Explain how what you learned aligns with your own professional goals.
Discussion: Social Work History, Mission, and Your Role
You may arrive at this course with a background in a helping profession. Perhaps you work at an agency that helps children, or you have seen an opportunity to further support aging populations through your work in an assisted living home.
Perhaps you or a family member have been helped by a service you didn’t even know existed, experiencing firsthand the transformative power of social work. Or, you may have looked at the community around you and felt a calling to do more.
These touchpoints of inspiration are not naïve or overly simplistic. In fact, this week’s selection of videos features similar stories of inspiration turned to practice from social workers with long tenures in the field. In this Discussion, you explore how your social work inspiration aligns with the inspiration of others.
To Prepare
· Watch the videos about social work and different types of social work practice in the Learning Resources.
· Read about the social work profession.
By Day 3
Post a response to the following:
· Provide an introduction of yourself including:
· Name
· Location
· Past social work experience
· Reasons for pursing an MSW
· Identify what you learned in this week’s Learning Resources that inspired you the most about the social work profession.
· Explain why what you identified inspired you. Make sure to refer to specific details, stories, or examples.
· Explain how what you learned aligns with your own professional goals.
Support your post with examples from the course text to demonstrate that you have completed the required readings, understand the material, and are able to apply the concepts.
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Cox , L. E., Tice, C. J., & Long, D. D. (2019). Introduction to social work: An advocacy-based profession (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
· Chapter 1: “The Social Work Profession” (pp. 3–21)
Introduction to Social Work: An Advocacy-Based Profession, 2nd Edition by Cox, L.; Tice, C.; Long, D. Copyright 2019 by SAGE Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications, Inc via the Copyright Clearance Center. Licensed in 2020.
Walden University: Writing Center. (n.d.). Common assignments: Discussion posts. http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/assignments/discussionpost
Required Media
Watch the videos below for the Discussion. Then, be sure to view the items under Important Program Information that follows.
Walden University. (2016, 2021). Why I became a social worker [Video]. http://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 3 minutes.
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Walden University. (2021). What it means to be a graduate student [Video]. http://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes.
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Credit: “”
Walden University. (2021). What inspired me to pursue a graduate degree in social work [Video]. http://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 6 minutes.
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Credit: “”
Walden University. (2021). A day in the life [Video]. http://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes.
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Walden University. (2016, 2021). The criminal justice arena: With Dr. Peter Meagher [Video]. http://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 4 minutes.
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Walden University. (2016, 2021). Working with aging clients: With Dr. Donna McElveen [Video]. http://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.
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Walden University. (2016, 2021). Working with children and families: With Dr. Debbie Rice [Video]. http://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 3 minutes.
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Important Program Information
Be sure to review the two items below, both of which contain important information about the MSW program.
Walden University. (2021). MSW student orientation [Interactive module]. http://class.waldenu.edu
Walden University. (2019). MSW field experience [Video]. http://class.waldenu.edu
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