MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK CURRICULUM

BAHIR DAR UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

 

September, 2013

Table of Contents

 

Contents

Table of contents

1. Background

2. Rationale of the program

3. Objectives of the program

4. Professional and graduate profiles ----------------------------------------------------------------------7

5. Academic and program requirements--------------------------------------------------------------------9

6. Degree nomenclature and award requirements-------------------------------------------------------10

7. Modes of delivery, and assessment and evaluation methods---------------------------------------11

8. Quality maintenance and assurance mechanism-----------------------------------------------------12

9. Required Resources ………………………………………………………………………….12

10. Assignment of course codes---------------------------------------------------------------------------13

11. List of modules and courses required-----------------------------------------------------------------13

12. Course breakdown --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14

13. Staff profile-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17

14. Modules and course guidebooks----------------------------------------------------------------------18

15. Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………..86

1. BACKGROUND

 

Social Work Profession

The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) jointly define social work as a profession aimed at assisting individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities to enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to reach their goals (IFSW & IASSW, 2004). The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help all people meet their basic human needs, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Social work profession promotes social change and problem-solving in human relationships, and it works toward the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being (Adams, 2010).

 

According to the Global Standards for Education and Training of the Social Work Profession (IASSW & IFSW, 2004), the core purposes of social work education are as follows:

• Facilitate the inclusion of marginalized, socially excluded, dispossessed, vulnerable and at risk groups of people.
• Address and challenge barriers, inequalities and injustices that exist in society.
• Form short- and long-term working relationships with and mobilize individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities to enhance their well-being and their problem- solving capacities.
• Assist and educate people to obtain services and resources in their communities.
• Formulate and implement policies and programs that enhance people’s well-being
• Promote human rights and support collective social harmony and social stability in so far as such stability does not violate human rights.
• Encourage people to engage in advocacy with regard to pertinent local, national, regional and/or international concerns.
• Advocate for, and/or with people for changes in those policies and structural conditions that maintain people in marginalized, dispossessed and vulnerable positions, and those that infringe on the collective social harmony and stability of various ethnic groups.
• Work towards the protection of people who are not in a position to do so by themselves, such as children and youth in need of care and persons experiencing mental illness or mental retardation, within the parameters of accepted and ethically sound legislation.
• Engage in social and political action to impact social policy and economic development and to effect change by critiquing and eliminating inequalities.
• Enhance stable, harmonious and mutually respectful societies that do not violent people’s human rights.
• Promote respect for traditions, cultures, ideologies, beliefs, and religions among different ethnic groups and societies in so far as these aspects do not conflict with the fundamental human right of people.
• Plan, organize, administer, and manage programs and organizations dedicated to any of the purposes delineated above.

Social Work Education in Ethiopia

 

Within the general framework of the global mission and goals of social work, it is believed that social work profession is extremely important for Ethiopia, a country where various critical social problems exist. Despite the great need, social work is not a well developed profession in the country due to historical reasons. The first School of Social Work in Ethiopia was opened in Haile Selassie I University in 1959. From 1959-1966, the School offered a two-year diploma program. During that time, the School was accepted as a member of the International Association of School of Social Work (IASSW), and it grew rapidly. In 1966, the School launched a four-year degree program and began graduating 15-20 students with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree per year. During this period, the School was recognized as a center of excellence, leading the social work profession in Ethiopia and throughout Africa. Unfortunately, this prominent school was closed in 1974 when the military regime came to power, thinking that the profession was incompatible with the socialist system (I-TECH, 2010; Tasse, Eshete’ & Butterfield, 2004).

After thirty years of absence, social work education reappeared in Ethiopia in 2004. This School of Social Work was reopened at Addis Ababa University (AAU), with the assistance of Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago (I-TECH, 2010). Many volunteer professors throughout the world contributed and are still contributing significantly to the development of the social work profession in Ethiopia. Now, the AAU School of Social Work is offering bachelor, masters, and doctoral degrees. In addition, University Gondar and Adama are offering bachelor (BSW) program in Social Work. Bahir Dar University (BDU) is the second institution to open a social work school at Master’s level.

