Human Services Education Research Articles

Best Practices in Human Services Education

Best Practices in Human Services Education

'Patient' or 'professional'? Negotiating accommodations and identity in fieldwork education.

Despite legislation mandating accommodation policies in postsecondary education, support for students with disabilities is often not implemented within health and human services (HHS) education programs, particularly in fieldwork settings. As part of a Canada-wide study exploring the experiences of disabled students in 10 HHS programs, we examined how HHS students described their experiences accessing accommodations in fieldwork to understand how conceptions of disability relate to students' fieldwork experiences. Using a critical disability studies framework, we explored how HHS fieldwork education understands disability, accommodations and professional competence and what those understandings reveal about the discrepancy between mandated accommodations and what happens in practice. Thirty-five students requiring accommodations in HHS fieldwork education participated in interviews. Through a critical interpretive analysis of interview data, we developed first-person composite narratives to show the richness and complexity of the students' diverse, yet similar, subjective experiences with fieldwork accommodations. Two composite narratives demonstrate how conceptions of disability incommensurate with professional competence expectations influenced student experiences with disclosing disability and obtaining accommodations in fieldwork. Fear of stigma and having one's competence questioned, or having accommodation requests denied for being misaligned with professional expectations, demonstrate how HHS fieldwork education and practice are upheld by ableist systemic structures. The dominant medical model of disability in HHS education creates institutional barriers that require students to constantly (re)construct their 'professional' identity in relation to their 'patient' identity. This patient-professional identity construction relates to HHS professional competency standards and assumptions about what makes a 'good' professional. Suggestions include reworking competency standards and implementing critical pedagogical approaches to teach future and current HHS professionals to question both personal and practice assumptions. With institutional backing, such changes may support diversity within HHS and a culture shift toward more equitable education and health care.

Non-Traditional Adult Learners After COVID-19: Applying National Standards for Online Teaching in Human Service Education

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the field of higher education increased its attention on quality distance learning for traditional and non-traditional adult learners. While the world saw an increase in online education enrollment as a result of the pandemic, non-traditional adult learners have historically relied on this method of education delivery to support their success in the collegiate setting. As the field of human service education supports the offering of distance learning instruction, it is vital for human service educators to consider the National Standards for Quality Online Teaching when educating adult learners. The authors of this article provide an overview of the needs of non-traditional adult learners post COVID-19; and suggest that the National Standards for Quality Online teaching be considered when delivering human service education in CSHSE accredited classrooms to this population.

Human Service Student’s Preparedness for Assessing Suicidality: Recommendations for Human Services Education

Suicide continues to be a public health concern, with suicide rates increasing. Human service professionals are among the helping professions tasked with assessing and addressing suicidality. Despite the well-documented benefits of suicide assessment and training for those within the helping professions, there remains a dearth of literature specific to suicide prevention in the preparation of human services students. To address this gap, the current study used the SIRI-2 to assess the preparedness of human services students (n = 98) to assess and address client suicidality. Findings indicated that participants’ responses were less competent than area experts. Furthermore, student participants’ responses were more invalidating, unhelpful, and conveyed less empathy. These results suggest that a need for increased or focused training that addresses suicidality within undergraduate human services programs. Limitations of the current study, future directions, and implications are discussed.

Mapping the Journey from the Head to the Heart: Actualizing Indigenization in the Health and Human Services Education

Camosun College’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation includes Indigenization. At the College, Indigenization means the world views of Indigenous students are reflected in curriculum practices and non-Indigenous students are prepared to build better relationships with Indigenous peoples. The College uses a number of models to support Indigenization including an Indigenized Quadrant Model based on Wilber’s (1997) Integral theory. This Model is used in this research study to inventory the Indigenization interventions and activities internal and external to the College and examine participation rates by non-Indigenous faculty. At the time of the study, respondents viewed the College as midway on its progress of Indigenization. The results suggest that developing a few activities across the four quadrants of the Model and leveraging relevant activities in the larger community may be sufficient to build an Indigenization program within a post-secondary institute. We also identified a need for more advanced training to support non-Indigenous faculty to fully Indigenize their teaching practices. The focus of this advanced training includes developing skills to address racism and confront privilege not only in their students but also their professions. For administrators wanting to actualize Indigenization, we recommend the continued alignment, monitoring, and measurement of the impacts of Indigenization activities and programs.

