ERIC Number: EJ1367946
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0884-1233
EISSN: EISSN-1540-7349
Linking Social Work Licensure Examination Pass Rates to Accreditation: The Merits, Challenges, and Implications for Social Work Education
Apgar, Dawn
Journal of Teaching in Social Work, v42 n4 p335-353 2022
Unlike other disciplines, social work has made accreditation decisions about undergraduate and graduate programs independent of licensure examination pass rates of graduates. While education, regulation, and practice are heralded as the three pillars of social work, there have been few meaningful linkages between them. Despite recognition that licensure impacts employment opportunities and salaries of social workers, the academy has been resistant to bridge the divide between educational assessment and licensure outcomes, resulting in hardship for some graduates. Students choose social work programs without knowing whether their education is adequate to pass "high stakes" licensure exams. In an era of greater accountability, and questions about the value of higher education, making licensure examination pass rates public and linking them to decisions when accrediting programs, seems prudent. However, this policy shift would likely change market demands and the stability of accreditation decisions enjoyed by social work programs to date.
Descriptors: Social Work, Licensing Examinations (Professions), Decision Making, Accreditation (Institutions), Counselor Training, Undergraduate Students, Graduate Students, Employment Opportunities, Salaries, Accountability, Barriers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A