Social Work Capstone Paper

When pursuing a degree in social work, one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences within the degree aspect is the capstone project. The capstone is a multi-integrative assignment that is structure to provide social work students with the opportunity to apply their academic, professional and personal experience in the field through the application of a project. With allowing students to master the knowledge, skills, values, and ethics needed for effective social work practice, the capstone project also provide a development to really contribute in the knowledge of the profession. All social work capstone projects encourage students to unite their work to community issues and problems through learning, observations and internship. This paper examines the values, policy, conceptual framework, group

work perspective, refection on the panel presentation, recommendation for the capstone project, personal experience and future area of interest in social work.
Values
In comparing the social work paradigm with parental paradigm and the American society, one would say that we all have a duty to be the best citizens that we can be.

This includes helping those who are in need as well as to fulfill roles in society. The social work paradigm includes values such as service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationship, integrity and competence (NASW, 2008). The main mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and to help everyone to meet their needs by using all of the social work values. The central attention to social work is the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living. Therefore, as social workers we must help our clients overcome environmental forces by providing them with the resources that this country has to offer. Social workers have a duty to strive to end discrimination and other forms of injustices through “direct practice, community organizing, supervision, consultation administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy development and implementation, education, and research and evaluation” (NASW,

2008).
A person parental paradigm is how they were raised by their parents or loved ones growing up. While growing up, I have learned to help my family and friends who were in need. This has contributed to my need to help those in a larger population. This is why I want to be a social worker so that I can contribute to a greater society and help those in need. In addition, my parental paradigm and the social work paradigms are smaller the overall American society particularly social values in chapter 5 of the book “The Policy-Based Profession.” Major U.S values have lead people to support and oppose various responses to social problems that Americans face everyday. A sociologist Robin Williams identifies fifteen major values in the U.S society. They are Achievement and success, Activity and Work, Moral Orientation, Humanitarian Mores, Efficiency and Practicality, progress, material comfort, equality, freedom, External conformity, science and secular rationality, nationalism-patriotism, democracy, individual personality and racism, sexism, and related group superiority themes (Popple & Leighninger, 2009).
In contrasting to the social work paradigm and parental paradigm, one can see that the fifteen United States social values are broad. We as Americans strive to achieve more than what a person value is striving to achieve or what a profession, like social work is saying that we must achieve. In order for America to achieve its values and for every Americans to life a full life, we must do all we can to follow the fifteen values that Williams identifies. Even through we may not fully achieve these values, we must work had as Americans to advocate for our rights and the rights of others when necessary.