This course provides an introduction to a variety of populations, services, and systemic issues. It also provides opportunities for self-reflection and exploration regarding your own sense of fit with the field of social work. This paper is the final for the course and should draw on everything we read, wrote, experienced, and discussed through the semester. In this paper you need to demonstrate what you’ve learned throughout the course, and you must integrate at least two academic journal articles into the 3rd prompt.
Answer the following prompts:
1. From anything/everything we’ve gone through in class this semester, answer the question “what is social work, and what makes social work unique among helping professions?”
2. Discuss your knowledge of, and goodness-of-fit in relation to, a specific area of the social work field you have read about or had direct experience with. This may be a population, type of agency, area of macro practice, or anything else related to social work. Specifically address:
a. Why does this area of the field interest you? What is your understanding or experience of it so far?
b. What are some of the strengths and challenges you would bring to this area of the field? How are your strengths useful, and how will you manage/mitigate/improve your challenges?
3. Within the area of the field you chose in the first prompt, find and summarize two academic journal articles that address relevant practices, problems, agencies, or interventions. These cannot be readings assigned for the course. Discuss the way those articles might influence your practice in your area of interest. *Tip on how to do this- after you have chosen your area of the field, search the Lesley library page for related key words and include “social work” in your search https://research.lesley.edu/library
4. Consider and discuss your future career options. If you have decided that social work does not seem to be the field for you, or you think it might not be, discuss the factors that informed this perception. If you think it is, why? Whether social work is the field for you or not, what should be your next steps in exploring career options and developing skills?
This paper and your reference list should be in APA format. Please be sure to consult an APA reference such as: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_author_authors.html The paper should be eight to ten pages, excluding your reference list, and should use 12 point font and normal margins. It is due by December 16 at 11:59pm and must be uploaded as a word document.