Social Work Students Research Articles

Understanding empathy in Norwegian social work education

ABSTRACT Empathy is pivotal to social work practice when interacting with clients, patients and their families. It is thus also important in social work education. Still, empathy as a skill is usually addressed as one of many components of communication and relational work. This study therefore compares the empathy profiles of undergraduate social work students in Norway to those of teacher education students and experienced social workers. The focus is on how empathy is understood and monitored in educational settings, particularly through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Data were gathered anonymously through an online survey (N = 417) and analyzed to determine significance and whether meaningful interpretations could be made. The findings suggest differences in empathy levels among social work students, their supervisors and teacher education students, with theoretical insights discussed to enhance empathy teaching. This paper argues for the importance of empathy in social work practice and education, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of empathic development in social work students.

Adolescent Dating Violence Prevention: Teaching Social Justice Oriented Skills and Strategies to Undergraduate-Level Teachers and Social Workers

Youth from socially marginalized populations are at increased risk of experiencing adolescent dating violence (ADV), since they are often directly impacted by root causes of violence (e.g., homophobia, racism). Because structural inequalities impact youth’s experience of ADV, ADV is a social justice issue. In this paper, we describe a symposium series that taught education and social work students about their role in preventing ADV through a social justice lens. We present a pilot evaluation of the symposium series using survey ( n = 34) and interview ( n = 7) data. Results of this study (quantitative and qualitative) suggest students showed an increase in willingness and confidence to prevent and respond to ADV through a social justice lens after completing the symposium series. This work highlights the importance of incorporating critical theory into ADV prevention efforts, especially as it relates to serving youth who are marginalized and for promoting social justice in schools.

The Impact of Virtual Reality Simulations on Social Work Education: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the potential of virtual reality (VR) simulations for use as an effective learning modality for social work education. At a public college in a large U.S. Northeastern city with a mostly self-identified non-White student body, 19 respondents, including five BA and seven MSW social work students, as well as seven graduated former MSW students, participated in one of three focus groups in which they shared their thoughts and feelings regarding two VR simulations they experienced. One of the VR applications concerned racism and the other homelessness. The study found that VR has the ability to be an immersive and immediate experience that arouses intense emotional reactions in participants, thereby enhancing their empathy toward the individuals portrayed in the simulations and increasing participants’ motivation to participate in social action. The respondents overwhelmingly expressed that VR should be integrated into social work education, but that the emotional intensity it engenders creates the need for careful pre-briefing and debriefing. Issues of physical discomfort for some participants during the simulations need to be addressed as well.

The Perils of Service Provision in Unsafe Areas: Providing Continuing Services to Youth during Gang Violence in the Cape Flats, South Africa

Youth involvement in criminal gangs is rife in a particular area of Cape Town, the capital city of Western Cape, South Africa, known as the Cape Flats. But the Cape Flats is not unique and the youth’s susceptibility to join these gangs cuts across cultures and societies. Wherever there is marginalisation and disadvantage, social issues emerge that are difficult to combat because of systemic and structural barriers. Community workers and those who live in these areas are often at their wits end trying to combat the allure that gang membership holds for their teenage children. This article reports on a study that was part of a larger research study conducted between 2016–2018 by social work students at a university situated in the area. The article reflects the findings of the 2018 study that focused on the perceptions and experiences of those who work or provide services in the area. The aim of the study was to explore the participants’ experiences of gang violence during service provision and their opinions about ways to address their concerns. A qualitative approach, utilising an intervention mapping design was used. Individual interviews were conducted with 325 service providers on the Cape Flats. Two main themes emerged from thematic data analysis, namely, impact on service providers and service delivery, and suggested interventions and solutions. The implications of the findings are that the increasing violence has severe consequences on service provision in communities and is disruptive and traumatising to everybody involved.

Educating Students for Political Participation: Bringing “Voting is Social Work” to Life

ABSTRACT Elections have become the new battleground for democracy and civil rights. Yet few social work programs provide opportunities for students to gain competency in electoral politics and voter engagement. This article describes an elective course for Master of Social Work students offered in the runup to the 2018 and 2020 elections. Using classroom and community-based learning, students engaged in activities designed to maximize voter participation. Feedback derived from multiple sources speaks to student learning, feelings of accomplishment, a recognition that voting matters, and insights regarding the link between voting and social work. This course represents one model that can be replicated, in whole or in part, as social work programs seek to incorporate voting-related activities into their curricula.

