Episode One: Understanding Competency-Based Social Work Education
Links
YouTube
Description
How can competency-based education transform the way we prepare social workers for real-world impact?
In this episode, we hear from Sarah Ritter, LMSW, Clinical Associate Faculty and MSW Program Director at the Garland School of Social Work. Sarah explores competency-based education in social work, the value of clinical and community practice specializations, and how Baylor’s MSW program integrates meaningful development into every facet of learning.
Join us in exploring how social work education can shape compassionate, capable leaders who make a difference.
Transcript
SPEAKERS
Sarah Ritter, Curtis Isozaki
Curtis Isozaki 00:01
All right, hello, Sarah. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today. Excited to get to know you and a little bit more about The Garland School of Social Work.
Sarah Ritter 00:09
Thanks for having me. I'm excited to chat with you.
Curtis Isozaki 00:11
Would you be able to introduce yourself?
Sarah Ritter 00:13
Sure! My name is Sarah Doyle Ritter. I am a clinical associate faculty and the MSW program director at The Garland School, so I have an administrative role that oversees the MSW program, both our online and residential campuses, and I am faculty, so I get to teach a lot of classes, mostly practice classes.
Curtis Isozaki 00:33
Fantastic. Well, our topic today is understanding social work, competency-based education, and we're just excited to get an overview of, really, an evolving field that is Social Work, and excited to hear a little bit about the importance of community and clinical specializations and maybe various challenges that may be facing the social work profession today. So you ready to dive right in?
Sarah Ritter 00:59
Let's do it!
Curtis Isozaki 00:59
Alright, fantastic. Well, by tradition, we are going to start off with some rapid-fire questions. And so are you ready for that?
Sarah Ritter 01:06
Okay, let's go.
Curtis Isozaki 01:07
Alright. So what is one word to describe Waco, Texas?
Sarah Ritter 01:11
Surprising!
Curtis Isozaki 01:13
Surprising, fantastic! What's your go-to order at your favorite coffee shop?
Sarah Ritter 01:18
I'm kind of boring. I'm more of a like coffee and oat milk kind of girl, and that's pretty much it.
Curtis Isozaki 01:24
Okay. Do you have a favorite coffee shop in Waco?
Sarah Ritter 01:27
I don't know if I have a favorite one, but I do really like Lighthouse, which is just down the street from The Garland School. They have a lot of great coffees. They also have this lavender syrup that if I do want anything in my coffee, that is what I want.
Curtis Isozaki 01:40
Lavender syrup. I have to try that next time that you and I go. We frequented Lighthouse together, which has been great, and so excited to see more students enjoy our Lighthouse Coffee Shop down the street. Okay, so last Rapid Fire question, if The Garland School of Social Work had a mascot, what would it be and why?
Sarah Ritter 02:01
Okay, besides a bear, we already got the bear thing going at Baylor, I think a Meerkat!
Curtis Isozaki 02:06
Okay.
Sarah Ritter 02:07
Hear me out!
Curtis Isozaki 02:08
Alright.
Sarah Ritter 02:08
I think a Meerkat because these are highly social animals. If you ever go to the zoo and you see them out, there's always a couple that are like, kind of watching out for the rest of the community. They live in community. They value community. I don't know if they value relationships. I would like to think they probably do. And those are things that I think are true about The Garland School as well.
Curtis Isozaki 02:32
Alright, Fantastic. Well, Nikki, you heard it here first, we have a mascot idea for a brand new Garland School of Social Work, kind of swag, and so as we dive into understanding social work competency-based education, to have a few questions. Sarah, as just the director program, Director of the MSW programs, looking forward to kind of hearing more of your perspective. And, so, how have you seen The Garland School of Social Work prepare social workers for worldwide service and leadership?
Sarah Ritter 03:03
Yeah. So I think one thing to know about me is I'm alum. I'm an alum of The Garland School. So I got my Bachelor's of Social Work at The Garland School, and that experience really shaped and formed my Career trajectory and the things that I've been able to do. So even as an undergraduate, we had faculty who are still here, actually, who were very intentional about the ways that they built in leadership, practice, and theory into the curriculum. Our practicum experiences provide a lot of leadership opportunities for students at all levels of practice, whether they're doing kind of that one-on-one practice, or whether they're doing more big-picture community organizing kinds of practice. I also think it's just part of who we are. We want students, our students, to be leaders. We think we prepare really competent social workers to use your word. I think because of the foundation that I got in my undergrad experience when I did go get my master's degree, when I worked in the field of social work for over a decade, I was gifted with a lot of leadership opportunities, and I trace a lot of that back to the foundations that I had at the garland school.