AHP를 활용한 제주특별자치도 무장애관광정책 활성화 방안

As modern people’s right to tourism is emphasized, the importance of barrier-free tourism is increasing. The purpose of this study is to suggest an activation plan for barrier-free tourism of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. To achieve the research purpose, a literature review was conducted relating to barrier-free tourism and the AHP analysis was used for deriving priorities. The AHP hierarchical structure consisted of 6 core projects and 22 detailed tasks. As a result of the AHP analysis, the expansion of accessible tourism environment facility support, the expansion of transportation facilities for the tourism week, and the improvement of disability-free tourism human service education were identified as tasks of relatively high importance. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are as follows. First of all, this study will serve as a basis for follow-up studies in that it presented policy measures based on the results of the examination of previous studies and expert surveys. From a practical point of view, the policy measures proposed in this study can be used as basic data for decision-making and project promotion related to barrier-free tourism in Jeju in the future.

Bringing disability experiences front stage: Research-based theatre as a teaching approach to promote inclusive health education

BackgroundDespite efforts to promote inclusion of people living with disabilities in health and human service education and professions, students and clinicians living with disabilities continue to face powerful barriers, arising most notably from the stigma and negative attitudes of their peers. Increased awareness of these lived experiences are needed to affect attitudinal changes and reduce barriers to participation in those professions. To achieve this, information (stories) must be presented to learners in a way that promotes emotional engagement and highlights these issues from multiple perspectives. The following study measures the impact of a Research based Theatre play, based on the collected experiences of people living with disabilities in health and human service professions, as a teaching approach for knowledge and attitudinal change among audiences. MethodThis mixed-methods study (pre and post surveys, groups and individual interviews) aimed at measuring the impact (knowledge and attitudinal change) incurred among audience members. In total, a 174 students, faculty, staff, and clinicians in health and human service professions across two major Canadian cities completed the surveys before and after witnessing the play. Of these, 20 participants also participated in follow-up interviews. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the pre and post surveys while thematic content analysis was used for the interviews. ResultsTwo main themes emerged from combined analysis of both the quantitative and qualitative data. First, quantitative data revealed a significant change in participants' attitudes towards people living with disabilities which was corroborated by interview participants who expressed more comfort in their interactions with students and clinicians living with disabilities. Second, learners also reported meaningful and statistically significant change in their knowledge about the experiences of health and human service professionals living with disabilities. ConclusionsThe results of this study support applying Research-based Theatre as a teaching approach that can promote knowledge and attitudinal change among audiences and increase the inclusion and equity of people living with disabilities in health and human service education. Future research in this area might investigate Research-based Theatre's pedagogical impact using a randomized control design and measuring longer term impact.

Black Barbershops: Exploring Informal Mental Health Settings Within the Community

The barbershop is a landmark in the Black community, providing a site for cultural exchange, discussion forums and a point of psychological connection for African American men. Barbershops offer safe spaces for culturally responsive engagement, discourse, and guidance without stigma. Researchers and service providers have utilized Black barbershops for physical health outreach, understanding Black masculinity, exploring intersections of sexuality, and informal mental health support. The Black barbershop offers a nuanced, culturally relevant perspective of African American men, which is valuable to current and future human service providers, educators, and stakeholders in formulating effective interventions and practices with Black men. Utilizing video voice participatory action research (PAR) qualitative methodology, this study explored the experiences of African American (or Black) men using community barbershops as informal mental health care settings. The study explored the experiences of ten (N = 10) African American men, ages 18-75, from either the San Bernardino County or Los Angeles County areas who utilized Black barbershops as informal mental health care settings. The results suggested that African American men were willing to embark on conversations about their mental health within their barbershops, reporting that these experiences yielded them significant psychological, emotional, and social well-being. The authors recommend future collaboration efforts to join with existing informal mental healthcare settings such as Black barbershops to support community-based, culturally relevant healing spaces for African American men.

