Master Of Social Work Programs Research Articles

MSW program directors in the United States: a scoping survey of responsibilities, preparation, and support

ABSTRACT A survey of Master of Social Work (MSW) program directors in the United States investigated their current role including their environment, tasks and preparation, and support. Most respondents were untenured when they assumed the role, only 20% were head of their unit, and few had received any training. Despite working an average of 50 hours a week, lack of time for scholarship and managing competing priorities were top stressors, while joys included their students and colleagues. Respondents identified their top training needs as conflict management, their role as middle managers, and finance-related topics. While the vast majority felt supported by their colleagues and their administration, a number of those with marginalized gender and racial identities experienced difficulties, both within and outside of their program, due to these identities. These data indicate a precarious state of the preparedness of MSW program leadership. Role stressors may place tenure-track program directors at risk of not attaining promotion as time for scholarship may be lost to administrative responsibilities, while non-tenured individuals may be ill-positioned to advocate for their program. Providing adequate training and support, especially for those with marginalized identities, is needed to ensure a solid MSW program director workforce.

Development of A Suicide Prevention Training Module for Social Work Students in India

Introduction: Social workers constitute a significant task force that serves diverse populations experiencing psychosocial challenges in their daily lives. Lack of suicide prevention content/training in the Master of Social Work program may affect the student’s self-esteem/ability to intervene when they come across a person with suicidality in the field. Developing a suicide prevention training module for social work students would be a suitable measure for upbringing their skills in dealing with individuals with suicidality. Method: The purpose of the present study was to develop a suicide prevention training module for social work students at the postgraduate level. The researcher conducted two Focused Group Discussions (FGD) each with social work students ( n = 13) and social work educators ( n = 15) on an online platform. Notes were taken during the discussion, and the contents were videotaped. The videotaped content was transcribed, and content analysis was used to analyze the data. The content that emerged from the FGD with social work students and educators was discussed in later FGD with mental health experts (two psychiatrists, one psychologist, two psychiatric social workers, and two mental health nurses). The discussion with experts clarified what components to retain for the training program. Results: Five major themes and 22 sub-themes emerged from the two FGDs each with students and educators, and one FGD with mental health professionals are described. The five major themes were understanding of suicidality, understanding suicide education in the master of social work curriculum, experience with suicidality, training content suggestion, and suggestions for future implications. Conclusions: The present study identified the need for suicide prevention training in postgraduate-level social work students. Furthermore, a lack of suicide prevention training was observed indicating the incorporation of suicide education in the postgraduate curriculum.

Coping strategies among professional social work trainees - A cross-sectional study from India's capital city.

To find out the nature of coping strategies and the relationship between coping strategies and background characteristics of Master of Social Work (MSW) students in Delhi. The sample size is 297 (male 123 and female 174) by adopting a non-probability purposive method. A survey among the MSW students (first and second years) of four Universities in Delhi was carried out. The result shows that the most used coping strategies are positive in nature (emotional and problem-focused). The utilization of coping strategies is influenced by the background characteristics of the respondents. It necessitates further awareness of positive coping strategies by introducing changes in the curriculum of the MSW program.

Experiential learning in generalist groups courses: skills and process of BSW and MSW students

ABSTRACT Experiential learning provides a foundational understanding of the principles of group work. This qualitative study of majority female-identified, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students in both Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs evaluated the experiences of student learning. Students facilitated groups, were tasked to observe, and evaluate their peers’ facilitation skills. Data were collected from observational feedback forms, and thematic analysis was used. The study’s results indicate that group courses were effective in students’ learning and understanding the power of group process, cohesion, inclusion, and facilitation skills. These skills included helping the group stay on track, providing feedback, and the use of confrontation, when necessary. In addition, the experiential groups had several unanticipated learning outcomes: a) students learned the importance of diversity and inclusion in groups, b) interventions have different outcomes for group members and c) the power of silence in group process skills.

Self-Care and Quality of Life: Associated Factors Among MSW Students

ABSTRACT There is an increasing concern for self-care and quality of life among Master of Social Work (MSW) students as they prepare to serve vulnerable individuals, families, and communities. Evidence suggests numerous benefits to practicing self-care; however, the majority of these studies focus on practitioners in the helping professions as opposed to graduate students working toward their degrees, suggesting a need for research. Accordingly, this study investigates the association between self-care actions, distress tolerance, mindfulness and quality of life among MSW students. A cross-sectional survey design, was used to examine these associations among 148 MSW students. Three multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship among the key variables. Results suggest that emotional self-care was significantly associated with quality of life, and that the level of engagement in self-care actions differed across students’ socioeconomic class. Students’ mindfulness and emotional self-care also were positively associated with distress tolerance. Findings suggest that promoting engagement in emotional self-care and mindfulness self-care may promote higher quality of life among MSW students. Implications for MSW programs and the potential to support students’ health and sustainable learning are discussed.

