Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Political Participation Of First Year Social Work Students: Does Practice Specialization Matter?, Jason Ostrander, Janelle K. Bryan, Addie Sandler, Paula Nieman, Maureen Clark, Emily Loveland, Tanya Rhodes Smith

Janelle K. Bryan

This study identifies the types of political participation engaged in by MSW students (n=214). A self-report survey administered to MSW students at a Northeastern university indicates limited political involvement. MSW students participate in political activities not requiring significant time, energy, or resources. Furthermore, on the scale and its two subscales, micro-oriented students had less political participation than macro-oriented students. This study suggests firstyear social work students may lack the tools to engage in the political process effectively. Schools of social work should include political participation education in both micro and macro foundation courses and field placements

Exploring The Flipped Classroom Model: In Social Work Education, Debbie Gonzalez

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This dissertation explores the use of a flipped classroom pedagogy in social work education. Flipped classroom pedagogy, a methodology which inverts the common instructional paradigm, has potential to offer an engaging framework for social work educators to implement in the classroom. The flipped pedagogical design provides a method in which to organize course content and promote innovative methods of student collaboration. In addition, the flipped classroom promotes an interactive learning process, in contrast to the passive learning environment of the traditional classroom. Currently, there is a lack of literature in social work regarding the implementation of this pedagogy into the …

Towards A Strengths Orientation In Child Welfare: Theory, Pedagogy And Practice, Mary M. Kirk

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

Underpinning social work education and social work practice are approaches that embrace strengths and resilience perspectives. Social work education aimed at students preparing for work in child welfare is no exception. This banded dissertation consists of three products that address linkages between strengths and resilience perspectives to social work education and practice with families involved in child welfare. The first paper is a conceptual article that discusses engaged pedagogy, transformative learning and reflective teaching pedagogies specific to child welfare-focused social work education. The paper explores the cogency of these pedagogies as powerful approaches for educating and preparing social work students …

Reconsidering The Social Work Education Continuum: Social Work Education At Community Colleges In The United States, Rex J. Rempel

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) will soon revise the social work education continuum by welcoming practice doctoral programs into membership, leaving community colleges as the only excluded level of higher education in social work. The three connected products in this banded dissertation use critical pedagogy and post-positivist perspectives to explore how and why social work education evolved independently at community colleges, one of the largest, most diverse, and most affordable educational systems in the United States.

Product One employs qualitative historical research to identify the forces which led community colleges and CSWE down separate paths between 1950 and …

Advancing Social Work Education For Practice In Healthcare: Transforming Education And Bridging The Classroom To Practice Gap, Katrinna M. Matthews

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This banded dissertation explores medical social work education as it relates to teaching social work students the skills and knowledge necessary to be effective in a healthcare setting. In addition, this banded dissertation identifies deficits in current curricula related to medical social work education and barriers to effective medical social work practice. This banded dissertation consists of three separate but closely related scholarly products. Bronstein’s Model of Interdisciplinary Collaboration, the Biopsychosocial-spiritual model, and the authors lived experiences serve as the conceptual framework that supports the findings of this research.

The first scholarly product is a conceptual article that examines the …

Simulation As Pedagogy: An Experiential Teaching Strategy For Social Work Education, C. Jean Roberson

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This banded dissertation is an examination of simulation as a pedagogy for social work education. While the Council of Social Work Education recognizes simulation as an accepted pedagogy, there remains little research on its use in social work education. To effectively utilize and structure simulation within the curriculum, more needs to be understood about its influences on social work student development and its fit within the social work educational context.

The first product of this dissertation, a conceptual paper, presents a framework for the use of simulation in social work education. The framework consists of three elements: holistic competency as …

Neurodiversity And Autism Spectrum Disorders: Grounding For Social Work Education And Praxis, Katie Terry

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This banded dissertation includes three products that use neurodiversity as a theoretical framework to explore how autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been treated in the social work academy. Neurodiversity is a social movement amongst some individuals with ASD who see the diagnosis as a difference, primarily manifested neurologically, in how their brains, senses, emotions and beings are different than typical people, which itself represents a type of diversity.