Curtis Isozaki 04:19
Fantastic, as you think about the field of Social Work, over the time that you've been practicing social work, have been involved and connected to The Garland School of Social Work. How has the field of social work evolved in our world today?
Sarah Ritter 04:33
Yeah, I mean, I think that the Data now says that Social workers are the largest Mental Health providers in the United States that has been an evolving trend, a really exciting one for our students and for the profession, and means that we want to be really intentional about how we're preparing our students. I think that ideally, a Social Worker wants to create a world where we don't need Social Workers, but the social justice issues of our times really mean that Social Workers are more critical and important to the work of human flourishing and wellbeing.
Curtis Isozaki 05:12
Love that love that word said just the work of Social Work is so essential to just the work of human flourishing and wellbeing. So, what is competency-based social work education? It's important to our field to be connected to NASW and CSW. What is competency-based social work education?
Sarah Ritter 05:33
Yeah, that seems like a big word, right? And to break it down, essentially, we're saying that, actually, there are things we want our students to learn. We know most of our students who come to us have an innate desire to be helpers. They want to do good in this world. They want to make a difference in the lives of individuals and communities. They have that passion. We want to take that passion and merge it with the skills and abilities to help in ways that are evidence-based and that are helpful, and not hurtful, and that actually do support clients and communities in achieving the goals that they want to. So, we think having the desire to help is wonderful. We think service is great, and we also know that there's ways to do that that are more helpful than others. So, when you think about other professions, you think you might think about other helping professions as nursing or being a doctor, or being a lawyer. You would never want someone who was a nurse, who had not gone to school and met certain criteria and benchmarks and certain competencies to come in your room and say, "Well, I had a lot of years of experience, you know, volunteering in an ER, so now I think I can be your nurse." You might look at that nurse and say, "I would like someone else to do my IV today," and so it's the same kind of concept for social work, right? Is that we want to take that desire to help change our world, and we want to put some structure around it, and some ways that students can be competent in their practice after they graduate. So, that's what competency-based education means.
Curtis Isozaki 07:25
Fantastic. So, How would you best describe the importance and impact the Social Workers with either community or clinical specialization?
Sarah Ritter 07:34
Yeah! So, the specializations we have kind of a way that we do social work education, which is we have kind of the generalist understanding of Social Work. So these are the things that all social workers, no matter how you choose to do your practice, with a more community specialization or clinical that we want all social workers to know. And, as you advance into the program, at that point, you choose if you want to be a clinician, or if you want to do more macro or community social work. And, so we make sure that those specializations are more tailored, they're more specialized - I use that word a lot, and they're unique to that particular kind of work. So, when I think about clinical work, you're really thinking about someone who might be interested in doing therapy, who might be interested in doing one-on-one kind of interventions, group work. These often are hospital social workers or community-based mental health social workers. When we think of community specialization, we're thinking of students who really have a desire to make that broader society impact. So, people who are interested in policy, people who are interested in the way systems and systems impact individuals. So, community organizers, folks who are running organizations and programs and are looking at, how are we know what we're doing, and how do we know we're doing it? Well, how are we thinking about leadership and community and economic development to further enhance the wellbeing of underserved communities.
Curtis Isozaki 09:11
Fantastic! And, so as students engage in social work education here at The Garland School, they have options for community specialization, clinical specialization, and then we have these optional concentrations as well. So, how did the MSW concentrations, organizational leadership, trauma, informed practice, and diversity, equity, inclusion prepare students for their field?
Sarah Ritter 09:36
Yeah. So, at The Garland School, these are three specific concentrations that we do really well. We have faculty that are experts in each of these topics, and we try to infuse a lot of it into our curriculum in a holistic manner. If students are very interested in one of these three kind of Concentrations, for example, we have a lot of students who are very interested in trauma-informed practice, because we know that trauma impacts both individuals and communities. So, they would take this opportunity in their specialized year to do more tailored work towards that concentration. So, they take classes that are connected to the concentration, they would sign up for a faculty mentorship opportunity that kind of focused on that area, either organizational leadership, diversity, equity, inclusion, or trauma-informed practice. And then they would complete a capstone topic, a colloquium, on that topic. And these are optional! They're not things students have to do. They're extra learning opportunities, and if the student successfully completes the concentration that is a designation that goes on their final transcript.
Curtis Isozaki 10:52
Fantastic! And, so wrapping our time up together, what advice would you give a prospective student exploring their career in Social Work at The Garland School?