Bahir Dar University

Bahir Dar University (BDU) is one of the first generation universities in Ethiopia and its vision is to become one of the ten premier research universities in Africa by 2025. It is located in Bahir Dar town, the capital city of the Amhara National Regional State. The town is located about 563 kilo meters away from Addis Ababa. It has a very unique and strategic geographical location situated at the two major water sources of Ethiopia, namely Lake Tana and Blue Nile (Abay) River, and close to many historical sites including Lake Tana monasteries.

Before inaugurated as a fully-fledged university in May, 2000, BDU had only two campuses: the former Bahir Dar Teachers College and Bahir Dar Polytechnic Institute. In 2000, these two campuses became the education and engineering faculties respectively and formed the new University. Bahir Dar University is growing fast and currently it has nine campuses. The University has four colleges, four institutes, three faculties, two academies and one school. With respect to programs, there are 65 undergraduate, 63 masters (64 including the newly coming MSW program in social work) and 5 PhD programs. BDU has more than 3144 staff of which 1382 are teaching staff. Regarding the academic rank of the teaching staff, there are 456 assistant lecturers, 796 lecturers, and 130 academic staff with assistant professor and above rank. The university is providing trainings for about 45, 000 students in regular, and continuing (extension, distance and summer) programs. Of this total student population 16,000-20,000 are regular students (BDU Information and Strategic Communication Office, 2005).

2. RATIONALE OF THE PROGRAM

Ethiopia is a country with numerous pressing social problems including poverty, unemployment, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, ethnic conflict, human trafficking and migration, and the maltreatment of children, youth, elderly and people with disabilities. These and other social problems place heavy demand on existing social protection services and social work professionals. Since the profession of social work is at its inception phase in the country, there are no enough professional social workers to adequately address the overwhelming needs in all service areas. To have a baseline information, BDU conducted a need assessment survey in May, 2013 to document the need for qualified social work professionals at both regional and federal levels; and governmental and non-governmental offices. The findings of the need assessment survey indicate that there is a grave need for qualified professional social workers in the country. The survey revealed that graduates of the program have positive prospect for employment in different organizations. Some officials indicated that they are ready to employ the graduates in their organizations or institutions. These recognized demands and prospects led BDU to open a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree program in order to produce qualified graduates who are capable of providing professional social work services to the people of Ethiopia in accordance with the values and ethics of the profession.

Prioritizing on a Masters level study is believed to have a multiplier effect. Besides the opportunities of employment at different governmental and nongovernmental offices, graduates at master’s level have the chance to be university academic staff and this facilitates the expansion of social work education in the country. In other words, graduates will be leaders in the profession and contribute to the effort of strengthening the institutional capacity of the School of Social Work at BDU and elsewhere in the country.

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM

Program Objectives

The general objective of the School of Social Work at BDU is to produce competent professional social workers as practitioners, scholars, and leaders of the profession who are equipped with the basic knowledge, skills and values/ethics of social work to contribute to Ethiopian efforts to the alleviation of poverty and other pressing social problems; to advance the social and economic development plans, and to fight any forms of discrimination and injustices.

Specifically, the MSW program in Social Work is intended to:

1. Produce high level and qualified human power in the profession of Social Work.
2. Produce qualified social workers who can provide professional social work services at different social settings and arenas.
3. Produce professionals who can articulate social problems and deal with them efficiently
4. Train professionals who can conduct research on various social issues and social problems like unemployment, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, ethnic conflict, human trafficking and migration.
5. Prepare qualified personnel who can serve as coordinators and leaders of social and civil service programs, institutions/ organizations.
6. Produce professionals who can value research in guiding the development efforts of the society and in solving diverse social problems.
7. Train instructors in the area of social work who can teach in higher institutions
8. Contribute to the understanding and combating of social problems in Ethiopia in general and individuals, families, the youth, children, and communities etc in particular.
9. Produce professionals who can contribute in social policy development, analysis and advocate for the enforcements of social policies.
10. Produce social work professionals who can advocate on behalf of vulnerable and underprivileged groups.

