Promoting Self-Awareness: An Undergraduate In-Class Activity and Its Value

Abstract

ABSTRACT Self-awareness is important in social work education because it promotes knowledge, skill, and value development. However, little is written about the ways in which educators facilitate this process. A project was undertaken to design a new self-awareness assignment (SAA) and examine its value. The SAA’s development, which relies on role-plays, is described. Results from an exploratory qualitative study that examined the value of the SAA on 80 undergraduate social work students’ knowledge and skills is presented. The results suggest the SAA is a positive teaching strategy for promoting students’ knowledge and skills development. Implications for social work education are discussed.