Human Services Remote Internships: What We Have Learned and Where We Are Headed

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted human services education programs to rapidly rethink the structure of their fieldwork offerings. Mandated social restrictions led to the creation of alternative options to in-person internships. Some of these options included assignment-based tasks, online workshops and trainings, work-based experiences, limited in-person contact at fieldwork sites, and remote internships. For many programs, remote internships were a novel idea that needed to be quickly developed and implemented. The rise of telehealth services and the unknowns of a post-COVID world leave open the possibility of an increase in remote human services internships for the future. This qualitative study takes a first look at what the field of human services has learned about remote internships, including strengths, challenges, and recommendations, and discusses the role that remote internships might play in the future of human services education.

“Is This Okay?” Adaptation, Accommodation, and Lessons Learned for Field Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Field experience is a critical component of human services curriculum (see Council for Standards in Human Service Education Standards, 2021). At East Tennessee State University, it is embedded throughout major courses. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shift in how field experience was coordinated. Five colleagues share their experience of innovation during this time.

 Intentionality in Human Services

This article describes the concept of intentionality and how it relates to human services education and training. The focus is on how the incorporation of intentionality into human services training curriculum can enhance the knowledge, skill, and competence of trainees. Several examples are given to show how human service educators can integrate activities within a basic helping skills course.

 Response of Undergraduate Human Services Programs to the Mass Incarceration Crisis

Mass incarceration has resulted in the United States having the world’s largest incarcerated population and the highest rate of incarceration. Consequently, nearly 1 in 4 Americans has a criminal record. Racial and ethnic minorities have much higher rates of incarceration than Whites. The collateral consequences of a criminal conviction are colossal and continue well beyond incarceration. Human services students must be well prepared to competently serve clients and families affected by this crisis. This exploratory, qualitative study aimed to determine if undergraduate programs accredited by the Council for Standards in Human Service Education offer course content related to the mass incarceration crisis. Results from a content analysis of course titles and descriptions of 17 accredited programs suggest students are not being adequately prepared to competently serve this population. Implications for human services education, practice, and research are discussed.

Is Anyone Listening to us? ‘They’re Given Feedback and There’s No Outcomes' Settlement for Newly Arrived Syrians in Regional Australia

ABSTRACT In 2017 the number of refugees arriving in Australia was double the intake of previous decades. In 2015 the Australian Government provided an additional 12,000 humanitarian visas specifically to Syrian and Iraqi refugees. While Australia has a robust predominantly urban system designed to settle refugees who have a high level of need, the same services may not be well suited or available to the Syrian population who are being encouraged to settle in rural and regional areas. This paper draws on empirical research that documents issues affecting Syrian refugee settlement and builds on existing research to identify keys to successful and ethical regional settlement policy. Initial findings suggest high levels of social capital but limited opportunities for employment and education are thwarting settlement efforts. We argue for working in partnership and promoting ethical social work values to address the challenges facing these newly arrived communities. Social workers and human service educators and practitioners in this space must adapt to the rapidly changing service delivery system. Working alongside refugees, in this case Syrian people, requires both co-production and transparency in order to shift perceptions of their vulnerability and lack of agency in order to foster agency and self-determination.

Coloniality of Power and International Students Experience: What are the Ethical Responsibilities of Social Work and Human Service Educators?

ABSTRACT This article explores theoretical responses to the living structures of dominance and subordination within modern postcolonial societies, highlighting racialised international students’ experiences within Australian universities. Drawing on coloniality of power and border thinking, it seeks to address ethical responsibilities for social work and human service educators from the author’s positioning as a non-Western immigrant ‘Other’, and experience of belonging as an educator of future social work and human service practitioners in Australia. Utilising autoethnographic and qualitative study, the article offers great insight into the systemic nature of discrimination in Australian tertiary education institutions. It suggests a need for critical, self-reflexive awareness about the legacies of colonialism and hegemonic whiteness to permeate social work and human service profession and education. This article, thus, enables decolonising minds, securing informed understanding, and initiating a shift in the way non-white (and non-Western) racialised international social work students are seen, constructed, and understood in contemporary Australian (Western) societies.

