Abstract
Institutions of higher education have embraced online formats as a new form of teaching in order to reach more students. Like other disciplines, social work pedagogy has embraced the use of online technology in higher education. As a professional and ethical responsibility, it is imperative that social work online courses are of high quality and that they meet the stated objectives. The study presented here describes students' perceptions and experiences in online and in-classroom sections in the Theories and Practice with Communities and Agencies course at a large public university in Southeastern USA. A survey was administered to the students at the end of the semester. Qualitative themes show that method of instruction as it related to course content, comfort with the level of instruction, and role of instructor in online courses affected students' perceptions of both the course and method of instruction. Discussions are directed toward improving online instruction in social work education.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 121-134 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Social Work Education |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2014 |
Keywords
- Community Practice
- Instructor Role
- MSW Students
- Online Teaching
- Technology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)