Social Work Programs Research Articles

Associations between resilience, technostress and reflective capacity in social pedagogy students: A structural equation modeling methodology

Understanding factors affecting student academic and life outcomes may be critical for social work programs and educational institutions. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationships between resilience, technostress and reflective capacity among social work students. A cross-sectional non-experimental research design was used. One hundred and sixty-three social work students completed an online survey measuring technostress level, reflective capacity and psychological resilience. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s to estimate linear correlations, confirmatory factor analysis to ensure model fit and structural equation modeling with covariates to reveal the relationships between the measured constructs. The results indicated that resilience had a direct and negative effect on technostress, a positive and direct effect on reflective capacity and a negative indirect effect on technostress through reflective capacity. This means that social work students with higher levels of resilience had lower levels of technostress related to technology use were more likely to engage in reflective practices and had lower levels of technostress due to improved reflective capacity. These findings emphasize the significance of resilience and reflective practices in mitigating the negative effects of technology use among social work students. However, researchers should be cautious about generalizing findings due to the sample’s limitations and future investigations should consider longitudinal data from diverse populations.

Developing Disability-Focused Pre-Health and Health Professions Curricula

People with disabilities (PWD) comprise a significant part of the population yet experience some of the most profound health disparities. Among the greatest barriers to quality care are inadequate health professions education related to caring for PWD. Drawing upon the expertise of health professions educators in medicine, public health, nursing, social work, and physician assistant programs, this forum showcases innovative methods for teaching core disability skills and concepts grounded in disability studies and the health humanities. Each of the essays offers practical guidance for developing curricular interventions appropriate for students at various levels of training and familiarity with disability to be implemented in classroom discussions, case-based learning, lectures, panels, and clinical simulations across the full spectrum of pre-health and health professions education.

Career readiness: preparing social work students for entry into the workforce

Career readiness of college graduates is of critical importance in higher education. As defined by the career readiness is the attainment and demonstration of requisite competencies that broadly prepare college graduates for successful transition into the workplace and/or graduate school. This article outlines the development of a sophomore-level course – Critical Thinking and Writing for Social Work Professionals – as part of a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program at Ball State University. The primary purpose of this course is to help students develop career readiness competencies that support their growth throughout their educational and professional social work careers. The career readiness competencies support the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards required by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The authors discuss the importance of this approach for undergraduate education and how career readiness enhances and builds upon CSWE competencies. The authors conclude with a brief discussion of student feedback and lessons learned through this process that suggests students’ gained career readiness skills.

Buddhist principles that can inform social workers commitment to anti-racism and social justice

ABSTRACT Over the past several years, the media has given greater attention to unarmed Blacks murdered by members of law enforcement. Even though African Americans comprise 13% of the population in the United States, they are disproportionately more likely to die at the hands of police. Many scholars highlight racism is the root of this violence. The premature deaths of unarmed African Americans have resulted in increased attention on anti-racism and social justice efforts, particularly within many Social Work programs in the United States. Since social justice, dignity and worth of the person, and the importance of human relationships are core values within the field of Social Work (National Association of Social Workers), we will examine how social workers may perpetuate racism by engaging in practices that are harmful to oppressed populations. In addition, we will discuss SGI Nichiren Buddhist principles and practices that could be incorporated into social work education and training to lessen the likelihood that social workers will contribute to the problem of racism. Furthermore, we will discuss how social workers can help train members of law enforcement to engage in anti-racist practices. Ultimately, we will examine principles of SGI Nichiren Buddhism that can inform social work’s commitment to anti-racism and social justice.

Implementing Heart Plus: Design and Early Results of a Novel Comanagement Clinic for Patients With Stimulant-associated Cardiomyopathy

We describe the methodology, design, and early results of a novel multidisciplinary co management clinic model with Addiction Medicine and Cardiology providers using contingency management to engage patients with stimulant-associated cardiomyopathy (SA-CMP). Stimulant use, including methamphetamine and cocaine, is increasing in prevalence nationally and is associated with cardiovascular complications. People with SA-CMP have higher rates of mortality and acute care use (eg, emergency department visits, hospital admissions) and lower rates of outpatient care engagement than individuals with non–SA-CMP. This population also has disproportionately elevated rates of mental health and other medical comorbidities, challenges with social determinants of health, including housing and food insecurity, and representation from communities of color. This multidisciplinary comanagement care delivery model, called Heart Plus, was developed and funded as a quality improvement project. It led to a 5-fold increase in outpatient care engagement with a concomitant 53% decrease in acute care use. All participants reported a decrease in stimulant use. With increased clinical stability, patients were able to better engage with outpatient resources for social determinants of health, such as case management, social work, and housing and food service programs. Patients were also empowered to take control over their health while knowing that health care providers cared about their well-being.

