The purpose of social work, a profession dedicated to helping individuals, families, and communities, is to promote and enhance human and community well-being. This involves the quest for social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of poverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally.
The mission of the Program
The DI Social Work program aims to develop a new generation of professional Social Work practitioners and researchers to respond to the needs and well-being of the local and regional populations, promote community development programs, and improve the quality of life of residents of Qatar and the broader region with specific attention to those who are vulnerable, disadvantaged or marginalized. It also prepares graduates for community leadership and to contribute to the knowledge base for the profession.
Goals of the Program
The Social Work program seeks to achieve the following main goals:
1. Develop an advanced social work graduate program in Qatar and the Arab World to meet complex contemporary challenges.
2. Develop human resources suitable for the changing demography of Qatar and the Arab World.
3. Produce cohorts of community leaders and advocates to respond to the emerging socio-economic challenges in Qatar and the Arab World.
4. Provide social work and research knowledge and skills to promote and advance the well-being of individuals and families, especially those from disadvantaged communities.
5. Ensure healthy and safe communities by responding to their needs through social work as a profession and developing new effective social programs.
6. Produce social workers who demonstrate cultural humility, cultural awareness and sensitivity, and cultural competence in addressing the needs of diverse population groups in Qatar and the Arab World.
7. Produce social workers engaged in practice-informed research and research-informed practice in addressing the health and well-being of individuals and families in Qatar and the Arab World.
Social Work Program Learning Outcomes
By the end of the second year, graduates of the Social Work program must demonstrate the ten program learning outcomes outlined below:
1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the theoretical, professional, and regulatory frameworks underpinning the field of social work, including their origins, development, and applications.
2. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of critical social work questions, issues, and emerging trends at a global scale, with particular attention to the regional and local context.
3. Apply critical thinking to engage in the analysis of quantitative and qualitative research methods and findings within and related to the field of social work.
4. Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice at the individual and system levels.
5. Evaluate how social welfare and economic policies impact the delivery of and access to social services.
6. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to engage and intervene with clients and constituencies in order to achieve practice goals and enhance client/group capacities in alignment with social work principles.
7. Assess and intervene using strategies based on the assessment, research knowledge, and values and preferences of clients and constituencies.
8. Use and translate research evidence to communicate, evaluate, inform, and improve social work practice, policy, and service delivery.
9. Demonstrate professional behavior and ethical decision-making by applying the relevant local and international standards and code of ethics models for ethical decision-making, ethical conduct of research, and other relevant codes of practice as appropriate to the context.
10. Engage diversity and difference in practice, demonstrating self-awareness to mitigate the influence of personal biases and values and modeling cultural humility and awareness whilst working with diverse clients and constituencies.
