AN ANALYSIS OF THE METHODS OTTIIE DETROIT URBAN ADULT EDUCATION INSTITUTE WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION Thesis for the Degree of PILD. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY THEODORE JAMES BROOKS 1969 _- ""."Q“".J"‘ ,_,_ This is to certify that the thesis entitled AN ANALYSIS OF THE METHODS OF THE DETROIT URBAN ADULT EDUCATION INSTITUTE WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION presented by Theodore James Brooks has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. Education degree in Date Apr“ 29, I969 ABSTRACT AN ANALYSIS OF THE METHODS OF THE DETROIT URBAN ADULT EDUCATION INSTITUTE WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION By Theodore James Brooks Social welfare programs continue to be hampered in their administration and efficacy by a manpower problem consisting of both quantity and quality of workers. Schools of social work have a direct interest in and responsibility for solving that problem, with the greater potential at the undergraduate level. Recently established "war-on-poverty" welfare agencies such as the Urban Adult Education Institute of Detroit are experimenting with practice techniques which may aid schools of social work in solving the manpower problem. The techniques and methods of the Institute were analyzed in detail in an effort to uncover implications for schools of social work particularly at the under- graduate curriculum level. The research approach is the case-study, utilizing such techniques as the interview, observation and materials analysis. All of the research was conducted at the Institute itself and in the immediate inner-city neighborhood it serves. Theodore James Brooks The social work implications drawn from the Insti- tute's methods are in the context of an agency which: (1) makes a determined effort to utilize para—professional staff as well as professional teachers and neighborhood workers; (2) combines a number of behavioral sciences in a multi-discipline approach by means of guidelines called "educational sciences"; (3) deveIOps various educational/ welfare programs on the basis of client need rather than categorizing clients into a pre-set program. The findings of major significance fall into these same areas: (1) para—professional staff with adequate in-service training have many advantages for an agency and indicate to schools of social work the desirability of training workers at several levels below the Master's degree, providing that clear job distinctions are avail- able within which they can be placed; (2) the behavior modification goals of the Institute are identifiable and achievable through dependence on and utilization of the expertise of several of the behavioral sciences synthesized as to language and testing by guidelines called the "edu— cational sciences,” guidelines which schools of social work can use in identifying varying practice skills among their students; (3) professional responsibility from social work should come from collaboration among the schools, agencies and clients rather than reflect solely the intellectual definition from the schools. Theodore James Brooks Additional research implications include on—going development of the "educational sciences" concept, seen as useful in maintaining a client-centeredness in the agency and a student-centeredness on campus. AN ANALYSIS OF THE METHODS OF THE DETROIT URBAN ADULT EDUCATION INSTITUTE WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION By Theodore James Brooks A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Administration and Higher Education 1969 CDCopyright by THEODORE JAMES BROOKS I969 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Appreciation is extended to Dr. Walter Johnson, Dr. Eldon Nonnamaker and Dr. Fred Vescolani for the assistance and encouragement throughout the entire period of study and culminating in this dissertation. Special mention must be made of Dr. Gordon Aldridge because of his unusual interest and support as well as constant availability in preparing this study. This study would not have been possible without the cooperation and interest of the staff of the Detroit Urban Adult Education Institute. Dr. Joseph Paige, the Executive Director, Mr. Ray Roulhac, Mrs. Ruth Watson and especially Mr. Thom Waters deserve particular mention. The writer would not have known of the Institute had it not been for Dr. Carl Horn of the College of Education, Michigan State University. He carefully guided the first investigations, facilitating the study in its early stages. Finally, this entire course of study and research, due to its length and timing, has been more a family project than an individual one. The Writer is grateful for the patience and encouragement shown by his family and par- ticularly his wife Harriet. In addition, she read countless term papers, assisted in typing and in numerous ways helped bring the program to its successful conclusion. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . Chapter I. THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . Statement of the Problem . . . . Background of the Study . . . General Organization of the Institute . . . . . . . . II. III. Significance of the Study. . . General Questions to Be Considered in the Study . . . . . Assumptions Underlying the Study . Organization of the Study. . . . Limitations of the Study . . . . REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . . . . Introduction . . . . The Council on Social Work Edu- cation and Undergraduate Social Work. . . . . . . Faculty- -Field Response to the Man- power Problem and to Under— graduate Social Work Education . Summary. . . . . . . . . . DESIGN OF THE STUDY . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . Source of the Data . . . . Procedures for Data Collection Procedures for Analyzing Data 0 O O 0 O O O 0 iii Page ii Chapter IV. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA . . . . V. IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY FOR UNDER- Introduction . . . The The The "Educational Sciences" in Detail . . . . "Educational Sciences" and Staff . . . . . "Educational Sciences" and Client . . . The Institute as a Training Center. GRADUATE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION. BIBLIOGRAPHY Introduction The Boundaries of Professional Social Work and Allied Helping Social Work . . Professions . . . Use of Social Work Staff Summary of Implications for Undergraduate Social Work Education . . . . . 0 Implications for Further Research 0 O O O 0 iv Page 53 53 5A 60 71 78 80 80 82 91 9A 96 99 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Statement of the Problem It is the purpose of this study to identify and analyze the innovative methodology presently being uti— lized by a specifically selected community welfare agency, the Urban Adult Education Institute of Detroit, for impli- cations for undergraduate social work education. There are several reasons for a study with this content at this time. The study comes at a time of evalu- ation in and appraisal of social work undergraduate edu- cation nationally, made necessary by the severe shortage of adequately trained social work personnel. It comes at a time of growing urban unrest, riots and other evidences of complex city problems which suggest inter-disciplinary approaches among behavioral scientists for resolution. It is timely because of the instances of success with hard- core problem families and individuals which appears to be the result of inter-disciplinary and other innovative methods by agencies relatively new to social welfare concerns. The Urban Adult Education Institute of Detroit is an example of such a newly created, inter-disciplinary l agency. It was selected as the focus of the study because in its imaginative use of personnel, its inner—city location and its success in working with the inner-city, under-educated adult, it reflects the timeliness of the study and hence, becomes an appropriate setting for implementing the purpose of the study. In its comparatively brief time of operation, described subsequently in this chapter, the Institute appears to have made a beginning contribution pertinent to one of the most persistent problems the field of social work has had to contend with: that of sufficient numbers of adequately trained personnel. It has done so through the deliberate use of "sub" or "para-professional" per- sonnel,1 selected and trained to work within a specific set of guidelines called "educational sciences." These "sciences" will be explained in detail because they are an integral part of the inter-disciplinary practice setting of the para-professional. They comprise a significant part of the methodology of the Institute and must be analyzed as part of the broader evaluation this study attempts, namely, what methodology (including use of staff personnel) has implication for undergraduate social work education. 1Throughout this study it is assumed that "sub" and "para" professional are interchangeable; the latter will be the term used. The value of a field agency such as the Institute, with its innovative methods and use of staff, to schools of social work becomes clearer. Demonstrated and effective field practices of significant, forward—looking agencies may have considerable relevance in curriculum deveIOpment by the schools. Such field practice may bring to the faculty an awareness of changing community needs, result— ing in a curriculum reflecting new knowledge, skills and attitude components necessary for the social work prac- titioner to assist in meeting these needs. The purpose of this report also becomes clearer. In identifying and then analyzing the Institute's method- ology (that is, its use of para-professionals in an inter- discipline'bducational sciences"context) the study attempts to bring to faculty attention certain field practices based on community needs which may have relevance and significance for social work curriculum development. In so doing, the report can provide a means of implementing the traditional and logical inter-dependence between field agencies and schools of social work. To summarize, the Urban Adult Education Institute of Detroit, a relatively new, problem—centered, inner—city community welfare agency, provides an opportunity to analyze innovative methodology presently being used in working with the inner-city, under-educated adult. This methodology, reflecting the collaboration of several of the behavioral sciences, is derived chiefly from guide- lines called the "educational sciences" and is implemented by a staff comprised chiefly of para-professional teachers and community workers. The purpose of this analysis is to draw implications from this field practice for under- graduate social work curriculum change. Background of the Study The Institute was opened in the fall of 1967, funded by both the Michigan State Department of Education and the United States Office of Education through grants coopera- tively administered by Wayne State University and the Detroit Board of Education. Initially four representatives, two from Wayne State and one each from the State Department of Education and the Detroit Public Schools, comprised the Executive Committee of the Institute. The director is Dr. Joseph Paige, heading a staff whose areas of responsi- bility are described in subsequent paragraphs of this Intro- duction. Offices of the Institute are located at 8721 John C. Lodge on the grounds of Herman Kiefer Hospital, Just a few blocks from the 12th Street area, center of the city's worst urban riots in the summer of 1967. As its title and source of funds indicate, the Institute can be regarded primarily as an educational agency. Its educational program, concentrated in such broad areas as adult basic education, social welfare, law enforcement, community involvement (to mention a few), gives an indication of a new, wider concept of education which has as its goal increased educational and employ- ment Opportunities for uneducated and under-educated adults. The attainment of this goal suggests a behavior modification by the Institute's clientele, many of whom have no experience nor history of regular employment. Such attempts at behavior change necessitate the team approach of a number of the behavioral sciences, education, psychology and social work being primary. To coordinate the efforts of the various behavioral sciences in clarifying the Institute's educational purpose and in working toward pre—set educational goals, the Institute employs the guidelines referred to earlier called the "educational sciences." These guidelines, to be elaborated on in a subsequent section of this study, provide a common language and framework across the be- havioral sciences which allow for consistent interpre— tations of data and for constant reliability and validity measures of predictions and generalizations. With its dependence on several of the behavioral sciences and integrating their efforts by the use of the educational science guidelines, the Operation of the Institute becomes somewhat clearer. It recruits and accepts uneducated and under-educated adults from the immediate inner—city geographical area, analyzes the needs including the academic level of each prospective learner individually through certain testing techniques, designs and structures a learning program to fit these individual and/or group needs and provides a supportive counseling/casework service to help minimize those per- sonal, family or community problems and factors believed to impede learning. From the nature of this operation and because of the individual needs presented by the hard-to—reach learner/ client the Institute is working with, an unusual emphasis has been placed on the relationship that must exist be- tween Institute and student if the educational program is to be successful. To establish and sustain the proper relationship the Institute employs staff persons (teachers, counselors, and community workers) who are first of all empathic and genuinely concerned with the welfare of the inner-city adult, who secondly may or may not have the typical, acquired teaching credentials or formal social casework background. These para-professionals may not have completed high school. Here again, the Institute turns to the "educational sciences," that is, to the "systems analysis strata" of the sciences, to validate and analyze the individually directed programs and their effectiveness. Most of the above material was obtained at the Institute itself, through extensive observation and interview procedures. In View of the newness of the Institute and its methods and the relative obscurity of the educational science concept, repeated studies at the Institute itself seemed a most productive manner of con— ducting this study. General Organization of the Institute Trips were made regularly to the Institute, follow— ing pre-arranged appointments with various staff members. These interviews and/or observation appointments were coordinated through the office of Dr. Paige's executive assistant, Mr. Roy Roulhac. Interviews and observations involved the four sub-divisions of the Institute and their chief administrators, who also have the title, Assistant Director. The following brief description of each division is given in the context of a structure capable of rapid, effective change should needs of the community demand it. Dr. Joseph Paige, Director of the Institute, has working with him in addition to Roy Roulhac his executive assistant, Mr. Thomas Hill who is presently Acting Assistant Director. These three men comprise the top administrative group and also are in charge of one of the four divisions, Special Projects. Thus as new community and individual needs become known as possible Institute responsibilities, they are evaluated first at this level. If accepted, the project may be retained under Special Projects for a trial period, then either abandoned or made a permanent part of one of the other more closely related divisions. A vocational job-training program at the DANA Corporation of Detroit is an example: Mr. Josh Mack, one of the Institute's Senior Adult Education Specialists, teaches adult basic education subjects (reading, writing, basic verbal response) to classes of five learners, from seven to nine A.M., prior to the class spending the balance of the day learning machine operation in one of DANA's factories. In time this program is likely to be shifted from Special Projects to the Adult Basic Education division. The administrative group is closely advised in this and all Institute operations by the above-mentioned Execu- tive Committee, four men originally representing the State Board of Education, Wayne State University and the Detroit Board of Education who actually act as a buffer between the Institute and its sponsoring agencies in detailing, explaining and clarifying new programs to the sponsors. Thus the Institute is a part of both Wayne State and the Detroit Public Schools, yet independent of them. Recently Wayne State's representation has been reduced with the resignation of Dr. Joseph Hill from that University where he had been Associate Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies and Director of the Institute for Educational Sciences. He is now the President of Oakland Community College and remains on the Executive Committee because of his work in developing the "educational sciences" and because the Systems Analysis division of the Insti- tute is the one division "contracted out" by the Insti- tute under its unique funding arrangement to Dr. Hill as administrator of the federal grant. Wayne State Uni- versity continues to be represented by Dr. Hamilton Stillwell, of the Division of Urban Extension; the State Board of Education by Dr. Donald Butcher, Coordinator of Adult Basic Education; Detroit Public Schools by Dr. Louis Monacel, Assistant Superintendent for Special