Prerequisite: Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution. Open to graduate students only. This course introduces major theories that address the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of development, and prepares students to reflect on the influence of these theories on social work practice. This course examines the person-in-environment with a special focus on diversity issues (i.e. social class, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, and disability status). Gaining understanding of the environments in which we live, and of the biological, psychological, social, spiritual, and sociological theories and concepts that ground social work practice, the student makes conceptual linkages between explanatory theories of the person-in-environment, issues of diversity, and the direction of practice interventions. Faculty: STAFF