Our Bachelor of Social Work program has earned accreditation status from CASWE 

Through an interdisciplinary curriculum grounded in social justice, human rights, and cultural awareness, you will develop a strong foundation of clinical knowledge, critical thinking skills, and social responsibility. You will explore a range of contemporary themes connected to social work from across disciplines in your first two years. Students who qualify for the professional years (years 3 and 4) will focus on the integration of social work theory and practice including a minimum of 700 hours of supervised field placement.

The Trent Advantage

• Benefit from more than 700 hours of hands-on supervised field placement in the professional years program.
• Gain valuable experience working with mental health associations, sexual assault centres, community counselling, shelters, social services and more
• Small classes in the professional years allow for intimate and in-depth learning and knowledge exchange 
• Develop the vision, knowledge, and skills necessary for ethical practice in the field
• Work along-side renowned leaders and researchers in the field, including award winning faculty
• Graduate from an accredited social work program that qualifies you for success in your chosen social work career path

School of Social Work Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

Mission Statement: Approved: December 19, 2023

Through a transformative curriculum grounded in social justice, decolonization, Indigenization and cultural humility, anti-racism, human rights, intersectional analysis, environmental, social, and economic sustainability, and critical perspectives on social welfare, Trent’s social work students develop a strong foundation of direct practice, critical thinking skills, leadership, and social responsibility. Our vision is to produce highly qualified, ethical social workers are passionate, practical, prepared, and professionalby teaching them various theoretical approaches, re-search methods, critical thinking skills, and applied practice. As evidence of this overarching objective, successful graduates from the Bachelor of Social Work program at Trent will: 

• Understand broad political, ethical, economic, environmental justice and policy debatesimpacting the social work profession and practice. 
• Identify and analyze examples of cultural, economic, environmental, and socialinjustices in Canada and internationally. 
• Be critically informed advocates for social, cultural, environmental, and economicjustice who utilize critical theoretical frameworks to work towards emancipatory change systems of oppression, poverty, colonization, racism, exclusion, isolation, violence, and trauma. 
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of the development of the modern welfare state,Canadian social policies that address inequity and other social problems, and institutional structures that contribute to or ameliorate inequity. 
• Become aware of different worldviews that inform social work practice and re-search(e.g., Indigenous, (post)positivist, interpretivist and transformative). 
• Be able to critically evaluate social and scientific research in service of social workpractice. 
• Be informed ‘consumers’ of research knowledge and understand, design, andpotentially conduct research using a variety of methodologies/ approaches (e.g., Indigenous, statistical, transformative research, program evaluation, etc.). 
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the following concepts and their application to the practice of the social work profession: culture; ethnicity; class; gender; Indigeneity; identity and social location; dignity; diversity; equity; and oppression/privilege. 
• Be able to work collectively with and advocate on behalf of marginalized populations (e.g., Indigenous, Black, other racialized, Queer, Francophone Ontarians, (dis)abled, aging and economically marginalized peoples), with complex barriers to accessing justice, housing, and mental well-being supports. 
• Develop the ability to engage and communicate effectively in individual, family, group,and community interactions. 
• Demonstrate necessary professional oral and written communication skills.
• Develop and demonstrate critical self-reflexive knowledge and skills.
• Develop assessment, intervention, and leadership skills, regarding individual, family,group, and community interaction. 

You will develop a strong foundation of clinical knowledge, critical thinking skills, and social responsibility. You will explore a range of contemporary themes connected to social work from across disciplines in your first two years. Students who qualify for the professional years (years 3 and 4) will focus on the integration of social work theory and practice including a minimum of 700 hours of supervised field placement.

TRC Call to Action # 1

We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to commit to reducing the number of Aboriginal children in care by: 

1. Monitoring and assessing neglect investigations
2. Providing adequate resources to enable Aboriginal communities and child-welfare organizations to keep Aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so, and to keep children in culturally appropriate environments, regardless of where they reside.
3. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the history and impacts of residential schools.
4. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing.
5. Requiring that all child-welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers.

Mandatory Course: yes (2)

SWRK-3004H: Social Work and Indigenous Perspectives

Examines the history of colonialism, multigenerational trauma, anti-racist practice, strengths of Indigenous cultures, and relevant current and traditional healing modalities. Examines structural inequities including institutional, social, historic, and economic systems and bridges traditional Indigenous cultural teachings with evidenced-based research in order to provide culturally safe and appropriate care.

