Social Work Commons^™

Mental Health Problems Among Elementary School Students Mandated To E-Learning: A Covid-19 Rapid Review Caveat, Renée M. D'Amore, Angelina N. Halpern, Lauren R. Reed, Kevin M. Gorey

International Journal of School Social Work

Extended lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic mandated millions of students worldwide to e-learning and by default made many of their parents proxy homeschool teachers. Preliminary anecdotal, journalistic and qualitative evidence suggested that elementary school children and their parents were probably most vulnerable to this stressor and most likely to experience mental health problems because of it. We responded with a rapid review of 15 online surveys to estimate the magnitude of such risks and their predictors between 2020 and 2021. The pooled relative risk of mental health problems among school children and their parents was substantial (RR = 1.97). Moreover, …

Social Work Educators’ Perceptions Of School Social Work Leadership – What Are The Characteristics That Make A Leader?, Christine Vyshedsky

International Journal of School Social Work

Social workers in school settings are uniquely poised to propose and implement proactive solutions to climate stressors, but they may not capitalize on this opportunity to lead. This study explored the perceptions of Masters’ level social work educators, who set the tone and expectations for school social workers through curricula, towards the inclusion of leadership-related skills within school social work curriculum. A survey of educator administrators (n = 75) at Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited institutions examined leadership as defined through a combination of two proposed definitions for social work leadership, delineated by Holosko, 2009 and Hopson & …

Therapist, Intermediary Or Garbage Can? Examining Professional Challenges For School Social Work In Swedish Elementary Schools, Maria Kjellgren, Sara Lilliehorn, Urban Markström

International Journal of School Social Work

The overall aim of this article is to describe and analyse critical components that influence the role and performance of school social workers in the Swedish elementary school. Special attention will be paid to aspects related to formal regulations, professional self-understanding, and SSWs’ role in the interplay between professional domains involved in elementary school.

The data collection was conducted through four semi-structured qualitative focus group interviews with a total of 22 School Social Workers (SSWs) in four different regions in Sweden during the latter part of 2019.

The results reveal three main challenges for the SSW: 1. To …

Exploration Of Implementation Variables Impacting Trauma Informed Practices In Schools: A Narrative Review, Rachel A. Parker, David Hodgson, Lisa Wood, Karen Martin

International Journal of School Social Work

Current literature suggests that by using trauma- informed practices (TIP) in our schools and classrooms, positive short and long-term outcomes can be achieved for both children and their communities. However, there is little research identifying what helps or hinders the implementation of trauma-informed practice in schools or the development of a practitioner’s trauma-informed pedagogy. As part of this narrative review, 25 trauma- informed practice implementation variables were identified from 34 peer-reviewed works of current (2015-2020) literature using a process of thematic analysis. This review utilised an ecological model as an overlay to present these variables in a useable format. The …

School-Based Mental Health Services For Racial Minority Children In The United States, Shinwoo Choi, Hyejoon Park, Yeongbin Kim, Ching-Hsuan Lin

International Journal of School Social Work

Racial minority children have been an underserved population and are particularly vulnerable due to limited access to community resources, especially mental health services. Schools have been noted as appropriate that environment to deliver services for underserved children (Blewett, Casey, & Call, 2004). However, little is known about the effectiveness of exiting school-based services targeting minority students. Therefore, this study reviewed past research regarding the effects of school-based mental health services (SBMHS) for racial minority children and analyzed the methodological and cultural features. By applying the Levels of Evidence-Based Intervention Effectiveness (LEBIE) scale and the cultural sensitivity criteria, the researchers examined …

School Mental Health In Charters: A Glimpse Of Practitioners From A National Sample, Jandel Crutchfield, Kate L. Phillippo, Annahita R. Ball

International Journal of School Social Work

Charter schools are part of a global push for alternative governance models in public education. Even though U.S. charter schools enroll nearly 3.2 million children, little is known about school mental health (SMH) practice in charter schools. The current study was the first step in a line of inquiry exploring SMH and school social work practice in charter schools. Using cross-sectional survey research methods, the authors conducted brief one-time phone surveys with charter school social workers and counselors identified using a stratified random sampling strategy with national charter school lists. The final sample for analysis was 473 schools. Of these, …