Projects. The Adult Basic Education division, (ABE), presently under the acting directorship of Mr. Thomas Hill due to the very recent resignation of its first administrator, has responsibility for the development of the various edu- cational programs tailored to the needs of each learner, for the in-service training program of the para-professional teachers and counselors, for a personnel function (hiring, firing, evaluating and promoting), for class schedules, for recruiting new students and providing supplies. The Community Relations division under Mrs. Ruth Watson has as a prime responsibility a supportive counseling service through community outreach to the educational pro— gram. The director and her staff are aware of the threat to an individual that an educational program can be; like- wise how the newly educated individual may no longer fit into the existing family and community pattern. Thus the responsibility of this division includes interpreting 10 the Institute and its programs to the prospective student, follow-up should truancy or tardiness become part of the response, help with family and individual problems of whatever type which invariably appear as the educational program proceeds, assisting the individual in defining and accepting his new role. The fourth division, Systems Analysis, functions as a service unit for the others. All proposed educational programs are submitted to this division in writing for evaluation and for prediction regarding their effectiveness and suitability. Thus this division must receive "inputs" from all phases of the other divisions and must provide "outputs" of an evaluative type in which each individual program can be reasonably certain of meeting Institute standards while providing an answer to an individual need. The Institute standards are, again, these of the "edu- cational sciences" (to be discussed subsequently); thus, this division has the significant and large task of con- stantly interpreting and defining these guidelines to the para-professional staff through the in-service training programs called for by the other divisions. In a large sense, the goals and Operation of the Institute cannot be adequately described by detailing the responsibilities of its four divisions as has been done here. There is a philosophy, the personal develop- ment of each individual who shows a willingness to learn, 11 that cannot be caught in a description of duties suggest- ing rigidity and a dependence on structure. Rather, it is the very absence of a rigid program, of traditional edu- cational and counseling techniques, of typically trained personnel which has enabled the staff to implement this philosophy and to reach the inner-city adults success- fully. For example, the staff prefers not to use the titles "teacher," "social worker," or even "student" or "school" at the time of initial contact. These are negative terms to their clientele and can restrict recruitment. The importance of the"educational scienceS'in imple- menting this Institute philosophy should not be minimized. These educational guidelines allow for a variety of pro- fessions to collaborate in the individual's behalf and provide a variety of sound tools or techniques to meet his needs. Thus the"educational scienceS'permit a high degree of individualization in instruction in which the learner, not the method, is the center of attention. The Institute is committed to use of the"educational scienceé'and any study of it must include an acknowledg- ment of these guidelines. Significance of the Study Although identifiable primarily as an educational agency the Institute with its philosophical concern for the total development of the individual can without 12 exaggeration be described as a unique social welfare agency as well. In fact Dr. Paige at one time during an interview described the necessity of his staff having the "social work point of view, the therapeutic point of view” as it put across the educational programs. Thus, the Institute staff uses education as therapy and vice versa: supportive casework and counseling become an integral part of an edu- cational program. I The significance then of the focus of this study for the profession of social work becOmes clearer. It is the study of an agency committed to the educational/social welfare of individuals, willing to develop new approaches to meet individual problems, directed toward the hard-for— social-work-to-reach client. It provides the possibility of inter-disciplinary collaboration on one of the most difficult of social work's concerns, the poverty-level family, and offers the promise of higher education and increased employment skills as the way to end such poverty. It is doing this by using para-professionals, a manpower device that may have wide implications for the continuing personnel problem social work faces. Specifically, the significance of the study is seen primarily in three areas: (1) the professional boundaries of social work; (2) social work's professional relation- ship with other behavioral sciences through utilization of the guidelines called "educational sciences"; (3) l3 appropriate uses of personnel staff in the profession. The Institute's operation appears to touch on each of these areas and each are of ongoing concern to schools of social work. For example, it should hardly be reassuring to social work faculty that the term "social worker" is deliberately avoided in Institute usage because it repre— sents a negative concept to many of its clientele (as do the other educational terms mentioned above). Such nega- tivism can be the result of either badly practiced social work or of a narrowing concept of the field by its prac- titioners that has more and more tended to exclude the poverty-level, inner—city client who has become cate- gorized as hard to reach. Or, rather than an either/or relationship, one factor could follow the other and re- main of substantial concern to those who educate workers and plan curricula. Thus if through an educational pro- gram a highly intellectual, process-oriented profession tends to concentrate on improved methodology literally at the expense of the individual and his needs and thereby narrows the offerings of the profession to a more articu— late client, a narrower efficacy of the profession in- evitably follows. This in turn will constrict the scope or boundaries of the profession. Social work's con- spicuous absence from much of the planning behind and implementing of the so-called war on poverty might be I“ viewed in this light. The timeliness then of an agency like the Institute lies in its problem-centered, indi- vidual-oriented approach; as it responds to individual needs and flexibly devises method only in the light of needs, it is in effect redefining the scope, broadening the boundaries of responsibility of social work, edu- cation and allied behavioral sciences. In so doing, the unique dependence of faculty upon field is underscored: curricula will be devised to educate for a professional responsibility defined by both field and academia with every likelihood that it reflected the client-centered emphasis of the former with the intellectual rigor of the latter. This study can be a significant means to that end. Similarly with the second area of significance in this study, that of social work's relationship with other behavioral sciences. Not only does the problem-oriented, client—centered approach of the Institute, with its emphasis on behavior modification of its learner/clients, provide the identity for social work as a behavioral science as it includes social work expertise in the behavior modification goals but also it utilizes a framework of "educational sciences" within which all of the needed behavioral sciences can effectively collaborate on Institute goals. So significant for inter-disciplinary practice is the "educational science" framework that a 15 fundamental aspect of it can apprOpriately be introduced at this point if only for illustrative purpose, namely, the "cognitive style" aspect. A detailed presentation of the "educational science" concept is forthcoming; introducing its "cognitive style" aspect now2 should give substance to the present discussion of social work's identity as and relationship to the various behavioral sciences. Actually cognitive style is considerably more than an aspect of the "educational sciences." It is one (the fifth) of the seven strata comprising the framework of the sciences (as will be seen in the fuller presentation of the sciences under "Assumptions Underlying This Study," a subsequent section of this chapter). The stratum "cogni- tive style" says in effect that each individual reacts to stimuli acting upon him in a specific, highly particular mode of response or style of his own. This individualistic style response is determined by or composed of primarily three closely integrated factors: (1) the theoretical (words and numbers) and qualitative (sensory) symbols the individual early has had presented to him and which later he intervalizes as his own in his search for 2The brief identification of "cognitive style" which follows is taken from both personal interviews with and unpublished material of Dr. Joseph Hill, Presi- dent of Oakland Community College, Member of the Insti- tute's Executive Committee, formerly Director of Wayne State University's Institute of Educational Sciences. l6 knowledge and meaning; (2) the cultural background of the individual and the limits such cultural factors as economic class, family background, peer relationships and other social factors set on the symbols, thus determining how the individual will perceive these symbols; (3) the pattern of inference an individual employs in the process of deriving knowledge and meaning from symbols, either an inductive or deductive pattern. Parenthetically, the following acknowledgments are made as having considerable bearing on the above brief identification of the stratum of cognitive style: that the three factors cited as integral to the cognitive style stratum are actually the first three strata of the "edu- cational science" framework (stratum 1: symbols and their meaning; stratum 2: cultural determinants of the meaning of symbols; stratum 3: modalities of inference); that "cognitive style" as a principle is basic to all of the behavioral sciences, whether explored as a concept in psychology, as a stratum in education, as an assumption in social work; that the identification of cognitive style as given above is one operational for social work and hence is not an exhaustive discussion of the principle by any means; that the fourth stratum of the "educational sciences," called the neurological, electrochemical and biochemical aspects of the memory functions is undoubtedly as significant an aspect of the cognitive style stratum as 17 are the first three strata mentioned above but considerably less is known at this time about memory, its development, long and short term memory and the like. Returning then to the significance of this study for social work as a behavioral science and its relation— ship to the behavioral sciences, it should be clearer that such identity and professional relationship can be con- ceptualized and implemented if the study can make relevant to social work education and practice the educational sciences framework presently utilized by the Institute in its dependence on the collaborative eXpertise of a number of the behavioral sciences. The cognitive style stratum is offered as a primary example in that social work edu- cation and practice are based on the assumptions of dignity and worth of the individual, beginning where the individual client is in diagnosing and treating his needs to mention only two; assumptions which unless rooted in a framework of common definition and context can have confused and distorted meaning to both those in the profession and among potential colleagues in allied behavioral sciences; assumptions which students can too readily intellectualize on campus but not internalize as a practice ethic without a practice framework contributed to and reinforced by collaborative sciences. The cognitive style stratum is illustrative also for the third area of significance of this study, appropriate 18 use of personnel by the profession. Just as this and other strata in the "educational sciences" may have impli- cations for client-centeredness so also they have a signifi- cant bearing on selection, appropriate education and utili- zation of workers. If potential social work majors were known by their cognitive style (including of course, symbols, cultural determinants and patterns of inference as discussed above) as well as by the more traditional measures of grade point and emotional stability, might not a base for prediction of practice efficacy be reasonably concluded. Or if the cognitive style were identified might not curriculum be developed in a flexible format in which theoretical concepts and field practice would be slanted to accommodate specific styles. Or, would not utilization of the cognitive style stratum facilitate the selection, training and use of para—professional or case-aide. Thus if the study can show that the use of this and related strata as part of the "educational sciences" framework by the Institute significantly contributes to the successful selection, training and utilization of its professional and para—professional staff, implications then for social work education might be drawn. The discussion of areas of significance of the study can be summarized by identifying personnel as the common concern of each. The boundaries of professional social work, its relationship to other behavioral sciences, its l9 appropriate use of staff are areas pertinent to numbers of staff, how adequately trained and for what tasks. Adequately trained, sufficient numbers of staff is properly the chief area of concern in this study as it attempts to draw implications for a profession which must emphasize skills, knowledge and attitudes in its edu- cational program. The Institute is thus seen as a potentially significant factor keeping these three in balance. General Questions to Be Considered in the Study The analysis of the Institute's methods in working with inner-city adults should answer the following kinds of general questions as implications for undergraduate social work education are drawn: 1. Re: the on-going task of defining social work's boundaries: (a) What are the necessary guidelines enabling an innovative agency such as the Institute to participate with schools of social work in this task? (b) How can faculty and field members be shared (e.g., advisory board membership) to implement the guidelines? (c) How flexibly can schools experimentally develop programs with student participation (d) Re: 20 without jeOpardizing the student's prog- ress, violating university rules, or deviating from standards set by the chief accrediting agency, the Council on Social Work Education? Is it the task of schools of social work to participate in defining the scope of the profession? social work as a behavioral science in its relationship to other behavioral sciences: (a) (b) (C) Re: (a) Does the Institute's problem—centered emphasis tend to blur disciplinary lines? To what extent does the concept of the "educational Sciences" provide a viable framework within which behavioral sciences can collaborate? To what extent should schools of social work incorporate the "educational sciences" in their educational programs to complement the agencies in their use of these sciences as a practice framework? appropriate use of social work personnel: What responsibility do schools of social work faculty have in the matter of in— service training of agency staff? 