‘I do not know if I will have the energy to come to placement tomorrow’: Fast-Tracking Racially Minoritised Students to Failure in Social Work Education

Abstract We build upon previous work that explored the evidence base of ‘failure to fail’ on practice placements across professions. We found a lack of convincing evidence of ‘fail to fail’ within assessed practice learning placements and could not ascertain the extent of this issue. The literature was stronger about why it ‘might’ or ‘could’ be difficult to fail students on placement. We concluded that if there was a reluctance to fail students, that hesitancy was not shown when failing racially minoritised students. Using critical race theory, we noted instead, fast tacking to failure. Data were re-examined from two previous studies that focused on the experiences of Black African social work students in England. We identified two ways in which practice educators operationalised fast tracking to failure. Firstly, the speed at which negative judgments were made about students’ abilities, and related to this, asking personal and insensitive questions, and secondly, the speed of decision about placement failure. We argue that the debate needs to move away from fail to fail and instead, focus on who is being fast tracked to failure, and how racism and other discrimination is addressed forcefully in social work policy, practice and education.

Evaluating community projects through participatory rural appraisal: case study of a CSR initiative in India

ABSTRACT The success of any project depends on the stakeholder participation. There are many methods by which stakeholder participation is ensured in a project. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is an approach that is used by many development projects to incorporate knowledge and opinions of the stakeholders, especially the beneficiaries, in various stages like planning, implementation, and evaluation. This paper documents a PRA exercise done by trained social work students to evaluate a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects implemented in India. Apart from highlighting the process of conducting PRA, this paper sheds light on the possibility of using participatory methods like PRA to assess CSR projects in India, which ensures the inclusion of the perception of beneficiaries. The research adopted a case study approach, and the participants were the beneficiaries of CSR projects in the community. Qualitative feedback was also taken from 20 participants to understand the advantages of using participatory tools in the performance evaluation of CSR. The group discussions, in-depth interviews and PRA techniques were adopted to gather data. The findings underline the relevance of social work professionals in CSR initiatives and also the role of PRA in empowering the beneficiaries.

Food Insecurity Knowledge and Training Among College Students in Health Majors

ObjectiveTo describe current food insecurity (FI)-related training among nutrition/dietetics, public health, and social work students. MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was used among students (n = 306) enrolled in health-related programs at 12 US universities. Participants reported FI-related course-based and extracurricular experiences and rated confidence to address FI on a scale of 1–3. Open-ended questions investigated perceived definitions of FI and impactful course activities. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used for data analysis. ResultsParticipants’ FI definitions were multifaceted. Most (80.6%) reported FI being covered in at least 1 course. The overall mean confidence to address FI was 2.2 ± 0.48. Participants suggested increasing application-based opportunities and skills training. Conclusions and ImplicationsMost students have a basic understanding of FI and report high confidence to address it in the future. Impactful FI-related experiences and participants’ suggestions guide developing an FI training resource to enhance student FI competency and sensitivity.

Defending Discomfort: A Critical Social Work Case Against Trigger Warnings

ABSTRACT Trigger warnings have become a hotly contested practice in higher education, including within the field of social work. Learning to become a social worker can be a demanding process that requires in-depth study about often socially taboo and traumatic topics. The learning process can, understandably, cause discomfort that may result in a disconcerting or anxiety-provoking experience for social work students. However, the inclusion of challenging topics in social work education, including human rights violations, domestic violence, sexual abuse, racism, sexism, and many other social injustices is essential in the development of competency in social work practice. What remains unclear is the role and responsibility of universities and subsequently educators, in how we include or exclude trigger warnings, their relevance to social work education, and how we manage the expectations of students and their responses to the exposure of sensitive material. This article argues that trigger warnings may contribute to the pathologization of the experience of discomfort while simultaneously silencing oppressed students who may not identify with the language or experience of being triggered. This article investigates trigger warnings from a critical social work perspective and considers if the use of trigger warnings may potentially be more harmful than helpful.

Considerations for Marginalized Fathers in Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE) Courses: Insights for Social Work Educators and Students

ABSTRACT Despite the important role fathers play in the lives of their children, social workers report that they do not feel prepared to work with fathers. It is ethically imperative that social workers are equipped to effectively serve diverse groups of fathers in practice, especially those who are marginalized within society. Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE) courses provide an optimal opportunity for the incorporation of fatherhood content in social work education. Based on reflections on our own teaching experiences, research expertise, and existing literature, we recommend father-specific content for inclusion in HBSE courses. We also draw on person-in-environment and intersectionality to describe the lived experiences of specific marginalized father groups. Finally, we provide Council on Social Work Education competency-based course objectives and assignments that can be used by social work educators to incorporate fatherhood content in their respective HBSE courses, along with strategies that social work students can apply in their work with the father groups highlighted in this article.

