SWK 4514H – Research for Practice with Children and their Families - Required

This course focuses on the application of research methods to understand and to evaluate practice with Children and their Families (CTF). It builds on the first-year course, SWK 4510H Research for Evidence-Based Practice through utilizing an evidence-based approach to explore issues relevant to CTF and to identify best practices. Emphasis will be placed on research and evaluation approaches that are commonly applied in child and family settings. These include exploring program logic and program evaluation models, identifying, constructing, critiquing and utilizing outcomes in CTF practice. Single system evaluation of practice, quality assurance and improvement models will also be explored. Students will be expected to demonstrate how one or more of these approaches help them to identify effective interventions within CTF practice. It is hoped that students will be able to use some of the issues identified in the companion course, Contemporary Issues in Working with Children and their Families, as a context for demonstrating how these research and evaluation models can address effectiveness issues.