Interprofessional Social Work Practice: A Call for a New Specialization

ABSTRACT Social workers engage with many professionals to address complex social problems. This includes leveraging the power of social work to support quality interventions on interprofessional teams. While generalist social workers are prepared to apply multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks and rely on interprofessional collaboration, specialized practice education enables social workers to operate at the highest level on interprofessional teams. Since 2019, the Eastern Kentucky University Master of Social Work program has been developing a specialization in interprofessional social work. This article presents the rationale and elements of this program and how students demonstrate interprofessional practice behaviors that align with the Council on Social Work Education core competencies. It is through this approach that social workers can mobilize the power of interprofessional teamwork to address the Grand Challenges for Social Work.

Computerized Suicide Prevention Clinical Training Simulations: A Pilot Study

Purpose: Mental health providers are well-positioned to engage in suicide prevention efforts, yet implementation depends on skill acquisition and providers often report feeling underprepared. This pilot study explored the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of three suicide prevention-focused simulations with virtual clients. Method: Students ( n = 22) were recruited from a Master of Social Work program, completed pre- and post-test surveys, and engaged with three simulated trainings: (1) suicide risk assessment, (2) safety planning, and (3) motivating a client to treatment. Results: Simulations were reported to be acceptable and feasible, with strong student desire and need for greater suicide prevention training. We observed significant improvements over time in clinical skills via simulated training scores and perceptions of clinical preparedness. Discussion: Preliminary findings indicate simulated training with virtual clients is promising and suggest the three suicide prevention simulations may be useful, scalable, and effective in social work training programs and beyond.

Fostering a dual vision: lessons learned in developing a collaborative joint MSW program

ABSTRACT From a longitudinal perspective, three successive directors of a Joint Master of Social Work program analyzed the process and strategies used in gaining Council on Social Work Education candidacy status and accreditation. Joint MSW programs are partnerships combining the resources of two or more universities to conduct one collaborative program. A literature review indicated that primary advantages for universities to create joint programs include innovative opportunity, social justice, the value of collaboration over competition, and cost savings for faculty lines. The process of building and negotiating a bi-university infrastructure, in addition to developing a new program, has many hidden complexities. Evidence-Based Management was a practical approach utilized during program development. The benefits and drawbacks of establishing a Joint MSW program are considered and can be used as a guide to determine if starting a joint program is warranted. Recommendations for how to establish a joint program are discussed along with the process of attaining accreditation. Key learnings during the process included developing fruitful collaborations, navigating value differences, understanding the importance of advocacy, assessing hidden costs, and managing necessary resource allocations. Given contemporary fiscal pressures within universities, it is important that joint programs develop a road map plan.

Religion and Spirituality in MSW Programs’ Implicit and Explicit Curricula: A National Survey of Faculty

ABSTRACT Although there has been increased attention to religion and spirituality (RS) in social work and related helping professions over the last few decades, less attention has been given to whether, where, and how RS content is delivered within Master of Social Work (MSW) programs’ implicit and explicit curricula. The present study included the results from 781 full-time MSW faculty surveyed across the United States to better understand (a) how RS is integrated within the implicit curriculum at the programmatic level, (b) how RS is integrated within the explicit curriculum through a course offering and content infusion, and (c) how important faculty consider integrating RS to be across the Council on Social Work Education’s nine core competencies. The overall results suggest most faculty consider their MSW program to be respectful and sensitive toward RS, cover a majority of the RS topics within their primary area of teaching (although to varying degrees), and consider RS integration to be important across the nine competencies. However, there are distinct topics related to RS in social work education that may benefit from more intentional integration. Considerations and implications for MSW faculty and programs are discussed along with recommendations for future research.

Adaptability, Interdisciplinarity, Engageability: Critical Reflections on Green Social Work Teaching and Training.

The upward tendencies of global climate change, disasters, and other diverse crises have been urgently calling for green social work (GSW) interventions which engage a holistic approach to explore diverse societal dimensions’ compounded influences on inhabitants’ individual and collective health and well-being in disaster settings. Though globally gaining more attention, GSW has been slow to develop in the Canadian social work curriculum and professional training. This deficit jeopardizes integrating environmental and climate justice and sustainability in social work research and practice in Canada. In response to this pedagogical inadequacy, this article employs a critical reflection approach to examine two authors’ two-academic-year teaching–learning and supervision-training experiences of GSW-specific in-class and field education in a Master of Social Work program. The content analysis illustrates three essential components for GSW-specific teaching and training, namely adaptability, interdisciplinarity, and engageability. These components enhance the prospective social workers’ micro-, mezzo-, and macro-level practices to better support individuals, families, and communities affected by extreme events and promote their health and well-being in disaster and non-disaster scenarios. These GSW-specific pedagogies shed light on the fact that integrading climate change, disasters, and diverse crises in pedagogical innovations should be encouraged beyond the social work profession. A multidisciplinary multi-stakeholder engagement approach would comprehensively investigate and evaluate the essential components and evidence-based strategies that better serve inhabitants and promote resilience and sustainability.

