Report on Possible Exchange Program
Between SDSU and Thammasat
University
Professors David Engstrom and Loring Jones received funding from the Office of the Provost at SDSU to meet with faculty and administrators at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss the potential for a social work student and faculty exchange. Between July 15th and August 8th, three formal meetings and a number of informal discussions occurred to explore educational linkages. Professors Engstrom and Jones were invited to conduct two faculty development workshops to facilitate the implementation of a new MSW curriculum in the Faculty of Social Administration. Additionally, we made a series of classroom presentations to doctoral and masters level students in the Faculty of Social Administration and the newly created doctoral Interdisciplinary Sciences Program. The faculty development workshops and the teaching of classes created goodwill between the two institutions
The meetings on student and faculty exchanges produced a general agreement that both schools of social work wished to begin the process of negotiating a formal agreement. Nongluk Aimpradith, Dean of the Faculty of Social Administration, and Decha Sungkawan, Dean of the Graduate School, expressed support for the exchanges. In principle, it was agreed that MSW students from the School of Social Work at SDSU would be the most appropriate students to send to the Faculty of Social Administration at Thammasat University. It was further agreed that undergraduate and doctoral students from the Faculty of Social Administration would be the most appropriate ones to attend the School of Social Work at SDSU, but including Thammasat University master’s level students has not been ruled out. While there is excitement over the potential for academic and programmatic collaboration, further discussions are necessary to create a structure to fit together the field placements and curriculum of the two schools.
The following represents a discussion of the issues identified during the visit to Thammasat.
The two schools of social work use different field models: Thammasat University employs a block field placement for its masters program. Generally, the field component takes place in the summer and field sites exist all across Thailand. Social work faculty serve as liaisons to monitor the quality of the placement and student progress.
A good beginning point for program linkage is to have 1 to 5 SDSU (and visa versa with Thammasat University students receive credit for a summer internship in field sites supervised by Thammasat faculty and SDSU faculty. For the SDSU students these internships would not take the place of the field practicum experience at SDSU and could be handled as elective courses. The internships would provide SDSU social work students with the following: (1) an experience in cultural diversity; (2) exposure to a Pacific Rim culture; and (3) an opportunity to learn about international social work. Pacific cultures are growing in importance in the U.S., and particularly California. Increasingly social workers are having to become culturally competent in working with Asian cultures and living and working in an Asian country is one way to achieve that end.
The internships could be supplemented by tours of social agencies and attendance at lectures and seminars at the University where students are completing the internship. Upon completion of the internship, students would return to SDSU to start the regular school year. During the coming year Drs. Engstrom and Jones will develop a course syllabi that will be submitted to the School of Social Work Curriculum Committee for their consideration.
A more complex and intermediate academic linkage would be for SDSU students to spend a semester or two at Thammasat University and to have their field practicum site in Thailand. Thai students could do the same at SDSU. Several issues immediately surface within such an academic program. To begin with, SDSU students will require having English-speaking field instructors and learning experiences that are not solely dependent on their ability to speak Thai. The faculty from Thammasat University believe that there are enough available field placements to meet those criteria, depending on the size of the SDSU student cohort. Thai students for the most part speak English. Currently the School of Social Work has a post-graduate program for international social work professionals who come to SDSU to work in social agencies. Developing a parallel program for students should not be difficult.
The second issue relates to the total number of hours at the field practicum. Thammasat University requires fewer field practicum hours than SDSU. It is possible to negotiate a longer period in field for SDSU students.
The third issue involves the Council on Social Work Education accreditation requirement of having social work students supervised by social workers. It is very likely that all the Thai field instructors are graduates of Thammasat University or other schools of social work. It is also possible that the supervision requirements could be handled by having a SDSU faculty member present at Thammasat University throughout the exchange. Since other U.S. schools of social work presently place their students in field practicums in foreign countries, the obstacle is obviously surmountable, but SDSU needs to determine how to make our practicums in Thailand comply with CSWE policy.
The different field models require consideration of how SDSU students can enroll in social work classes at Thammasat University. A two-semester exchange (summer and fall) might permit the completion of field practicum in the first semester and the coursework in the second. Alternatively, if the field placements are located in Bangkok, SDSU students could enroll in social work classes scheduled in the evening. It is also possible that Thammasat University might agree to run concurrent placements for SDSU students, with the cost of that additional workload paid for by a field fee.
The semester exchange would require that the Curriculum Committee complete an extensive review of Thammasat University’s Faculty of Social Administration syllabi to determine how much congruence exist between the two schools. Preliminary discussions would suggest that our curriculums are compatible, but would need some mutual adjustments.
A semester experience at Thammasat University will require that students have the opportunity to enroll in courses that will complement or substitute for courses required by SDSU’s program of study. If an exchange occurs over the summer months and coursework is required in addition to an internship, the courses taken by SDSU students could fulfill their elective requirements. Since social work courses at the master’s level at Thammasat University are taught in Thai, some arrangement is necessary to have a specified course (s) taught in English. One possibility is to have a SDSU faculty member accompany the students and co-teach the course (s) with faculty from Thammasat. A quid pro quo arrangement could be made to have that faculty member co-teach a course(s) in the Faculty of Social Administration’s doctoral program. Doctoral courses within that program can be taught in English. For a summer exchange program, it is probably best to limit the coursework to one or two classes.
A full semester exchange will necessitate that SDSU students enroll in courses that will substitute for their required courses. It will mean some flexibility by SDSU in allowing for course substitution and place greater demand on Thammasat University to offer at least four English-based social work courses. Obviously, considerable coordination between the two programs will be required. It is possible that the similar curriculum structure of the two schools might facilitate such an effort. Like SDSU, Thammasat University has moved to a methods-based concentration with field of practice specialization. It is also possible that Thammasat University social work students might wish to enroll in English-based social work courses, since there is a career premium to be gained in having English language skills.
An issue for SDSU to consider with a full-fledged one or two semester exchange program is how prepared students participating in it will be to take the Comprehensive Examination in the Spring Semester.
These issues are raised not to suggest that the initial exchange adopt the most institutionally complex arrangement but to identify issues that will need to be considered further down the road.
A final long-term goal would be to develop a joint SDSU/Thammasat University program in international social work that would consist of developing a focus or concentration at in the subject at both schools, and require learning experiences on both campuses.
Complete agreement was reached on the need for SDSU students to have an orientation to prepare them to live and study in Thailand. One possible approach to orientation would be for a faculty member from Thammasat University to come to San Diego and spend several weeks instructing SDSU students on Thai culture, the nature of social work in Thailand, and, most importantly, an intensive study of Thai language.
Little discussion of housing took place, largely because the structure and size of the exchange will create specific housing requirements. It is clear that Thammasat would facilitate in the procurement of housing for our students, whether they are all located in Bangkok or disbursed throughout the country. The cost of living is substantially lower in Thailand than in the United States that would ease the cost of housing for students.
Little discussion of the visa requirements for SDSU students occurred. The Faculty of Social Administration have excellent contacts with the Bureau of Immigration so it is unlikely that SDSU students will have difficulties obtaining a visa. US citizens may enter Thailand without a visa and stay for one month before needing to renew the visa.
Activities During The Visit to Thammasat University, Bangkok Thailand
There was general consensus by the faculty and administrators at Thammasat and the team from SDSU that a modest pilot program is probably the best way to proceed. Such a program would likely involve an internship and possibly one or two courses. Once the initial structure of the exchange is agreed upon, important details such as orientation, housing, health care, etc. will need to be discussed and finalized.