Cultural competence in social work education: a content analysis of MSW practice syllabi

ABSTRACT As an ethical and professional standard in social work education and practice, cultural competence must go beyond educating social work students about White privilege to promoting cultural consciousness and anti-racism. Using an anti-racist framework as a construct of cultural competence, this study examined the language in the course syllabi of graduate social work programs. Findings suggest that many graduate social work programs need to integrate more inclusive language in course syllabi and that further examination of anti-racism in course syllabi is needed. These findings have implications for including populations who have historically been marginalized in social work education.

Evaluating the Use of ePortfolios in Social Work Education: Assessing Student Competency in Meeting Graduate Attributes

ABSTRACT Social work external accrediting bodies are moving towards competency-based models that require educational providers to demonstrate that students meet specific competencies at graduation. It is expected that all social work students at accredited social work programs in Australia will have acquired specific graduate attributes and demonstrated the associated learning outcomes by the completion of their degree. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences and benefits of using an ePortfolio with Master of Social Work students (n = 43) to critically reflect on their own learning and demonstrate how they met the Australian Association of Social Work graduate attributes necessary for accreditation. The findings revealed that students’ perceived level of readiness for practice and identity as a professional social worker increased with the successful completion of the ePortfolio. The study also identified barriers and enablers in implementing the ePortfolio as an assessment piece to document overall program learning outcomes. The conclusion discusses how ePortfolios are a viable assessment tool in the online and blended learning space that has benefit for both the student and the program in demonstrating learning outcomes and compliance with accreditation graduate standards. IMPLICATIONS Academic ePortfolios are an effective tool for student reflection and communication of competence of required graduate outcomes. Student self-assessment of graduate attributes can strengthen professional identity and preparedness for professional practice. The ePortfolios benefit students and social work educators by sharing the accreditation-obligated responsibility of ensuring that AASW graduate competencies are met.

Development of a Needs Assessment for Low-income Seniors in Cleveland Ohio: A student-driven Interprofessional Approach.

Older persons with low socioeconomic status in the United States have different and unique health needs compared to younger persons. As part of a student-led, interprofessional partnership, we performed a needs assessment of community dwelling older persons with low socioeconomic status in an urban location within Ohio, USA. Three entities participated in the needs assessment: a student-run health clinic, a Federally Qualified Health Center, and an apartment complex of the study population. Health professional students from medical, dental, nursing, social work, nutrition, and physician assistant programs led the needs assessment process. The process consisted of multiple phases, which included preliminary literature review, survey development, data collection, and analysis. The final survey was multidisciplinary, with six content areas covered in 37 items. One hundred nineteen survey responses were received, and multiple areas of need were identified including food insecurity, dental care access, and mental health. 93% of participants had at least one unmet health need and 39% of respondents met our classification for high need. The needs of the local study population had key differences from previously published data in more generalized populations of older community-dwelling individuals in the United States, notably lower utilization of dental care (43% vs. 66%), increased prevalence of possible food insecurity (30% vs. 17%), and increased use of age-appropriate preventive cancer screening services. Multiple areas of need were successfully identified through a student-led interprofessional needs assessment. Future student teams can address the identified needs, again through interprofessional collaborations. This process may have unique benefits to help build robust community-academic partnerships, while fostering interprofessional collaborative opportunities among healthcare students.

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.

Impact assessment of academic support provided by tertiary learning advisors

In New Zealand higher education (HE), there is a lack of consistent ways of collecting evidence of the impact made by academic literacy support from Tertiary Learning Advisors (TLAs) on students’ academic performance, retention, and success. TLAs in New Zealand and Australia are primarily involved in providing learning support to students in post-secondary education to encourage development of their academic literacy and essential study skills. They are professional educators who advise students on issues related to academic writing and other academic skills, such as time management or exam preparation, to facilitate achievement of students’ goals of tertiary study (Griffith University, 2021). While it may be recognised that provision of learning support is desirable for a meaningful and successful HE experience for many students, hard evidence that learning support makes a difference to student retention and academic performance is difficult to find (Acheson, 2006, as cited in Breen and Prothero, 2015). This presentation sought to share an attempt to address this issue by investigating the impact of embedded academic literacy support provided by TLAs to three cohorts of students enrolled in undergraduate social work and early childhood education programs at my ITP (Institute of Technology and Polytechnic) in Auckland, New Zealand. Existing research in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom suggests that support that embeds academic literacy development in disciplines, rather than academic support that is generic and/or provided through foundation courses, represents a best practice model (Glew et al., 2019).

