Factors external and internal to social work practice have caused our profession to question its role and identity. The emergence of evidence-based or evidenced informed practices forces the profession to reexamine its unique identity and its historical roots. This article addresses the problems in the dominant paradigm guiding our profession, the…

The federal government increasingly expects child welfare systems to be more responsive to the needs of their local populations, connect strategies to results, and use continuous quality improvement (CQI) to accomplish these goals. A method for improving decision making, CQI relies on an inflow of high-quality data, up-to-date research evidence,…

This descriptive article explores a collaborative model that blends the dual missions of training social work students to work with military personnel, veterans, and their families while serving student veterans on campus. The model consists of 2 main components: (1) a nationally recognized service component for providing academic, health and…

The practice of social work has changed significantly over the years, but models for student field learning have changed relatively little. This article describes two recent changes implemented by the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago that are intended to connect the contemporary demands of generalist social work…

This article presents an integrative skills assessment approach for teaching students of social work to perform assessments. The approach is based on technical eclecticism and combines three practice models: (1) psychosocial, (2) cognitive-behavioral, and (3) systems. Specific teaching strategies as well as shortcomings of this approach are…

Describes use of logic models to teach critical thinking skills in social work. By breaking down the helping process into parts, logic modeling enables students to approach the clinical experience as a whole and understand causal relationships between parts. Students are exposed to theory-practice connections and made aware of reciprocal…

Describes logic modeling as a tool for teaching evaluation skills in social work practice, research, and policy courses. Because logic models break down an intervention or program into parts, they inform evaluators about the kinds of results and evaluation data available, allowing effective and efficient assessment. Three approaches are…