The state of doctoral social work education in Canada

ABSTRACT Doctoral education in social work is critical in nurturing the stewards of the discipline. Universities across Canada, and elsewhere, are increasing admissions for bachelor and master of social work programs. Consequently, doctoral social work programs are expanding to educate and train new social work faculty. Extant literature on doctoral social work education is predominantly American. There are fourteen Canadian doctoral social work programs, yet no study has observed the state of these programs. Using two data sources, this article provides a snapshot of PhD social work student experiences in 2019–2020. The analysis of all doctoral social work students (n = 157) from the 2019 Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS) found that: a) the overall quality of social work PhD programs in Canada was rated by students as moderate; and b) financial obstacles may be an undue barrier to academic success. Furthermore, the analysis of an online survey of Canadian social work PhD students (n = 69) regarding their experience applying for doctoral fellowships and scholarships found that workshops significantly facilitated scholarship success, and that other institutional preparation activities were identified as valuable. These findings illuminate the current state of doctoral social work education in Canada with implications for research and education.

Reflective-Thinking and Resilience as Predictors of Professionalism in Master of Social Work Students

ABSTRACT Social work students are expected to learn about and demonstrate several professional competencies during their academic and fieldwork studies. This study explored the associations between professionalism, resilience, and reflective thinking in a sample of 212 students enrolled in a Master of Social Work program. The sample was predominantly female, aged 20 to 29, with an international student enrollment status. Students completed a demographic questionnaire, the Professionalism Assessment Tool (PAT), Reflective Thinking Scale (RTS), and Resilience at University (RAU) instruments. Multilinear regression analyses with bootstrapping identified three RTS variables—Critical Reflection (p = .005), Habitual Action (p = .022), and Understanding (p = .026)—as significant predictors of students’ performance on the PAT Relationships With Others subscale. The RAU factor, Maintaining Perspective, was determined to be a strong predictor in three key PAT subscales: Citizenship & Professional Engagement (p = .01), Lifelong Learning & Adaptability (p = .003), and Relationships With Others (p = .004). The outcomes highlight the importance and relevance of reflective-thinking and resilience skills for social work students’ acquisition of desirable knowledge, attributes, and practices related to professionalism. The implications for social work education curricula and recommendations for further research are also discussed in the article.

Policy Education in U.S. Social Work Programs: Results of a National Study

ABSTRACT Using data from the Council on Social Work Education’s Annual Survey, this study captures a baseline snapshot of policy practice education in U.S.-based bachelor of social work and master of social work programs. Results indicate that the nature of students’ preparation to incorporate policy change into practice depends on which program they attended. This first study of policy practice education across U.S. BSW and MSW programs examines policy-related coursework, instruction, field-based learning, and hands-on educational experiences. The study finds substantial program variation, including the type of faculty teaching policy courses and their direct policy practice experience, as well as in the inclusion of field-based and hands-on policy learning opportunities. Implications for strengthening policy education in the United States are discussed.

Predictors of integration of environmental justice in social work education: a cross-sectional study of faculty in the United States

ABSTRACT With the increase of hazards in the natural environment, social work organizations—Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and National Association of Social Workers (NASW)—have urged the profession to protect those most vulnerable to hazards by addressing environmental justice issues. Social work students and practitioners have provided perspectives on environmental issues; however, the existing literature knows little about the perspectives of social work faculty on environmental justice. Surveying 477 full-time faculty from CSWE-accredited Master of Social Work programs in the United States, this study explored (1) the proportion of social work faculty that integrate environmental justice contents in their teaching and (2) factors associated with the integration of environmental justice in social work education. Findings reveal that the majority of social work faculty (58.7%) did not infuse environmental justice in their teaching. Moreover, multivariate logistic regression findings indicate that (a) training received in environmental justice (OR = 1.89, p = .005), (b) relevance of environmental justice to social work education (OR = 3.28, p < .001), and (c) feeling of preparedness to teach environmental justice (OR = 1.95, p = .004) predicted integration of environment justice in social work education. Implications of these findings for social work education are discussed.

