CAPSTONE ASSIGNMENT-GROUP FACILITATION RESEARCH– ASSIGNMENT: (Professional Association Experience)

Due: November 20, 2023

Professional Association Experience and Analysis
Select a social work/social welfare professional association that interests you, attend a meeting of that organization, and write a (5-7) page paper analyzing your experience utilizing the outline below.

The primary objective of this assignment is to enhance your knowledge, experience, appreciation, and critical thinking about the role of professional associations as a significant component of your chosen profession and a potentially supportive community for your ongoing development. Visualizing these associations not as a bureaucratic organization, but as groups designed to support and enhance one’s life work, can be a valuable frame of reference for the new professional. Given today’s climate, social workers need one another’s support to keep up with the demands, limited resources, and frequent burnout. Professional associations provide one vehicle for developing such connections.

Use the outline below and respond to each topic heading. Be sure to incorporate extensive, relevant course literature. Linking your experience to course literature and discussions is a critical part of this assignment.

Assignment Outline:
Part One:
Viewing the association meeting through the lens of a group worker, please respond to the following items:

    Name of Organization
    Date, time, and length of the meeting
    Place of meeting
    Participants’ number, professions, demographics (age, race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic class, disabilities) and assigned roles.
    Type of group and purpose(s) of the meeting
    A brief summary of the content and structure of the meeting
    Assessment of the properties of the group (atmosphere, cohesion, leadership, participation patterns, communication patterns, decision making processes, sociometric patterns, etc.)
    The therapeutic/helping factors were evidenced in the meeting. Identify how these factors were demonstrated in the meeting.
    Clarity and effectiveness of purpose and the use of time.
    Assessment of the group stages of development at each level (use Garland, Jones, and Kolodny’s Five Stage Model of Group Development) and cite examples to support your assessment.

Part Two:
Reflect upon the potential value and influence of this group/association on you and your personal/professional aspirations. Consider and respond to the following:

    How did you feel as an attendee at the meeting?
    What aspects of the meeting did you like?
    What suggestions for improvement would you make?

Organization Examples: National Association of Social Work (NASW), National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW), Association of Social Work Licensure Boards (ASWLB), Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), National Association of Hispanic and Latino Social Workers (NAHLSW), the Maryland Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and the Maryland Social Work Student Network.