Connecting Knowledge: A Case Study of The George Washington University’s Human Services Program

Drs. Michelle Kelso and Emily Morrison

The George Washington University

September 25, 2012

IARSLCE International Conference 2012

What is Human Services? What is the purpose of Human Services as a discipline?

The purpose is to “meet human needs through an interdisciplinary knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations. The Human Services profession is one which promotes improved service delivery systems by addressing not only the quality of direct services, but also by seeking to improve accessibility, accountability, and coordination among professionals and agencies in service delivery. …The primary purpose of the human service worker is to assist individuals and communities to function as effectively as possible in the major domains of living.”

http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-services

What is Human Services at GW? GW’s Human Services Mission:

“Prepares undergraduate students to assume effective roles in not-for-profit agencies supporting or serving people and communities who are experiencing need;”

Provides academic knowledge and opportunities for course application through service-learning;

Cultivates empathy, social consciousness, ethical action, and a commitment to social justice; and,

Fosters respect of diversity, sense of community, and global perspectives.

What is Human Services at GW?

Human Services at GW Continued:

Academic program with a major and minor located in the Sociology Department

494 graduates since 1982 74 current students

• 63 students previous year6 faculty (2 FT, 4 PT)All courses in HMSR use service-learningHuman Services Student Organization

What is Human Services at GW?

What do we want students to know and be able to do? Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and

natural world

Intellectual and practical skills

Personal and social responsibility

Integrative and applied learning

Overall outcome: Knowledgeable, caring, ethical, and engaged human services scholar-practitioners

Research Questions

Four overarching questions:

1. What is the student SL experience?

2. How has the coursework deepened student knowledge and skills?

3. To what extent has the curriculum prepared students to meet the professional standards?

4. After graduation, how are students drawing upon the KSAs for their life trajectories?

Methodology

Case study approach (Sjoberg et al.1991) Participatory action framework (Hale

2008) Qualitative methods (Patton 1980, 2001;

Barbour 2008)Grounded Theory for analysis (Strauss

and Corbin 1998)

Assessment of the program in Spring 2011 and 2012

Data

Individual interviewsAlumni of the program (14)Faculty (7)Current students (16)

Graduating senior exit interviews (16) Faculty course review Focus groups

2 student groups (10 total)

Findings – Overview

Alumni data suggest positive experiences with the program, overall deepening of knowledge and skills from coursework, and preparedness for professional tracks after graduation.

Findings – Overview

Student exit interviews revealed that the service-learning was the most meaningful part of their coursework, citing: real world experience, getting beyond the “Foggy Bottom bubble” and becoming part of the DC community, developing skills, getting to know faculty, and making contacts.

Findings – Thematic Overview

Themes included: Coursework Motivation for joining the programSkillsPreparedness for post-graduationNetworkingCommunity engagement“Real-world” experience

Coursework - General “I think the ability to every semester sort of put on a

different hat, work with a different group of people, work in a different type of job really helped me figure out the path I wanted to go down…. I think people underestimate the value of having those program evaluations and grant applications and things on your resume. My resume when I graduated was loaded with internships that I also got human services credit for, and it gives you a huge leg up over the kid who is graduating with ‘I worked at Bertucci’s on my resume’. I also worked at Bertucci’s [laughing] but it gives a big leg up that I think a lot of people don’t have when they leave school.”

“We never wrote a paper about something that we didn’t care about, ever. Each paper that I wrote was about like, an issue or about a nonprofit that I was directly working for, about something that I needed to help fix right away. So it was current and it was real and it mattered that I did a good job. When I was doing my project for grant writing, if I did a bad job I was letting down RAINN, the organization I’d been volunteering [with] for a year. It wasn’t just like my other classes where I’d write a paper the night before, and it wouldn’t be my best, but it would be good enough that it would give me the grade I wanted. I actually had to put in the effort to do well in those [Human Services] classes.”

Coursework - General

Preparedness

“…the HS program is a challenging one in terms of time commitment and expectations. With the full course load, required internships, and professors who held their students up to high standards, I felt really prepared for life after college. Being challenged like that in undergraduate helped me so much later on, in terms of prioritizing, being able to work well under stress and pressure, etc.”

