SWK 627

Program Evaluation

SWK 501, SWK 502, SWK 503, SWK 504, SWK 505, SWK 506, SWK 507, SWK 508, SWK 509, and SWK 510; or permission of the program; or advanced standing admission. This course provides students with an understanding of the principles of program evaluation and teaches students the techniques necessary to evaluate social work programs. In the course, students will plan and lay out qualitative and quantitative strategies for program evaluation of a selected social work program. Students will have an opportunity to organize their evaluation plans, including research design, data collection instruments, and data analysis schemes. While the course will present theoretical principles of program evaluation, it will focus on the practical application of program evaluation techniques in social work and other areas of human services. The course materials will include recently conducted evaluation studies for students' review and discussion of methodological merits and significance for the advancement of program effectiveness and efficiency. This course will prepare students to generate evaluation questions/hypotheses concerning programs familiar to them and to plan and conduct evaluations that contribute to evidenced based practice. In this course, students will engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice and will evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.

Units: 3.0