21 (b) Given the guidelines of the "educational sciences," would certain cognitive styles be more effective than others in social work practice? (c) What contribution can agencies such as the Institute make towards developing different "tracks" or programs at the undergraduate level reflecting use of personnel, professional and para-pro- fessional, in the field? Assumptions Underlying the Study These general questions and other broad areas of concern they may suggest will be looked at under the assumption, first of all, that the biggest single problem of mutual concern between schools of social work and the Institute remains that of effective use of adequately trained personnel who continue to be in short supply. Hence the Institute's reliance on innovative and extensive use of para-professionals. A second assumption of the study is that the under- graduate level of social work education holds the most promise for relieving the persistent shortage of adequately trained staff because: (I) the enrollments at the under- graduate level are significantly larger than at the gradu- ate level; (2) undergraduate program content remains less 22 rigidly fixed than the present two-year master's program thus lending itself to experimentation. The third assumption, that of school-field agency cooperation, is also reflective of a graduate/undergraduate differential because at the graduate level a significant part of the training program has always been borne by field agencies as they assume responsibility for the field experience. The assumption then in this study is that such a close working relationship between schools of social work and field agencies would be desirable for the undergraduate level as well. The fourth assumption within which this study is carried out is that the necessary and desirable campus- field cooperation at the undergraduate level as anticipated from the Institute can be implemented in the context of the guidelines called the "educational sciences." These sciences have previously been identified as guidelines which provide the various behavioral sciences (education, social work, psychology to mention three in prominent collaboration at the Institute) a common language which at all levels might facilitate the clarity and meaning- fulness of communication. Such clear and meaningful communication is especially desirable and necessary in clarifying the purpose of such an innovative agency as the Institute among the sciences it is dependent on, in providing consistent interpretations of issues and 23 information, in consistently evaluating the reliability and validity of the methods being used and those pro— posed.3 The "Educational Science" Concept The concept of the "educational sciences" has been in development for about a decade and primarily at Wayne State University, Detroit, with Dr. Joseph Hill who adminiSe ters the grant which funds the Systems Analysis division of the Institute. The Institute contracts that division out; Mr. Thom Waters who heads that division is thus under Dr. Hill's supervision. The significance of that arrangement lies in the fact that "systems analysis" is one (the seventh and last) of the strata comprising the "educational sciences," a most important stratum. It has the overall responsibility of validating the other strata, of receiving "in-puts" of proposed individual learning programs (through written paradigms based on psychological testing procedures which it establishes suitable to reveal academic level and other pertinent data of each applicant) and providing an "out- put" validating the proposed program in terms of the applicant's cognitive style, for example. In brief, 3As noted previously this fuller discussion of the "educational sciences" is taken from both personal inter- views with and unpublished material of Dr. Joseph Hill. 2“ systems analysis is the stratum integrating the expertise of the necessary behavioral sciences in bending the Insti- tute's objectives to accommodate the performance goals individually and accurately determined for each learner and based on strengths and achievements of the learner to date. It does this through an in-put/out-put system of on-going evaluation. The first five strata have previously been identified because of the importance of the cognitive style stratum to the three areas felt to be significant in this study. It need only be reiterated here that, the use of personnel being of primary concern in these areas of significance, the cognitive style stratum and the first three strata it is based remain therefore of particular attention in this study. The unidentified stratum six is called teaching style, administrative style and counseling style. It is a stratum which identifies as a separate entity, a dimen- sion not covered by cognitive style. Put comparatively, cognitive style may be said to cover styles as to how they are acquired while stratum six covers styles as they are practiced. Thus knowing a person's cognitive style based on the first three strata of symbols, cultural determinants and patterns of inference will not always reveal that person's priority regarding process (the methods used to do things), other persons and properties. 25 Knowledge of the priority these generic elements have for that individual is likely to reveal his teaching or counseling or administrative style. A fifth assumption of this study is that under- graduate social work education must reflect a balance among skill, knowledge and attitude items. This is a summary assumption in the sense that it is assumed that balance can be maintained through collaboration with a field agency such as the Institute in defining the scope and tasks of the profession, through use of the edu- cational sciences concept as an integrating device for collaborative behavioral sciences, through use particularly of the cognitive style stratum as a predictive base for selection of social workers. Organization of the Study The remainder of the thesis is organized as follows. Chapter II is a survey of literature from social work sources primarily the Council on Social Word Education. The literature is limited to the subject of social work education, specifically the growth of social work under- graduate programs. Chapter III entitled "Design of the Study" describes the methodology coping with the experimental nature of the Institute. It gives an indication of how specific re— search approaches had to be kept flexible in order to capture the essential Institute program. 26 The data obtained under these unusual research conditions are analyzed in Chapter IV. Each of the Institute operations is described showing whenever possible the influence of the "educational sciences" beginning with a presentation of the sciences in detail. Chapter V provides a summary and conclusions, in- cluding a re—opening of some of the problems and questions outlined in Chapter I now discussed in the light of the practices of the Institute. Limitations of the Study The study is a descriptive analysis of the highly experimental methodology presently being tested and utilized by a unique community welfare agency not yet two years old. It is not felt that the newness nor the experimental nature of the Institute detracts from the study but rather that this is an appropriate time for social work education to be aware of the potential of some methodology by being a participant in its deveIOp- ment. With this in mind the study makes no attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the Institute's methods. It does not include data regarding the suitability of the Institute's geographic location, its recruitment approach, its in-service training standards. 27 The emphasis is rather on Institute methods as they may have significance for social work educational programs, particularly at the undergraduate level. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction As indicated in the preceding chapter, this study has as an underlying concern the selection, education or training and utilization of staff in professional social work. The Urban Adult Education Institute of Detroit is the focus of the study because its innovative methodology, including wide use of sub or para-professional staff, may have implications for schools of social work as they attempt to prepare sufficient numbers of adequately trained per— sonnel. In discussing areas of significance of this study, in outlining general questions, in offering some basic assumptions on which the study is developed, it becomes clear that the manpower problem is a persistent one in social work which severely hampers welfare programs. Schools of social work recognize this as a formidable problem hopefully to be resolved by the introduction of new or modification of existing undergraduate programs. Any such new or modified academic programming must inevitably come under the review of the Council on Social Work Education, the national accrediting and standards- setting agency for schools of social work. From its 28 29 headquarters at 3A5 East 46th Street in New York City, the Council has traditionally expended its efforts predominately at the master's level, but becoming increasingly aware that the smaller, more carefully selected graduate enrollments for a two-year master's degree were not beginning to meet the manpower needs of existing social work programs, to say nothing of those rapidly expanding and newer welfare programs particularly of the past decade. Reflecting then: (1) the mutual concern of both the field agencies and schools of social work with the manpower problem of the profession; and (2) acknowledging the Council's involvement in validating solutions devised by various schools in meeting the problem, the literature has been reviewed in these two areas primarily, beginning with current Council publications on undergraduate education. The Council on Social Work Education and Undergraduate Social Work Council publications in this area are, typically, soft-bound monographs or pamphlets (with the exception of the thirteen volume Social Work Curriculum Study completed in 1959), few in number and falling into two broad cate- gories: those basic Council statements on undergraduate education which are the result of deliberation by the Council or by committees it appoints; those publications summarizing faculty reaction to basic Council statements through various summer institutes, experimental programs and the like. 30 Almost all of this publication effort and faculty response in the area of undergraduate social work edu- cation was generated by the Social Work Curriculum Study published in 1959. Volume 1,1 designed as an overall introductory volume to the twelve specialty volumes which follow, properly included a section, Chapter Ten, on undergraduate social work education but did so with a focus on the organization and distribution of educational objectives. This focus resulted in a discussion of undergraduate education as a continuum with graduate edu- cation; further, the general tone of this introductory volume said little about any specifics at the undergraduate level. In so doing, Professor Boehm was undoubtedly attempt- ing little more than making way for Volume II,2 focused in its entirety on the subject. Specifically, this part of the total curriculum study attempted to answer the question: "What should be the function, content and organization of undergraduate education in the training of social workers?"3 Professor Bisno offers the following "develOpments in our society" as the bases for this question: lWerner Boehm, Objectives of the Social Work Curricu— lum of the Future (New York: Council on Social Work Edu- cation, 1959), 291 pp. 2Herbert Bisno, The Place of the Undergraduate Curricu— lum in Social Work Education (New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1959), 273 pp. 31bid., p. 3. 31 The shortage of trained social workers and difficulty in recruiting students for graduate study. The increased need for social workers in various programs because of demographic factors and increases in certain types of social problems. Criticism of the efficiency and effectiveness of certain types of social work practice and attacks on certain social work values. The pressure for clarification of social work's place in various new or "underdeveloped" fields of practice and of its function, in order to differentiate social work from other disciplines. The reevaluation of education, both general and professional, with emphasis on rise of basic science material and on need for research and development of the body of social work knowledge. The relatively limited use of social workers in the making of high level social policy.)4 These are quoted in their entirely because, a decade ago, they could be articulated as areas of significant con- cern very close to those areas of significance this study embraces as discussed in Chapter I, areas which it is felt the Detroit Institute speaks to in its use of staff. It does not do justice to Volume II to move directly to "Summary of Recommendations" unless brief mention is made of the subject matter covered in the intervening pages. This material reports on questionnaire results sent to various campuses having undergraduate programs, outlines of suggested academic programs, again in the continuum A Ibid., p. A. 32 "undergraduate—graduate" format, which might be experi- mented with, and suggests specific course content to be offered undergraduates in both social welfare subject matter and closely related social science subject matter. Major recommendations of the project can be summarized as follows: 1. The long-enduring dichotomy between liberal arts and professional education should be modified by an interweaving of liberal and professional education. The goal of preparation for employment in social work as a "social work associate" and the goal of preparation for graduate study in social work are both legitimate aims of the undergraduate phase of social work education. It is desirable and feasible for both to be achieved by one undergraduate program. The undergraduate and graduate programs (and the levels within them) should be conceived of as stages within a single program of social work education. Social work content in the undergraduate phase should be divided into two "layers," represent— ing consecutive mediating stages between basic knowledge courses and the social work methods and similarly practice-focused sequences offered at the graduate level. The recommended objectives are divided into four major content areas: sociocultural basis of social work, group basis of social work, social work and the social functioning of individuals, and the components of professional social work.5 Taken in their entirety these recommendations make a small beginning toward undergraduate education as terminal education for practicing social work. That beginning is 5Ibid., pp. 213—214. 33 small in that the recommendations appear to reflect more a concern for the preeminence of the master's degree than they do a significant response to the manpower needs Pro- fessor Bisno and the study group had outlined earlier. This evaluation is made with the benefit of a decade of hindsight, a decade which saw exacerbation of the man- power pressures motivating the study group. Nevertheless it is these continuing needs of sufficient numbers of adequately trained personnel which schools of social work and agencies such as the Urban Adult Education Institute feel and ought to respond to. Because the manpower needs continued to grow and in order to bring the work of the curriculum study groups further, the Council published in 1962 Social Welfare Content in Undergraduate Education, a sixteen page "guide to suggested content, learning experiences and organization" as states its sub—title. This is an important publication, not so much because of the specificity of its recommend— ations but because of the faculty-field response it has since generated in the Council's on-going program of under— graduate definition and development. The recommendations are much in the spirit of Bisno's Volume II, referred to above. Under the headings "Found- ation Knowledge" and "The Social Welfare Concentration" the Council makes broad suggestions for content which introduces the student to such areas as human behavior, 3A the socio-cultural, political and economic environment, writing and speaking skills as well as social work as a profession including settings (i.e., agencies) and methods. Significant to this study and the Institute is the attention given in this publication to some type of field exposure for the undergraduate. This moves a step closer to an awareness of the pressing manpower needs and the potential in large undergraduate programs to meet this need. However, it bears mentioning that the last of six goals of the field exposure for the undergraduate is to "test his capacity to enter, through graduate education, the helping profession of social work."6 In so stating, the Council adhered to the two year master's degree as the terminal degree for social work practice and no mention was yet made of different levels of practice which might accordingly require varying amounts of formal education. Within three years, however, during the summer of 1965, two faculty workshops and an institute for under— graduate social welfare faculty were concerned with the acknowledgment that, "The catalyst which has brought us together is the acute need for manpower at all levels of practice in the social services" and that "The urgency of the task rests in the fact that a lag exists between 6Social Welfare Content in Undergraduate Education (New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1962), p. 12. 35 the commitments which we in our society have made for given social services to large groups of citizens and the appro- priate educational programs necessary to prepare the staff for handling these services."7 The report of these faculty assemblies reviewed the Council's I962 guidelines cited above, reviewed the pur- poses of undergraduate education, described a program at Berkeley but is significant because of statements like the following sprinkled throughout the deliberations: ". . . we have such an increasing demand for well-educated per- sonnel in the social welfare services that there isn't an agreed upon plan in the United States at the present time to meet this demand";8 There is a pressing question, moreover, whether all these positions need to be filled with persons having the two years of graduate professional edu- cation leading to the M.S.W. degree. . . . Recently there has been increasing discussion of the use of "indigenous non-professional," especially in the programs inepired by the war on poverty; Finally I am convinced . . . that some field experi- ence for undergraduate students, involving partici— pation in agency functions, is a tremendous stimu— lation to learning. . . . Furthermore, it would be a way of preparing these students for employment and for professional education. From statements like these it is clear that: (l) manpower needs are becoming so great as to demand more and more 7Observations on Undergraduate Social Welfare Edu— cation (New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1966), p. 5. 8 10 Ibid., p. 19. 9Ibid., p. 20. Ibid., p. 33. 36 consideration from the Council and various school mem- bers; (2) undergraduate education is increasingly looked to as one source to alleviate this problem; (3) field work of some kind is seen more and more as a vital part of the traditionally purely academic undergraduate pro- gram in preparing students for employment; (A) indigenous workers and/or para-professionals are mentioned as a source of manpower. These conclusions are equally significant, with special attention drawn to item (3) as it indicates that schools will find it desirable and necessary to collabor— ate with field agencies at the undergraduate level as they now do so heavily at the graduate. At the latter approxi- mately equal time is spent by the student in field and class; this puts considerable responsibility on field agencies for the academic program. Chapter I of this study mentions as an assumption the growing need for this at the undergraduate level, thus introducing at that level agen- cies like the Institute with its innovative program and use of staff. Publication of such documents as Flglg Experience in Undergraduate Programs in Social Welfarell lend added impetus to this assumption. The readings reviewed so far were selected in the light of one of the latest monographs to emerge, An llMargaret B. Matson, Field Experience in Under— graduate Programs in Social Welfare (New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1967), p. 64. 