Cohort-Based Education and Other Factors Related to Student Peer Relationships: A Mixed Methods Social Network Analysis

Graduate students face a variety of stressors that relate to poor academic performance, lower completion rates, and high rates of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress. Student peers provide supports for coping with these stressors and succeeding academically. However, graduate students may find it difficult to form relationships with their peers. This mixed method social network analysis (MMSNA) examines graduate student perceptions of their peer relationships and the factors associated with peer friendships in a program that placed students in cohorts for the first semester of a two-year Master of Social Work program. Findings from three student focus groups include four main themes related to the cohort system and the tendency for students to gravitate to others who were similar to them (i.e., homophily). Focus group findings informed model specification for a curved exponential family model of student friendships at the end of the third semester of the program (N = 70) that identified correlates of student friendships including statistically significant direct and homophily effects for age, gender, and race/ethnicity. First-semester relationships and shared classes in subsequent semesters also increased the likelihood of friendships in the third semester. Findings emphasize the value of cohorts and a diverse student body for peer relationships.

Infusing MSW Programs With Disability Studies and Disability Justice: How to Create Explicit Curriculum

ABSTRACT Master of social work (MSW) students will work with a significant number of people with disabilities and thus need to learn about disability as both a descriptive and a political identity. While new curriculum resources and competencies developed by the Council on Social Work Education for teaching about disability are a critical step, little has been written about successful approaches to infusing disability content into social work curricula. We help address that need by describing our MSW curricula infusion process and lessons learned as a team of partnering faculty and disability justice activists. We describe the intersectional disability justice movement framework, arguing that this framework is needed to equip students to address urgent issues of social injustice.

Social Work Education & Support of Gender Expansive People: A Qualitative Analysis of MSW Student Experiences

ABSTRACT This study examined Master of Social Work (MSW) student experiences with social work education related to support of transgender, nonbinary, queer or other gender expansive people. Sixty-seven students from a sample of thirty-four MSW programs in the United States provided brief qualitative reflections on their educational experiences related to gender identity or expression. Thematic content analysis of these data revealed five primary emergent themes related to; MSW program capacity, persistent bias/tension, safety issues, emotional and academic burden, and lived-experiences external to social work education. Findings suggest there remains a disconnect between the stated intent of social work to support gender expansive communities and the reality of social work education. Specifically, although most students appear to want more from their schools of social work regarding trans-affirming education, most programs reflect persistent discomfort with this domain, or a hesitance or inability to address the topic appropriately and consistently. Examples of how social work education might work to improve its capacity to reflect support of gender expansive people and communities are discussed.

Teaching Anti-Racism in an Aging Services Course: Lessons Developed and Lessons Learned

Despite high levels of racial disparities in health and well-being among older adults, curricula addressing how aging services systems contribute to or work to ameliorate these disparities are scarce. This paper introduces a module on inequalities and anti-racism in aging developed for an online course on aging services within a Master of Social Work program. First, materials that help students identify and understand racial inequalities in aging and in the programs that serve older adults are presented. Next, students are introduced to the applied context of how COVID-19 has exacerbated these inequalities. Finally, students critically engage in reflections and assessments of the available resources within aging services and advocacy organizations, providing recommendations for how these systems may better incorporate anti-racist practices. Challenges and opportunities will be discussed, including piloting this module in a virtual, asynchronous environment.

Indigenous trauma and resilience: pathways to ‘bridging the river’ in social work education

ABSTRACT The traumatic effects of colonization on generations of Indigenous peoples and communities are referred to as intergenerational trauma. Alongside intergenerational effects of trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples and cultures across the globe is the capacity for individual and collective resilience, whereby an individual has good life outcomes despite having been subjected to situations with a high risk of emotional and/or physical distress. In North America and globally there have been calls to action for social work to find pathways toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. The purpose of this paper is to share the conceptual foundations of an innovative Master of Social Work program, currently in its sixth year. The program was designed to bridge Indigenous worldviews and social work by: creating links in the curriculum between neuroscience research in Western treatment modalities and Indigenous/traditional healing practices throughout the globe; fostering communication among all age groups; developing respect, kindness, and communication across all races; uncovering resiliency in understanding intergenerational trauma; understanding attachment difficulties created through colonization and rebuilding support systems; and creating learning objectives that address wellness. The objective is to prepare social workers to work with individuals, families and communities across the globe affected by intergenerational trauma.

Preparing Advanced Standing Students for Social Work Practice: A Teaching Note

ABSTRACT There have been longstanding debates about Master of Social Work (MSW) Advanced Standing programs. Many schools of social work offer Advanced Standing status to students with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) that allows students to enter directly into a concentrated and specialized second year of the MSW program. There are arguments that BSW programs are not equivalent to the foundational year of the MSW and do not adequately prepare students for entry into specialized programs and direct social work practice. This teaching note describes a bridging Advanced Standing Practice Seminar developed to prepare Advanced Standing students for competent direct social work practice using innovative teaching methods, such as simulation-based learning. Implications for social work education and practice are presented.