Pivoting in the Pandemic: Reflections of Graduates of a UK Fast Track Social Work Programme

This paper presents and discusses the findings of a small-scale longitudinal survey of trainees who embarked on one 14-month Step Up to Social Work (SUSW) qualifying programme in January 2020, just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic’s restrictions in the United Kingdom (UK). It explores their responses to changes made to their placements during their training and the impact on their subsequent employment. Three surveys were administered to this cohort (n = 30; 25 of whom agreed to participate): just before trainees completed their training in May 2021 (n = 23), halfway through their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) in January 2022 (n = 19) and at the end of this in September 2022 (n = 15). Respondents felt at least adequately prepared for social work, despite having missed much direct work with children and families during placements. Online learning and consultations through lectures and supervision were acceptable modifications but face-to-face interactions and colleagues’ guidance were missed in placements and initial employment. The implications of this are discussed for this specific route to qualification and initial employment as social workers.

Teaching Note—Incorporating Universal Instructional Design in Social Work Education: A Practical Application

ABSTRACT Universal instructional design (UID) is a framework that promotes a shift from individual remedial interventions to holistic learning models that are student-centered, accessible, and inclusive. Students with disabilities frequently report barriers that make educational experiences difficult, and recent studies report that students with disabilities experience ableism in their social work programs. UID strategies can decrease the need for students to make difficult self-disclosures to obtain academic accommodations, as learner diversity and accessibility are incorporated into all aspects of the course design and delivery. In this teaching note, we apply a UID framework adopted in social work education, illustrating how social work instructors can successfully implement UID principles into their teaching repertoires to enrich the social work education of all learners.

Pathways to Becoming a Full Professor: Guidelines for Associate Professors

ABSTRACT This article offers some general guidelines to social work faculty seeking to be promoted to the rank of Full Professor, guidelines that we hope will provide a beginning discussion for individual programs to develop more transparent criteria and expectations for promotion to the highest rank in the academy. Specifically, we offer guidance about the types of accomplishments in the areas of scholarship, teaching and service that can enhance one’s chances of being successfully promoted. Although this paper and its guidance are not intended to be an exhaustive list of potential achievements, the benchmarks presented represent criteria that would be likely to appear in the promotion dossier of candidates for promotion to full professor at the most rigorous programs in social work. While each social work program’s internal and university-wide standards may vary from those we present, our benchmarks represent an initial discussion that social work program faculty and administrators may modify and build upon.

The Mindfulness-Based Social Work and Self-Care Programme: A Focus Group Study

The Mindfulness-Based Social Work and Self-Care Programme: A Focus Group Study

Decolonizing Social Work Education and Practice with Students and Community Stakeholders: A Case Example from University of Calgary

ABSTRACTSocial work education in Canada has struggled to identify and disrupt systems of oppression and marginalization, rooted in a history of colonialism and slavery, that continues to reverberate through neocolonial policies, pedagogy, and practice. Universities and social work programs remain white spaces that uphold white supremacy, while actively excluding nonwhite members and their ways of knowing and being in the world. It wasn’t until the deepened retrenchment of anti-Black racism during the pandemic, punctuated by the killing of George Floyd, that a group of educators seized an opening to teach an anti-racist and anti-colonial praxis course for the Bachelor of Social Work students in spring of 2021, the first one of its kind in our faculty. Students were encouraged to engage with Indigenous and racialized community youth to imagine and integrate anti-racist and reconciliatory actions as part of their assignments. This paper shares our experiences co-designing and co-teaching this course together with community partners. We emphasize lessons from the applied pedagogical approaches as well as its implications for social work education and social work practice.

Suicide prevention and intervention education in Australian social work qualifying courses: are students adequately prepared for the workforce?

