Preparing Future Social Workers Through Asynchronous Online Education

Overview: This interactive workshop will provide a summary of findings related to online social work education and the opportunity to engage in dialogue with other faculty regarding strategies for enhancing online social work education. It will include preliminary focus group data from students in one fully asynchronous MSW program.Proposal text: Colleges and universities continue to actively pursue opportunities to remain competitive in online education. Simply digitizing in-person course content does not adequately prepare students to acquire and demonstrate the competencies needed to enter the field. Program implementation, engagement, building a sense of community and belonging amongst students and faculty, as well as consideration of ethics and diversity warrant attention in an online environment (Littlefield, 2019). Many higher education institutions now offer fully online courses or a hybrid option that allows students to engage both remotely and in-person.
Social work programs in the United States have increased their presence in the online educational arena. A survey conducted by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) found that 78.6 % of practice doctoral programs and 11.6% of research doctorate programs offered students an option to take a portion of courses online along with 80.8% of master’s programs and 54.8% of baccalaureate programs offering similar hybrid options (CSWE, 2020). Some social work programs, however, offer exclusively online coursework. For instance, 64.3% of practice doctoral programs and 4.3% of research doctorate programs provide an entirely online option while 30.1% of master’s and 7.1% of social work baccalaureate programs offer fully online courses (CSWE, 2020).
Undoubtedly, the COVID 19 pandemic has put online education into higher focus and will likely result in the continued growth and demand of online social work programs. While online social work education has received support from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Association of Social Work Boards, and CSWE, a survey of US social work faculty highlights that respondents perceived online education as less effective than in-person courses (Littlefield, 2019). Levin et al. (2018) speculate that faculty reluctance may be related to the unknown impact online education may have on interaction, human development, and educational outcomes.
Further exploration applying the person-in-environment perspective is needed to better understand online social work education and create sustainable programs. Offering robust online options contributes to a more diverse student body. The accessibility of coursework and flexibility in course completion, that may have not otherwise been possible with more traditional curricula, allows students from all backgrounds to advance their educational goals. An inclusive learning environment provides diversified approaches to content delivery and responds to the various ways in which students acquire knowledge, values, and skills. The inclusivity that online education can provide allows students to learn in multiple ways while also having the ability to handle life demands.
The purpose of this workshop is to provide a summary of findings related to online social work education and the opportunity to engage in dialogue with other faculty regarding strategies for enhancing online social work education. This interactive workshop will include preliminary focus group data from students in one fully asynchronous Master of Social Work program.