Program: Social Welfare (PhD)
Degree: Doctorate
Date: Wed Oct 13, 2010 - 1:21:01 pm
1) Below are the program student learning outcomes submitted last year. Please add/delete/modify as needed.
Program Goals and Educational Objectives
The major goals of the doctoral program are to:
1. Provide students with the substantive and methodological competence requisite for scholarship and research in social policy and social work practice in the field of social welfare;
2. Increase the number of social welfare professionals, especially in Hawaii and the Pacific Region, who would be qualified to carry out social welfare research and program evaluations, to teach, and to foster knowledge development in all areas of social work; and
3. Increase the number of doctorally educated social workers from underrepresented ethnic and minority groups.
The PhD curriculum exposes students to a program of study and investigation that places its highest priority on independent inquiry and the enhancement of intellectual, creative, and analytical abilities. Each student
completing the doctoral program will be expected to possess a comprehensive body of knowledge about the field of social welfare, related behavioral and social sciences, and the social work profession in relation to one or more social problem areas. Each student will demonstrate ability to conduct independent research on a critical social problem.
Specifically, each doctoral graduate is expected to achieve the following educational objectives:
1. Apply relevant social work and social science knowledge to the resolution of critical social problems.
2. Critically evaluate the cultural dimensions of social problems and promote strategies for social problem resolution.
3. Delineate and analyze social policy and social work practice issues related to substantive areas in social welfare and conceptualize the social or behavioral processes characterizing them.
4. Analyze and apply social science theories, findings, and research methodologies to social welfare knowledge-building concerns.
5. Formulate professionally relevant and theoretically productive research questions and hypotheses, and investigate them through empirical research, with particular concern and sensitivity to culturally appropriate research methodologies and needs in Hawai‘i and the Pacific region.
6. Integrate and synthesize research findings into the body of professional knowledge.
7. Disseminate knowledge through publications and/or teaching.
To accomplish the above, the doctoral curriculum provides opportunities for students to acquire advanced and comprehensive knowledge in the following areas:
1. The application of social science theories and research to social policy analysis, program evaluation, and social work practice.
2. The conceptualization, design, and conduct of empirical research.
3. At least one critical social problem area.
4. Perspectives on culturally appropriate social welfare programs, social work practice and intervention approaches.
5. Pedagogy of teaching and research through practicum experiences.
2) As of last year, your program's SLOs were published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: http://www.hawaii.edu/sswork/ Student Handbook. URL, if available online: NA Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: NA
UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: NA Other: Other: 3) Below is the link to your program's curriculum map (if submitted in 2009). If it has changed or if we do not have your program's curriculum map, please upload it as a PDF.
4) The percentage of courses in 2009 that had course SLOs explicitly stated on the syllabus, a website, or other publicly available document is indicated below. Please update as needed.
0% 1-50% 51-80% 81-99%
100%5) State the assessment question(s) and/or goals of the assessment activity. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.
An assessment plan for the Ph.D. program is in the process of being developed. The plan will look not only at effectiveness in meeting stated goals, but also will examine process issues to determine what is working well and what is of concern.
6) State the type(s) of evidence gathered.
Course and Faculty Evaluations
Alumni Surveys
Note: Because we sometimes have low numbers (1-2) of Ph.D. students in classes and who graduate each year, we cannot collect data as we would for the BSW or MSW programs. With such low numbers, there is no way to ensure anonymity of responses.
7) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected?
Course instructor(s) Faculty committee Ad hoc faculty group Department chairperson Persons or organization outside the university Faculty advisor Advisors (in student support services) Students (graduate or undergraduate) Dean/Director Other: 8) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence?
Used a rubric or scoring guide Scored exams/tests/quizzes Used professional judgment (no rubric or scoring guide used) Compiled survey results Used qualitative methods on interview, focus group, open-ended response data External organization/person analyzed data (e.g., external organization administered and scored the nursing licensing exam) Other: 9) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated.
If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
Course and Faculty Evaluations - Although CAFE is required, it often cannot be used for Ph.D. level courses because there are only 1-2 students enrolled. For those Ph.D. classes with higher enrollments, response rates are high, nearing 100%. The largest classes had 6 enrolled.
Alumni Surveys - 2 persons responded
10) Summarize the actual results.
We are in the process of collecting data and determining how else to gather information on Ph.D. students, so there are no results to report at this time.
11) How did your program use the results? --or-- Explain planned use of results.
Please be specific.
Once a plan is in place and there are data to be analyzed, closing the loop will be an integral part of the process.