37 Overview of Undergraduate Education in Social Welfare, pub- lished in 1968. The author is Dr. Arnulf Pins, who, as Executive Director of the Council on Social Work Education, has been in a position to monitor and evaluate the growth and change in social work education at all levels. He has as his subtitle "Past Issues, Current Developments and Future Potentials." He acknowledges that Some feel that undergraduate programs in social welfare are the real solution to manpower problems in social welfare, while others consider them the most serious threat to the image and status of the social work profession and the quality of service to people.12 He is aware that these views have been aired in the pro- fessional journals (selected articles to be reviewed in the second part of this chapter). In his overview, citing many of those sources listed in the bibliography of this study, Dr. Pins recounts the history of social work education, reviews objectives and suggested content, concluding that "Many problems and issues continue to face undergraduate programs in social welfare and their relation to the professions, the uni— "l3 versity and the public. His concluding paragraphs acknowledge that ". . . yet the quality of many programs is better than some fear and their potential contribution 1A is greater than is generally recognized." 12Arnulf Pins, An Overview of Undergraduate Edu- cation in Social Welfare (New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1968), p. 8. l3Ibid., p. 21. luIbid., p. 23. 38 As Executive Director of the Council, Pins could probably do little more than provide the thorough over- view that he did and recognize vested interests on both sides of the issue. An even more recent document goes considerably further in proposing a more rigorous under— 15 graduate program. A monograph on social welfare and community college technical education begins with . . . thrusts which have fed into technical edu- cation: A. The Manpower Shortage . . . The point need not be belabored that the need for finding additional ways to develop man- power for social welfare is urgent. B. Improvement of Service Delivery . . . New and restructured methods for carrying out the tasks of social welfare. Included in this is the interest in the indigenous community worker and the examination of the special skills he brings to the job. . . . All of the above implies some tasks being defined, in an improved total system, for personnel other than the pro— fessionally educated social worker. C. The Anti—Poverty Effort . The human services are the new frontier for employment growth. D. The Example of Other Professions Many other professions have begun to improve and increase service through the use of para- professionals.l 15Donald Feldstein, Community College and Other A§sociate Degree Programs for Social Welfare Areas (New Yorkn Council on Social Work Education, 1968), p. 23, with.Appendix. 16Ibid., pp. 1—2. 39 17 "The Assumptions of This Report" are equally worth noting in near entirety: Just as this study assumes that the existence of a critical manpower shortage in social welfare has been sufficiently documented and accepted, it moves from three other assumptions: A. It assumes acceptance of the proposition that the manpower shortage, the need to improve service and the need to broaden Opportunity in social welfare, can only be met by expand- ing manpower on various levels. B. It assumes a recognition of the fact that there is a growing acceptance by government and volun- tary social agencies of the principle of training and use of manpower on all levels, including the technical. In the past year, the training of the poor for jobs in human services has become a fundamental part of United States social policy. C. It assumes acceptance of the proposition that concern for and leadership and guidance to a field may be the legitimate business of a pro— fession. 8 In defining technical education-—"That education offered below the baccalaureate level, primarily by com- munity colleges" the report's study committee recognized agency based training programs as one source for this (in addition to certificate courses at schools of social work and community college and other associate degree programs), pointing out that The impetus for this development has usually been the anti—poverty program . . . and the interest of the indigenous worker. Agencies have embarked on demonstration programs of one kind or another to l71b1d., p. 3. 18Ibid., p. u. A0 train people for employment in human service areas. Out of these programs have come a number of success- es, and a good deal of learning about innovative teaching techniques for the non—academically oriented. Agencies can train for employment, but their fundamental limitation is their lack of being part of the formal educational system . . .19 From these quotations, it should be clear why this particular monograph is given comparatively extensive review. It is the latest in the Council's publications on undergraduate education and is significant for these reasons: (1) it demonstrates rather remarkably the Council's rapid movement toward recognizing undergraduate and para-professional training as appropriate for some social work tasks; (2) it illustrates the severity of the manpower problem; (3) it suggests the necessity of differen- tiating kinds of social work tasks; (A) it accepts the use of indigenous and para-professionals; (5) it acknowledges the contributions of innovative field agencies both in defining social work tasks and in potentially contributions to the formal education system. On this last point, the community college study group seems to have had agencies similar to the Institute in mind where it concluded, "In- deed, the best way to determine how people may be employed (in human service occupations) maybe to begin employing them."20 In summary, the review of publications under Council auspices which consist of official statements by the 20 l91bid., p. 5. Ibid., p. 3. 41 Council itself or of committees or study groups it appoints, in the area of undergraduate social work education, indicate that the contributions, actual and potential, of an agency like the Urban Adult Education Institute are likely to have significance for the continuing manpower problem in social work, for defining the tasks and responsibilities social work attempts to meet, for innovative approaches to meet the current attempts to alleviate poverty. Faculty-Field Response to the Manpower Problem and to Undergraduate Social Work Education The Council sponsors other publications for the pro— fession in the form of journals and periodical newsletters. Because of the significance and immensity of the issues touched on in this study, both campus faculty and field personnel have expressed themselves from time to time and are encouraged by the Council to use its publications for this. It is appropriate therefore to review this literature as well. Social Work Education was a bimonthly newsletter of the Council which, until its demise in early 1965, re- flected in its columns the increasing interest in under- graduate programs and their potential collaboration with field agencies, the trend seen above in Council deliber- ations. Thus the Council's Advisory Committee on A2 Undergraduate Education reported in 196321 that is was implementing the Council's 1962 guide, Social Welfare Content in Undergraduate Education with summer institutes, welfare syllabi, undergraduate surveys and the like. The Director of the University of Tennessee's School of Social Work reported a year later that a survey of graduate stu— dents enrolled there revealed ". . . the importance they gave to the undergraduate social welfare courses, particu— larly when they included some participation in agency programs."22 This publication was replaced by Social Work Education Reporter beginning February 1963; its closing issue, Volume XII, December l96A-January 1965 reported that the most recent Council survey showed 1305 undergraduate students from 112 institutions were known to have gone directly into social welfare employment after graduation. In discussing this statistic, it was signifi- cantly added "With thousands of new nonprofessional staff members needed annually in the social services . . . ,"23 an indication of future concern with differentiating social work tasks and with utilization of personnel with different levels of training. 21The Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Education, Social Work Education, XI (June 1963), 6—7. 2aSue Spencer, "The Director of a Graduate School of Social Work Looks at Undergraduate Education," Social Work Education, XII (April 196A), 10. 23Sue Spencer, "Statistics on Undergraduate Social Welfare," Social Work Education, XII (December 1964), A. “3. The successor publication, Social Work Education Reporter, continues to the present to reflect educational trends of the profession and the growing awareness that the manpower problem might well be attacked through the expansion of undergraduate education, use of indigenous or para-professionals and differentiation of tasks to be completed. Thus the present executive of the Council wrote in the fall of 1965 that "Undergraduate programs in social welfare contribute to good liberal education in the United States today at the same time that they make a major contribution to current and future manpower needs in social welfare."24 In the June 1967 issue is an informative presentation of the efforts of Senators Ribicoff and Pastore and Congressman Wilbur Mills to get the federal legislature to appropriate funds to all levels of social work education, mentioning the undergraduate, because of the immensity of the personnel shortage. A recent issue of the Social Work Education Reporter (XVI, December 1968) carries an article of significance approximating the significant community college report issued this past year and reviewed at length earlier. Entitled, "The Relationship of Undergraduate Programs in Social Welfare to Inner-City Concerns, Racial Problems, and Anti-Poverty Activities," the article is the report of zuSherman Merle and Arnulf Pins, "Study of Research Needs in Undergraduate Programs in Social Welfare," Social Work Education Reporter, XIII (September 1965), 18. AA a survey of Council undergraduate members which currently have "learning experiences" with respect to the areas mentioned in the title. Response indicates that all but four of seventy—one campuses offer this by including field observation and direct work or participation in the newer community groupings. The principle underlying the various ways of doing this is that of bringing the community to the classroom so as to close the gap between classroom theory and community practice. Summary The pertinent and available literature on under— graduate social work education is issued chiefly by the Council on Social Work Education. This is logical because the Council is the standards-setting agency for the pro- fession. The literature is comparatively meager, reflect- ing the Council's long-standing concern with graduate education. The literatbre is primarily of two kinds: that which is issued by the Council or one of its appointed sub-committees and represents official Council position; that which is written by social work educators in publi- cations sponsored by the Council. The review of the pertinent and available literature reveals the following: (1) the profession has had deep difference of Opinion on the place and validity of under— graduate education as adequate for professional practice and has regarded the master's degree as most appropriate A5 not only for acceptable practice but also to build the identity of the profession; (2) this regard for master's training has continued to the present and still demands the bulk of the Council's time; (3) manpower needs, al- ways a problem in the profession, have intensified within the past decade, in part due to the creation of new poverty programs at the federal level; (A) there has been a direct relationship between intensifying manpower needs and the profession's interest in undergraduate education; (5) there is a direct relationship between the interest in undergraduate education as a potential solu- tion to the manpower needs and the differentiating of tasks to be undertaken in the field, a matching of different levels of education with differing community needs; (6) as a result.there is an increasingly close collaboration between undergraduate programs and field agencies, enhanced by the community college's interest in technical education for social welfare; (7) as a result of many of the above factors (community needs, manpower needs, poverty programs, redefining tasks) use of the sub- or para-professional is now a practice with especially the poverty agencies. The literature thus suggests a profession-wide move- ment away from the 1939 statement by the former American Association of Schools of Social Work that the master's degree is the only acceptable preparation for social work A6 practice to the 1968 view that, aided by undergraduate field work, and hence field agency collaboration in aligning levels of education with redefined tasks, the manpower needs of the profession can be realistically and effectively relieved. One of the values of the Aldridge-McGrath study entitled Liberal Education and Social Work25 is the attention given to this very issue, the place of under- graduate social work education. Not only do they cite the need for further definitive study in this area but tie such further inquiry into educational goals with Ivarying professional entry levels. To their hope that ". . . this study has underlined the urgent social need for reliable information on this complicated problem . . ."26 the literature suggests that undergraduate faculties and field agency staff, such as the Institute with its innovative methods, can now fruitfully collaborate. 25Gordon J. Aldridge, and Earl J. McGrath, Liberal Egucation and Social Work (New York: Institute of Higher Education, Teachers College Press, 1965), p. 102. 26Ibid., p. 90. CHAPTER III DESIGN OF THE STUDY Introduction In the literature cited in the previous chapter it is clear that the profession of social work through its Council on Social Work Education has moved rapidly within a relatively short period of time from total emphasis on the master's degree to a recognition of the potential of undergraduate education for easing the manpower problem. This recognition has been accompanied by a redefinition of tasks to be met in the field. Thus there is now a growing professional effort toward matching levels of education with varying task responsibilities. One of the assumptions of this study, as stated in Chapter I, is that to success- fully carry out this effort there should be as close col- laboration between undergraduate levels of social work and field agencies as there traditionally has been at the graduate level. Source of the Data The Urban Adult Education Institute, introduced in Chapter I, was seen as an agency responsive to the manpower A? A8 crisis, the redefinition of tasks and the potential of not only undergraduate levels of education but also para- professional use representing even less formal education. In view of the needs of the profession and the practices of this particular agency as they may have implications for future trends of undergraduate edu- cation, a detailed case-study of the Institute seemed the best way to identify and analyze its methods. Several features of the Institute support this: (1) the adminis- trative staff of the Institute consists at this time of the Director, his executive assistant and four persons heading each of the present divisions, thus six persons who could give a thorough description of agency function and purpose; (2) the Institute is permanently and con- veniently located, concentrated in one building, within reasonable driving distance (East Lansing to Detroit); (3) the teaching and counseling staff is located in this same building as are the classrooms, guidance rooms with one—way observation mirrors, home economics laboratory with complete "apartment-size" kitchen and living-room; (A) the extensive testing of the learners takes place here with ready access to tests, forms and results; (5) the extensive in-service training of teaching and counsel— .ing staff takes place here; (6) the Institute's building 1&3 located in the inner—city neighborhood which it serves; C7) the Detroit Board of Education and Wayne State Uni- V€'-31"sity consultants are nearby. “9 These features combined with the unique and inno- vative program of the Institute suggested the basic tools of the case—study: interview of staff and consultants, observation of Operation and study of Institute materials. To accomplish this, trips were made to Detroit over a three month period, October through December 1968, averag- ing one trip per week. The research day usually began at 9:30 A.M., terminating approximately 3:30 P.M. Mr. Roy Roulhac, executive assistant, coordinated the agency and field visits through his office. In addition both he and Dr. Paige were consultants to the study in its formative stages in that they suggested content areas as possibly applicable to the implication—drawing purpose of the study. The objective was to gain as complete a picture possible as to how the Institute functions. Procedures for Data Collection Once the study was underway, Dr. Paige and Mr. Roulhac and the staff contributed as interviewees, each being inter— viewed within the same general format: their professional or para-professional background, their introduction to the Institute, responsibility to it, their personal evaluation of its program, their regard of its place in and perti- nence to the inner-city community and finally, their regard for social work education. The format (of necessity) was kept flexible so as to elicit a flow of information which these staff people feel is creative. If indicated, they would arrange interviews with their staff subordinates. 