Editor's Message For Ijssw Special Issue On Trauma Informed/Responsive Services

International Journal of School Social Work

NA

Flooding Schools: School Mental Health Providers And The Climate Crisis, Erik J. Reinbergs, Sarah Fefer

International Journal of School Social Work

This study provides an example of using a problem-solving model to explore the impact of the climate crisis on schools. Using publicly available climate change and flooding prediction data, we estimate that by 2100, assuming a “medium” climate change scenario, more than 1677 schools in the coastal United States are expected to flood every year and more than 2262 schools are expected to flood every 10 years. Within the data, “medium” is defined as warming levels that will lead to an estimated five feet of sea level rise by the year 2100. Limitations in the data suggest these numbers are …

Tasks And Impact Of School Social Work In Switzerland As Perceived By Teachers, Principals And School Social Workers – A Multilevel Analysis, Werner Wicki, Roland Künzle, Marianne Mueller, Uri Ziegele, Karin Stadelmann, Kurt Gschwind

International Journal of School Social Work

To investigate whether the perceptions of school-based professionals regarding the tasks and impact of school social work (SSW) converge or diverge, this study collected survey data among 638 teachers, 41 school social workers, 62 principals, and 23 special education teachers distributed over 92 Swiss schools. After constructing several scales measuring the tasks and the impact of SSW via principal factor analyses, ANOVA’s were carried out to compare the mean perceptions of the included professionals. To prove for related perceptions between teachers and school social workers multilevel analyses were performed by including additional exploratory variables such as school context and personal …

School Social Work In Vietnam: Development And Capacity Building Through International Collaboration, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Nguyen Thu Ha

International Journal of School Social Work

International collaborations and exchanges have been a part of the social work profession since its beginning. The internationalization of social work is firmly established with the presence of multiple international social work organizations. In the specialization of school social work, there are opportunities for exchange through an international school social work conference held every two to three years. It was at this conference that the authors met to initiate a collaboration in support of the development of school social work in Vietnam. This paper discusses the collaborative efforts and project funded by a Fulbright Specialist grant to support the development …

Teen Depression, Stories Of Hope And Health: A Promising Universal School Climate Intervention For Middle School Youth, Michael S. Kelly, Peggy Kubert, Heather Freed

International Journal of School Social Work

This study describes the delivery of the Teen Depression: Stories of Health and Healing (TDSHH), a brief school-based depression awareness delivered for middle school students. The main objectives of the proposed evaluation were to examine the effects of TDSHH on middle school health students in the areas of knowledge about depression, willingness to seek help from adults and belief that adults can help. Two Chicago suburban middle schools agreed to be part of the TDSHH intervention study. In both schools, a pre/post-test wait-list control quasi-experimental design was used. Each student in the study (total N=223) completed a questionnaire that incorporated …

The Use Of Data In Decision Making For School-Based Social Work, Robert Lucio, Michael Campbell, Michael S. Kelly

International Journal of School Social Work

Industries are increasingly taking advantage of the access provided in the digital age to use data to inform business and practice-based decision making. The profession of social work has recently called for social workers to become more data-driven, through its Grand Challenge to leverage technology such as data-driven decision making for social good. School-Based Social Workers, who often work in educational contexts that demand they collect and use data are being asked to figure out ways to engage data to help promote evidence-informed practices and process level changes. Using a scoping review, this article looks at the state of the …

It’S About Time: Initial Findings From A Feasibility Study Of A Time-Study Tool For School Social Workers In Michigan, Michael S. Kelly, Steven Whitmore

International Journal of School Social Work

Starting in late Summer of 2015, the two authors began collaborating on the pilot testing of a school social work (SSW) time-study tool with a sample of SSW in suburban Detroit (n=9). This article details the path towards the development of the time-study tool, drawing from the extant literature on workload and caseload issues in related special education fields, and resulting in the time-study tool that was first piloted with SSW in 2015-2016. Initial data from year one of the two-year 2015-2017 pilot project is shared in this article, along with qualitative data based on interviews with the SSW in …