4. PROFESSIONAL AND GRADUATE PROFILES

4.1. Professional Profile

The graduates of social work at Masters level will have the following professional profiles:

• Undertake research that contributes to the understanding and resolution of diverse social problems at the national and international levels.
• Identify themselves as a professional social worker and act accordingly
• Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional judgments
• Engage and encourage diversity in practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations,         and communities
• Provide consultancy services to policy makers and planners on diverse social issues
• Advance human rights and social and economic justice
• Assess, design, intervene and evaluate diverse social service programs and engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations,             and communities
• Engage in policy practice to advance             social and economic wellbeing and to deliver effective social work services
• Design and coordinate diverse projects for the wellbeing of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities

4.2. Graduate Profile

In line with the global mission of social work education, the BDU School of Social Work (SSW) is expected to produce MSW graduates who have:

The knowledge to:

• Understand and explain the basics of human rights, dignity and social justice
• Analyze the dynamic interactions of individuals, families, groups, communities, organizations/systems and society within the environment and to promote social well-being and development.
• Analyze social diversity and different types of oppression, marginalization and/or social exclusion.
• Recognize the details of action research, qualitative and quantitative research.

• Understand and apply various social work theories and models of practice
• Understand major contemporary areas of social work
• Understand, analyze, and evaluate social policy.
• Understand and apply basic theories and principles of leadership.

The Skills to:

• Apply various social work theories to solve individual, family, group, community, organization/system and societal problems and to enhance their well being and development.
• Identify diverse forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and pursue social changes that advance social and economic justice.
• Advocate for social change and social justice.

• Apply basic social work methods and skills to support individuals, families, groups and communities to alleviate their own problems
• Identify specific competency areas and apply them accordingly to pursue practice skills

• Identify social problems and plan, conduct, analyze and apply research on to inform practice, policy and education/training.
• Apply leadership skills to lead different social and community-based projects, and societal organizations/institutions.
• Participate in formulation, implementation and evaluation of social policies.
• Prepare social projects, implement and evaluate their effectiveness.

The Values and Ethics to:

• Understand, respect, affirm and promote peoples from diverse backgrounds (i.e., age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, and others).
• Strive to ensure equal access to information, opportunities, services, resources for all people.
• Respect people’s ideas, decisions, and keep confidentiality of their information and insure their participation.
• Promote the responsiveness of individuals, organizations, institutions, communities, and systems to people’s needs.
• Promote the empowerment of people
• Promote empathy, congruence and unconditional positive acceptance towards service seekers
• Promote human rights and human dignity
• Promote social and economic justice

5. ACADEMIC AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS      

Admission Requirements

1. Social work is a multidisciplinary profession. It is an application of many social, behavioral, health, and developmental disciplines. Therefore, applicants who have successfully completed their first degree from accredited universities by the Ministry of Education in any field and those who pass the School’s entrance exam will be eligible to join the program.
2. Applicants are expected to meet the requirements set by the Graduate Program Office of the University.

Graduation Requirements

1. 1.Students will be eligible for graduation upon successful completion of all of the modules/courses and thesis work, i.e. 120 credit points (34 Credit Hours).
2. 2.The minimum grade point average (GPA) required for courses is 3.0
3. 3.Each student should submit and successfully defend her/his thesis within the specified time frame and score a minimum grade of “satisfactory”.
4. 4.Each student should successfully complete all field attachments that are part of the requirements for practice courses and independent field attachment courses that are compulsory to the profession and get the approval from the agency and university supervisor.
5. 5.The format and submission of each completed thesis is based on the rules and regulations followed by the program or the College where the program is hosted.

 

Duration of the Study

This MSW program consists of 120 credit points(course work, practice and thesis work) that shall be taken over a full two academic years period for regular students and two and half years for extension students. Extending the duration beyond two or two and half years respectively requires the permission of the School’s Graduate Council (SGC) and the graduate program of the faculty.

 

Medium of Instruction

The medium of instruction for the program is English.

Types of Program

This curriculum is prepared for the regular program. A separate course breakdown is also prepared for extension program. Based on demand, breakdown for summer in-service and distance learning will be prepared in the future.

