Integration of Evidence-Based Practice Curriculum in a Social Work Capstone Course: A Proof-of-Concept

Overview: This proof-of-concept integrated Evidence-based Practice (EBP) curriculum in a capstone generalist Bachelor of Social Work course. This study is innovative in its conceptualization of EBP and pedagogical methods, as it conceptualizes all areas of EBP equally and uses the field placement to support student and organizational engagement with EBP.Proposal text:

Background: Social workers are responsible for assessing and addressing the complex needs of individuals and families while navigating organizational policies and community systems (Gray et al., 2009). Social work practice occurs in a variety of fields (e.g., child welfare, healthcare, mental health) where service users may be experiencing multiple challenges (e.g., poverty, substance use, trauma). Increasing the complexity are intersecting identities such as ethnoracial, age, and gender, which may impact how people experience social services (Antwi-Boasiako et al., 2020). While students must demonstrate certain competencies upon graduation (CSWE, 2015), social workers often require targeted knowledge and skills to effectively meet the unique and complex needs of service users. However, generalist social work education programs offer broad practice knowledge and skills, which may not address these unique needs. Evidence-based Practice (EBP) offers a comprehensive foundation for practice, especially in a generalist education setting.

Objective: The goal of this study aimed to integrate EBP curriculum into a capstone course that ran concurrently with a Bachelor of Social Work field placement. The social work education body of literature illustrates that EBP has not been taught or conceptualized consistently (Spenseberger et al., 2020). Further, EBP education commonly focuses on research or Evidence-based Interventions/Treatments, which may result in the perception that EBP is irrelevant and the inability to utilize or integrate EBP in practice. This study is innovative in its conceptualization of EBP and pedagogical methods, whereby EBP was conceptualized as the equal consideration and integration of four factors - case context, service user values, social worker experiences, and research. Curriculum addressed the assessment and integration of each factor, accessing and critiquing available research, and integrating research to practice. At the beginning of the course, students were encouraged to discuss a case or organizational issue with their field supervisor that could be addressed through EBP. Throughout the semester students developed a resource or product to address the identified field issue.

Methods and

Results: Curriculum was evaluated by assessing student attitudes, self-efficacy, and clinical assessment and service plans using online pre- and post-test surveys. Pre- and post-tests consisted of three areas of measurement, EBP Attitudes Scales (Aarons, 2004), EBP Self-Efficacy Scale (Abrahamson et al., 2012), and social work clinical assessment and service plan using a case vignette. Students from two sections (n = 60) were invited to participate. A total of 33 students completed the pre-test and 10 the post-test. Descriptive results suggest student readiness for EBP engagement, and that this teaching method closes the gap between research and practice.

Conclusion: This study is innovative in its EBP conceptualization and pedagogy and aims to address the needs of social work direct practice while meeting global social work standards (Ioakimidis & Sookraj, 2021) in a generalist education. Findings suggest that conceptual nuances are especially important when teaching EBP. Further, integrating EBP within a capstone course and in the context of the field placement, offers an opportunity to promote EBP simultaneously in education and community practice. Study replication would offer further evidence to tailor EBP curriculum.