Understanding feelings, thoughts, and actions: Social work students and individual research consultations

The purpose of this study was to better understand how individual research consultations (IRCs) with a librarian impact undergraduate social work students' feelings, thoughts, and actions during their information search process. Screencast videography was the primary method of data collection in this qualitative case study. Participants (n = 7) were sampled from a social work research seminar course at a regional university in the upper Midwest. Both prior to and after an IRC, study participants joined a recorded Zoom meeting with the researcher, share their screen, and talk aloud during their search process. Follow up interviews with participants were also conducted. Results showed participants' feelings moved from confused prior to the IRC to confident after the IRC. Participants had a more refined topic and were more effective in applying inclusion and exclusion criteria when selecting articles for their literature review assignment after the IRC. The actions students took after the IRC were more beneficial to their information search process, especially when it came to reading and understanding scholarly research. These results underscore the value IRCs can provide to undergraduate social work students. The findings of this study demonstrate and explain changes in student information seeking as a result of an IRC.

Role-playing the future: a simulation-based exploration of AI in social work

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to permeate various sectors, its integration into social work practice, particularly in identifying at-risk families, demands a nuanced understanding and ethical engagement from future social workers. This paper presents an account of a simulation-based learning exercise conducted with Masters in Social Work [MSW] students at an Irish university. Through role-playing as different stakeholders, students engaged with a fictional scenario that involved the deployment of an AI algorithm in Ireland for identifying at-risk families. The exercise illuminated diverse perspectives on the implications of AI in social work, highlighting key ethical dilemmas, regulatory challenges and the need for comprehensive education on AI technologies. The findings support the effectiveness of simulation-based learning as an effective way to prepare social work students for the ethical, practical, and policy complexities of integrating AI into their future practice.

Embedding Cultural Knowledge in Social Work Education: Reflections from Master of Social Work Students at a Regional Australian University

Abstract Social work students (SWS) are increasingly demanding diverse curriculums and training in skills that will help them decentre whiteness as their default position of professional practice. This article reports on findings from a qualitative study exploring how Masters of SWS at a regional Australian university engaged with content delivered in a core unit with a strong focus on anti-racist, anti-oppressive practices. The unit’s structure and delivery facilitated a dialogue that compelled students, especially those from dominant cultural groups, to ‘think of and reflect on themselves as ‘raced’ rather than the invisible ‘norm’ to which all other cultural groups are compared’ (Walter et al., 2011, p. 8).The unit raised complex questions about how social services and policies unwittingly reproduce discourses of rescue and saviourism towards racially and culturally marginalised communities and how students could challenge such practices. The article’s emphasis on supporting SWS towards a triangulated trajectory reports on how experiences of cultural knowledge in the classroom are facilitated by (i) the experience (or lived expertise) of the educator, (ii) the willingness of the student to interrogate their intersectional social positioning in society and (iii) a practice framework that focuses on curiosity and humility rather than competence.

A Mediating Effect of Public Service Motivation on Retention Intention Among Child Welfare Students: Task Self-Efficacy

ABSTRACT Purpose This study investigates the role of Public Service Motivation (PSM) in retaining highly skilled and qualified child welfare graduates within the public child welfare sector. Materials and methods Three entire cohorts of child welfare student social workers over three years (N = 125) in BSW and MSW child welfare programs at seven universities in a Southern state were surveyed to examine the effects of task self-efficacy achieved through the curriculum and public service motivation on retention intention among social work students specializing in child welfare practice at both the baccalaureate and master’s levels. Mediation analysis was conducted to estimate the indirect effect of self-efficacy on students’ retention intention. Results The self-efficacy of child welfare students, operationalized as their confidence in performing competencies, significantly influences their intention to remain in the field of child welfare. Furthermore, self-efficacy among child welfare students has a statistically significant effect on their PSM. PSM, in turn, significantly impacts their intention to persist in child welfare work. Discussion The findings indicate that PSM partially mediates the relationship between students” self-efficacy and their intent to remain in child welfare work, even when controlling for educational background. We recommend that child welfare agencies recognize and nurture workers” PSM by incorporating practices that promote PSM.