The first product is a paper that explores the emergence of the neurodiversity movement in the early 2000’s and the cogent factors that inspired this movement. The connection to social work’s strength-based …

Recollections And Voices: An Appalachian Community Revisited, Kristina M. Hash, Christine E. Rittenour, Catherine Gouge, Tamba M'Bayo, Lori Hostuttler, Tyler Redding

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Scott’s Run has a rich history as a tight-knit, coal-built community in the heart of rural Appalachia. To learn more about the lives of the community members during the Depression Era, an interdisciplinary research team from five departments at a major university in the state conducted an oral history project focused on historical photos of the community. Individuals who grew up in the area reviewed photographs taken early in the 20^th century and provided information and shared stories related to the time and place of the images for context. The interviews uncovered key themes that told a much more …

The Trans Person Is Not The Problem: Brave Spaces And Structural Competence As Educative Tools For Trans Justice In Social Work, Jama Shelton, Kel Kroehle, Maria Monica Andia

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work students must be equipped to confront injustice and oppression. Effectively challenging oppression necessitates attention to the ideological origins and subsequent systematic marginalization of oppressed populations. This article critically examines social work education as it relates to trans people and communities. We propose two interconnected pedagogical shifts for consideration: moving from the social work classroom as “safe space” to the social work classroom as “brave space,” and broadening the commonly used educative method of cultural competence to structural competence. We argue that these pedagogical shifts will better prepare social work students to disrupt cisgenderism and dismantle the gender binary, …

From The Empire State To The North Star State: Voter Engagement In The 2016 Election, Katharine M. Hill, Shannon R. Lane, Jenna Powers, Tanya Rhodes Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Voter engagement has the potential to be a fundamental part of social work practice and key to the professional socialization of social work students. This article describes a classroom-based voter engagement project conducted in two undergraduate social work programs in different U.S. states with significantly different voting laws. We describe the rationale, process of implementing the project, evaluation, and review the results in the context of the 2016 election. We suggest future research that can help develop best practices and methods for implementation of voter engagement in social work practice and education in the future.

Constructing The Structurally Competent Classroom, Leah A. Jacobs, Hanna Mark

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work seeks to address social problems through interventions that span micro and macro systems. As such, all social workers are obligated to understand the interplay between individual realities and structural forces. Yet prior models of structural social work play a marginal role in social work education, leaving social work educators without the means to meet these obligations. This structural gap in social work classrooms risks deemphasizing macro practice and failing to prepare micro practitioners to account for structural forces that impact client wellbeing and client-social worker interactions. This paper examines the framework of structural competence as a potential solution …

The State Of Substance Use Education In Master Of Social Work Programs : A Content Analysis Of Msw Curricula & Survey Of Msw Program Leaders, Dane Minnick

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

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 most social workers to operate effectively in the field. However, despite the regularity of interaction with substance using clients, a large body of research has suggested that social work students are ill-prepared to deliver substance use services upon completing their academic training, and that a significant deficit of substance use …

The Political Participation Of First Year Social Work Students: Does Practice Specialization Matter?, Jason Ostrander, Janelle K. Bryan, Addie Sandler, Paula Nieman, Maureen Clark, Emily Loveland, Tanya Rhodes Smith

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

This study identifies the types of political participation engaged in by MSW students (n=214). A self-report survey administered to MSW students at a Northeastern university indicates limited political involvement. MSW students participate in political activities not requiring significant time, energy, or resources. Furthermore, on the scale and its two subscales, micro-oriented students had less political participation than macro-oriented students. This study suggests firstyear social work students may lack the tools to engage in the political process effectively. Schools of social work should include political participation education in both micro and macro foundation courses and field placements

Chemical Dependence Harm Reduction: A Needed Application For Social Workers, Josie C. Schmitz

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the need for substance use education for social workers and their response when implicating harm reduction approaches within their chemical dependence practice. This study fulfilled the requirements outlined for a systematic review by having a series of requirements, such as articles pertaining to do with harm reduction methods and social work, to be included within the research. This method revealed 11 articles that met the needed requests and were later examined. Within the 11, articles three prominent themes emerged. The themes included, but were not limited to relationships, exposure, and ambiguity. The …

Benevolent Sexism: Manifestation In American Social Systems, Amanda D. Greubel

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This banded dissertation focused on the manifestation of benevolent sexism in American social systems, past and present. Benevolent sexism takes a subjectively-positive view of women in traditional roles, revering them as gentle, nurturing, and in need of protection by men or other more powerful members of society. These beliefs fall into three categories: protective paternalism, complementary gender differentiation, and heterosexual intimacy.

