Advanced Policy Practice Students at NASW-PA Legislative Lobby Day in Harrisburg, March 2010

The Social Work program is accredited on the baccalaureate level as a professional degree in social work by the Council on Social Work Education.

The mission of the Department of Social Work at West Chester University is to prepare students for beginning social work practice. To this end, the program assists students in developing the knowledge, values, and skills so that they may function effectively as generalist practitioners in a diverse society.

Generalist practitioners use an interactional approach to engage individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities in a problem-solving process that emphasizes the strengths of each respective system. The generalist social work practitioner operates within a system and person-in-environment framework (referred to as an ecological perspective).

Because of its location in a mixed urban/rural environment, students in the B.S.W. program at WCU develop knowledge about the social welfare needs of mixed populations. Students learn to use critical thinking skills in order to assess appropriate interventions according to consumer needs and to resolve ethical dilemmas.

Students are also taught, and get an opportunity to practice within, the guidelines prescribed by the NASW Code of Ethics. The program prepares students with competencies appropriate to entry-level generalist social work practice, as well as a solid foundation for graduate social work education.