What students in the Social Work Program at Lucknow University can offer

 What students in the Social Work Program at Lucknow University can offer

Students in the Social Work Program at Lucknow University are a diverse group of people who bring a range of strengths, skills, interests, experience and learning objectives to field placement settings.  Depending on the individual skills and interests and organizations' needs, students become involved in many of field placement settings' regular, ongoing activities.   Some of these activities include but are not limited to:

• Intake and assessment
• Supportive counselling
• Program planning and implementation
• Outreach
• Program evaluation
• Research
• Group work
• Community development
• Accompaniments
• Case management
• Discharge planning
• Proposal writing
• Public education
• Information and referrals
• Policy analysis, policy development
• Special projects
• Clinically focused activities (MSW students)

The possibilities are endless.

With careful planning, good supervision, and an appropriate "match" between a student and a placement setting, a student can make a significant contribution to an organization over the course of the field placement.  The field placement setting can in turn make a significant contribution to a student's growth and professional development.

Field placement goals and objectives

In the field placement, MSW students are required to demonstrate the following values within an anti-oppression framework: a commitment to the dignity and worth of people, particularly those socially marginalized; a commitment to social change that promotes equity and social justice for all people; the inclusion and participation of those most directly affected by social marginalization in social change strategies; advocacy for and with people who experience marginalization and/or exclusion in accessing resources; a commitment to people and communities as the primary concern; confidentiality in the use of information gained through social work practice; respect and mutuality in working relationships with people; critical self-reflection and personal learning as an attribute of social work practice. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate these values while undertaking the Field Practicum and in relation to the following goals and objectives.  The depth to which students are able to demonstrate and engage with these values, goals and objectives is dependent on whether they are engaged in a third or a fourth year placement experience.  In third year, students are expected to demonstrate an introductory level of capacity.    Practice goal 1: Learning about the social context The student will apply critical understanding of existing social, economic and political forces and their implications for policy and practice.  Particular emphasis will be given to issues of diversity, power, privilege, oppression, individualism, and transformative change.  Practice goal 2: Learning about the agency The student will gain critical understanding of the placement setting's response to manifestations of oppression from an anti-oppression framework an their implications for practice.  Practice goal 3: Learning about social work practices Building on understandings of self, social location, social policy, placement setting, and the purpose of social work, the student will gain and apply knowledge and skills necessary to facilitate personal and social change processes with people experiencing barriers in social living.  Practice goal 4: Learning about the self Add caption The student will apply critical self-reflective knowledge about their social location and its implications for practice.

MSW field placement goals and objectives

As graduate students come to the MSW program with a wide range of skills and experiences, the focus of the field placement is on acquiring advanced practice competencies and experiences in social work practice. Objectives Graduating MSW students will: be prepared to work with diverse populations according to race, class, gender, sexuality and ability, and will have the ability to assess barriers, needs, access and opportunities for populations; have advanced skills to translate varying social work theory into practice; be highly skilled in advanced practice of social work; be educated in the multi-faceted nature of social work practice, including clinical work, community practice, policy development and advocacy for marginalized communities; be intellectuals who are aware of the multi-faceted nature of social work practice this is influenced and constructed by the interrelationship of social relations at the interpersonal, community, national and global level; be knowledgeable with respect to research methodology in preparation for leadership in the field of social work and/or ongoing graduate studies. Specific objectives for the field placement component of the curriculum include the following: to build on existing knowledge and skills for practice and acquire knowledge and skills necessary for advanced anti-oppressive practice; to apply anti-oppressive principles in practice situations;  to critique practice from an anti-oppressive framework; to understand, uphold and critique the Social Work Code of Ethics; to develop the ability to engage in an advanced level of critical self-reflection and reflection on practice; to develop and demonstrate leadership qualities; to develop the ability to make a significant contribution to a placement setting; to understand the complexities and contradictions of practice (especially in relation to working from an anti-oppressive perspective within the current context of practice); to develop excellent communication skills; to develop advanced knowledge and skills for working within a context of diversity; to develop an appreciation for the connection between social work and social justice and an understanding of how this applies in practice.