Experiences of social work students in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study

Abstract

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a growing body of research on the impacts of pandemics on students globally. This holds true for the social work discipline: pandemic-related research on the overall social work education and practice has been on the ascendancy. That said, there is still the need for research studies that specifically focus on the impacts of pandemics and crises on social work students. This exploratory, IRB-approved mixed-methods study collected quantitative and qualitative data from 66 undergraduate and graduate social work students at a large public state university on the United States east coast. Participants responded to survey questions about their experiences and stress responses and areas of support during the early part of the ongoing pandemic. Utilizing the researchers’ own public university in the U.S. east coast as a case study, this article highlights examples and explores the level of institutional, faculty, and staff support from both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This paper contributes to the social work field by examining student stress responses through quantitative and qualitative data from students’ self-reported responses. It also highlights certain protective factors—including support systems and coping mechanisms—for students during the early stages of the pandemic.