Other Mandatory Courses:

Indigenous content is an intrinsic part of every course, in content and in some courses in pedagogy.

SWRK4001 Feminist informed trauma: 

Discusses the effects of intergenerational trauma of Indigenous peoples and social work intervention to address it.

SWRK4006 Social Work with Families: 

Teaches interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and practice approaches that are relevant for working with the contemporary family in all its forms, including Bowen, systems, feminist, structural, narrative, brief therapy, and Indigenous approaches. Develops family practice skills through the use of lectures, readings, class discussions/exercises, and interactive role play experiences. Prerequisite: 65% or higher in SWRK 4002H. Excludes SWRK 3103H.

Elective Courses

SWRK-3101H: Social Work and Aging

Explores and critically assesses social work theories on aging, the elderly in Canada, the impact of oppression on the aging process, and current (as well as developing) gerontological social work practices. Investigates a range of perspectives on aging including life span theory, feminist approaches, critical race perspectives, and Indigenous knowledge(s).

SWRK3102 Anti-Oppressive Child Welfare: 

Addresses overrepresentation of Indigenous children in child welfare, history of social work profession with Indigenous families and decolonizing ways of addressing child and family needs.

SWRK3105 Queering Social Work: 

Provides an overview of queer history, presence/ absence (exclusion of lesbians, trans, Indigenous, polysexual, and intersex individuals), theories, issues, liberation, resistance, and victories. Emphasis on sexual/ gender diversity, privilege, and identity(ies). Support of queer persons and queer-straight alliances, as well as the protection and growth of queer communities, will be explored. Prerequisite: Admission to the BSW professional years or permission of director

Learning Outcomes as part of placements

• Practice Objective 2: REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
  • Identify how various forms of knowledge (e.g., scientific, intuitive, authoritative, land-based, Indigenous, experiential, lived experience) contribute to your practice.
• Practice Objective 4: EQUITY, DIVERSITY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
  • Recognize and challenge how social work practitioners and the profession have been complicit in and maintain historical and current expressions of colonial violence and injustice and the ways that social work can be allies in promoting reconciliation.
• 4.1 MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS
  • Develop the knowledge and skills required to recognize and resist all forms of racism, particularly Anti-Indigenous, Anti-Black, and Anti-Asian racism, with attention to issues of power and positionality.
  • Solicit and incorporate Indigenous knowledge, wisdom, and Reports in the development of your professional practice.
  • Develop an understanding of the history of colonialism and oppression of Indigenous peoples in Canada, colonial-settler relationships, the impact of the residential school system and other potential sources of intergenerational trauma on Indigenous service users.

Faculty of Social Work Commitment to Call to Action 1 # 3, 4 and 5: 3 out of 3 = 100%

3	History and impact of residential schools (theory)
	Yes. See mandatory course description
4	Potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing (practice)
	Yes. See mandatory course description
5	All child welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers
	Yes. See mandatory course description

Compliance with CASWE/ACFTS Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change

At the May 27th, 2017 Board meeting, the Board of Directors of CASWE-ACFTS committed to ensuring that social work education in Canada contributes to transforming Canada’s colonial reality and approved a “Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change”. “This is an important step in engaging social work education in the reconciliation process and supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action” affirms CASWE-ACFTS President, Dr. Susan Cadel.Of the 12 actions articulated in the “Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change, the following two are directed at Schools of Social Work

7	Will encourage institutional members to post a territorial acknowledgement on their School’s website and post a link to the CAUT guide to territorial acknowledgement on the CASWE-ACFTS website to assist Schools with this task
	Trent University respectfully acknowledges it is located on the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg. We offer our gratitude to First Peoples for their care for, and teachings about, our earth and our relations. May we honour those teachings.Located on School of Social Work – Home Page and Trent University – Home Page
8	Will encourage and support Canadian schools of social work in revising mission statements, governance processes, curriculum, and pedagogy in ways that both advance the TRC recommendations and the overall indigenization of social work education
	Not specifically addressed.

NOTE: All content has been submitted to the respective faculty for validation to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. The Trent University School of Social Work reviewed and approved the document. Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog Lead Researcher, Julia Dubé