 

6. DEGREE NOMENCLATURE AND AWARD REQUIREMENTS

Students who successfully complete the program (120 credit points) that is course works, field attachment and thesis research will be awarded a degree. The degree nomenclature is stated in English and Amharic as follows:

In English: Masters Degree in Social Work

In Amharic:   “ የማስትሬትዲግሪበሶሻልወርክ”

7. MODE OF DELIVERY, AND ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION METHODS

Mode of Delivery

Courses will be delivered mainly in a block teaching modality and the non-credit course shall be offered in a seminar format. Among the compulsory courses, two of them (Social Work Practice with Individuals, Children and Families; and Social Work Practice with Groups, Communities, and Organizations) will have field attachments as part of the requirements to complete the courses. The field attachment worth 50% for each course and the detail procedures and settings of attachment will be made clear. Moreover, the independent field work (Field Education I and II) requires students to practice providing professional social work services at institutions and organizations. The thesis work has six (6) credits and requires each student to conduct a field research project and to complete it in accordance with the standards of scientific research in the discipline.

 

In general the MSW program shall be carried out through

• Lectures
• Presentation and seminars
• Independent reading
• Discussion
• Project work
• Lab work
• Field work
• Research and report writing

 

Assessment/ Evaluation of the Program

A comprehensive assessment mechanism will be employed to see how much students have mastered what they have learned. Evaluation must also consider students’ active participation in the teaching/ learning process. In general, students’ performance will be appraised through various techniques of continuous assessment such as term paper, presentations, project work, article review, fieldwork report, and tests and exams (both written and oral). Continuous assessment will be the general guiding policy of the program.

 

Grading System

Grading system will be as per the university’s legislation.

8. QUALITY MAINTANACE AND ASSURANCE MECHANISM

One of the quality assurance aspects of the program will be assigning qualified instructors to handle courses, advise thesis research project and examine students theses. Therefore, all the courseinstructors,advisorsandthesisexaminers(bothinternal andexternal)mustbeat leastPhDholdersorassistantprofessors.Incaseofseriousscarcityofqualified instructors,onlyPhD candidates who completed their course works and successfully defended theirdissertationproposalareconsideredtohandlethepostgraduatecoursesuponapprovalbytheSGC and the faculty graduate program.

The quality of the program will be maintained at the highest standard possible by periodically reviewing the curriculum and the teaching methodology, in reference to similar programs in other universities. Results from the program assessment/ evaluation activities will be used as important sources of information in gauging the quality.

In general, quality assurance measures will be made as per the university quality assurance policy. The following measures will be under taken at the program level.

• Conducting employer feedback surveys
• Collecting community feedback and reflection
• Conducting periodic curriculum revision
• Having regular meetings with stakeholders
• Having regular meetings with students and measuring their satisfaction
• Designing and implementing program level self-assessment

 

9. RESOURCES REQUIRED

• Computer lab for students
• Software for research courses
• Reference materials and journals for courses
• Furnished offices for staff (chairs, tables, printers, photocopiers, scanner, desktops, lap tops, fax, cable phone etc)
• Vehicles for field education
• Classrooms
• Budget for field education (supervisors and coordinators)

 

10. ASSIGNMENT OF COURSE CODES

The course code has two alphabets and four digit numbers. The two alphabets code indicates the name of the program with both letters being capital; that is SW indicates abbreviation of the program of Social Work. The four digits indicate the year of the course offering (first number indicates the level of the course in terms of the year; accordingly, ‘5’ refers to second degree and ‘1’ for first year; ‘2’ for second year courses. The middle numbers indicate module code number in the program (for instance, 01, 02, 03, and 04); the last numbers indicate the order of the course within the module.

11. LIST OF MODULES AND COURSES REQUIRED

Module No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	EtCTS					CP
				LH	TH		PH	HS
01	Foundations in Social Work
	Social Work Theories and Methods	SW5011	3	48	-	40		101		7
	Human Behavior and the Social Environment	SW5012	2	32	-	25		105		6
	Contemporary Social Problems and Issues	SW5013	3	32	-	67		90		7
Total			8	144		132		296		20
02	Social Work Skills
	Social Protection and Social Policy Analysis	SW5021	3	48	-	65		76		7
	Counseling Skills and Techniques for Social Workers	SW5022	2	32	-	50		80		6
	Project Development and Evaluation	SW5023	2	32	-	60		70		6
Total			7	144		175		226		19
03	Social Work Practice
	Social Work Practice with Individuals, Children and Families	SW6031	2	16	-	117		56		7
	Social Work Practice with Groups, Communities and Organizations	SW6032	2	16	-	120		53		7
	Field Education I	SW6033	2	6	-	133		50		7
	Field Education II	SW6034	2	6		151		32		7
Total			8	44		521		191		28
04	Research Methods
	Qualitative Research Methods in Social Work	SW6041	2	32	36	40		54		6
	Quantitative Research Methods in Social Work	SW6042	3	48	35	40		66		7
	Thesis	SW6043	6	-	-	120		1060		40
Total			11	80	71	200		1180		53

