Practicum Companion Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 5 and 6 of The Practicum Companion introduced some very good concepts and topics. Chapter 5 was titled Organizational Context. The main points touched on chapter 5 were the importance of organizational knowledge and how most of our social work practice takes place within the parameters of an agency’s mission and philosophy. The chapter also touched on internal elements of an organization and the types of organizations out there such as governmental (public) organizations, for-profit organizations, and nonprofit organizations. The chapter also discussed the various agency sizes; these sizes included large agencies, small agencies, and management in agencies. Finally the chapter discussed the role of social work within an organization. They stressed that within social work settings, social work can be classified as primary …show more content…

From chapter 5 the chapter discussed the importance of organizational knowledge and how most social work practice takes place within the parameters of an agency’s mission philosophy, values, communication structure, and resources. This is definitely one factor that I will use in my service learning and practicum at mesa middle school. Working at a middle school is different than working at other agencies. I must keep this in mind and understand what my middle schools mission and values are because this will affect my work at the school. From chapter 6 the chapter discussed how to handle conflict with clients. Working at a middle school means there is the possibility that I will encounter some clients who I can potentially have conflict with. The chapter lays out some instructions and rules to keep in mind when dealing with this possible issue. One of the tips they give us is to do an all in depth examination of our own personal beliefs and our commitment to our social work values to evaluate the