Master Of Social Work Students Research Articles

Transformative learning in graduate education: masters of social work students’ experiences of personal and professional learning

ABSTRACT Transformative learning captures the process by which students engage in their learning at holistic levels (emotional, cognitive, spiritual, physical, social, and environmental) and the extent to which they experience a change in perspective, of themselves or society. This four-year, four-cohort study (n = 40) examined the transformative learning experiences of Masters of Social Work students as they prepared to graduate and practice in their professional field. Data were collected via focus group methods and were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three primary themes were identified: (1) transformation is a process of feeling displaced, re-evaluating, and surfacing; (2) transformative outcomes are multidimensional and embody personal and professional learning; and (3) transformative learning is a holistic experience. This study makes a novel contribution to the literature on transformative learning by empirically examining students’ experiences of transformation within accredited professional programs, and the development of pedagogical approaches that facilitate student growth within such settings.

Incorporating grand rounds into an existing pharmacy ethics course: An interprofessional education opportunity

Abstract A meaningful, interprofessional education experience was developed by incorporating an existing social work grand rounds into a pharmacy ethics course. Participants included third-year student pharmacists, master's social work students, and licensed master's social workers. Each grand rounds session focused on a different issue regarding social justice and access to care. Grand rounds consisted of a 30-min presentation followed by a 40-min interprofessional panel discussion on issues relevant to the topic. At the conclusion of grand rounds, small interprofessional student groups discussed how interprofessional collaboration could improve the patient experience. This collaborative grand rounds, which has been offered for three consecutive years (2016–2018), has collectively had 450 attendees: 240 student pharmacists, 94 social work students, and 116 licensed master's social work professionals. A post-session survey allowed students to rate how well the session met the learning objectives and the perceived value of the interdisciplinary experience. Students indicated a high level of agreement that each offering achieved the learning objectives, and felt the interprofessional design enhanced their learning and provided them with a greater appreciation for the importance of interprofessional practice. Incorporating an existing grand rounds into a pharmacy ethics course was a successful approach for providing a meaningful interprofessional education experience in a real-world setting, and is a model that can easily be adopted by others for a wide range of health professions student learners.

Teaching for Transformation: Master of Social Work Students Identify Teaching Approaches That Made a Difference

Transformative learning captures the process by which students engage in their learning, experience a change in perspective, of themselves or society, and then enact their new understanding. The purpose of this 4-year, four-cohort study was to identify the transformative learning experiences of Master of Social Work students and specific student engagement strategies they felt made a difference in preparing them for professional practice. Six focus groups ( n = 40) were conducted using established focus group methodology. All focus groups were audio recorded, professionally transcribed verbatim, and subject to qualitative content analysis. Students identified six themes in student engagement strategies that facilitated their transformative learning, including transformative aspects of the curriculum, experiences with peers, qualities in their relationships with faculty that fostered critical reflection, a sense of identity, and mentoring. This study will help educators better identify teaching strategies to engage students in their personal and professional transformative learning.

