Social Work Programs Research Articles

Strengthening Youth Resilience via Social Work Internship Placements within Boys and Girls Clubs: A Process Evaluation

Background: There is a growing mental health crisis among youth in the United States. The objective of the current study was to conduct a process evaluation of Strengthening Youth Resilience (SYR), a unique program aimed at decreasing youth anxiety and depression via social work internship placements within after-school programs in three historically underserved communities in a large city in Southern California. The SYR program utilizes the School Social Work Practice Model as a framework for interacting with youth within community settings by providing a tiered system of service delivery. Methods: Focus group discussions and interviews were used to examine the unique perspectives of social work interns, program leaders, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) staff. Results: Results emphasized the importance of trust, clear communication, and shared decisionmaking as a foundation for successful program site integration. Additionally, several unanticipated barriers to implementation arose, including difficulty obtaining informed parental consent to work individually with youth, challenges aligning internship schedules with the fluid structure of after-school programs, and the need for a private welcoming space to work. Conclusion: In conclusion, the SYR program successfully integrated within BGCA sites and was able to provide support to youth. BGCA sites expressed great satisfaction with the program and were eager to continue and expand upon their collaboration with the local university

Enactments of evidence-based programs in social work – the gap between ideal and practice in the context of Norway

ABSTRACT Research shows that social workers have positive attitudes towards evidence-based practice (EBP), but that there exists confusion about what EBP entails in social work. Social workers do not distinguish between EBP and the use of other sources of knowledge and tend to find knowledge and experiences from practice, colleagues, and supervisors just as if not more important. Therefore, for some proponents of EBP, implementing EBP in a way that ensures fidelity according to standardized evidence-based programs becomes important. This article, presenting findings from a PhD project , shows what happens in practice when this is the case. Based on a qualitative study of the implementation and enactment of evidence-based programs in social work in Norway, the findings show that despite organizational and key actors’ attempts to minimize the gap between knowledge and practice and to homogenize practice to prevent drift, heterogenous enactments take place in practice. These enactments are driven forward by social workers’ knowledge about and practical attentiveness to the situation, needs and broader conditions and troubles of the ‘users’, in this case children and families. Thus, competent social workers make EBP work, but this is camouflaged in a top-down approach to implementing evidence-based programs to which these modifications appear to be an obstacle to a ‘pure’ implementation. Therefore, the article discusses the epistemological implications of the findings and offers suggestions for further theoretical and empirical research that cultivates a more adequate understanding of the relationship between knowledge and practice in social work.

Behavioral Health Access and Workforce Competence for Integrated Care: Highlighting Interprofessional Initiatives from Two North Carolina Social Work Programs.

Effective team-based care is necessary for implementation of the integrated care models recommended to improve behavioral health access. Many models rely on social work-ers who are trained to deliver behavioral health care as an interprofessional team member. In this article, we highlight two social work programs utilizing interprofessional educa-tion to enhance team-based care competence.

Reaffirmation of the necessity for M. Phil. programs in clinical psychology and psychiatric social work in India.

Reaffirmation of the necessity for M. Phil. programs in clinical psychology and psychiatric social work in India.

Response to "Reconsidering the discontinuation of M.Phil. programs in clinical psychology and psychiatric social work: An imperative for India's mental health future".

Response to "Reconsidering the discontinuation of M.Phil. programs in clinical psychology and psychiatric social work: An imperative for India's mental health future".

Testing Mindfulness Mechanisms of Action on the Stress and Burnout of Social Workers

ObjectivesGrowing evidence suggests that mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) can reduce stress and burnout among social workers. How MBPs support changes in these outcomes is unclear. This study attempts to identify what some of these mechanisms might be, using the clinically modified Buddhist psychological model (CBPM) as a guiding framework.MethodThis study used data from two randomised controlled trials investigating the impact of MBP participation on social worker stress and burnout. The data from participants (n = 94) who completed a Mindfulness-based Social Work and Self-Care (MBSWSC) programme, or a mindfulness and self-compassion programme (MSC) were combined. Structural equation models were constructed, and conditional direct and indirect effect models of changes in the CBPM domains (mindfulness, self-compassion, attention regulation, acceptance, non-attachment, non-aversion), mediating variables (rumination and worry) and outcomes (stress and burnout) were tested.ResultsThe results suggest that CBPM models, through mediated effects on stress, depersonalisation, and personal accomplishment, as well as direct and mediated effects on stress, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalisation, can provide useful frameworks for explaining how MBPs reduce stress and burnout among social workers. This study also found several other significant conditional direct and indirect effects. The pattern of these relationships indicate that multiple outcomes could be improved through different CBPM domains.ConclusionThis study provides initial evidence on the potential mechanisms through which MBP participation acts to reduce stress and burnout in social workers.Preregistrationhttps://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT05519267 and NCT05538650.