50 Observations included a full-staff meeting, in- service training sessions which included all levels of staff personnel, professional and para-professional, adult education classes in session and testing sessions of prospective learners. Brief trips into the immediate neighborhood served by the Institute and meeting the local residents should be mentioned here although an extended neighborhood visit under the auspices of the Assistant Director for Community Relations was rejected by some of the groups she had in mind; Mrs. Watson blamed a racial touchiness for this. Study materials of the Institute included its descriptive brochures, administration charts and test instruments, but particularly large amounts of written material and tapes on the "educational sciences." This latter is unpublished material, indicating the comparative newness of these sciences. The theoretician responsible for developing the sciences into a workable base for the Institute is Dr. Joseph Hill, now president of Oakland Community College, at which campus he was interviewed. Documents studied also include the series of technical memos Dr. Paige issues from time to time in which a wide range of subjects are discussed: suggested definitions for the educational sciences usage, progress reports, proposed policy, all directed toward better communication within the Institute and more effective work with the clientele. 51 In conclusion it should be noted that a subject of research like the Institute, as new and creative as it is, as client—centered and flexible, unavoidably affects the research methodology the same way. Thus, interviews are held beginning in the interviewee's office and sometimes concluded miles away while in the car driving to a certain neighborhood or home; interviews frequently interrupted by a learner-client who demands and gets immediate attention to his need; interviews conducted in neighborhood grills and hangouts. In view of the type of material being ob- tained, these conditions lend weight to the client— centeredness that is being discussed or to the problem— centered orientation the Institute has. A consistency between written goals and practical methods is clearly evident. This Institute exists for its clientele. Procedures for Analyzing Data The data collection procedures produced a mass of written material containing actual quotes from the inter— viewees, impressions of the interviewer, summaries of speeches and tapes. The Institute kindly provided suf- ficient copies of Dr. Paige's technical memos, newspaper clippings, brochures and related written material. All of this data was carefully reviewed for accuracy and authenticity. The interview information was cross— checked with both the initial interviewee and other staff interviewed subsequently. The overall impression gained 52 is that, although catering to individual needs by means of a highly flexible program, the staff is generally in agreement with and can articulate Institute goals and methods. Once the data was written into a first dissertation draft, it was forwarded to the Institute to be reviewed. The content was regarded by the staff, particularly the Systems Analysis Division, Mr. Thom Waters, to be accur- ate and reflective of the Institute's program. CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF THE DATA Introduction Reference has been made previously in this study to the basic importance of the "educational sciences" guide- lines: the methodology of the Urban Adult Education Insti- tute is derived from these guidelines. Previous chapters have provided an introduction to both the Institute and the "educational sciences." The present chapter will build on this introduction as part of the process of identifying and analyzing the Institutes' methodology in greater de- tail. In addition to its dependence on the "educational sciences," the Institute is committed to the use of a "mixed staff," that is, a staff comprised of both pro— fessional teachers and caseworkers and para-professionals in these areas. This technique too has been identified previously. Its success is predicated on close adherence to the educational sciences. The complementary nature of these two fundamental approaches, making the Institute the unique, innovative community agency it is, should become clearer in the analysis to follow. 53 5A Both the "educational sciences" and use of para— professionals are Institute policies significant to the two principals of the agency, staff and client. There- fore this chapter will include an analysis of the Insti- tute's methodology broadly divided into those two areas, with sub-headings appropriate to each. Such analysis follows an opening section which details the educational sciences. Funding of the Institute by the United States Office of Education under a grant request which described the "educational sciences" and proposed para—professional staff is logical and feasible because of the numerous war—on—poverty programs which call for involvement wherever and whenever possible by those receiving services. The Institute is doing this in a multi-discipline setting, using the "educational sciences" as guidelines to imple- ment and validate staff selection, training and use. The "Educational Sciences" in Detail As initially referred to in Chapter I, the "edu- cational sciences" concept as used by the Institute is a frame of reference within which the various behavioral sciences employed by the Institute can reach generally understood meaning, definition and agreement on the com— munication skills and methodology each uses in working toward Institute goals. Without this common reference 55 point the various sciences, in the setting of an experi- mental agency highly oriented to meeting individual client needs, would risk even more misunderstanding and confusion than already can arise within and among these behavioral sciences. The Institute thus acknowledges that the efficacy of these human sciences it relies upon is in direct prOportion to the amount of misinterpretation and misunderstanding that exists, that if these latter are minimized through sound, scientific procedures the treat— ment goals for clients and predictability for staff selection by the Institute are enhanced. The Institute has found meaningful the application of four of the seven strata (all identified in Chapter I) which comprise the "educational sciences." This application begins with an awareness of the cognitive style (stratum five) which each of its staff and each of its clients brings to bear on the agency's program. Cognitive style, already defined as an individual type of response employed in reacting to stimuli acting upon a person and specifically, the stimuli in a learning situation, gains meaning when viewed in the light of the first three "educational sciences" strata. These first three strata are best described by the Institute director, Dr. Joseph Paige in a technical memo he issued to the staff as part of the on-going, in—service training program, dated November 1967: 56 FIRST STRATUM: THE SYMBOL A number of studies have been done in the field of education which give insight into the significance of symbolic precision and offer methods of acquiring this precision. Dr. Nathaniel Champlin and Dr. Francis Villemain, of Wayne State University and Southern Illinois University, respectively, have interpreted a learning situation in terms of theo- retical symbols and qualitative symbols and have classified four different kinds of learning "situ— ations": (l) qualitative independence; (2) quali— tative predominance; (3) reciprocity; and (A) theoretical predominance. To illustrate a possible application of the theory, if an educator is attempting to motivate students to examine a particular art form, he might merely present to the class a variety of art objects which exemplify the particular qualities under con- sideration. This technique would provide a situation of "qualitative independence" for the observer. If the educator is attempting to teach students how to observe particular characteristics of an art form beyond the previously undefined "observational" level, he might make a few remarks to the class regarding, for example, color or texture and then present the objects to the class for examination. The brief explanation (theoretical symbolization) prior to the class examination of the art objects (qualitative symbolization), provides the conditions for a situ- ation of "qualitative predominance." If the edu- cator is attempting to teach technical aspects of the art objects and how they are achieved by the artist, as well as an appreciation of the work, he might display the objects and discuss various aspects of their form and design. If the emphasis on obser- vation (qualitative symbolization) and explanation (theoretical symbolization) are approximately equal, the conditions exist for a situation of "reciprocity." Finally, if the educator delivers a lecture regarding various art objects, their form, design and con— struction (theoretical symbolization) only inci- dentally (or perhaps not at all) using observation (qualitative symbolization), the conditions exist for a situation of "theoretical predominance." The definitions that follow are provided in order to facilitate understanding of the concepts involved in this discussion. Qualitative Independence Qualitative Predominance Qualitative Symbol Reciprocity Theoretical Predominance Theoretical Symbol SECOND STRATUM: 57 A learning situation in which the learner is not guided by reference to theoretical symbols but rather is free to perceive the situation or object completely within the frame of reference which he establishes. A learning situation in which the learner is only slightly guided by reference to theoretical sym- bols and remains essentially free to perceive in his own unique manner. That symbol which presents and represents to the mind that which it, itself, is, i.e., a particular strain of music or the color of a given object. A learning situation in which the learner is affected approximately equally by external reference to the theoretical symbol and his own unique qualitative symbolization. A learning situation in which the learner is influenced primarily or exclusively by the use of the theoretical symbol. That symbol which presents to the mind something different than that which it, itself, is, i.e., "sud- itory theoretical symbol"--the sound of the word, "car"; "visual theoretical symbol"--the printed word, "car." Both symbols bring a different imagery to mind than that which they, themselves are. PERCEPTION The second stratum, perception, i.e., the cul— tural effect on the meaning of symbols, is concerned with the cultural background of the individual and the limits set on perceptions by that background. Peer relationships, economic class, family back- ground, expected role(s) and other social factors play an important part in determining the meaning that an individual ascribes to the symbols that he 58 employs and "understands." Three basic referents have been identified for this stratum: (1) family (F); (2) associates (A); and (3) individuality (I). Generally, one of these three referents will play a major role and another one will exert a minor- influence. For example, a particular type of per- son might be prone to consider his associates first and then give consideration to his own individual needs in the process of deriving a decision.. In this case, for this stratum, he would then be labelled (A—i). In addition to the three basic referents, positive and negative valences are employed to further define the perceptual mode. A person who comes from an environment where family life has been primarily a negative experience, with a resultant emphasis, for discussion, on individual- istic actions, would have the following stratum code: (I-f(_)). THIRD STRATUM: MODALITIES OF INFERENCE Modalities of inference, the third stratum, is based on the assumption that the general inference process used by man is an inductive process, pro- ducing "probability" conclusions associated with problem-solving activities. In employing inductive thought, it is assumed that man can only draw four inferences: (l) magni- tude (M); (2) difference (D); (3) relationship (R); and (A) appraisal (L). These inference processes form a number of combinations composed of one major and one minor factor, each of which must be different from the other. For this reason, possible modalities of inference are (M-d); (M-r); (D-m); (D-r); (R-m); (R-d); and (L). The last identified style stands alone because it includes in it, the definition, the processes identified by M, D, and R. Briefly, magnitude, difference, and relation— ship may be identified in the following ways. Magnitude involves a statement of a "value" of a norm or entity. (We did things differently when I was a child" implies a "value" of the social system which existed in the past which is worthy of use as a norm or standard in today's society). Difference deals with a linear differential comparison of the entities under consideration. For example, differ- entiation of physical appearance of one individual from another can be carried out by comparing any physical feature which can be compared on a one- to-one basis (eyes, weight, etc.). Relationship 59 employs comparison by analogy involving, generally, two or more variables in order to reach a specific conclusion. Appraisal encompasses, by definition, the other three inference processes discussed.l From the above, it should be clearer that the various professions employed by the Institute are guided primarily by these four "educational sciences" strata toward a uni— form view of staff and client, toward common language and definitive methodology in working with the undereducated adult. Practical examples of this are included in the following sections. The Institute makes extensive use of the seventh stratum of the sciences, systems analysis, defined best by Dr. Joseph Hill: Any system of an educational training program involves a complex, inter-related set of activities, functions, sub-systems, and Operations that must be effectively coordinated to the end of successfully achieving the requirements and objectives of the system. Treated as a system, an educational train- ing program has a set of inputs and outputs, design criteria, performance objectives, and a structure of relationships between elements of the system such that the modification of a single aspect of the configuration might well require modifications in other elements included in the structure. A tight-looped circuitry feedback in a system provides the vehicle by which the aforementioned modifications can be effected most efficiently and in the direction of attaining the performance goals of the system.2 lJoseph Paige, "Summary: Cognitive Styles Manual" unpublished Technical Memo #2, November 1967, pp. 3-7. 2Joseph Hill, "A Synopsis of the 'Educational Sciences'" unpublished appendix, available for in-service training by the Institute. 