Assessing the Effectiveness of Social Work Practice in a School-Community Partnership: An Illuminative Approach

Abstract

This evaluation study provides insights into the effectiveness of social work practice relative to the dynamics of the educational environment in one midwes‐tern school district. Purposive samples of teacher, students, and parents, as well as the project director, social workers, and members of an advisory council were surveyed to obtain their perspectives on the social work component of a school‐community drug/alcohol outreach project. Both qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed, and the results have particular implications for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers concerned about including human services in restructuring schools. These implications include policy that sanctions and legitimizes human services in educational settings, practice that focuses on interdisciplinary teaming and collaboration between educational and human service providers, and research investigations that further illuminate the effectiveness of human service delivery relative to the dynamics of educational envir...