• The $645,000 grant will be shared among social work programs at three American colleges/universities
• The "Transatlantic Alliance for Creating a New Social Services Practice" was the only social work program approved for funding
  

Providence, RI -- Providence College's Department of Social Work has been awarded a shared grant of $645,000 that will provide faculty and students with the opportunity to study their field in Europe. The three-year grant, which is funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education and the European Commission (E.C.), will be evenly divided among Providence College; Barry University, a college operated by Dominican sisters in Miami, Fla.; and the University of Maine at Orono.

Providence College was one of 13 applicants out of a field of 56 that received grant funding from FIPSE for fiscal year 2005. The Transatlantic Alliance for Creating a New Social Services Practice was the only social work application that was approved. FIPSE, a program of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education, provides federal funds to promote U.S.-European Union educational partnerships.  

Dr. Susan Griffith, assistant professor of social work and the initiator of the Providence College application, said that all of the department's faculty members and social work majors will be eligible to take part in the grant project. Participants will have the option of attending one of three foreign universities - Plantijn Hogeschool in Antwerp, Belgium; the Peter Sabroe Seminariet in Aarhus, Denmark; and Escoles Universitaries in Catalunya, Spain.

Beginning with the current semester and continuing through the duration of the grant, each faculty member in the department is able to spend a week visiting one of the universities, attending social work classes, engaging in discussions with university professors, and delivering presentations on social work methods in the United States.

Similar to faculty -- but in a far more extensive manner -- students will have an opportunity to learn the different approaches social workers take in America and Europe. Social work majors interested in studying abroad during their junior year can request placement in the program to gain experience and further their knowledge and practice in the field, Dr. Griffith said. Those selected will spend a semester studying at one of the universities while working approximately 30 hours a week at a social work agency.

The program will instill in both faculty and students a greater understanding of and appreciation for the social work profession in Europe, noted Dr. Griffith. She said many social work professionals in the United States are adept at models of assessment and outcome evaluation, while the European practice model utilizes group practice and milieu intervention.

For students interested in becoming social workers, gaining practical experience abroad can enrich their knowledge of the field and better prepare them for the global world, explained Dr. Griffith. "This type of program will broaden their perspective from a local and national level to an international and global level. It will introduce them to new ways of answering social problems," she said.

Providence College's participation in the grant is an outgrowth of the international social work presentations organized by Dr. Griffith and held each spring at the College. Social workers from Denmark, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Spain have shared their experiences and issues of concern in their country. This year, the lead representative from Plantijn Hogeschool in Belgium will attend the international social work presentation at the College in April. Social workers from The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Germany will be speaking.

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