Social Work Commons^™

Reducing Youths Unemployment In Nigeria: The Development Of A Technical And Vocational Education And Training Survey Instrument, Omotola Olabisi Akinsola

Doctoral Dissertations

Youth unemployment has been on the rise for many years in Nigeria. Despite the high number of youths enrolled in formal education in Nigeria and the number of graduates each year, job opportunities to absorb these graduates are few. TVET has been proposed as an educational intervention in reducing youth unemployment.

A systematic review revealed that the interventions aimed at reducing youth unemployment were pooled into four categories: the use of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in schools, the introduction of entrepreneurship education in schools, the engagement of public-private partnership (PPP), and career guidance counseling for students.

In …

Employing Empathy: Using Video Simulations As An Intervention To Educate Social Work Students, Charles Adam Laffiteau

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A video simulation featuring a Master of Social Work (MSW) student assessing a fictional client, portrayed by a professionally trained student actor, dealing with suicidal ideations was developed to model empathetic and reflective techniques. The video simulation was filmed in collaboration with University of Arkansas Global Campus and is part of an interdisciplinary educational pilot program. This pilot program builds upon traditional role-play scenarios by incorporating experiential learning within the creation of cost-effective simulated interactions that employ student actors as standardized clients. Combining social learning theory and constructivism allows Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students to observe and analyze the …

School Social Work In Northern Uganda In A Post-Conflict Context: A Case Of Anaka Foundation, Julius Omona

International Journal of School Social Work

Anaka Foundation is an indigenous NGO that is operating in northern Uganda in response to the post-war development challenges. Anaka recently concluded a school social work project, a specialization which is common in Western countries, to attempt to improve the learning environment of vulnerable children selected from nine government aided primary schools. This school social work pilot project was supported with a grant from AfriCarinthia, an organization from Austria. Relevant social work theories were applied and significant systems in the learning environment of the children were targeted through different interventions. A mixed before-and-after evaluation approach was used to arrive at …

Changing The Music: Understanding Educational Obstacles For Youth In Foster Care, Amie J. Stearns, Iyc

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Due to increased tendency of children in foster care placements to perform poorly in school and to become involved with the juvenile justice system, there is a dire need for school districts to improve support systems for this vulnerable student group. This presentation may be of most interest to conference attendees as it explores the specific barriers which may hinder educational success for youth in foster care.

Are Students Competent? Methods Of Assessing Bachelor Of Social Work Student Competence, Amber L. Bailey-Residori

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Author Abstract:

Higher educational institutions must demonstrate that their Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students are competent prior to graduation. There are conflicting studies regarding the reliability of field instructor, faculty, and students’ self-assessment. The purpose of this study was to examine the consistency of how field instructors, faculty, and students assessed social work students' competence across three academic years. This quantitative research study examined historical data from one Midwestern University where students, faculty, and field instructors rated students’ competence in the last semester of their senior year using the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) 13 core competencies (2.1.1-2.1.10d). …

Does It Take A Village To Teach A Child? Lessons From Experiments In Education, Piyush Kuthethoor

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Why should we and how do we incorporate a community-based development model into the design, implementation and targeting of experimental programs? This project is motivated to create a useful theoretical framework or “lens” for development that reflects social reality, one which sees communities, the space of patterned, meaningful interpersonal relationships, as a locus of development. It is interested in ways that such a framework can help design adaptable policy innovations/developmental programs and come up with successful and sustained solutions to pressing human needs. First, a “lens” of community is developed for analysis using findings from behavioral studies, historic observations, philosophy, …

Analysis Of African American And White American Cognitive Profiles For Language And Cultural Influences, Nicole Jones

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Abstract

One of the most concerning aspects of special education is the overrepresentation of African American minority youth receiving special education services. Samuel Ortiz and colleagues considered the issue of the representation of the Latino, English Language Learner (ELL) population in special education services based on cognitive performance in relation to the mainstream population. To target this concern they determined an estimated level of expected cognitive performance of ELL’s and impact of language and cultural differences to help eligibility teams more appropriately interpret and place students with the aid of the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) model they developed. The current …

Quasi-Experiment Examining Cafeteria-Style Grading In Social Work Education, Brandon Youker, Lyza Ingraham

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Cafeteria-style grading system is an individualized student assessment method whereby students choose their assignments from an expansive and diverse pool of assignments. In this study, students are non-randomly assigned to two sections of the same social work course. The first section received cafeteria-style assignments and grading system (i.e., experimental group) while the comparison section received the traditional method of grading. Students in both sections video record a demonstration exercise; the recordings are reviewed and scored by experts from a panel of social work professors. Preliminary results show an effect on student attendance but no effect on GPA or student performance.