protection of the rights of human subjects and other ethical concerns are taken up throughout the course.

Back to top

SOWK B688 Independent Study

Back to top

SOWK B689 Tutorial

Back to top

SOWK B689 Tutorial

Back to top

SOWK B694 Qualitative Inquiry: Analysis

Spring 2025

This course, offered in Semester II, builds on the foundation provided in Qualitative Inquiry: Methods, and is the second course in this two semester sequence in qualitative inquiry. This course prepares students to analyze and report qualitative research that is ethical, rigorous, reflexive, and relevant to social work practice and the enhancement of social work's evidence base. This class focuses on helping students explore different ways to make sense of qualitative data - how to clean and organize data; how to embark on thoughtful analysis that relies on systematic methods, ethical considerations, and assurances of rigor; and how to prepare and undertake a writing process wherein they detail findings in a credible and useful form. The course explores the philosophical assumptions and practical methodology involved in various analytic strategies for organizing and analyzing qualitative data, using NVivo, a widely used qualitative data analysis software package, supported by Bryn Mawr College. This practical, experiential course addresses various techniques and analytic practices. Students will acquire practice both with analytic depth and analytic breadth as they learn to think deeply within their data, which has been collected and transcribed in Qualitative Inquiry: Methods, as well as how to "zoom out" from their data to place findings in a broader context of scholarly work and theory on their area of focus. Throughout the semester, a focus will be on the practice of analysis and writing up of qualitative data; students should thus come prepared each week to workshop their process in a spirit of collegial critique and exploration.

Back to top