Sarah Ritter 11:03
We're excited to have you! We're glad you're here! I think I would say Social Work is probably broader than you think it's going to be, and I feel pretty confident that we do a great job preparing really great social workers. So, I always encourage students to know their options. And I also say like, I really believe in the work that we're doing, and I think we're doing it really well, and I think we're preparing students to not only have successful careers but to make an impact in the communities that they're in. My advice is to be yourself, be authentic, and consider what you might also be bringing to the table here at The Garland School, and the way you can also contribute to the life of the schools, to the practicums that you're in, and to your colleagues as you go throughout the program.
Curtis Isozaki 11:53
Fantastic. I think that's wonderful advice for students coming into The Garland School of Social Work. It would be themselves and provide the gift of their presence in our community. And so thank you so much, Sarah. Really appreciate you taking the time.
Sarah Ritter 12:06
Thanks for having me. Curtis! Great to talk with you.
Curtis Isozaki 12:08
Great! Some bonus questions.
Sarah Ritter 12:10
Okay
Curtis Isozaki 12:11
Bonus questions!
Sarah Ritter 12:12
But I don't have those.
Curtis Isozaki 12:13
I know I don't. I had one in my brain and I lost it. Bonus questions, for the sake of it, there are so many options across higher education for social work education of all the different schools. Why should students choose to study at The Diana R. Garland School of Social Work versus on any other choice that they could make across the US?
Sarah Ritter 12:34
Well, because we're the best, obviously!
Curtis Isozaki 12:36
Of course!
Sarah Ritter 12:38
But truly, I know, investing in your education and a master's degree. It's a lot, it's a big commitment, it's a lot of time, it's a lot of money. It should require a lot of thought, and I know that we do it really well. We have small class sizes. We make sure that we have a practicum team and placement process, both for our online and Waco campuses, that really considers the whole student and what they need. It's a tailored experience. You don't go find your own practicum. We help you and support you throughout that process. We have over, I think, 1000 practicum placements across the greater United States. We have relationships in Waco that run decades long. So, we have these partnerships that are really unique, and we value the relationships of those partnerships, and we value the relationships with our students. Our students have a lot of opportunities to engage with faculty around practice and research. We have programs like an integrated Behavioral Health program that provides clinical students with training to work in underserved primary care settings. We have opportunities for students to engage at a pretty deep and meaningful level, not just with each other, but with the faculty and staff at The Garland School, and I think that is something that is unique, particularly to us, that even as we've grown as a program, we have maintained the importance of that connection. And then, of course, the reality is, is that we believe in the whole person, and so we consider spirituality and faith a big part of that. Being centered in a Christian university serves us in this way. We know not all our clients are Christians, but we know that maybe their faith or spirituality is important to them. So, being able to acknowledge that and wrestle with that with our students, whatever their faith backgrounds may be, actually is really meaningful to them and to our clients. So, I think that's -those are the things that make us a little bit unique and different.
Curtis Isozaki 14:43
How would you describe the day in the life of a Garland School of Social Work MSW student?
Sarah Ritter 14:49
Oooh! I don't know. I'd want to know that answer from them. I think, you know, they're busy. So, you know, at our Waco campus, most of them come to classes. Is about two full days a week, so you have kind of these dedicated class times, and then at least two to three days a week you're in your practicum placement. So, you are connecting with each other on a couple of days and your faculty, and you're getting that learning, and then you're going out and you're practicing it. We have placements all across the city that provide really valuable learning experiences to our students everywhere from schools to hospitals to mental health clinics to collective impact organizations to the city of Waco. So these - you get the benefit of having that academic knowledge with the applied learning.
Curtis Isozaki 15:37
What is the process and experience of being a graduate assistant?
Sarah Ritter 15:42
Yeah, that is one of my favorite things that we provide students. It's a competitive process, so you kind of get sent an application, either after you deposit, or if you're already a student at some point in the spring, and you apply to be a graduate assistant. These positions vary. They can be everything from you have them in the recruitment office to help new students who might be interested in our program understand what a day in the life is. We have students that say, "No, I'm really interested in research." So I try to make these pairings unique to what the student is interested in and what the student's skills are, and what the faculty is interested in, and what the faculty skills are. So, they can be really meaningful and long-lasting relationships. So, students who engage in these work opportunities, they're paid positions, they're about 10 hours a week, we find that's about what students can manage with, you know, practicum and classes, but students who engage them find a lot of value out of them. They get a lot of skills. They get relationships with faculty. Some of them who choose to and are interested get to publish with faculty, although that's not a requirement. So, they're really pretty meaningful and provide a lot of great mentorship opportunities. We have students who've done these positions and then ended up going on to get PhDs, and then we've had students who've done these positions and stay connected with their faculty and have been able to reach out and seek guidance and mentorship even as they launch their Social Work careers.
Curtis Isozaki 17:15
Incredible!