Professional education and private practice: is there a disconnect?

This article summarizes results of a national study conducted to evaluate the private practice career intentions of MSW graduate student members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (n = 271), the extent to which these students are being prepared for private practice by the graduate schools, and the views of the graduate deans (n = 104) and macro practice (n = 152) and clinical (n = 278) members of NASW about private practice and social work education. An analysis of mailed questionnaire responses from these stakeholding groups suggests a striking disconnect between practice and education. Although a majority of graduate students plan to enter private practice, most on a full-time basis, graduate schools do not teach content specific to private practice careers, and many faculty even discourage the discussion of private practice career aspirations. On the other hand, a majority of NASW members, whether clinical or macro social workers, expected graduate schools to begin educating students for private practice. It is proposed that the labor force transition from the public to the private sector has resulted in the bifurcation of social work education. Implications for social work practice are discussed; short- and long-term initiatives for matching social work education to social work practice are proposed.