The first product was a historical textual analysis of documents from the Council on Social Work Education Task Force on Women. In 1973, the task force surveyed programs about their curricular content on women. Four themes were identified in …

Faith, Spirituality, And Social Work Education: An Exploration Into The Quest For Integration, Shannon Cassidy Cousineau

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the integration of faith and spirituality in higher education, more specifically for social work students. Faith and spirituality are important aspects of many people’s lives, and it is important for social work students to understand and comfortably discuss issues and strengths around religion and spirituality. Due to its proposition that people are spiritual beings, who believe in something beyond themselves, Transpersonal Theory is used as a guide for this banded dissertation. At its core, Transpersonal Theory provides a foundation for the journey many people take to find a belief in something outside themselves, either physical, emotional, …

Development Of Professional Identity In Social Work Education, Janet Holter

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

The development of social work professional identity is characterized by internalization of the knowledge, skills, values, and mission of social work, and begins with and is shaped by the content, and interactions, as well as student experiences within the context of the social work education curricula. This Banded Dissertation comprising three products centers on the development of professional identity within undergraduate social work education. The first product is a qualitative study in which the author examined student perceptions of professional identity, student definitions and perceptions of how social work education shapes students’ professional identity. Findings showed that intentional development of …

Developing Transformational Curriculum To Educate Social Work Students About Indigenous Peoples And Indigenous Knowledge, Deborah Thibeault

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

While efforts to recruit Indigenous social work students must be continued, social work educators need to ensure that non-Indigenous social work students are learning about the history, culture, and wisdom of Indigenous peoples. Additionally, social work students need to become aware of the impact the social work profession has had on this population. This awareness and understanding will help social workers practice from a place of being an ally and will assist in altering the views many Indigenous people have about social work. There are three products in this banded dissertation that focus on engaging social work educators in a …

Amplifying Lgbtq Voices In Social Work, Carey A. Winkler

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This banded dissertation is focused on amplifying LGBTQ voices in social work education and practice through an exploration of language, policies, standards, and practices used in social work education. Using a historical lens, feminist, queer, and critical theories were used to examine issues of power, voice, context, and social justice.

The first product is a conceptual paper that examines the history of the language used in social work education related to how we think and talk about diversity. This examination includes a critique of the use of the term difference and the othering impact it can have on LGBTQ individuals …

Faculty Perspectives On Financial Capability And Asset Building In Social Work Education: A Research Report, Margaret S. Sherraden, Jin Huang, Lissa Johnson, Peter Dore, Julie Birkenmaier, Vernon Loke, Sally Hageman

Center for Social Development Research

This report is based on a study conducted in collaboration with the Council on Social Work Education. The report presents findings from a national online survey of social work faculty. Results identify financial and economic (F&E) content taught in the current curriculum, gaps in coverage, and strategies for improving the academic preparation of social workers in these areas. Findings will inform financial capability and asset-building curriculum and improve the academic preparation of social workers.

Examining The Impact Of A Criminal Background In Social Work Education, Amy S. Vliek

Dissertations

Many returning citizens want to access higher educational institutions (HEIs) to access desired professions and increase employability. However, many HEIs and profession education programs have restrictions in place for returning citizens. An MSW is the most sought-after degree for returning citizens. However, social work education has restrictions in place for returning citizens. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the lived experiences of MSW returning citizen students considering these restrictions. The dissertation attempts to answer the following research questions: How did applicants who disclosed a criminal background at the time of application experience the MSW application process? Did the …

Distributive Justice And Equity In Grading: A New Instructor’S Reflections, Molly Malany Sayre

Molly Sayre

The author reflects upon early teaching experiences to identify a conflict between minimal distributive justice, or the distribution of goods that ensures all individuals have an acceptable level of that good (Deutsch, 1985), and grading of students’ assignments. Instead of addressing the unequal distribution of college preparedness among her students, the author’s grading reflected and potentially reinforced educational, racial, and economic inequalities. In agreement with Anastas (2010), an ethic of social justice is recommended for use in social work education. Social work educators can provide greater access to resources (e.g., the instructor’s time) for students experiencing disadvantages that affect their …