60 The above quoted definition, although brief, in no way demeans the importance of this stratum to educational programs generally, nor does it in any way imply to what extent it is used by the Institute. However, for the purposes of this study, with its intended implications for undergraduate social work education, the four strata previously discussed have comparatively more relevance in the search for these implications. The "Educational Sciences" and Staff Dr. Paige, Institute Director, his executive assistant Mr. Roy Roulhac, acting Assistant Director, Mr. Thomas Hill (all of whom also act as directors of the Special Projects division, with Mr. Hill acting director of the Adult Basic Education division as well), Mr. Thomas Waters, Assistant Director for Systems Analysis and Mrs. Ruth Watson, Assistant Director for Community Relations, comprise the "professional staff" in the sense that they each bring to the Institute an acquired, demonstrable skill and experience not possessed nor readily acquired by the recipients of the Institute's services. With the exception of a few additional members of the instructional staff ("teachers" is a rejected title since it often has negative connotations for the partici— pants) whose numbers vary because of the needed flexibility in such an individually oriented, problem—centered agency, the balance of the instructional/counseling staff is 61 para—professional, that is, staff drawn from among the recipients from the immediate neighborhood, peers of the clients. At the time of data collection, the Institute had four professionals on the instructional staff and approximately a dozen para-professionals. Thus, the top administrative group remains con- ' stant (with the allowance for nominal resignations) and fills specific administrative positions called for in the grant. By contrast the number of para-professionals com— prising the instructional/counseling staff fluctuates in direct response to individual and community needs. Special mention should be made of Mrs. Ruth Watson, Assistant Director for Community Relations, because of the unusual ability she brings to her position which at the same time makes the distinction between professional and para-professional an exceedingly fine one. By the above definitions, she began with the Institute clearly in the para-professional category; however, her demonstrable skills, which include her grasp of the "educational sciences" theory, moved her quickly to the directorship of one of the more demanding and sensitive divisions of the agency and, by other criteria, into a professional category. She illustrates thereby (l) the potential for the para-professional especially if aided by in-service training programs; (2) the possible necessity of re— defining traditional administrative structure; (3) the 62 desirability of studying her career as a case-study in para-professional use and development. Recruitment and Selection Interviews with the professional staff identified above reveal clearly the consensus as to what kind of teaching and counseling para-professionals they are look- ing for. Comments like "this Institute is task oriented not time oriented"; "credentials do not make the pro- fessional but job performance does"; "it's not what a person has picked up along the way but what he is"; "we don't want to save anybody, we need people who appreciate the life style of the ghetto, see the beauty in it" are sprinkled throughout the interviews. Such comments emphasize qualities of empathy and understanding, atti- tudinal strengths rather than knowledge and skill achieve- ments. Potential para—professional staff members are actively recruited by the Institute from the immediate neighborhood served, through the various neighborhood groups of influence, in neighborhood bars and other social centers. Neighborhood school and church centers have helped in this. The selection process begins with extensive inter- viewing by the Institute professional staff. Understand- ing and acceptance of the Institute's program is one of the first considerations in an effort to determine the 63 degree of identity with the Institute and other staff members. Standing of the applicant in the community is of considerable importance because staff serve as re- cruiters of additional staff and of learners from that same geographical area. Response to and concern for neighborhood problems is discussed. Obligation of the potential staff member to develop through the Institute's in-service training, thereby further identifying with the Institute, is covered. This latter requires some capacity (intellectual and psychological) to grow on the job. If in the judgment of the interviewers the applicant meets these basic criteria, a variety of testing procedures, many on an experimental basis, are then carried out. De- pending on applicant response, these may be in—depth autobiographical statements, forced choice questionnaires, role playing devices and other probing devices. The goal of the selection process and the varied testing devices in all cases is to uncover the cognitive style of the applicant. Referring to Dr. Paige's technical memo above, the applicant would be revealed as having either a theo— retical or qualitative symbolic orientation (to cite the extremes of the possibilities), having a mode of pere ception dominated by either family, peers or self, with an inference pattern (generally inductive) revealing the major and minor factors peculiar to that applicant. 6A Testing to determine applicant entry level and placement on the staff is the responsibility of the Systems Analysis division of the Institute. This reveals the dual nature of that term since systems analysis has also been identified previously as the seventh stratum of the "edu- cational sciences." The sciences thereby theorize (as quoted above) that an educational program is a total system responsive to inputs which, despite the level of their introduction, will modify to some extent the entire system. Staff members in that sense are inputs with un- questionable effect on the total system; hence the de- sirability and necessity of (1) determining the cognitive style of the applicant; (2) matching that style to a given educational task. In handling both responsibilities, the Systems Analysis division attempts quality control of a system comprised of many variables which otherwise could easily minimize the effectiveness of the entire system. The staff selection process is completed by an inter- view with a panel representing the Detroit Board of Edu— cation. Teaching/counseling staff are paid by the Board under stipulations of the grant: $8,250.00-$10,000.00 for Junior Adult Education Specialists; $8,750.000-$12,000.00 for Senior Adult Education Specialists. These two job classifications are interchangeable in the sense that staff are both in the neighborhood and the classroom. This arrangement underscores the Institute's theory that 65 education is therapy, that personal and family counseling is an integral part of the adult education program. In-service Training This is the responsibility of the Adult Basic Edu- cation division of the Institute, with a format and con- tent reflecting the interview and testing done previously, chiefly by the Systems Analysis. The in—service classes are continuous, at least weekly, based on previously determined agendas distributed through the technical memo channel. The new staff member is immediately placed in this on-going program which has as its twin goal providing the techniques and methods for reaching the under-educated adult and providing the insight on this adult's problems and background. Technical Memo #11, for example, describes in-service training week by week from February through May. General topics include "Understanding Human Nature: The Psychology of Adulthood" (week of February 12-16), with such sub- topics as "How Adults Learn," "Motivation Forces" and ending with "The Educational Sciences" (as do almost all of the sessions). Or, two sessions (March A through 15) on "Understanding Attitudes of Student POpulation," sub- headings showing "Low Self Concept," "Hostility Toward a School Environment," "Hostility Toward Authority" and again "The Educational Sciences." The April 15-19 session is entitled "Selected Aspects of Social Work." 66 This series of sessions ended with "Program Evaluation Review Technique" indicating the comprehensive responsi— bilities of the para-professional staff. The in-service training classes emphasize staff participation and avoid a passive, lecture format. Thus, in a session on community response and organization, actual materials (brick, liquor bottles, torn screening, other debris) were passed and handled as evidence taken from play areas in the neighborhood, objectionable and potentially dangerous items which area residents could and should react to. Staff members were thereby encouraged not to overlook such items nor miss the opportunity to organize neighborhood groups against such deterioration. Unusual audio-visual aids which called for response from as many of the human senses as possible are used: touch, smell (various debris), sight (films projected on three classroom walls for a provocative, wide—screen effect), hearing (tapes coordinated with the films). The overall effect is one of total concentration and involvement. During the sessions, participation and response minimize any distinction between professional and para- professional. An attempt is thereby made to increase the identity of the latter with the Institute's program and place in the community. Yet because the subject matter is the neighborhood and its residents, no alienation of para-professional is risked, as this would minimize his 67 effectiveness and negate the very basis of his employment. The Institute is thus aware of the gap the para-professional is trying to bridge and supports him in both roles. The "educational sciences"theory1u2gets in these sessions and proper utilization of the para-professional based on his cognitive style further supports him in an otherwise difficult task. The professional staff, particularly the Assistant Directors for each of the divisions, supplement the in- service sessions by being available at any time for indi- vidual consultation with para—professionals. .Such support, often in the psychological/emotional area, redefines staff lines and authorities, roles, discusses developmental career plans and other more individual, situational pro- blems and needs not practical for the general in-service sessions. This supportive consultation is very important because the danger persists of the para-professional alienating himself from the neighborhood and the inner- city adult simply by joining the Institute and promoting its programs. To many in that area of societal frustration, the Institute is simply another "establishment" device to control and identifying with it is to abdicate and com- promise. Yet the para-professional represents to the Institute the best means of overcoming this anti-societal frustration and hostility. 68 Staff Functions It may be clearer now why the Institute resorts to the cognitive style stratum and other strata in the "edu- cational sciences" in selecting and training para—pro- fessional staff. The following discussion of staff functions and responsibilities will indicate that with- out the guidelines of these "educational sciences," the many inputs into this highly experimental, adult education program would be too variable and uncontrolled as to minimize program effectiveness. As introduced in Chapter I, the Institute's edu- cational program is so broad as to qualify it as a social agency working to defeat poverty by equipping adults with basic education which will qualify them for full—time employment. Technical Memo #16 by Dr. Paige, dated July 8, 1968, identifies several subject areas and the instructional texts and systems used. These range from the Behavioral Research Laboratories' Addison Weseley Addition, Sub- traction, Multiplication, Division system for those below fourth grade to Behavioral Research Laboratories' material on the Negro crisis, to the Sullivan-Behavioral Research Laboratories' health and safety series. Language skills, constitution and government series, geography, community all given to learners identified as on financial assistance programs (chiefly Aid to Families and Dependent Children, median age in the high thirties) further give an idea of the breadth of the instruction program. 69 The prime determining factor as to what will be taught is that of need of learner. Therefore the chief staff function is to develOp instructional programs tailored to each learner and to present the final pro- gram in appropriate format to the learner in an optimum period of time. This development by staff is submitted in writing to the Adult Basis Education division director, then to Systems Analysis for evaluation and coordination with the profile that division has of the learner, ob- tained by psychological testing, described subsequently. Systems Analysis thus attempts to present to the teacher an idea of what will happen in that learning task and predicts this on all possible "knowns," chiefly cognitive styles of teacher and learner, academic level and ability and other variables. In the last analysis, each edu- cational program should result in both an academic change and a behavioral change. This dual objective suggests the second staff function, one hardly separable from the first, that of supportive counseling. The Institute's education special- ists see themselves as both diagnosticians as well as counselors; they must be in order to know each learner well enough to propose a learning program with them; they must be alert to the close connection between learning abilities and social/individual problems, capable of meeting the learner at his level in his setting. This 70 close connection reflects itself in an ambivalence so many learners bring to the Institute: they anticipate the benefits of new knowledge and skills yet shrink from the renewal of old fears and threats that learning may bring. Thus the Institute's program has to be con- stantly interpreted and its individual orientation stressed. This is the assignment primarily of the Community Relations Division, under Mrs. Ruth Watson, although as indicated these distinctions become artificial in view of the task to be done. Many of the referrals to this division come at the time of the prospective learner's first formal contact with the Institute, the grade place- ment and other tests administered by Systems Analysis. The typical learner fails to return, reflecting indi- vidual anxieties and neighborhood pressures. Throughout the instructional program such pressures continue; be- tween staff in this division and the Adult Basic Edu- cation instructional staff, the learner is constantly supported. Two additional staff functions are of significance to the Institute's program. Along with the on-going Systems Analysis division's evaluation of all segments of the program, staff members are urged to rate the in- structional materials they use in terms of learner enthusiasm and interest-retention. For example, one of the arithmetic texts used produced a consistently negative 71 response and was found to be too fundamental for the group using it. Instructional materials are also rated by the professional staff with Systems Analysis division comparing the results from among the staff. A remaining total staff function is that of staff and student recruitment. Again, this tends to fall pri- marily to the Community Relations division but is properly the responsibility of all. At the time of this study there were no staff vacancies; in fact neighborhood enthusiasm was quite high, resulting in a steady number of applicants. The "Educational Sciences" and Client Recruitment The Institute draws its student body mainly from the immediate, inner-city neighborhood in which it is located. Generally, its students have to be recruited, that is, the Institute's various programs have to be carefully explained to a pOpulation composed of persons who have had negative school experiences, persons who do not think of a return to an educational experience as an answer to their low income or unstable employment. Re- cruitment is the obligation and responsibility of all levels of staff. As with staff recruitment, students are spoken to in neighborhood hangouts, theatres, bars, churches refer some, more and more welfare agencies do. 72 The value of para-professional staff is clearly seen in its student contact function. As peers and equals of the potential student, such staff are able to describe various Institute programs in language he understands, to stress the individuality of each pro- gram and thus relieve considerable anxiety, to point out advantages the learner will gain, using himself as an example, to convey an identity of the Institute with the neighborhood. Thus, the para-professional is able to bridge the gap between the learner's desire for im- proved status and his comfortableness in his present environment. Institute philOSOphy is revealed in its recruitment approach. The above—mentioned gap ought to be bridged only if the prospective learner thinks it ought to be. Some students volunteer for training and thereby convey their convictions regarding personal motivations, value of basic education, ambitions. From applicants such as these, para-professional staff are often drawn. But to those larger numbers who need considerably psychological- emotional support even to entertain the idea of a return to what has been a negative experience, the Institute draws a careful line between providing such support, yet respecting the self-determination of each. Thus the need for psychological support is in itself not a justifiable reason for rejecting further education; but given such 73‘ support, along with usable information about the Insti- tute's unique program, the staff then allows a prospective learner to come to his own decision. In doing this the Institute emphasizes the integrity of each person it contacts and seeks to protect his "life style." No aspect of the Institute's philosophy is so stressed as is that of the sanctity of the life style of each person and/or group it seeks to serve. The Insti- tute staff feels that it differs radically from previous societal attempts to reach the inner-city, under-educated adult in many ways, but none so important and significant as this one—~the protection and reinforcement of the indi— vidual's life style. Mr. Hugh Whipple, a research associ- ate in the Systems Analysis division, described in an interview that division's basic task as "making sure that the educational sciences as used here acknowledges and accepts the life style of each human. keeping intact his sub-culture, building on the strengths he presents because he controls the learning." Recruitment then is a quali— fied process, successful not in terms of quantities en- rolled but only on the basis of the flexibility of the Institute to accommodate each learner as an individual. Testing At this point it may be clear why the cognitive style of each student becomes of primary concern. In effect, promises to protect an individual student in his 7A return to an otherwise negative experience have been made. The Institute staff can tangibly fulfill that promise by indicating from the first agency contact that the indi- vidual, not the method or the structure, is what counts; that the Institute in effect wants to reinforce the indi- vidual rather than remove him or save him from the en— vironment he finds tolerable. Considerable experimentation in testing for the cognitive style of the learner takes place, particularly as to appropriate timing and instrumentation. The un— timely or inappropriate testing of learners can serve to reacquaint them with past defeats and anxieties. As indi— cated earlier, the formal test