Preparedness “I was exposed to countless nonprofits around the

city and was able to learn from professionals in the field – such a great way to apply what we were learning in the classroom! Also, having those experiences on my resume helped me get accepted into both my AmeriCorps programs, as well as my graduate school. I think something else that the Human Services program helped with was just allowing me to explore what I wanted from an education and from a profession. It helped me to cultivate the skills and passions I already had, and helped me learn how to apply them.”

“Real-world” experience

“Service-learning is extremely well-integrated, involved in more of the classes than I expected. It is easiest and particularly interesting to tie the experience in with the Issues class (3152).”

“The HMSR Program is what made it worthwhile to me-to find deeper meaning and really become part of the DC community. Being out on the streets of DC takes your learning to a different level. You are not walled up in a traditional program.”

“Real-world” experience “That was useful because being in a working

environment from 9 to 3, working that many hours that often gives you a type of experience that you don’t get from working five hours a week at an internship, which is what you have to do to make your hours for a lot of classes. But really working all day every day for two months at a nonprofit gives you an experience, like a day to day reference point for what it’s like to be in a professional environment and I think that’s invaluable.”

Analysis: Kuh’s (2008) High-Impact Practices

First-year experiences Learning communities Writing-intensive courses * Collaborative assignments and projects * Undergraduate research * Diversity/global learning * Service-learning * Internships * Capstone courses and projects *

* Currently in GW’s Human Services Program to some degree.

Kuh, G. D. 2008. High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Essential Qualities of High-Impact Practices (Kuh, 2008)

They are effortful. They help students build substantive relationships.

(i.e., faculty, staff, peers, community leaders, mentors)

They help students engage across differences. They provide students with rich feedback. They help students apply and test what they are

learning in new situations. They provide opportunities for students to reflect on

the people they are becoming.

Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

O’Neill, N. (2010). Internships as a high-impact practice: Some reflections on quality.” PeerReview, 12, 4.

Analysis of data

In analyzing our data through the lens of the essential qualities of high impact practices (Kuh, 2008; O’Neill, 2010), all six essential qualities were evident in the experiences cited by students and alumni.

Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

O’Neill, N. (2010). Internships as a high-impact practice: Some reflections on quality.” PeerReview, 12, 4.

What’s next? Develop strategic plan Course mapping

• Assess and align pedagogy (incl. high-impact practices), courses, and program goals with desired outcomes (incl. college and university outcomes)

Curricular revision• Review learning objectives for all courses, see

areas for development, and sequence courses • Pilot new courses

Program assessment and outreach• Cultivating community partnerships• Alumni giving, mentoring, and placements

Course mapping with content area

Course KSAA Content Area Level Implicit/Explicit Rationale: Assignments Rationale: Learning Objectives Rationale: Service Learning High-Impact Practice

Course KSAA Content Area Level Imp/ ExpRationale:

AssignmentsRationale: Learning

Objectives

Rationale: Service

LearningHigh Impact

Practice

HMSR 1198: The Role of NGOs in International Humanitarian Assistance

 Teamwork,Written and oral comm, intercultural knowledge, critical thinking, civic knowledge and engagement

Global Perspectives; Humanities; Non-profit structure; Social Justice

F&S 5-Exp.  Case Study,22 hours of Service-Learning

Entire course is focused on humanitarian aid from a global perspective; involves looking at global efforts and atrocities in placed like Rwanda and Darfur as well as organizations like OXFAM and Doctors Without Borders that work globally

 To understand how NGOs deliver humanitarian assistance to populations/communities in need

Service-Learning, Writing Intensive, Diversity and Global Learning

HMSR 3152: Issues in Human Services

 Written and oral communication, ethical reasoning, critical thinking, quant. & scientific reasoning

Conducting Research; Civic knowledge and engagement

M 5-Exp. Conduct literature review, interviews with community members, and data analysis

Research paper including empirical articles, articles coming from refereed journals, and articles drawing from at least 3 disciplines

  Writing intensive, Undergraduate Research

Ongoing Plan for Action

Reflect, clarify, and re-contextualize Human Services Program’s: Mission, vision, and goals.

Identify learning outcomes for early, mid, and final academic experiences

Align curricular and co-curricular experiences with individual and programmatic outcomes

Develop a culture of ongoing assessment