ABSTRACT Suicide is complex and multifactorial, with social, cultural, and economic components, exacerbated by inequalities, social injustice, marginalization important contexts, along with the immediate presenting crisis. Social workers are uniquely equipped for suicide crisis support, employed across clinical and non-clinical settings. However, how social workers access pre- service suicide education and training at the university qualifying level is poorly understood. Despite taking on roles in which they will be required to respond to suicidal people immediately upon graduation. All Australian qualifying social work programs are required to adhere to the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS). These standards identify that mental health content is to be embedded in Australian university curriculum. However, there are no clear directions regarding inclusion of suicide prevention in social work curriculum. An analysis of suicide-related education within 33 Australian universities with accredited social work qualifying degrees revealed that 1484 subjects are offered across all pre-service qualifying awards, only one currently offers standalone suicide focused subject. The focus on standalone suicide prevention reflects that suicide is not always connected to a mental ill-health presentation. Seeking to explore if targeted training to Social Work students on suicide intervention, postvention, and prevention occurs including recommendations for curriculum development.

A Tale of Two Mentees: Conceptualizing Academic Mentorship through Critical Systems Thinking

ABSTRACT Academic mentorship is a vital step in preparing the next generation, yet little information exists on what successful mentorship looks like—particularly the process by which one ascertains a mentor, builds and maintains mentoring relationships, and achieves success in doctoral programs. Systems thinking is applied here to conceptualize academic mentorship within doctoral education as perceived by three doctoral students in social work programs across two institutions. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the seminal literature on academic mentorship, (b) conceptualize exemplar cases of academic mentorship for doctoral education, (c) center the perspectives of doctoral students and their mentorship experiences, (d) use a systems-thinking lens to map and visualize the important variables related to mentorship processes, and (e) hypothesize potential levers for successful mentorship within doctoral programs.

Social Work Education Anti-Racism (SWEAR) Scale

ABSTRACT Social work education programs in the U.S. are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Amendments made to the 2022 competencies reflect antiracism language, which requires assessment opportunities in the classroom moving forward. An assessment tool that assesses efficacy across the four domains, specifically related to antiracism, is essential for practice readiness, assessment, and accountability for future professional social workers. This article presents the Social Work Education Anti-Racism Scale to help programs assess their progress toward preparing social work students to become practitioners who embrace antiracism. The final scale included 30 items on five subscales related to antiracism: knowledge, values, skills, cognitive and affective processes, and professional responsibility. Applications for accredited social work programs are discussed.

U.S. social work students’ attitudes on social media as treatment modality: A prepandemic national survey

Summary The present U.S.-based study adds to the ongoing discourse on the ethical use of digital technology in social work practice, made more urgent by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Following the achievement of Human Subjects approval, we obtained a stratified, random sample of 150 institutions of higher education with Council on Social Work Education-accredited undergraduate and graduate social work programs. Prior to COVID-19, we administered a 61-item, Likert-scale survey to social work program directors via email, who then communicated this information to student listservs. A total of 430 social work student responses were retained for analysis. The survey instrument included items related to the students’ social media use, their attitudes toward social media, and their knowledge of social media’s impact on society. Rao-Scott chi-square tests for independence were used to ascertain statistical relationships between U.S. social work students’ responses to the survey item, social media should be used as a treatment modality, and student demographic variables that include: Age, program level, course format, and social media use. Findings Statistically significant relationships were determined to exist between social work students’ endorsement of social media as a treatment modality and: (1) Age and (2) program level. Conversely, no significant relationships were found regarding (1) course format and (2) social media use. Applications Implications for social work professional education are discussed. Recommendations for future social work research are provided: (1) A national replication study; (2) qualitative studies; (3) a comparative study with social work educators and practitioners; (3) a global study; and (4) ongoing evaluation of direct practice methods.

Making a difference for the future: the views of Educators by experience about their involvement in social work education

ABSTRACT The involvement of people with lived experience of social work intervention is a crucial aspect of social work education and is firmly embedded in social work programmes within the UK. The benefit of such involvement by ‘Educators by Experience’ for students is well documented. For example, learning directly from people with lived experience can help students to develop their knowledge and skills. However, the benefit and impact of involvement for Educators by Experience is less well explored. This qualitative project aimed to understand why people with lived experience choose to become involved in social work education and how they felt about their involvement. 12 semi structured interviews were undertaken and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed the motivations for people’s involvement as well as a range of benefits that people experience as a result of this work. The paper highlights the support and ongoing work that is required in order to support the meaningful involvement of Educators by Experience in social work education.