Telehealth: An Opportunity for State and Territorial Health Agencies to Improve Access to Needed Health Services.

Telehealth: An Opportunity for State and Territorial Health Agencies to Improve Access to Needed Health Services.

A systematic review on organizational empowerment

PurposeThis paper aims to present a systematic review on organizational empowerment (OE) using Peterson and Zimmerman´s model (2004) as a starting point. The aim is to further conceptualize OE, discover how the components in the model influence each other and identify recommendations for future research.Design/methodology/approachAll articles that cited the OE model, published in 2004 by Peterson and Zimmerman, have been systematically reviewed. In total, 37 studies of 410, found in Google Scholar and Web of Science, are included in the review.FindingsThe review revealed that intra-, inter- and extra-organizational empowerment affect each other and that evidence for the processes and outcomes on intra-organizational empowerment have increased, but there is limited additional evidence for the other two components.Research limitations/implicationsLiterature was searched in two databases, focusing on the OE model. A search using other databases on OE as a broad concept might provide additional sources.Practical implicationsFindings are relevant for professionals, leaders in human service organizations, educators and researchers. Practice can be improved by applying the knowledge; educators can use the results in their program and researchers may use the findings for the further development of OE.Originality/valueSince the OE model was presented in 2004, no systematic review has been performed. Therefore, this review contributes to the further conceptualization of OE.

Use of Film in Undergraduate Human Services: Understanding the Addiction and Recovery Process

ABSTRACTSteady growth of the addiction field requires human service education programs to prepare competent professionals who can successfully engage in addiction practice. Competency in addiction practice requires human service students to develop an objective understanding of the relapse prevention and recovery process. Though research supports the use of media tools in the classroom, its use in developing addiction intervention competencies in human service students is unknown. The authors present an exploration of the film 28 Days as an addiction recovery teaching tool and discuss students’ understanding of recovery and relapse prevention. Implications for addiction and human service education are also presented.

The learning camera: A personalized learning model for online pedagogy in human services education

This article describes the development of a personalized learning approach to human services online education that utilizes a “learning camera” as a metaphorical tool for undergraduate students’ development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for successful transition to professional practice. By highlighting students’ ongoing development as knowledge builders and constructivist learners, the online curriculum is enacted within each student’s area of interest and in their home communities. This “learning camera” model of online pedagogy for human services education is intended to serve as a resource for other institutions interested in praxis-oriented approaches to personalized online teaching and learning.

Workplace friendships among social work, counseling, and human service educators: Exploring the impact of sexual orientation and friendships in workplace empowerment

Workplace friendships are deliberate bonds between people in the workplace in which various degrees of confidence, care, emotional support, solidarity, honesty, and trust are shared. For lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) academics in higher education, such friendships may be particularly important as sources of social and institutional support. In this study, the authors examine the relationship between workplace friendships and workplace empowerment among a sample (N = 204) of LGB and non-LGB educators in social work, counseling, and human services. The findings, taken from this sample of university educators, indicate that sexual orientation and workplace friendship opportunities can predict workplace empowerment. Implications of the study are that workplace behavioral health practice and research that supports LGB and non-LGB workers in developing meaningful relationships at work can positively impact the higher education workplace.

An analysis of program evaluation course content in CSHSE–accredited human services baccalaureate programs

This study examines evaluation course content for undergraduate Human Services programs. Evaluation is not generally considered to be an undergraduate topic, and as a result, there is limited understanding of evaluation course content for undergraduate programs. The increased focus on evaluation in the human service field warrants a targeted review of the preparation and training provided to potential members of the profession, particularly at the baccalaureate degree level. This research examines syllabi for program evaluation courses in baccalaureate level Human Services Programs accredited by the Council for Standards in Human Services Education (CSHSE) to determine whether there is alignment between professional evaluation competencies and human services program evaluation course content. Content analysis of program evaluation course syllabi and cross-case analysis reveals how Human Services program evaluation course content compares with Essential Competencies for Program Evaluators (ECPE)-based standards for professional program evaluators. Implications for education, practice and future research are discussed.