is often the first contact of the Institute as an agency with the learner. It is a period demanding considerable support, both individual and family. The Institute therefore has hypothesized that if testing threats were reduced through interpre— tation or removed in some instances and respaced, learning would be enhanced. Generally two goals in testing are pursued: the academic achievement level of the learner has to be determined fairly soon although with some, it is put off as late as the sixth, ninth or even twelfth week if their anxiety over Institute participation is too great; the cognitive style of the learner ought to be plotted because it determines an appropriate instructional program for 75 him; but it, too, can be an even greater threat because of its probing intensity and often is not considered until the tenth or twelfth week. The intervening weeks are used to gain the learner's confidence, acquaint him with various Institute procedures, start him in some basic educational tasks, in brief, resocialize the individual in the sense of preparing him for new roles and new relationships among his peers and integrate the Institute involvement into his life style. These pre- paratory weeks can be regarded as more therapeutic than strictly educational, although as noted earlier, the Institute regards education and therapy as complementing each other. The Instructional Program At the time data were being gathered for this study, Fall 1968, approximately 250 students were enrolled in all of the Institute's programs, with daily attendance some twenty-five short of that. Up to that time about 800 students had gone through various programs from the Fall of 1967. These learners enrolled in a wide variety of individual and group oriented instructional programs, from personal hygiene to basic education (reading, writing) to vocational classes. Classes are held at any time of the day suitable to the learner and while they will be held anywhere for the same reason, most and especially the larger, more 76 structured ones are held at the Institute itself. This building, a former residence for nurses at Herman Kiefer Hospital, is undergoing remodeling: a home economics kitchen and full apartment have been installed on the third floor; large "lecture rooms" are available; ob— servation rooms are located on the second floor. Much of the furnishing is donated by city department stores. Technical Memo #A by Dr. Paige dated February 1968 illustrates curriculum development by the Institute. A course of instruction (in the 100 series-—Personal DevelOp— ment) reflects the Institute's: (l) reliance on the sys— tems concept of the educational sciences regarding cog- nitive style, inputs and analysis; (2) awareness of certain performance goals generally stated in terms of terminal behavior modifications. Thus under Health, Hygiene, Nutrition 101 the student will be able to distinguish be— tween symptoms and ailments that can be treated "at home" and those requiring professional medical care (101.2); explains why water is essential in a well-balanced diet (101.7) to mention two performance objectives. Or under Insurance 103, he will for example, be able to describe at least one form of life insurance in terms under— standable to another student. Other content areas in— clude Leisure Time (105), Manners—Social Graces (106), Protection (108) to mention three others, all with very practical performance goals (for example, lists some qualifications for policemen and sheriff--108.6). 77 Technical Memo #7 by Dr. Paige dated April 1968 is entitled "Progress Summary." It opens with a statement of Institute purpose (". . . broaden and increase edu- cational and employment Opportunities for under-educated and uneducated adults . . ."), continues with a statement of its dependence on the educational sciences (". educational purpose can be clarified, consistent inter- pretations of data can be realized, and the reliability and validity of predictions and generalizations can be determined") and devotes the remaining six pages to analyzing Institute performance. It reports for example a grade level achievement of one to four years for more than 80 per cent of the students as measured by the ABLE Test and the California Achievement Tests; ten students able to hold jobs for more than one month for the first time in five or more years; forty female and seventeen male enrollees joined neighborhood block clubs for the first time. This is a brief sample of numerous edu- cational, social and vocational achievements. Goals for further development include internal Institute refine- ments in research and teaching; improved employment training and job finding programs; additional community involvement including vote registration and leadership roles and a personnel training program to provide nearby counties and state institutions of confinement with para- professionals in teaching and social work. 78 The Institute as a Training Center It is significant Dr. Paige includes in future goals for the Institute a broadened community service as well as internal refinements of its highly experimental program and educational sciences development. This has a pre- ventative element quite appropriate for this broadly con- ceived social agency. To implement this goal of broadened community service Dr. Paige, in Technical Memo #3 of June 1968, outlined a graduate trainee program with emphasis "on teaching and working with under-educated adults." It has provision for practicum, field experience, research and in-service training and calls for on—going "action research in the educational sciences." The significance of this lies, in part at least, (1) in visualizing the now experimental educational sciences as a potentially useful framework for future multi- disciplinary collaboration on social—educational pro- blems; (2) in visualizing staff on a "proficiency con— tinuum" ranging from advanced degree personnel on one end to the para-professional on the other. In summary then, a presentation of Institute method- ology reflects the comprehensive approach its administration employs in utilizing a staff of wide competencies to meet broad individual and community problems within as experi- mental and flexible yet scientifically based framework possible, involving as many of the behavioral sciences as 79 are needed. To then take a leadership role in training future staff as well is to suggest the tremendous poten- tial the Institute has in combining theory and practice. CHAPTER V IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY FOR UNDERGRADUATE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION Introduction This study was undertaken primarily because of the persistent manpower problem hampering professional social work, a problem previously described as one of inadequate numbers of adequately trained staff personnel, a problem of long-standing concern to schools of social work. A "war-on-poverty" agency, Detroit's Urban Adult Education Institute, a community agency with an adult education program, was selected as the focus of the study because it is utilizing both professional and para-professional staff in imaginative and innovative ways suggesting thereby considerable potential for alleviating the manpower pro- blem. A case-study was made of the Institute by means of personal interview of its staff, observation of its methods and techniques with its inner-city adult clientele and research of its written documents. In his Technical Memo #5 of March 1968, Dr. Paige, director of the Institute, discusses the "direct relation— ship between education and poverty" (page 2). Elements 80 81 establishing this relationship include: (1) the training and communication skills which the majority of jobs in our complex and technical society demand; (2) the adjust- ments to life and the world of work demanded of an em- ployee; (3) the monetary premium society awards to its better educated citizens; (A) the individual and family degradation generally associated with poverty and illiter- acy; (5) the economic loss to the nation of such degrad- ation. From these considerations it can be concluded that the so-called war on poverty might better be fought in the Institute's classrooms rather than solely in the financial assistance office, that the methodology employed in relieving poverty ideally is multi—disciplinary in approach. Acknowledging that direct relationship and implement- ing such an approach, the Institute has originated and is experimenting with certain methodology described in Chapter IV. This multi-discipline methodology, synthesized among several apprOpriate behavioral sciences by guidelines called "educational sciences," provides for staff utili- zation at varying levels of competence to perform specific but widely varying tasks which reflect individual learner/ client needs. In so doing, the Institute has both directly confronted or indirectly alluded to problem areas of long— standing to professional social work, reviewed and cited in Chapter I as "General Questions to be Considered in the Study." 82 Implications for undergraduate social work education in the Institute's approach should be addressed then to these same problem areas. They are: (1) the problem of defining professional social work's boundaries; (2) the problem of professional social work's relationships with other helping professions; (3) the problem of appropriate use of social work staff. This chapter will discuss these basic problem areas in that order, drawing from the de- scriptive material of Chapter IV. The Boundaries of Professional Social Work At issue here is the question of the breadth or scope of professional responsibility. Specifically what is the proper source from which an applied professional field like social work derives its area of responsibility? Do the schools of social work, traditionally at the masters level, by imparting specific knowledge, skills and attitudes there— by identify (perhaps inadvertently) certain clientele to be served, certain socio—economic classes to be concentrated on, certain preferred problem areas and otherwise, set these boundaries? Or is it more legitimate that such professional boundaries reflect a problem-oriented accommo- dation as practiced by the Institute, which has the practi— cal effect of suggesting to the schools professional re- sponsibility as dictated by the field that is, adminis- trators and recipients of social services. 83 The question includes and goes beyond the perennial one of the service relationship between higher education and society; that is, does the former in its development reflect a role subservient to society's needs and wishes or does higher education respond to society from a fixed core of knowledge and thereby subsume society's needs and wishes? In the case of social work education (at all levels) and society's needs the question broadens to re- flect the unique assignment social work has: to work itself out of existence (theoretically at least) resolv- ing as many of society's social welfare problems as expeditiously as possible. Such a goal can be considered only in a theoretical context because of the perennial nature of the human pro— blems social work engages but the burden of proof remains constant on the profession: that it is seeking to resolve these problems, not perpetuate them and thereby sustain the profession. Put in the language of the above questions regarding higher education and its relationship to society, the profession of social work can shoulder this burden of proof in primarily two ways: (1) develop a body of knowl- edge and skills rigidly fixed which has inherent within it the type and scope of professional response it prefers to make; (2) develop a body of knowledge and skills in partnership with society (in this case, social service administrators and recipients) which reflects on-going 8A changing societal needs. This latter would be charac- terized by flexibility and experimentation which has inherent within it a willingness to engage all problems of all sociO-economic classes and all clientele within those classes. It would seem that the second alternative is the only justifiable one for such an applied professional field as social work because: (1) it suggests reliance on the very society social work serves for definition of areas of professional response; (2) it reaffirms social work's intention to resolve human problems and not per— petuate them in order to sustain a formalized, intellectu- alized body of knowledge; (3) it reminds the profession of its "applied" characteristic thus putting "pure" re- search and teaching in their proper perspective in the intellectual process. There is in each of these three reasons an anti- intellectualism, if carried too far. But then there is implied in the Institute's founding and experimentation the suggestion that professional social work has, in its development, chosen alternative number one (above) and in so doing has placed considerable value on a pro— fessional response which, while intellectually sound, was selective in its application. Thus, because of the. nature of its assignment and because of the object of its services, social work cannot risk an imbalance in 85 knowledge, skills or attitudes which society could inter- pret as deliberate to sustain the profession within a responsibility comfortable to the profession. Considering its location on a campus, attended in the main by students from the favored socio-economic classes, among a variety of teaching units engaged in teaching and research without the applied, problem solv- ing emphasis of social work, it is understandable that schools of social work would tend to copy, support, and pursue those characteristics necessary to the purely academic rigor of a campus. The problem then is one of being in (or on) a campus, but to some degree not neces— sarily of the campus; this latter has to be determined as a matter of professional purpose and perspective and should not be rigidly determined by intellectual criteria alone. The Institute, with its contrasting location in the center of the inner-city, is closely identified with its clientele in formulation and delivery of its services. The bulk of these recipients have been alienated from social welfare services, educational programs and other offerings possibly because in the development of such services method has come before client, methodology has been conceived into which recipient is somehow fitted. While such method- ology, intellectually conceived, may suffice for some pro- fessions there is every indication that comprehensive 1 .“(u o-nl M'.'-‘L$_'“-"""_ 86 social work methodology must involve the recipient, the administrator and the faculty member in a collaborative process. In other words, the implication of the Institute's approach to social and individual problem solving is that the recipient must be involved in defining the need, outlining the services and delivering services; that is, the scope, the response of the profession must reflect client participation if it is to avoid artificiality. The concerns within the profession should not reflect a preoccupation with knowledge and skills refined to meet rigid academic criteria solely but rather a concern that its response as an applied professional field reflects, in balance, the interests of academician, administrator and client in a flexible service system undergoing con- stant evaluation. This implication of the Institute's methodology would seem to be particularly relevant at the undergraduate social work level. As indicated earlier in this study, the potential for resolving the manpower crisis is greatest here because of large enrollments and increasing use of para-professionals. The challenge of implementing this is great, however, because undergraduate education remains "liberal" in emphasis, or general, while the Institute's approach has a "vocational" overtone to it. Nevertheless, in view of the employment of undergraduate degree holders 87 rE ISSUE W.O; N0. YEAR No. Pos. I Total LC C/R SCH. 1 2 25 B IS PRICE 1 P08. AUTHOR NAME (LAST, FIRST, MI.) 3_64_§l- P 39 57 Format A 35 50 54 59 77 Format B >.7 . . .. [REQQKS ./:/;.e.o.d..o.ne. .1. . Adv. Pav No. Adv. Pav Amt- 17 22 A5 51 57 0 1 4 2 0 o I 1 l L n 1 l n 1 l - Micro Abst. 300421 PUbl. Abst. only 000421 'D00422 ’D00422 PDOOA33 PDOOA34 87 and those with even less formal education, client—centered- ness must remain a constant value in the response by the profession, especially in the face of diminished knowledge and skills. Since client—centeredness is best evaluated with the assistance of client participation, schools of social work could perhaps convene advisory boards with faculty, agency and client membership; plan extensive block placements into the later undergraduate years; bring clients into classrooms and agency staff moreso than is done now. In summary, the Urban Adult Education Institute, by individualizing its education/welfare offerings, gives the recipient an investment in his immediate program and indirectly, a voice in the total Institute response. The implication is that schools of social work, certainly at the larger and less intensive undergraduate level, should similarly look to the field (both client and agency adminis- trator) for scope of professional response which is client- centered and not methodologically rigid. Without such client relevancy, the professional response is in danger of becoming highly intellectualized and risks the accu— sation of depending on client problems for survival. Social Work and Allied Helping7Professions The discussion just concluded essentially acknowledges the considerable disparity between a campus-oriented social 88 work methodology and a client—oriented approach. This disparity was summarized as "on the campus but to an uncertain degree not of the campus," a problem of balance especially critical for an applied field such as social work. A similar disparity can be found in this second long-standing social work problem, the relationship of this profession to other, closely related behavioral sciences. A well-established campus pattern is in con- siderable distinction from a field operation; lying be- hind the former is an objective too often in contradiction with the problem-solving function of the latter. As with the first discussion, a fundamental implication of the Institute's methodology has bearing here also. The well-established campus pattern referred to is of course the department/school plan around which the typi— cal college or university is organized. Traditionally this is sound organization: it makes ongoing research the easily—identifiable responsibility of specific departments; it centralizes the teaching function of specific discipline and again fixes responsibility for quality therein; it en- hances the administration of the large or small campus by providing ready-made channels for decentralization; in summary, such organization allows for an effective balance between one's responsibilities to his campus and to his discipline. 