Evaluation, Research & Implementation
Evaluation and research have been integral to CalSWEC since its inception. Among other areas, CalSWEC assesses:
- How well social work schools prepare students for the profession,
- The factors affecting the retention of these specially trained graduates in the workforce, and
- Graduates’ views of their preparation in the classroom and in the field.
It also awards grants to empirically based curriculum development projects designed to improve practice and teaching through agency-based research.
CalSWEC’s partners are involved in efforts to integrate empirical evidence into the practices of staff working in the human services—or evidence-based practice. A national leader in evaluation of in-service training in the human services, CalSWEC also provides leadership for the evaluation of the California Common Core Curricula.
CalSWEC hosts and co-sponsors statewide and national events and symposia related to evaluation, including the National Human Services Training Evaluation Symposium (NHSTES) and the Leadership Symposia on Evidence-Based Practice.