Suchergebnisse

The university contributes instrumentally to society by preparing human service professionals in a broad range of disciplines for the betterment of individuals and families. Today, however, the multiple needs of families are becoming less amenable to technical or clinical solutions and appear to require a greater collaboration among human service providers. Experiential learning is one way for university programs to help students develop collaborative skills. A study of experiential learning activities at the University of Missouri-Columbia reveals how professional programs favor technical competency aimed at accreditation and tend to refrain from the development of interprofessional collaboration. If collaborative skills help build the social capital necessary for the effective functioning of civil society, then a new model of experiential learning is required for the university, one that explicitly teaches collaborative habits and skills for professionals who will provide human services to their communities.