A community-engaged interprofessional project led by medical students, school of social work students, and resident physicians: lessons learned and recommendations for success

ABSTRACT Addressing health disparities through community engagement and interprofessional partnerships is increasingly critical. However, learner-led approaches that integrate medical students, resident physicians, and social work students are not well-studied. We designed a learner-led, interprofessional, public health campaign for a majority Hispanic community, with the goals of building interprofessional leadership skills, engaging learners to address COVID-19 inequities, and disseminating lessons learned. Faculty and students from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Schools of Medicine and Social Work partnered with community leaders to pilot an interprofessional project supported by the American Association of Medical Colleges’ Nurturing Experiences for Tomorrow’s Community Leaders (AAMC NEXT) Award. We describe the process of selection of a 12-member learner team of medical students, resident physicians, and social work students, and how we enacted the project from December 2020 to June 2021. Lessons learned in implementing our learner-led, community-engaged, interprofessional approach included: building interprofessional leadership skills, setting member roles and responsibilities, instilling requisite knowledge and skills, engaging with the community, and disseminating research findings. These lessons can guide other institutions seeking community-engaged interprofessional projects with learners.

Noticing ‘them things that may have gone amiss otherwise’: exploring social work placements in schools in England

ABSTRACT Schools play a crucial in the lives of children, families and communities and are increasingly used by social work programmes in England for practice learning. This qualitative study involved in-depth semi structured interviews with ten social work students who had undertaken at least one placement in a school in England. The aim of this study was to understand social work students’ experiences of placements in schools and to explore the benefits and challenges associated with school-based placements. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, manually coded and analyzed for broad themes. The findings indicate a lack of clarity about the roles and tasks expected of student social workers in schools and highlights some benefits for children and families. Implications for social work education and practice are identified.

Conceptualizing Professionalization for Black Social Work Students

ABSTRACT This paper presents a conceptual practice model for professionalization to serve Black students who are matriculating through social work programs, especially those who are novice or less experienced in the field. The model is informed by a review of literature that explores professionalization of Black students across disciplines including social work, as well as my empirical research with Black students (across the Black Diaspora) in a related field who were pursuing graduate degrees. It is also contextualized by the Council of Social Work Education’s Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. I end the paper by making recommendations for utilizing the model in social work education, while uplifting best practices in Black-centered social work programs and practice models. This piece prioritizes Black students as its audience, to help (a) demystify professionalization for them and (b) explicitly identify actions they can take to personalize and pursue their own developmental processes.

Methodological bias in social work education: the silence of quantitative approaches in students’ research in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT This study examines the factors contributing to the low utilization of quantitative research approaches among social work research students. A census sampling technique was employed to conduct a survey of 1268 students who had completed their final year research dissertations. The descriptive statistics revealed that 81% (n = 1022) of social work students employed qualitative research, 16% (n = 208) used mixed methods, and only 3% (n = 38) utilized quantitative approaches. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed factors that were statistically significant (ρ<.05) in predicting low utilization of quantitative approaches that include; the supervisor’s preference, the student’s secondary education, training in research methods, competency in statistics, methodological flexibility and suitability, resources constraints, professional assistance, and fear of failure. These findings prompt recommendations for social work training institutions to enhance their research capacity, adopt co-supervisions, advocate for quantitative research, and prioritize continuous research mentorship in statistical tools.

Using student stand out moments to reclaim school-based social work placement

During the pandemic, one university experienced considerable challenge sourcing placements for student social workers. In response, they developed the SWIS project through which placed nearly 50 students in schools. To capture their experiences in practice learning, students were invited to participate in a reflective workshop. This paper focuses on one activity where students were asked to reflect on ‘stand out moments’ (SOM) when undertaking their school-based placement. The paper is underpinned by transformative learning theory, through which we explore the journey or process in practice learning which can facilitate growth and change. The data was collected as part of a wider action research study, with findings reasserting the centrality of direct work and relationship-based practice. The discussion section highlights how school-based placements provided significant opportunities for learning and development, such as being afforded the ‘freedom’ to be creative in developing child focused interventions. This paper has implications for revisiting the potential for school-based practice learning, as settings with wide ranging learning opportunities, which can inspire and empower students.

Enhancing graduate nursing and social work students’ collaboration through screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment and simulated education

BackgroundNurses and social workers are frontline providers to at-risk patients of substance and alcohol abuse but have limited education. MethodsA one-semester program incorporated multimodal education and simulated patients teaching graduate nursing and social work students SBIRT and interprofessional skills. Students completed the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Assessment Scale pre- and post-program measuring interprofessional competencies. ResultsOne hundred graduate students (58 social work, 42 nursing) participated across two cohorts. There was significant increase in total competency post-program, t(99) = 7.19, p < .001, and among all subscales. ConclusionMultimodal education with simulation increases graduate students’ interprofessional competency, preparing them for careers with at-risk patients.