12. Course Breakdown for Regular Program

First Year First Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
1	Social Work Theories and Methods	SW5011	3	7	6	Block I	W1-6
2	Human Behavior and the Social Environment	SW5012	2	6	5	Block I	W1-5
3	Counseling Skills and Techniques for Social Workers	SW5022	2	6	5	Block II	W7-11
4	Contemporary Social Problems and Issues in Ethiopia	SW5013	3	7	6	Block II	W6-11
5	Qualitative Research Methods in Social Work	SW6041	2	6	8	Block II	W8-15
I	Action Research	Seminar without credit hour					W16
Total			12	32

 

First Year Second Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
1	Quantitative Research Methods in Social Work	SW6042	3	7	8	Block I	W1-8
3	Social Work Practice with Individuals, Children and Families	SW6031	2	7	6	Block I	W1-6
3	Social Protection and Social Policy Analysis	SW5021	3	7	6	Block II	W8-13
4	Social Work Practice with Groups, Communities and Organizations	SW6032	2	7	6	Block II	W8-13
5	Field Education I	SW6033	2	7	6	Block II	W11-16
II	Mixed Methods Research	Seminar without credit hours					W9
Total			12	35

 

Second Year First Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
3	Project Development and Evaluation	SW5023	2	6	4	Block I	W 1-4
	Field Education II	SW6034	2	7	8	Block II	W 5-12
4	Thesis	SW6043	6	40	16	Parallel	W 1-16
III	Management and Leadership Skills for Social Workers	Seminar without credit hours					W6
Total			10	53
Second Year Second Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
4	Thesis	SW6043	Continued				W 1-16

 

COURSE BREAKDOWN FOR EXTENSION PROGRAM

First Year First Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
1	Social Work Theories and Methods	SW5011	3	7	6	Block I	W1-6
2	Human Behavior and the Social Environment	SW5012	2	6	5	Block I	W3-7
	Qualitative Research Methods in Social Work	SW6041	2	6	8	Block II	W9-16
I	Action Research	Seminar without credit hours					W15
Total			7	19

 

First Year Second Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
1	Contemporary Social Problems and Issues in Ethiopia	SW5013	3	7	6	Block I	W1-6
2	Counseling Skills and Techniques for Social Workers	SW5022	2	6	5	Block I	W5-9
3	Social Protection and Social Policy Analysis	SW5021	3	7	6	Block II	W8-13
	Total		8	20

 

First Year Summer Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
1	Quantitative Research Methods in Social Work	SW6042	3	7	8	Block I	W1-8
2	Social Work Practice with Individuals, Children and Families	SW6031	2	7	6	Block I	W2-7
II	Mixed Methods Research	Seminar without credit hours					W8
	Total		5	14

 

Second Year First Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
4	Social Work Practice with Groups, Communities and Organizations	SW6032	2	7	6	Block I	W1-6
3	Project Development and Evaluation	SW5023	2	6	4	Block I	W5-8
5	Field Education I	SW6033	2	7	6	Block II	W9-14
III	Management and Leadership Skills for Social Workers	Seminar without credit hours					W15
	Total		6	20

 

Second Year Second   Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
1	Field Education II	SW6034	2	7	8	Block I	W1-8
2	Thesis	SW6043	6	40	16	Parallel	Parallel
Total			8	47

 

Second Year Summer Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
4	Thesis	SW6043	Continued			-

 

Third Year First Semester
No	Course Title	Course Code	Cr Hr	CP	No of Weeks	Delivery	Duration
4	Thesis	SW6043	Continued