Applying Social Work Values to Practice in Sport

Lauren Beasley,Robin Hardin,Tarkington J Newman

doi:10.18060/25311

Abstract

Social workers are beginning to be hired in collegiate athletic departments to meet the holistic needs of student-athletes. The limited research that has examined social work practice in sport has not explicitly explored ways in which social work values manifest in practice. The current study explored how the values of the social work profession are applied when providing mental and behavioral health services in collegiate athletics. Using a qualitative design, nine licensed social workers employed in athletic departments were interviewed. Data were deductively coded using the NASW (2017) Code of Ethics’ six values: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Social workers recognized student-athletes as a vulnerable population, worked on social justice issues, placed an emphasis on the diversity of student-athletes, built relationships with both student-athletes and sport staff, and advocated for social work values in athletics. They also called for more opportunities to increase knowledge of social work practice in sport settings. Results support the need for social work programs to prepare students for careers in sport through efforts such as offering elective courses related to social work practice in sport and providing sport-specific practicum opportunities.

Highlights

Social workers are beginning to be hired in collegiate athletic departments to meet the holistic needs of student-athletes
Findings from a survey administered through the Alliance of Social Workers in Sports email listserv indicated that among social work participants who responded (n = 84), 45.2% indicated that they worked in the area of collegiate athletics (Newman et al, 2020)
Much remains unknown about the roles of social workers and the services they provide within sport settings, collegiate athletic departments

Summary

Introduction

Social workers are beginning to be hired in collegiate athletic departments to meet the holistic needs of student-athletes. The current study explored how the values of the social work profession are applied when providing mental and behavioral health services in collegiate athletics. Social workers recognized studentathletes as a vulnerable population, worked on social justice issues, placed an emphasis on the diversity of student-athletes, built relationships with both student-athletes and sport staff, and advocated for social work values in athletics. They called for more opportunities to increase knowledge of social work practice in sport settings. One of the most visible roles for social workers in sport are those who work within collegiate athletic departments providing mental and behavioral healthcare services (Beasley et al, 2021; Newman et al, 2021b). Research in youth sport has indicated that sport itself can act as a catalyst for positive (e.g., life skills) developmental outcomes (Newman & Anderson-Butcher, 2021), and behavioral health problems, such as aggressive and violent behaviors (Newman et al, 2021a)

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