The partnership between the Romanian Studies Program and Veritas has provided many Social Work seniors (and some juniors) with the opportunity to do an international practicum that fits the requirements of the Council on Social Work Education. Students work with Romanian social workers on the Veritas team, and are supervised by a member of the RSP staff who has an MSW and can help the student relate what he or she is learning in Romania to social work practice in the US. Click here (.pdf) for a detailed description of an international social work practicum in Sighsioara.
Social Work Seminar (1 or 2 credits)
Social Work Seminar is generally taken concurrently with a social work practicum. It provides students with information particular to an international practicum: the history of social work in Romania, the history of the Roma and national strategies for overcoming their marginalization, cross-cultural variations on Social Work ethics and values, the importance of an anti-oppressive model when working internationally, international conventions that provide a framework for human rights and basic service provision, the impact of globalization as seen in problems such as migration and human trafficking, the distinction between aid and development, the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Seminar also covers practical topics such as establishing a learning contract, making good use of supervision, doing an agency analysis, carrying out strengths-based assessments, making appropriate interventions. Students are expected to contribute observations, insights and questions from their practicum experience to class discussions. Readings and/or written assignments are often established by each student’s home institution.