Occupational balance and associated factors among students during higher education within healthcare and social work in Sweden: a multicentre repeated cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThe aim was to explore whether occupational balance is associated with health, health-promoting resources, healthy lifestyle and social study factors among students during higher education within healthcare and social work.DesignThe...

Teaching Note—Designing and Implementing Interprofessional Simulation: A Social Work, Nursing, and Pharmacy Collaboration

ABSTRACT Simulation is well-documented as an effective pedagogy in teaching social work practice. However, the financial and human resources needed to provide simulation-based teaching in large social work programs are prohibitive. Partnering with other disciplines with established simulation programs is one way to bring simulation to social work students through interprofessional education. This teaching note presents a pedagogical initiative designed to enhance social work, nursing, and pharmacy students’ collaboration on acute care teams. Leveraging social work’s perspectives, the simulation scenario used in this initiative was modified to incorporate a biopsychosocial perspective for assessing and engaging with issues of race, ethnicity, and economic hardship often seen in acute care settings. Implications for curriculum development, pedagogical strategies, and interprofessional education opportunities are discussed.

Spatial issues in social work education in Chile: curriculum analysis of universities and professional institutes

ABSTRACT In response to the growing use of spatial concepts in social work, this article addresses their incorporation in the curriculum of undergraduate programmes and the differences among diverse types of higher education institutions. The aims were 1) to identify how spatial issues are incorporated in social work curriculums in Chile and 2) to compare how this incorporation is made in social work programmes in different higher education institutions. The method was a quantitative and descriptive analysis of the curricula of the totality of the programmes in the country (N = 45). We defined 11 concepts to search: community, spatial concepts (territory, environment, place, space), spatial phenomena (city, rural, housing), and social concepts associated with spatial issues (networks, poverty, citizenship). The results show that community is the most relevant concept. Nevertheless, when viewed collectively, spatial concepts hold similar significance. However, there are noticeable differences in how different higher education institutions use spatial concepts. Professional institutes often overlook spatial concerns compared to universities. We recommend regulating social work education to incorporate a minimum curriculum that addresses these issues. Further research is needed to evaluate course content, references, and scientific publications in Chilean social work.

Uloga supervizije u obrazovanju studenata socijalnog rada

ABSTRACT This paper presents some of the key organisational aspects of conducting field practice for the students of social work in six study programs of social work in the Republic of Croatia and the region in the light of the results of current research and key understanding of experiential learning and the demands imposed by the Global standards for the education of social workers. The purpose of the paper is to deepen our understanding of the representation and the role of supervisory support to students during experiential learning in the field practice but also to provide insight into the context within which field practice is conducted within individual study programs. Social work as a profession puts great demands on experts and raises numerous questions about how to act and why to act in casework, what are the values and standards connected to a particular situation and decision, and to what extent are we aware of our blind spots and how to address the norms and rules of an individual role, position, organisation and wider environment, both professional and social one. Social workers can find the answers to these and many other questions that derive from immediate practice in supervision. Supervision, as a specific manner of providing professional support, aims to find answers to such questions through the reflection of one’s actions, promotion of professionalism and finally, through the preservation of quality of service provided to the ultimate user. Supervision has proved to be not only an effective way of monitoring and providing support to students during practice, but also an appropriate way to acquire new knowledge and skills. Additionally, due to its theoretical and ethical essence, given specific features of learning in adult age, supervision provides a good place for reflection and it encourages the development of the professional identity of future social workers. These are also the processes that are intensely taking place during the study, so this paper will focus on the supervision of the students of social work as an approach and tool that is important for facing new challenges of study and work. Key words: supervision; field practice; experiential learning; students of social work.

