Article 2009

An examination of canadian social work program curriculum and the addiction core competencies

Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions
Journal · Vol. 9 · Issue 4 · pp. 400-413
Abstract

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, in conjunction with key Canadian stakeholders, has developed a guideline outlining 18 core competencies for those working with clients with addiction issues. The curriculum of Canada’s 35 faculties and schools of social work were examined using the core competencies to determine the extent of addiction education received by undergraduate and graduate social work students. All social work addiction courses were elective offerings, although faculty teaching in this area did express a desire to shift the focus of addiction studies away from elective to core course offerings. The majority of competency- based education at the faculties and schools of social work is taught at a generalist level, and graduate schools of social work teach fewer core addiction competencies than undergraduate. Although competency-based education is generally viewed positively and adopted at faculties and schools of social work, only one third of addiction courses matched with the 18 core competencies developed through the auspices of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. © 2009, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Competencies Canada Addiction education

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Western University, London, ON, Canada
Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
References 10 References
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