Many MSW-level social workers make the decision to earn a doctoral degree in social work or a related field. A large number of so-called predatory doctoral programs lack rigor or much academic substance and are ultimately of little value in advancing one's career. This article describes the characteristics of legitimate social work doctoral…

Technology has transformed the nature of social work education. Whether it is used to supplant or supplement face-to-face instruction, social worker educators must keep pace with rapidly developing standards of practice and related ethical standards. Standards promulgated jointly by the Council on Social Work Education, National Association of…

Urban legends circulate throughout society, including higher education and social work education. Some academic mythologies take on the status of a tradition--no matter the evidence or lack thereof--and continue to thrive, to influence thinking, and to shape norms, which, in turn, direct behaviors. As with urban legends, academic myths are able to…

The purpose of this article is to identify doctoral administration and education standards, practices, policies, and related gaps in knowledge, and consider them in the context of persistent social work challenges. A literature review was conducted, and focus groups were convened at the 2016 conference of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral…

This article contributes to discourse on signature pedagogy by reconceptualizing how our pedagogies are understood and defined for social work education. We critique the view that field education is social work's signature pedagogy and consider what pedagogies are distinct about the teaching and learning of social work. Using Shulman's…

This article highlights the contributions of the Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (Women's Council) as well as the role and status of women in social work education. For this historical analysis update, the authors drew on several primary and secondary data sources. The first major theme was organizational…

This article describes the development of an ethics scale that measures adherence to social work ethical choices in specific situations. The purpose of this instrument is to provide data that demonstrate adherence to curriculum standards as set forth by the Council on Social Work Education. The authors present the conceptual framework from which…

The Council on Social Work Education's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) stresses the importance of the implicit curriculum in shaping a school's culture. This timely article describes how the implicit BSW curriculum was developed at a large Southern state university using three Web-based projects: (1) a glossary of terms for…

This article critically analyzes challenges that may influence whether evidence-based practice (EBP) enjoys more success than previous efforts to improve the integration of practice and research in social work education. Key challenges include: (1) alleviating disparities in how EBP is being defined by social work educators; (2) maximizing the…

A study of social work graduate program admissions data for 1975-1984 shows that as applications have decreased, acceptances have increased. The trend toward liberalized admissions raises a number of ethical issues with which the field should be concerned, and suggests the field should proactively plan for program reductions. (MSE)

Faculty and administrators in social work programs have greeted recently disseminated accreditation requirements by the Council on Social Work Education with varying mixtures of enthusiasm and concern. How newly promulgated accreditation policy and procedures affect this dissension will determine the usefulness of research content in the future…

Discussion of bachelor's in social work (BSW) programs outlines the history of such programs as an accredited educational enterprise and reports on program experience with accreditation from 1989-91. Evaluative standards of the Council on Social Work Education and areas in the curriculum policy statement that are most problematic are discussed.…

This article describes a system recently introduced in Britain for training and certifying social work field instructors. The system addresses concerns about the quantity of competent field instructors and the quality of social work field education. Its impact on field education in the United Kingdom and implications for social work programs and…

This article relates the evolution of field-related accreditation standards since the 1982 Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Curriculum Policy Statement to the changes that have occurred in agencies, students, and educational institutions. It demonstrates how CSWE modifications helped solve some problems while creating new ones. The authors…

An analysis of the policy curriculum contents of 66 master's of social work (MSW) and 78 bachelor's (BSW) programs is presented. Despite the Council on Social Work Education curriculum policy guidelines and accreditation standards, a laissez-faire doctrine seems to prevail. (Author/MH)