Investigation of Childhood Traumas of Individuals Who Experienced Parental Death in Childhood or Adolescence in Turkey

This study investigates the childhood traumas of individuals who experienced parental death in childhood or adolescence in Turkey. Participants (n = 382; 63.1% female and 36.9% male; MAGE=29.41, SD = 9.6) are composed of individuals who lost either or both of their parents before the age of 18. The findings indicated that there is a significant difference between the subdimensions of Childhood Trauma Questionaire and the study variables including gender, marital status, educational status, number of siblings, gender of the deceased parent, the caregiver after the parental death, relationship with the surviving parent and the age at the time of parental death (p < .05). The results further show that individuals who lost their parents before the age of 10, who lost their mothers, and who received care from other relatives instead of parents are exposed to more neglect and abuse. By identifying childhood traumas in individuals and examining related variables, the findings contribute trauma-informed social work practices. Based on the results, it is recommended that school social work programs focus on monitoring the relationship between caregivers and children, as well as enhancing the psychosocial well-being of students. These programs can also serve as a means to raise awareness among professionals and students.

Anti-Racist Social Work Education: “Ready or Not, Here I Come, You Can’t Hide...”

ABSTRACT The 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) definitively identifies anti-racism as a necessary component of social work education. This change supports an effort to ensure that coming generations of social workers are more than culturally competent, but rather actively anti-racist in their practice across the micro, mezzo, and macro spectrum. While some social work programs have already embraced anti-racist education, many still have significant work to do. The fact remains that every accredited school will be required to make this shift to stay in compliance with CSWE accreditation once the newly ratified EPAS comes into effect. Although changes are expected of social work schools/programs, guidance on how to make such changes has been scarce. This paper provides an overview of what is meant by anti-racist social work education and why it is important, inclusive of emphasizing the difference between rhetoric and praxis. Based on a narrative review of the literature related to social work schools/programs in the U.S. and Canada that began incorporating anti-racism prior to EPAS 2022, suggestions for encouraging strategies within both the implicit and explicit curricula that align with anti-racist social work education are offered.

Creative critical reflection through poetry and prose

ABSTRACT Artefacts considered in this paper include poetry and prose from my previous doctoral research with social work students; exploring how they experience, express, and manage the emotional content of practice learning. The poetry includes I-poems, where words of students are taken directly from verbatim research transcripts and reconstructed as part of my sense-making. Additionally, an autoethnographic response via poetry and prose creates a counterpoint and further perspective. This co-construction between my experience and that of student participants promotes authenticity via powerful messages in poetic form. In the context of performative research, these artefacts are best shared. Utilising teaching sessions within a 3-year undergraduate social work programme in the UK, as a performative medium, these research artefacts enable current social work students to explore overarching learning outcomes. Students engage with artefacts as an introduction to qualitative research. Students experience at first hand, poetry and prose as a non-traditional research medium through the methodology of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). This enables exploration of artefacts, promoting a deeper engagement with complex narratives. They discover how poetry and prose present a valuable conduit for tangible emotional engagement and connection. In addition, students develop their own creativity when reflecting on practice, to support critical reflection.

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.

Exploring Social Work professionals' Experiences of the Mindfulness-Based Social Work and Self-Care Programme: A Focus Group Study.

The evidence for the potential of mindfulness-based programmes to support improved social work practice and self-care is growing. The aim of this focus group study was to explore social workers' (n = 13) experiences of the Mindfulness-based Social Work and Self-care programme (MBSWSC). Thematic analysis highlighted two superordinate themes: benefits to direct social work practice and coping with the social work role. Four subordinate themes highlighted the different social work practice components that were enhanced through MBSWSC participation: social work assessment, service user engagement and team working, working to social work values, and social work skills. Three subordinate themes identified improvements in individual processes which supported enhanced stress coping: moving from avoidant to approach coping, improved boundaries, increased emotional awareness and reduced negative thinking. Our findings indicate that the MBSWSC programme can have a multi-faceted positive effect on social work practice, and on social work professional's capacity to cope with their role.

