This article reports findings from a qualitative research project that analyzed responses to open-ended questions on 363 exit surveys from four BSW programs. The questions related to student perceptions of department strengths, weaknesses, and field experience. The four participating schools used the same program monitoring model or package. Analysis of the data in its original form points to the importance of listening to student voices as part of educational assessment. Whereas input can be gained from Likert-scale questionnaire items, the nature of information stemming from narrative responses to open-ended questions reveals that students are informed partners in their knowledge of social work education. Their insights also point to areas that social work educators may not routinely consider as affecting the learning experiences of BSW students.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/marceline-lazzari/22/