Module 12 – Personal and Professional Impact of this Study/Curriculum

Personal reflection over what has been heard, read and seen can improve comprehension and ability to incorporate such learning into practice. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) identifies the many factors social workers need to learn about and incorporate in their work for effective and ethical professional social work practice. In their 2015 EPAS, they write: 

The purpose of the social work profession is to promote human and community well being. Guided by a person-in-environment framework, a global perspective, respect for human diversity, and knowledge based on scientific inquiry, the purpose of social work is actualized through its quest for social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of poverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally. (p.5) 

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[See CSWE 2015 EPAS]

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How does this statement relate to refugees and those dislocated from their homelands through forced migrations? 

 

What We Learned During This Project

Refugees who participated in Study: 

Refugees:

• Wanted their voices heard 

• Wanted their stories told/shared

• Were sending a strong message of the need for peace

 

Reflected CSWE stated goals for social workers of 

• Promoting “respect for human diversity” (CSWE 2015 EPAS, p.5) 

• The “quest for social and economic justice” (CSWE 2015 EPAS, p.5)

• The “enhancement of the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally” (CSWE 2015 EPAS, p.5). 

 

Community Based Service providers, Volunteers, Government Workers in Study: 

• Service providers, volunteers, government workers in Schwerin:

• Wanted their voices heard to raise awareness of this issue 

• Wanted to share their experiences so others may benefit/learn from them

• Reflect CSWE stated goals for social workers: 

• To “promote human and community well-being” (CSWE 2015 EPAS, p.5).     

• For “the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of poverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons” (CSWE 2015 EPAS, p.5)

 

American Social Work Students: 

• Students observed new awareness:

• Natasha commented on her previously unrecognized sense of privilege 

• Issues of social justice 

• Natasha commented on the real need for them: “…getting out there, getting involved.

• Jade said: “We can’t turn a blind eye, even if it’s not our specific field, because it does impact all issues.” 

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Reflect CSWE statements: 

• The purpose of social work: “social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights…” (CSWE 2015 EPAS, p.5)

• The goal of social work: “the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally”

(CSWE 2015 EPAS, p.5)

• The need for social workers to think: “locally and globally” (CSWE 2015 EPAS, p.5).