Global Interdependence And Its Effects On Social Work Education In The United States, Mioara Diaconu, Laura Racovita-Szilagyi, Samantha Graham

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social workers in the United States are confronted on a daily basis with challenges reflecting the imprint of globalization. Nevertheless, research shows that most of them are not trained to deal with the global realities of the 21st century, including how to use a rights-based sustainable development approach. This article proposes the use of a rights-based development model as opposed to a charity-based approach. It provides a rationale for implementing a global perspective in social work education that addresses sustainable development consistent with social work values and unique mission. Furthermore, it proposes that it is paramount to adhere to a …

Working With The Enemy? Social Work Education And Men Who Use Intimate Partner Violence, Rebecca Jury, Kathy Boxall

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This article examines service user involvement in social work education. It discusses the challenges and ethical considerations of involving populations who may previously have been excluded from user involvement initiatives, raising questions about the benefits and challenges of their involvement. The article then provides discussion of an approach to service user involvement in social work education with one of these populations, men who use violence in their intimate relationships, and concludes by considering the implications of their involvement for the social work academy.

Understanding Sampling And Recruitment In Social Work Dissertation Research, Rebecca G. Mirick, Ashley Davis, Stephanie P. Wladkowski

Rebecca Mirick

Mapping Social Justice: A Case Study Of A School Of Social Work Student-Led Social Justice Initiative, Lauren Abdill

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Throughout the history of social work, two different branches – micro social work and macro social work – have emerged. Micro social work is largely focused on treating mental and behavioral health problems in individuals, couples and groups. Macro social work, meanwhile, focuses on making systemic changes through advocacy like lobbying and community organizing. Despite their differences, a key principle unites these branches: social justice. Although the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) identify social justice as a guiding principle of social work, there is little consensus in the field of what …

Perceptions Of Macro Social Work Education: An Exploratory Study Of Educators And Practitioners, Katherine Hill, Christina L. Erickson, Linda P. Donaldson, Sondra J. Fogel, Sarah M. Ferguson

Social Work Faculty Publications

Social work graduate education is responsive to and reflective of larger environmental forces, including economic and job market trends, regulations by diverse organizations, and student interests. A national online survey of macro social work educators (n=208) and macro social work practitioners (n=383) explored their perceptions of the intersections between these forces and graduate social work education. Findings indicate that while there remains a consistent level of support for and inclusion of macro social work within MSW programs from both groups, macro practitioners identified a concurrent experience of negative perceptions, attitudes, and experiences toward macro social work education while in their …

Social Worker Perceptions On Education For Generalist And Specialist Roles, Jamie Blackledge

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The current study examines the following question: How well does social work education prepare a Generalist or a Specialist to be in their social work role? Findings from existing research and interviews of five Generalist and five Specialist social workers within the Minneapolis - St. Paul metro area were reviewed to explore the adequacy of the current BSW and MSW curriculum in preparing students for social work practice after completing their degree. Recent literature and responses from interviewees revealed common themes endorsed by both Generalist and Specialist social workers. Both note the relevance of generalist social work curriculum for Generalist …

Working With Mental Illness And The Preparation Of Social Workers, Destini Triplett

Honors Theses

Social workers are often the front line responders for individuals with mental illness. However, there has been limited research related to how social workers are prepared, what the best practices are, and what suggestions have been made to improve preparation in this kind of setting. This research study included a cross-sectional mixed methods study examining the knowledge and preparation of social work professionals as well as recommendations for improving education. The results indicated that social work educators and professionals are competent in their knowledge of mental health. The qualitative responses indicated three overarching themes: (1) confidence in abilities but acknowledgement …

Preparing Students For Applied Learning: Assessment Of Mentor Training, Denise Anderson, Michael Keigher

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Applied learning plays an integral role in social work education. From the beginning of the program, social work majors complete a required 30 hour applied learning in a school setting where they mentor children. In order to better prepare the social work and other majors for the learning opportunity, this semester a 2 hour mentor training (that is offered to community members who mentor in the Kankakee School District) was required at the start of the semester. This presentation compares the post applied learning feedback from last semester and this semester (preliminary) to determine the impact of the training on …