A Cluster Analysis of School Social Work Practice Tasks, Perceived Effectiveness and Request for Mental Health Services

Abstract

School social workers face requests for a myriad of mental health services. Because practice tasks are usually completed according to the services requested, different types of request may affect school social workers' perceived competency in completing mental health tasks. The objective of this study is to classify practice tasks in terms of request for services and perceived effectiveness in task completion. The study further examines how these groupings of service requests, as well as years practiced in a service area, influence groupings of perception of practice task effectiveness. Using data from a sample of Midwestern school social workers, a hierarchical cluster analysis was used in requests and perceived task effectiveness classifications. Three regression models, one for each perceived effectiveness cluster, were conducted using the request for services and years practiced clusters. The findings indicate that request types had a varying effect on the perceived efficacy of different tasks. Discus...