Unveiling Graduate Readiness to Respond to Domestic and Family Violence in Australian Social Work Programmes

Abstract Social workers trained initially through university education are essential in community responses that seek to address domestic and family violence (DFV). However, research has shown an international shift towards dominant models of thought that individualise or pathologise understandings of DFV in social work practice. This is problematic as it can cultivate a disconnect from the social justice mandates of the profession. Re-centring DFV within the social work curriculum has since become a focal point, but following, there is a dearth in research to measure what change, if any, this has cultured. This is further complicated in the Australian context, where to date the authors acknowledge, few studies have examined the extent of social workers’ exposure to DFV within university curriculum. This project sought to redress this issue, by quantitatively surveying understandings and perceptions about DFV among Australian university social work students and recent graduates. Specifically, the study examines their attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and perceived proficiency about recognising and responding to DFV. The findings suggest that notions of feminist praxis may be diluted in social work curriculum specific to DFV, and as such novel approaches to reinvigorate a structural examination of DFV in Australian university social work curriculum warrant further attention.

A Call to Action: How Social Work Programs Can Respond to Student Food Insecurity.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated student food insecurity on college campuses and exposed the vulnerability of institutions with no food emergency response. During the COVID-19 pandemic and for years to come, the need for social work to lead efforts on college campuses to address student food insecurity is even greater. The need will continue to be significant for social workers in higher education to support students with basic needs, including resources for food, housing, childcare, and transportation. As has been true after other pandemics and economic downturns, professionally trained social workers are critical to brokering resources for individuals in crisis. This article critically examines the role of social work education in addressing the issue of student food insecurity. Through a conceptual lens, it explores the many dimensions of this problem and highlights vital contributions that social work can make within a higher education setting to alleviate food insecurity, enhance student well-being, and promote equitable opportunities for academic success.

Managerial aspects in macro social work education: comparative analysis between MSW macro programs and nonprofit management education

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to evaluate the scope of management education within macro social work programs in the U.S. and to contrast this with similar nonprofit management education programs across various disciplines. This comparison aims to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of management education in social work programs. For this purpose, a thorough list of macro-focused MSW degree programs in the U.S. was compiled using the CSWE database. We examined 521 courses from 86 MSW programs with a macro focus. These courses were analyzed and their content compared with that of nonprofit management education programs in other fields. Our findings reveal that while MSW programs in macro practice emphasize personal and interpersonal management skills, they often overlook crucial management tools like fundraising, marketing, philanthropy, and economics. Consequently, it is recommended that social work educators acknowledge the critical managerial competencies needed in social work agencies and incorporate a broader range of subjects to better equip future leaders in the field.

Social Work Programs for the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community: Shaping a Professional Identity and Meeting the Needs of the Community

ABSTRACT The ultra-Orthodox Jewish community is characterized by its strict religious observance and is a relatively self-secluding group existing as an enclave system. In the last few decades, a growing number of ultra-Orthodox Jews have pursued social work degrees. Social work is a profession that shares many of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community’s values, such as helping those who are in need. However, social work education and practice are also based on liberal-humanist approaches which may conflict with the community’s adherence to the Jewish law (halacha). To overcome some of these obstacles, and in order to meet their unique needs, there are a few programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education which are designed to teach social work to ultra-Orthodox Jews. We interviewed 21 graduates of such programs to learn about their experiences pursuing a master’s in social work. The results of this study indicate that these programs are culturally sensitive to the ultra-Orthodox community due to their gender-segregated classes, in-house rabbi, respecting the Jewish calendar, and employing instructors who understand the needs of the community. We conclude with implications for future research and policy recommendations to assess the fidelity of these programs and whether they sacrifice essential values of social work.

Practice development in social work: differences between social workers with a bachelor's and master’s degree

ABSTRACT A process of academisation in social work is going on in Europe, as illustrated by the establishment of master’s programmes in social work (MSW programmes) at Dutch universities of applied sciences. These programmes prepare social workers for systematically improving their practice. The goal of this study is to examine the differences between bachelor’s- and MSW-educated social workers in the extent to which they engage in social practice development (SPD) activities, including linking, cooperation, evidence-based practice (EBP) and reflexivity, in daily practice. Data were collected from a survey among professionals with a MSW degree (N = 54), bachelor SW degree (N = 89) and MSW students (N = 43). The results show that social workers engage in SPD activities, however to a modest extent. MSW-educated social workers engage in significantly more EBP and Reflexivity than professionals with a bachelor's degree. After controlling for working experience and main task, education levels alone appear to have a significant effect on the application of EBP. To stimulate SPD and practice improvement, further development of MSW programmes is needed, the influx of social workers in MSW programmes must increase substantially and employers should facilitate social workers to engage in SPD by task or function differentiation.