Department of Social Work
Graduate Social Work Program
Room-104 Bibb Graves
Hall
MISSION/PURPOSE
The mission of the
Graduate Social Work Program of Alabama A&M University is to prepare
students, particularly students from historically oppressed populations, to
become ethical, competent, advanced level professionals capable of assuming a
wide range of roles and functions in working with vulnerable individuals,
families, groups, public and private organizations and institutions, and rural
and urban communities The Program
mission emanates from the purpose, values, ethics and responsibilities of the
social work profession and the mission and policies of Alabama A&M
University, its Schools
of Arts and Sciences and Graduate Studies, and the Social Work Department. It reflects the Council on Social Work
Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, the legislative mandate, and
the needs of the community of northern Alabama
and its environs. The Graduate Social Work Program is fully accredited by the
Council on Social Work Education.
The Graduate Program’s concept of the
advanced level social work practitioner includes the capability and commitment
to address issues of poverty, oppression, discrimination, social, political and
economic justice and empowerment within the context of social work knowledge,
domains, skills, values and ethics. The
Graduate Social Work Program emphasizes effective relationships, as the medium
through which personal and societal change occurs. Relationship, based on the values of respect
for individual worth and dignity, mutual participation, acceptance,
confidentiality, honesty, and the responsible handling of conflict, is critical
to the effective practice of professional social work. The Graduate Social Work
Program and the Social Work Department is committed to enhancing the quality of
life of individuals in the region and the capacity of citizens to identify and
address their own social welfare and social justice concerns and needs.
The philosophical
base of the Alabama A&M University Graduate Social Work program holds the
purpose of social work to be the promotion and/or restoration of mutually
beneficial interactions among individuals, families, groups,
organizations/institutions, communities, and society which improve the quality
of life for all. The dual focus of
social work is on the person in-situation, or more broadly, the client system,
and it’s ecological system. Social work
brings together and facilitates interactions between clients and their
environments (ecological systems); seeks balance between the needs of client
systems, available resources and their development; and enhances growth,
development, problem-solving capabilities, and the optimal functioning of
individuals, families, groups, organizations/institutions, and communities.
The philosophical
base further emphasizes respect for human dignity, the worth of the individual,
and the right to self-determination: belief in the equality of all human
beings; recognition of vulnerable and oppressed populations; appreciation of
human diversity; recognition of the interdependence of people and of people
with their environment; and a belief in the ultimate responsibility of society
to meet basic human needs. Social
workers are responsible for the quality of their practice, including ethical
conduct, and to seek lifelong education in social work knowledge and skills,
and to endeavor to make social institutions more humane and responsive to human
needs.