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Full-Text Articles in Social Work
Camaraderie, Collaboration, And Capacity Building: A Qualitative Examination Of School Social Workers In A Year Long Professional Learning Community, Andrew Brake, Michael S. Kelly
Camaraderie, Collaboration, And Capacity Building: A Qualitative Examination Of School Social Workers In A Year Long Professional Learning Community, Andrew Brake, Michael S. Kelly
The Qualitative Report
Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become commonplace in K-12 schools for helping teachers collaborate to build their professional capacities and address school-based problems. However, rigorous research on the key components, mechanisms, and impact of PLCs has been limited overall, with virtually no research conducted on PLCs with school social workers (SSW). This article examines the first-year experiences of school mental health professionals (SMHP) in a two-year PLC made up largely of SSW from an array of schools and districts throughout metropolitan Chicago. Drawing on qualitative data gathered from three rounds of in-depth interviews with participants during the first year of …