89 At the same time such a structure reflects and favors the intellectualized, research/teaching function of the "pure" or basic sciences, emphasizing their different areas of expertise, compartmentalizing knowl- edge and skills, saying little about a synthesis of such research or expertise across disciplines. By providing the student with a "major" field of study, such an organization also disallows him a whole array of other majors, some quite closely related. The emphasis then is on identification of a student as a major in a specific academic field, the expectations of which are that he will remain so. Schools of social work are part of this pattern and have these same expectations, including a traditionally emphasized masters program to further delineate the field through refined skills and advanced knowledge. As such the profession has been both on and of the campus although there is considerable doubt that the human and societal problems it engages can besx>artificially compartmentalized. The growing doubt is derived from the larger number of problems the profession has not reached as evidence by the need for innovative agencies like the Institute and the alienated clientele it is working with. The implication for schools of social work from the Institute's methodology, then, lies in.its development and use of a framework, the "educational sciences," within 90 which is provided a reasonably sound means for the inter- disciplinary collaboration its problem areas demand. In this use, the Institute emphasizes its client-centered, problem-oriented philosophy which acknowledges in effect that neither clients nor their problems can be compart- mentalized, that an applied behavioral science to be effective must differ in practice from the campus struc— ture which provided its training. As such, the "educational sciences" are an effort to break down the barriers between the various behavioral sciences which on campus are re- inforced and built higher. This implication is particularly significant for undergraduates and para-professionals. If areas of speciali- zation are taught as part of a wider curriculum which in— cludes a format for integrating social work expertise with other behavioral sciences, professional identity will be enhanced; the student will not confront the disparity earlier referred to upon entering employment but will enter the field as an inter—disciplined team member with a speci- fic area of competence. He will know that his competence depends on an integrated base of additional competencies for its effectiveness. The Institute is saying in its methodology that neither social work nor any behavioral science has a "corner on human problems." It conducts rigorous in— service training classes, all of them covering the 91 "educational sciences," in an effort to break down the campus-enforced and societal-encouraged tags of speciali- zation which are of greater status value and support to the student and worker than meaningful and therapeutic to the client. Use of Social Work Staff It is fitting that the discussion of the problem of staff usage follow the two previous sections because each of those has within it implications for staff preparation. At issue here is the third major implication for social work education of the Institute's methodology: employment of staff having a variety of competencies, both qualitative and theoretical, in tasks which best utilize their abili— ties. Put andther way, if curricula in schools of social work reflect a client-centeredness and problem—orientation and remain academically sound, a balance between "on and of the campus" will have been struck, out of which the field can expect workers trained to tasks and for clients, not solely to rigid academic criteria. Such balanced training is so because it includes both preparation and placement. Students, regardless of the rigid and often rejecting intellectual criteria schools now use, would be trained within the total strengths they possess with the certainty that explicit job distinctions in the field can utilize them effectively. Such training by schools is as student-centered as it is client-centered. 92 ‘The key to such balanced education is the uncover- ing of what the "educational sciences" calls cognitive style. This comprehensive analysis of the social work student's strengths is considerably more equitable than the solely intellectual evaluation schools now accept or reject applicants by. The traditional use of this latter may explain to a large degree the profession's inability to reach the large, lower class (so-called) group who so desperately need welfare services. It may explain also why workers successful in the field because of qualities of empathy and compassion fail on campus where mastery of theoretical concepts eludes them. This long-standing problem, of preparing social work students in one theoretical area for utilization in a field demanding another qualitative dimension, was again brought to light in a recent report to Michigan State Uni- versity's social work faculty. Dated January 27, 1969, the report from the director of the school, Dr. Gwen Andrew, described the results of the Fall 1968 College Qualifi— cation Tests the university administers to all incoming freshmen. The memorandum quotes tables of figures and test results and concludes that these tests show that with the exception of one other department (Health, Physical Education and Recreation) no other teaching unit on the campus had prospective enrollees with lower median scores on the C.Q.T. than did Social Work. 93 Page 2 of this unpublished, internally-circulated memorandum refers to "our intellectually limited under- graduates," a description undoubtedly warranted by the intellectually oriented C,Q.T. evaluations. What have not been discussed are fundamental questions like: do such tests reveal all of the potential of the social work undergraduate; are such intelligence measures apprOpriate at a time of increasing use of the para-professional; do not such tests reinforce the traditional policy of putting all students through an intellectual process despite the need for other traits by the field; are not such measures by themselves belittling of some student strengths and hence, in violation of the client-centeredness, problem- oriented goals we try to teach. Reliance on such one-dimensional testing devices commit schools to an "on the campus and fully of the campus" posture when the reality of staff usage and client demand in this applied field calls for recognition of and develop- ment of a wider variety of student abilities appropriately matched to specific tasks; again, schools coming to grips with their physical presence "on" a campus but to some degree to be determined, not wholly "of" the campus. Cognitive style, the fifth stratum, with its three supporting strata within the educational sciences (as discussed earlier) would seem to be a far more meaningful device by which to identify student strengths employable 9A in a distinctive social work task. Although this device needs more research and more accurate instrumentation, the implication from the Institute is that it makes better use of staff of all levels of competence and strengthens and validates the use of the para-professional. Practically speaking, schools of social work would not only prepare and place their own students more mean- ingfully but also contribute their intellectual rigor to in-service programs with agencies. This collaboration with the field would be consistent with that described in the first two sections of this chapter where it was seen that agencies (administrators and clients) can significantly contribute to the definition of social work's response and to curricula for training inter- disciplinarians. Summary of Implications for Undergraduate Social Work Education The broad implication from the Institute for schools of social work at particularly the burgeoning undergraduate level is that field participation is needed if schools are to successfully straddle campus and field, if a balance is to be maintained among the knowledge, skills and attitudes quotients of their curricula. Without field (i.e., administrator and client) participation, the danger is in the direction of a highly intellectual curriculum reflect- ing the school's identification solely with the campus. 95 Such a curriculum will reject both student and client in its narrowness. The Institute, with its workable although experi- mental "educational sciences" framework, typifies the all-inclusiveness needed to resolve complex social and individual problems. The task then is to incorporate the broad outreach and methodology of the Institute with the intellectual rigor of the campus. Because only the latter tends to be recognized and developed by schools in a campus setting and because the professional as a result addresses its expertise to a narrower than wider clientele, the Insti- tute is attempting to fill an inexcusable vacuum. It can in some ways be regarded as a school of social work be- cause of the intensive in-service training it conducts for para-professionals, the non-college unskilled group potentially a solution to the manpower problem. This task might best be accomplished by devising a number of curriculum "tracks" at undergraduate schools. In so doing (1) the strengths of all social work majors could be built upon, the cognitive styles developed rather than shunted through the purely intellectual theoretical track; (2) the tasks to which the various track-graduates would be assigned in employment would be reinforced in identity; (3) a clearer distinction would follow between those capable in administration/p0licy—setting areas 96 (who might be eligible for masters' training) and those skilled and suited for a career of client-centered case— work (a major advantage over the present system of "pro- moting" to administration those who show real results with clients); (A) the track system would by its nature involve the field (that is, client and administrator) much more closely in curriculum planning because such planning is based on flexibility and on—going evaluation. Thus as broad and unpredictable as human problems and needs are, they cannot be met by schools limited to a rigid program tied solely to intellectual achievement. Implications for Further Research Because of the comparative newness of the Institute and the experimental nature of its program, formulated as it is around the innovative "educational sciences" guide- lines, a study such as this one cannot go too far before an evaluation of the efficacy of this program becomes imperative. The implications as discussed so far in this chapter are valid.ones in that they acknowledge long— standing social work problems which professional social work has been unable to resolve and which demand the innovative approach of the Institute. In that sense the, Institute is practicing a kind of "crisis intervention"; it is an expression of society's desperate concern to reach a traditionally hard-to-reach clientele before urban unrest becomes unmanageable. 97 Future planning as it attempts to go beyond merely acknowledging long-standing professional problems should become preventive in nature. To become so, Institute research must include follow-up studies on the recipient of the Institute's program. It should attempt to find out how adequate the training is for full-time employ- ment, for community awareness and participation. Has the Institute's program brought about a meaningful be- havior modification? Does the individual substantially contribute to societal stability through clearer role identification as a parent, as an employee? Further research should include an evaluation of the relationship of the Institute to other societal help- ing institutions. Does the Institute's program support existing physical and mental health agencies, can finan- cial assistance programs include referral to and train- ing by the Institute as a means of minimizing long-term dependence on such assistance? Most important how can the Institute combine with existing educational insti- tutions of all levels to enhance adult education or extension programs? This latter and the need for preventive social work suggests further research toward establishing on-campus laboratory models with schools of social work. To the undergraduate, an exposure not only to actual clientele but also to innovative methodology suited to reaching 98 them would be a device to develop skills at that level and ultimately an attitude of out-reach. Such laboratory work would enhance the various tracks proposed earlier and thus facilitate the use of the cognitive style stratum. Finally the Institute in conjunction with schools of social work should continue to refine the testing pro- cedures of the Institute. Earlier identification of the cognitive style of both the learner and para-professional and more accurate measurement of progress made by each would enable schools to identify with validity the strengths of their undergraduate majors, place them in a curriculum track building those strengths and place them in the field in a task they can handle. BIBLIOGRAPHY Aldridge, Gordon J. and McGrath, Earl J. Liberal Edu- cation and Social Work. New York: Institute of Higher Education, Teachers College Press, 1965. Bisno, Herbert. The Place of the Undergraduate Curriculum in Social Work Education. New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1959. Boehm, Werner. Objectives of the Social Work Curriculum of the Future. New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1959- Bucklew, Reba. "An Evaluation of Seventeen Years of Undergraduate Social Work Education at Texas Woman's University." Social Work Education, XI (April 1963), 6-7. Contemporary Education for Social Work in the United States. New York: Council on Social Work Edu- cation, 1966. Cox, Cordelia. "Considerations in Undergraduate Social Welfare Education as Seen at the Annual Meeting." Social Work Education, XI (April 1963), 6-7. Feldstein, Donald. Community College and Other Associate Degree Programs for Social Welfare Areas. New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1968. Friedsam, Hiram. "Undergraduate Education for Social Wgrk." Social Work Education, XII (June 196A), 7-9, 1 . Goode, William J. and Hatt, Paul K. Methods in Social Research. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1952. Harrison, Carole. "The Relationship of an Agency Field Experience to Undergraduate Classroom Learning." Social Work Education, XI (December 1963), 8-9. 99 lOO Laughton, Charles W. "Multiple Objectives in Undergraduate Social Welfare Programs: Problems and Issues." Journal of Education for Social Work, IV (Fall 1968), A3. Matson, Margaret E. Field Experience in Undergraduate Programs in Social Welfare. New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1967. Merle, Sherman and Pins, Arnulf. "Study of Research Needs in Undergraduate Programs in Social Welfare." Social Work Education Reporter, XIII (September 1965). Observations on Undergraduate Social Welfare Education. New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1966. Pins, Arnulf. An Overview of Undergraduate Education in Social Welfare, New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1968. Pohek, Marguerite V. The Teacher's Compendium. New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1966. Polansky, Norman A. (ed.) Social Work Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960. Reiff, Robert and Riessman, Frank. The Indigenous Non- professional. New York: Behavioral Publications, Inc., 1965. Social Welfare Content in Undergraduate Education: A Guide to Suggested Content,Le§rningExperiences and Organization. New York: Council of Social Work Education, 1962. Spencer, Sue. "The Director of a Graduate School of Social Work Looks at Undergraduate Education." Social Work Education, XII (April 196A), 6-10. . "Statistics on Undergraduate Social Welfare." Social Work Education, XII (December 196A), A. Survey of Undergraduate Programs in Social Welfare. New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1967. The Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Education. Social Work Education, XI (June 1963), 6-7. Undergraduate Programs in Social Welfare. New York: Council on Social Work Education, 1967. 101 Witte, Ernest. "The Purposes of Undergraduate Education for Social Welfare." Journal of Education for Social Work, I (Fall 1965), 53. Wittman, Milton. "Meeting the Challenge of Change: New Developments in Social Work Practice and Education." Journal of Education for Social Work, III (Fall 1967i, 90. ku- 'I "'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII[IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE’