Publication Date

2015

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department

School for Social Work

Keywords

Social work education-Curricula-United States, Sex-Study and teaching (Graduate)-United States, Quantitative research, Human sexuality courses, Social work, Top 25 MSW programs, Course curricula

Abstract

Graduate students of social work seek education and training to increase their competency to practice in dynamic, multicultural environments that allow them to help diverse clients with a multitude of mental health and sociological related issues. Moreover, social work programs have long been known for teaching students to be agents of change, in particular preparing social workers to effectively and ethically enhance the wellbeing and productivity of an increasingly diverse client base. This often translates into confronting oppressive systems that uphold traditional policies and practices in areas such as race, class, gender identity, and human sexuality. How are social work programs responding and are they effectively preparing students to become well-versed, culturally competent clinicians in areas of human sexuality? This study examined the United States' top 25 Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited Masters level Social Work (MSW) programs, as defined by the U.S. News and World Report (2012) to understand the extent in which MSW programs offer and require human sexuality courses as part of their curricula during the academic year 2013-2014. Findings revealed that (24%) of graduate students enrolled in the country's top tier MSW programs were not given an opportunity to enroll in a human sexuality course. More importantly, none (0%) of the top 25 MSW programs require human sexuality courses in their social work curriculum. Implications for future research are discussed.

Language

English

Comments

iv, 44 pages. Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, 2015. Includes bibliographical references (pages 41-44)

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