Case‐based Learning: Educating Future Human Service Managers

Using teaching cases in professional education programs has gained increased attention in the past several decades. While the use of teaching cases has been an important part of social work education, the majority of current casebooks focus on micro or direct practice issues and settings. Over the past forty years only four major casebooks have focused exclusively on the macro practice of social work. This analysis of case‐based learning is divided into the following components: 1) the search for practice wisdom emerging from analyzing cases within the context of management knowledge and skills, 2) case discussion in the classroom, including student and instructor preparation, case selection and integration into the course, case debriefing, student‐designed cases, and conceptual frameworks for teaching management, 3) a conclusion that identifies the benefits and limitations of case‐based learning.     

MSW Students' Experience with Termination: Implications and Suggestions for Classroom and Field Instruction

Social work students' experiences with termination are rarely explored. This paper discusses the results of a survey of 54 MSW interns regarding termination and, in particular, premature termination resulting from placement completion. Twenty‐four percent of respondents experienced natural terminations, 35% experienced client‐initiated ones, and 93% experienced forced terminations resulting from internship completion. Students felt termination was well‐covered in practice classes, less so in supervision, and felt moderately prepared for the process. Nevertheless, students found terminations significantly harder than their sense of preparation would indicate, and recommend earlier, more comprehensive training in classroom and field settings to support them and their clients.     

Advanced Standing Revisited: Current Status,Structure, and Issues

Uncollegial behaviors are described in three categories: verbal attacks, destructive game playing and withholding support. Factors in academia that contribute to uncollegial behavior and theoretical frameworks that explain its existence are explored. Strategies for dealing with noxious colleagues at the organizational and interpersonal level are discussed.     

Social Networking as an Admission Tool: A Case Study in Success

The concept of social networking, the focus of this article, targets the development of online communities in higher education, and in particular, as part of the admission process. A successful case study of a university is presented on how one university has used this tool to compete for students. A discussion including suggestions on how to enhance the success of this tool in your recruitment process is also provided.     

A Longitudinal Study of Changes in Marketing Practices at Private Christian Colleges

This article presents the results of a longitudinal study investigating current marketing practices at selected church-related, private, four-year compared to those in place in 1997. The role that institutional selectivity plays in the use of marketing activities was also investigated. The researcher surveyed the admissions directors or enrollment management officers at all U.S. institutional members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Implications for marketers in higher education as well as recommendations for future research are also discussed.     

Accessibility and Order: Crossing Borders in Child Abuse Forensic Reports

Physicians write child abuse forensic reports for nonphysicians. We examined 73 forensic reports from a Canadian children's hospital for recurrent strategies geared toward making medical information accessible to nonmedical users; we also interviewed four report writers and five readers. These reports featured unique forensic inserts in addition to headings, lists, and parentheses, which are typical of physician letters for patients. We discuss implications of these strategies that must bridge the communities of medical, social, and legal practice.     

Innovations Applied to the Classroom for Involuntary Groups: Implications for Social Work Education

There is an increasing demand for social work students to be prepared to work with a wide range of involuntary groups including the more traditional court-ordered programs in domestic abuse and chemical dependency, as well as groups in mental health and schools that provide outreach to high-risk client populations. This paper introduces three innovative frameworks including Reactance theory, Stages of Change model and Motivational Interviewing. Classroom guidelines and exercises are presented that help students integrate these interventions as they develop their group work skills. Strategies for involving students in moving these innovations towards best practices with involuntary groups are discussed.