Social Work and Suicide Prevention

Back to table of contents Previous article LettersFull AccessSocial Work and Suicide PreventionJoshua Levine, L.C.S.W., Leo Sher, M.D.Joshua LevineSearch for more papers by this author, L.C.S.W., Leo SherSearch for more papers by this author, M.D.Published Online:1 Jul 2019https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900165AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail TO THE EDITOR: Since 2008, suicide has ranked as the 10th leading cause of death in the United States (1). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that nearly 45,000 U.S. citizens died by suicide in 2016, and suicide rates have increased by over 30% in half of the states since 1999 (1). The growing epidemic of suicide poses many challenges for suicide prevention efforts.Social workers are instrumental in suicide prevention in that they comprise one of the largest occupational groups of behavioral health practitioners in the United States (2). Most social workers will encounter at least one suicidal client in their career. A national survey of 598 social workers found that 92.8% of respondents had reported working with at least one suicidal client, and 78.1% had worked with at least one suicidal client in the past year (3).Social work research in the area of suicide prevention is limited. A systematic review on social work research literature found that “social work research articles made up only 0.2 per cent of the total articles published from 1980–2006 in social work journals” (4). Furthermore, less than 8% of these articles discussed effective evidence-based practice interventions that could be used with suicidal clients (4).A review of the literature identified several areas in which social work as a profession could improve in suicide prevention. First, master’s-level social work education programs need to modify their curricula toward educating about suicide prevention. The Social Work Education in Suicide Survey of 598 social workers found that 79% of respondents reported that they did not receive formal training on suicide in their master of social work (MSW) program, and 41% of respondents indicated that they did not take any classes that addressed suicide intervention or prevention (3). Moreover, a randomized intervention study of the Question, Persuade, and Refer suicide prevention gatekeeper training of 73 advanced-standing and second-year MSW students found that students scored an average of 5.64 out of a maximum score of 25 on their knowledge of suicide risk factors (5).In addition to modifying MSW education programs, prevention efforts should be focused on gatekeeper training programs. Gatekeepers are individuals within the community, such as social workers and teachers, who are trained to identify suicide risk factors. Prevention efforts should be directed toward training social workers to be effective gatekeepers, as well as having social workers educate the general public on suicide risk factors.Another area that could be further explored is postvention, or an intervention to support persons bereaved by suicide. Those bereaved by suicide have an elevated risk of suicide, and postvention could decrease suicidal behavior of these individuals. Maple et al. reported that social work researchers have published only three articles on postvention since 2003 (6).Future social work research on suicide prevention should expand on evidence-based practices in regard to screening and psychotherapeutic interventions.James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York (Levine, Sher); Columbia University School of Social Work, New York (Levine); Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York (Sher).Send correspondence to Mr. Levine ([email protected]).References1 Suicide Rising Across the US. Atlanta, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/suicide/index.htmlGoogle Scholar2 Health Resources and Services Administration: National Projections of Supply and Demand for Selected Behavioral Health Practitioners: 2013–2025. Washington, DC, US Department of Health and Human Services, Nov 2016. https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/health-workforce-analysis/research/projections/behavioral-health2013-2025.pdfGoogle Scholar3 Feldman BN, Freedenthal S: Social work education in suicide intervention and prevention: an unmet need? Suicide Life Threat Behav 2006; 36:467–480Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar4 Joe S, Niedermeier D: Preventing suicide: a neglected social work research agenda. Br J Soc Work 2006; 38:507–530Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar5 Osteen PJ, Jacobson JM, Sharpe TL: Suicide prevention in social work education: how prepared are social work students? J Soc Work Educ 2014; 50:349–364Crossref, Google Scholar6 Maple M, Pearce T, Sanford RL, et al.: The role of social work in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention: a scoping review. Aust Soc Work 2017; 70:289–301Crossref, Google Scholar FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited bySocial work practice instructors’ preparedness and readiness to teach suicide content19 July 2022 | Social Work Education, Vol. 433Assessment of Some Social Factors Related to Suicidal Behaviors in Ilam, Iran, during 20181 March 2020 | journal of ilam university of medical sciences, Vol. 28, No. 1 Volume 70Issue 7 July 01, 2019Pages 638-638 Metrics KeywordsSuicide & self-destructive behaviorSocial work/psychiatricPDF download History Received 28 March 2019 Accepted 11 April 2019 Published online 1 July 2019 Published in print 1 July 2019

Community based mentors and journey guides: a transformative learning approach to social work education

ABSTRACTCritical pedagogy is congruent with the social work discipline, which is engaged, people-focused, and centers on social justice, liberation and human rights. While there is growing recognition of the importance of better preparing social work students to engage in critical, anti-oppressive practice, students have limited opportunities for transformative learning experiences within community settings, outside of official practicums. Masters of Social Work students pursuing a specialization in international and community development (ICD) at a Canadian university were matched with community Journey Guides who provided mentorship and opportunities for students to become involved in community-based social justice initiatives. This article presents the eight-step experiential framework that was used as a pedagogical tool to support student learning, and the results from the program’s evaluation with the first student cohort. Using surveys and focus groups, the study found the guiding relationship was characterized by acceptance, friendliness, encouragement, and motivation. Students engaged in critical dialogues with Guides, gained community development experience and skills and enhanced their social justice knowledge.

