What you will learn
- Gain an understanding of what a social worker is and does.
- Gain an understanding of the importance of the NASW Code of Ethics to the profession of social work.
- Define power, privilege, oppression, and intersectionality.
- Summarize common theories, frameworks and perspectives in the social work profession.
- Describe the different levels of practice; micro, mezzo, macro.
Social work is an exciting field and a marketable profession. Social workers make a positive difference in the lives of individuals every day in many different ways. This Professional Certificate program will introduce you to the profession of social work. This program examines the historical development of social work and focuses on the knowledge, values, and skills that characterize the social worker. It provides an orientation to the context for social work, including the diversity of human needs, human services, social policy, and legislation. Services, programs, and career opportunities nationally are discussed throughout.
The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and to help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A social worker should not only work with the client to help them through the injustice or to adapt to the injustice but to work towards changing that injustice. Learners will be introduced to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and how to apply and utilize the code to navigate ethical dilemmas and utilize the code in decision-making processes.
Created by a Clinical Professor of Social Work with over 20 years of experience, this certificate program will highlight the positive difference social workers can make in the lives of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities around the world.
Courses in this program
AlaskaX's Introduction to Social Work Professional Certificate
- 4–6 hours per week, for 6 weeks
This course is an introduction to the profession of social work and the human services delivery system. It examines the historical development of social work focusing on the knowledge, values, and skills that characterize the social worker. This course will orient the learner to the context for social work and focus on the foundational frameworks of the profession.
- 4–6 hours per week, for 6 weeks
This course will orient the learner to the context for social work, including the diversity of human needs, human services, social policy, and legislation. Learners will also gain information about social services, social programs, and career opportunities within rural and urban Alaska, as well as nationally.
- Social Workers gain licensure in the order of LBSW, LMSW, and LCSW (bachelors, masters, licensed clinical). Each provides more specific and advanced work conditions.
- Social Workers typically earn from $37K-$63K depending on licensure, specialty and location (source Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2021 Report)
- Bachelor’s of Social Work (BSW) Students are often offered positions in agencies in which they completed their practicum placement, and are also well prepared to enter a Masters in Social Work program upon graduation.
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