Findings from a national evaluation of social work field education programs in Liberia, West Africa

Abstract

Program evaluation is an integral component of social work field education and continuous social work programmatic improvement. To conduct an inaugural national survey of social work field education programs in Liberia, West Africa, Made in Africa Evaluation (MAE) was used to design and implement a national evaluation of social work field education programs. The evaluation was led by and implemented with Liberian social work faculty and staff. Thirty-six field supervisors completed a quantitative survey. Results were used to assist programs identify strengths and areas for improvement. The MAE approach guided analysis and discussion of evaluation results. Findings revealed an emerging credentialed and experienced pool of field supervisors with high exposure and endorsement of human rights concepts, which was a strength. Field agencies were clustered in the city center of Montserrado County, the county seat for Monrovia-Liberia’s capital. Field agencies’ missions and services aligned with health, education, and gender equality sustainable development goals. Field agency supervisors provided few opportunities for students to practice macro based developmental social work activities such as advocacy and community work, an area identified as needing improvement. Challenges included Liberian social work faculty’s lack of experience in conducting evaluation research, insufficient access to scholarly databases to obtain research articles, and expensive data management platforms. Collaboration was recommended as a strategy to build evaluation capacity. 

How to reference using ASWNet style:

Tuggle, F., Banks, S. and Gbessage, S. (2023). Findings from a national evaluation of social work field education programs in Liberia, West Africa.  African Journal of Social Work, 13(6), 273-284. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v13i6.1

Visit journal website: https://ajsw.africasocialwork.net