A Psychometric Analysis of Field Evaluation Instruments Designed to Measure Students’ Generalist-Level Social Work Competencies

ABSTRACTThere is a dearth of research on the evaluation of the psychometric performance of instruments designed to measure students’ generalist-level social work competencies. There is also uncertainty on the performance of various response option formats used to measure students’ competencies in assessment instruments. Using a sample of 198 master of social work students and 198 field instructors, the current study employs confirmatory factor analysis to assess the psychometric performance of a field evaluation instrument designed to measure students’ generalist-level social work competencies. The results provide evidence to support the validity and reliability of the instrument. The results also highlight nuances associated with a 5-point response option format for items used to measure competency indicators. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

The state of substance use education in Master of Social Work programs: A content analysis of course listings and faculty profiles

Background: Substance use is currently a pervasive problem among a large proportion of populations served by the social work profession. Several studies have indicated that social workers routinely provide services to clients with direct and indirect substance use needs, making knowledge of substance use interventions and public policies a necessity for social workers to operate effectively in the field. However, despite the regularity of interaction with substance using clients, previous research has suggested that a significant deficit of substance use education currently exists in Master of Social Work (MSW) programs. Methods: To determine the extent of substance use education currently offered by master’s-level schools of social work, a content analysis of course listings and full-time faculty profiles was performed on all Council on Social Work Education–accredited programs in the United States (N = 263). The goals of the content analysis were (1) to identify the current prevalence and content of substance use education offered to entire cohorts of MSW students at the national and programmatic levels and (2) to examine the capacity of the full-time MSW faculty workforce to deliver substance use education to MSW students in individual programs. Results: The results of the analyses showed that a significant deficit of formal substance use education does exist in the field of social work education, and that a large proportion of programs lack the faculty personnel necessary to sufficiently offer substance use education to their students. Conclusions: The social work profession needs to make a concerted effort to improve substance use education if social work is to ethically and effectively remain at the forefront of mental health practice in the United States.

Mindfulness, meditation, and breathing exercises: reduced anxiety for clients and self-care for social work interns

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to identify and describe a teaching tool that supports social work student success in the classroom and in field placement. The project introduced mindfulness, meditation, and breathing techniques to 2nd-year master of social work (MSW) students in a group classroom setting and engaged students as they applied those techniques in their internship settings with clients. Students were introduced to mindfulness, meditation, and breathing techniques through lecture, experimental exercises, video clips, and case studies and used the group setting to learn to use those tools to add trauma-informed mindfulness interventions to the clinical techniques they concurrently practiced in field placement. Students learned methods to incorporate those interventions into their psychotherapy/counseling sessions with clients and discovered that mindfulness-specific interventions also helped regulate their own autonomic nervous systems, contributing to decreased anxiety. Thus, mindfulness skills taught in social work programs have significant multidimensional benefits; engaging a group classroom setting to learn to utilize mindfulness, meditation and breathing techniques can reduce stress and anxiety for clients and promote adaptive self-care skills for MSW students.

Using Participatory Action Research to Teach Community Practice in a Post-Truth Era

[full article, abstract in English; abstract in Lithuanian]
 This project focuses on the learning experiences of master of social work students in an advanced community practice course. The primary pedagogical method for the class was participatory action research, specifically the photovoice method. The MSW students completed a photovoice project focused on campus sexual violence in which they recruited students, outside the class, as participants. As coursework, students generated reflection papers, responses to readings, and focus group notes. These artifacts constituted the data for this project. The data analysis included grounded theory methods and a focus on post-truth politics, from which three categories emerged: (a) supporting cultural competence, (b) facilitating self-awareness (c) and viewing truth as multifaceted.

Perinatal Depression Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Among Graduate Social Work Students

The purpose of this study was to identify the proportion of Master of Social Work (MSW) students who received perinatal depression (PD) training as part of their coursework. Additionally, we sought to identify differences in PD knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and openness to further education between students who had received PD training compared to students without PD training. Using a cross-sectional design and convenience sampling, 177 largely female (91.0%), Hispanic (46%), and Caucasian (28.2%) MSW students from five public California universities electronically provided demographic data and completed the Depression in Women's Health Settings scale. Most MSW students reported health/mental health (38%) or children/youth/and families (47.5%) as their field of practice. Twenty-nine MSW students (16.4%) reported receiving PD training, 61% child abuse/neglect training, and 50% domestic violence training. Students with PD training were significantly more knowledgeable and reported having the skills to assess, screen, identify, and care for women with PD symptoms versus students without PD training. Given the well-documented association of PD with child abuse/neglect and domestic violence, early PD screening, identification, and referral information must be incorporated into MSW curricula and continuing education in order to promote maternal-infant well-being outcomes.