College Access For Undocumented Students And Law, Jessica C. Enyioha

Educational Considerations

There are over 32 million undocumented immigrants in the United States and of this population, over 1.5 million are children (Palmer & Davidson, 2011). These children grow up in the US, achieve primary and secondary education, and when they are ready to pursue postsecondary education, it becomes harder for them to achieve. In this paper, undocumented students’ access to postsecondary education in the US is examined: laws that affect their access to postsecondary education, previous cases on access to education for undocumented students, and the difficulties undocumented students often encounter when pursuing postsecondary education are discussed and analyzed. Best practices …

The Development Of A Social Work Program For An Islamic Day School In Southwestern Ontario, Siham Elkassem, Rick Csiernik

International Journal of School Social Work

The Development of a Social Work Program for an

Islamic Day School in Southwestern Ontario

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of a social work program for an Islamic Day School in London, Ontario, Canada. The Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration (MRCSSI), and London Islamic School (LIS) developed A Safe Space for Children (SPC) school social work program after extensive community consultation and feedback from leadership and school teachers revealed the need for mental health supports for students. A program implementation and evaluation design was developed by the MRCSSI in collaboration with the LIS and accepted by …

School Social Workers: A Call To Action In Support Of Human Rights, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Raylinn Nuckolls

International Journal of School Social Work

The global climate of extremism and direct attacks on marginalized groups such as LGBTQI persons, Muslims, women, immigrants, and refugees creates a need at this critical juncture for school social workers to ground themselves in the international definition of social work, which defines social work as a human rights profession. While there are many challenges to upholding human rights conventions across the world, a human rights framework can assist school social workers in promoting human rights and advocating for vulnerable and marginalized populations. In the context of global migration, children can be especially vulnerable to human rights violations. A human …

Empowering Students Through The Application Of Self-Efficacy Theory In School Social Work: An Intervention Model, Nancy A. Delich, Stephen D. Roberts

International Journal of School Social Work

Self-efficacy is a construct well suited for social workers in the educational setting. Among the various job functions that school social workers assume, a large portion of their time is directed toward providing counseling and clinical services. Perceptions of self-efficacy are based upon the extent students expect to successfully attain their goals. Self-efficacious students with strong beliefs in their abilities will choose activities and social situations where they believe that they will be successful. Thus, they will be motivated to devote more time and effort toward accomplishing related goals. Conversely, inefficacious students of similar intelligence and capabilities may choose to …

The Diversity Of School Social Work In Germany: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Kathrin F. Beck

International Journal of School Social Work

Children in Germany are confronted with an increasing societal inequality and disorientation that makes it difficult for them to cope with life. School social work in Germany is an intensive form of cooperation between the institutionally divided systems of child and youth welfare and education. The aim of this article is threefold: to present (1) relevant aspects of both systems, (2) the diversity of terms being used to describe this specific form of cooperation and (3) an exemplary selection of concepts of school social work. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was done, taking publications between 2000 and 2016 …

From The Editor

International Journal of School Social Work

First volume: From the Editor

Exploring 21st Century Skills And Learning Environments For Middle School Youth, Annahita Ball, Hillary D. Joyce, Dawn Anderson-Butcher

International Journal of School Social Work

Resiliency research and strengths-based perspectives highlight the importance of understanding the protective factors that aid youth in overcoming adversity. Likewise, current research identifies the characteristics and skills youth need to be successful in post-secondary education and the workforce. These growing bodies of research emphasize cognitive and noncognitive skills that support youth development and academic success. This exploratory study sought to develop two distinct measurement instruments: (1) the 21^st Century Life & Career Skills scale (21C-LCS); and (2) the 21^st Century Skills Classroom Environment scale (21C-CE). We also examined students’ perceptions of their own skills in these areas. The …