BASW Program Goals and Objectives

  1. Preparation of entry-level, generalist social work practitioners who identify as professional social workers and conduct themselves accordingly.  Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Advocate for client access to relevant services.
    2. Practice personal and professional self-reflection and self-growth to assure continual professional development, particularly as entry-level, generalist social work practitioners.
    3. Continuously demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance, and communications.
    4. Commit to engage in lifelong professional learning, seeking out supervision, consultation, continuing education and all other methods available for growth and learning, including the possibility of graduate study in social work.
  2. Preparation of generalist practitioners who engage diversity and difference specific to New Jersey, nationally and globally.  Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Critically evaluate theories that describe various types of diversity including racial and ethnic diversity, sexual orientation and gender, and also class differences and differences in ability.
    2. Demonstrate an understanding of how their own experiences with diversity along with their own personal values and biases have implications for effectively empowering and helping to change and support families and communities.
    3. Demonstrate an ability to utilize the various evidence-based interventions that are appropriate for effectively empowering and creating change for diverse families and communities in New Jersey, nationally, and globally.
    4. Demonstrate an understanding of the causes and impacts of various types of interpersonal and institutional oppression, including but not limited to racism, sexism, heterosexism, able-ism, and classism.  Graduates will also understand how these oppressions intersect for certain groups of people.
    5. Demonstrate an understanding of how political and societal factors can privilege some groups in society while marginalizing and oppressing others.
    6. Commit to lifelong learning in the above indicated areas.
  3. Preparation of generalist practitioners who apply critical thinking skills of analysis, and problem solving to strengthen individuals, families and communities in the context of generalist practice. Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Distinguish, appraise, and integrate multi-disciplinary sources of knowledge, including the findings of research and practice wisdom in work with individuals, groups, families, and/or communities and organizations.
    2. Analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention, and evaluation with individuals, groups, and families, or with communities and organizations for beginning level social work skills.
    3. Exercise effective oral and written communication skills to develop and apply solutions to complex and emerging client needs and social problems.
  4. Preparation of generalist practitioners who advocate for human rights and social and economic justice to strengthen individuals, families, and communities locally and internationally. Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination locally and internationally and their influence on the well-being of families and communities.
    2. Apply micro and macro interventions that promote social and economic justice and alleviate suffering by strengthening and empowering individuals, families and communities to attain basic human rights and social and economic justice.
  5. Preparation of generalist practitioners who engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research related to finding solutions to social problems, strengthening individuals, families, and communities. Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Use practice experience to inform scientific inquiry.
    2. Understand and utilize both quantitative and qualitative research findings to understand scientific and ethical approaches to building knowledge.
    3. Use research findings (both quantitative and qualitative) to guide practice decisions in their areas of concentration and specialty.
    4. Use research findings to improve practice, policy and social service delivery.
    5. Use program evaluation skills and experience to design appropriate evaluation methods.
    6. Use knowledge of evaluation methods to assess, analyze, and interpret findings to determine effectiveness of practice in either direct practice or not-for-profit and public management.
  6. Preparation of generalist practitioners who demonstrate foundation knowledge about human development and behavior in the social environment, and who draw upon this knowledge to assess the biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors that affect individuals, families, and communities.  Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Critically evaluate theories of human development and apply them appropriately when assessing individuals in the context of their environment.
    2. Demonstrate an understanding of how psychological, social, and environmental factors affect individuals, families, organizations and communities.
    3. Clearly articulate the interrelationships and interactions between persons and their environments and specifically how various social environments affect individuals, families, and communities.
  7. Preparation of generalist practitioners who advance social and economic well-being by engaging in policy practice. This practice includes analyzing, formulating and advocating for policy and programs that advance social well-being by empowering individuals, families and communities, and also collaborating with clients and colleagues for effective policy action. Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Understand the comprehensive public and private social service/healthcare service delivery system in New Jersey and nationally.
    2. Analyze, formulate and advocate for policies and services that advance social well-being.
    3. Collaborate with colleagues, clients, and all stakeholders to strengthen the processes of change by encouraging effective policy action.
  8. Preparation of generalist practitioners to dynamically respond to demographic, technological, economic, scientific, and sociopolitical contexts that affect individuals, families, and communities in New Jersey, nationally, and globally. Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Recognize that social work practice is dynamic and that professional social workers must continually appraise and attend to changing locales, populations, scientific and technological development and societal trends that affect policy and service delivery.
    2. Provide leadership to encourage and develop sustainable changes which lead to the quality improvement of services and encourage a non-fragmented delivery system.
  9. Education of generalist practitioners who understand and use social work values and ethics to guide their entry-level professional practice.  Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows professional values to guide practice.
    2. Make ethical decisions by applying standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and as applicable, of the International Federation of Social Work, Statement of Principles.
    3. Tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts.
    4. Apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions for all levels of practice.
  10. Preparation of generalist practitioners to engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate practice with  individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities utilizing research findings and evidence-based practice.  Graduates of the BASW program will:
    1. Use self-reflection, empathy, and other interpersonal skills to prepare for social work interventions.
    2. Collect and interpret client and organizational information to develop mutually agreed upon goals and objectives utilizing appropriate interventions.
    3. Help clients resolve problems through appropriate advocacy, clinical interventions prevention and skilled transition planning.
    4. Analyze, monitor and evaluate interventions with individuals, families and groups, or not-for profit and public agencies and develop improved interventions based on evaluation outcomes.