What Doesn’t Kill You

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resilience in a sample (n=139) of Masters of Social Work (MSW) students. Perceived stress, religious faith, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness were also examined as correlates of resilience. Resilience scores for the MSW students were comparable to general population and college student norms, but ACEs and perceived stress scores were higher. Despite a broad literature supporting associations of high ACE scores with varied measures of physical and psychological problems, this study paradoxically showed a positive relationship between higher ACE scores and resilience. Regression analysis indicated a model including age, ACE scores, experiential avoidance, religious faith, and perceived stress explained 39.2% of the variance in resilience scores. Prior adverse childhood experiences and stronger religious faith are associated with increased resilience, while experiential avoidance and perceived stress are associated with lower resilience. This study provides further evidence that many students come to social work education with substantial trauma histories and experience considerable stress during their studies. Results suggest that social work educators should acknowledge risks associated with avoidant coping, and provide learning experiences aimed at developing students’ capacities for increased awareness and acceptance of challenging experiences—their own and others.

Examining Students’ Attitudes and Readiness for Interprofessional Education and Practice

This study examined RN-to-BSN and Master of Social Work students’ attitudes and readiness for interprofessional (IP) practice and educational experiences. The Attitudes toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS) developed by Heinemann et al. measures attitudes toward health care teams including the quality of care/process and physician centrality. Students’ readiness for IP education was measured by the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) developed by Parsell and Bligh. Discussion of an interprofessional activity including student reactions is provided. Statistically significant differences were found in the mean scores for the Patient-Centeredness subscale of the RIPLS and in overall ATHCTS scores as well as the Physician Centrality subscale scores. Overall, participants demonstrated readiness and benefits of IP education.

The Value of Mixing It Up: Student Experiences of a Multi-Modal Approach to Supervision on Placement

One-to-one supervision has been widely acknowledged in the social work literature as the gold-standard approach in field education. However, the sustainability of this approach has been challenged in recent decades amidst the managerial mandates permeating both education and health/human service sectors. Universities and placement organisations have experimented with alternative supervision approaches in response to these contextual pressures, although the research on these alternatives is limited at this point. In an attempt to contribute to the emerging research base, this article reports on a three-year trial of a multi-modal supervision approach involving the systematic application of individual and collective supervision modes within each student placement. The study explored the supervision experiences of 128 Master of Social Work students participating in the multi-modal supervision trial across five health networks in Melbourne, Australia. The study adopted a mixed-methods research design involving surveys followed by interviews. The findings suggest that, although one-to-one supervision is integral, students value the combination of one-to-one and collective supervision, provided that supervision content is student-centred; and that inter-personal trust and mutual engagement imbue the supervisory process. Ultimately, the study points to the importance of both content and relationships in the supervisory process, irrespective of the supervision mode employed.

The Value of Mixing It Up: Student Experiences of a Multi-Modal Approach to Supervision on Placement

AbstractOne-to-one supervision has been widely acknowledged in the social work literature as the gold-standard approach in field education. However, the sustainability of this approach has been challenged in recent decades amidst the managerial mandates permeating both education and health/human service sectors. Universities and placement organisations have experimented with alternative supervision approaches in response to these contextual pressures, although the research on these alternatives is limited at this point. In an attempt to contribute to the emerging research base, this article reports on a three-year trial of a multi-modal supervision approach involving the systematic application of individual and collective supervision modes within each student placement. The study explored the supervision experiences of 128 Master of Social Work students participating in the multi-modal supervision trial across five health networks in Melbourne, Australia. The study adopted a mixed-methods research design involving surveys followed by interviews. The findings suggest that, although one-to-one supervision is integral, students value the combination of one-to-one and collective supervision, provided that supervision content is student-centred; and that inter-personal trust and mutual engagement imbue the supervisory process. Ultimately, the study points to the importance of both content and relationships in the supervisory process, irrespective of the supervision mode employed.

Entering precarious job markets in the era of austerity measures: the perceptions of Master of Social Work students

Despite the positive outlook for social work job prospects reported by governmental and professional associations, the reality on the front line looks bleak. There are growing concerns that social work jobs have become increasingly precarious under the dominance of neoliberal policies, through which governments cut back on social services in the name of austerity. Surprisingly, we were unable to locate research exploring the perceptions of social work students about to enter these precarious job markets. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study with Master of Social Work students at a mid-sized Canadian university. Students were asked what they thought about their employment prospects after graduation and what they were doing to prepare themselves. The thematic analysis of students’ narratives suggested that Master of Social Work students rode a creative tension between the fear of precarious jobs and the hope of non-precarious employment. Implications for social work education, policy and practice are discussed.

Social work students’ perceptions of obesity

ABSTRACTResearch indicates that mental health and medical professionals often hold negative views of overweight or obese people. Little is known about weight prejudice among social work students. In order to address this gap in the literature, this study examines the attitudes of Bachelor of social work and Master of social work students (n = 250) toward persons who are overweight and/or obese. Consistent with the literature, findings indicate generally those with higher body mass index scores are more likely to believe that obesity is beyond their control. Further, although age was correlated with Beliefs About Obese People scores, it was not a significant predictor. Implications for social work social justice and cultural competency curriculum are discussed.

Social Work Student and Practitioner Roles in Integrated Care Settings

Social workers are increasingly being deployed in integrated medical and behavioral healthcare settings but information about the roles they fill in these settings is not well understood. This study sought to identify the functions that social workers perform in integrated settings and identify where they acquired the necessary skills to perform them. Master of social work students (n=21) and their field supervisors (n=21) who were part of a Health Resources and Services Administration-funded program to train and expand the behavioral health workforce in integrated settings were asked how often they engaged in 28 functions, where they learned to perform those functions, and the degree to which their roles overlapped with others on the healthcare team. The most frequent functions included employing cultural competency, documenting in the electronic health record, addressing patient social determinants of health, and participating in team-based care. Respondents were least likely to engage in case conferences; use Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment; use stepped care to determine necessary level of treatment; conduct functional assessments of daily living skills; use behavioral activation; and use problem-solving therapy. A total of 80% of respondents reported that their roles occasionally, often, very often, or always overlapped with others on the healthcare team. Students reported learning the majority of skills (76%) in their Master of Social Work programs. Supervisors attributed the majority (65%) of their skill development to on-the-job training. Study findings suggest the need to redesign education, regulatory, and payment to better support the deployment of social workers in integrated care settings. This article is part of a supplement entitled The Behavioral Health Workforce: Planning, Practice, and Preparation, which is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Reducing bias through indirect social contact: assessing the impact of student involvement with faculty-led research on unauthorized immigration

This paper explores how working on a faculty-led research project influenced the views of Master of Social Work students concerning unauthorized immigrants. Five graduate assistants worked for one year with two faculty members and one doctoral student to code data from interviews with social workers at immigrant-serving organizations in South Carolina. The master’s students then reflected on what they learned from participating in data analysis tasks, indicating that the experience had further sensitized them to the social justice concerns confronting unauthorized immigrants. Drawing on social contact theory, we argue that student participation in faculty-led research can provide a form of indirect social exposure to other groups, which reduce bias, and suggest that such experiences be included in how educators conceptualize the implicit curriculum in schools of social work.

Racial microaggressions in social work education: Black students’ encounters in a predominantly White institution

ABSTRACTResearch findings have substantiated encounters with racial microaggressions by Black students in predominantly White institutions. Yet no studies focus on students in social work programs. This is important since racial microaggressions can affect students’ academic, social, and emotional experiences, as well as career preparation of counseling students. In this study we examined encounters reported by 10 Black Master of Social Work students. We present an in-depth case example as support for the emergence of a Racial Microaggressions Interaction Framework, demonstrating how students define racial microaggressions and the socioemotional continuum along which they proceed following encounters. Implications are discussed for teaching from a culturally relevant competence perspective.

Supervision and social work students: relationships in a team-based rotation placement model

Social work has historically privileged one-to-one supervision in field education. However, in recent decades, the relentless pressure on organisations to innovate for efficiency gain has created an impetus to explore alternative placement formats. This article reports on how students and supervisors experienced their placement relationships in the context of one such alternative—a team-based rotation placement model where students routinely engaged in group and peer supervision as well as one-to-one supervision with various supervisors. A total of 128 Masters of Social Work students and 92 student supervisors participated in rotation placements across five hospitals over a three-year period; 2011–2013. The study adopted a mixed methods approach using online surveys and post-placement interviews each year. The findings suggest that, although both supervisors and students viewed the one-to-one supervisory relationship as pivotal, they experienced this relationship differently. Supervisors were more likely to highlight the interpersonal connection within the supervisory relationship as the primary vehicle for practice learning. Students were more likely to view their supervisory relationships as the conduit to the practice experiences that aligned with their placement goals. Ultimately, the study highlights the centrality of role and positioning when exploring perceptions and experiences of teaching and learning relationships on placement.