Social Work Commons^™

Solution Focused Creativity In Social Work, Emilie R. Kenneally

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Solution Focused Brief Therapy is a well-known method of therapy used by many clinicians and social workers. There are similarities between this therapy and the creative problem solving process. Creating a workbook that adapts creative problem solving tools to include solution focused language and concepts can make social workers’ jobs easier and also help them work more effectively. When social workers are able to do their jobs in a more creative way, they will have less stress and create better outcomes for their clients. Using a framework that already exists (i.e. Solution Focused Brief Therapy) and comparing it to creative …

Teaching Students To Be Spiritually Sensitive: Learning From A Spirituality Course Evaluation, Ann M. Callahan, Kalea Benner

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Rationale

The way educators address spirituality can create a sense of community or social isolation. This necessitates a spiritually sensitive approach that enables students to build spiritual competence. Spiritual competence reflects an understanding of how spirituality shapes human behavior, how spiritual diversity manifests and can lead to risk for discrimination, and how to communicate spiritual sensitivity in professional relationships (NASW, 2008, 2007). Research shows that educators have helped students explore themselves and others spiritually (Barker & Floersch, 2010; Johnston, Mamier, Bahjri, Anton, & Petersen; 2008), but more research is needed on how self-reflection informs spiritual competence (Hodge & Derezotes, 2008). …

Enhance Literacy And Critical Thinking Among Undergraduate Students, Gayle Mallinger

Assessment Plans

Student Learning Outcomes for the course are:

• Describe factors leading to social, economic, and environmental injustice within local, national, and global social systems.

• Critique frameworks for conceptualizing international social welfare practice (e.g., social development, sustainable development, globalization, human rights).

• Evaluate national and global interventions aimed at ameliorating problems such as poverty, violence, poor health, and environmental degradation.

• Demonstrates cross-cultural sensitivity and self-awareness related to understanding justice issues nationally and internationally.

Evidence Gathering: Students will gather evidence about the nature and potential causes of a social welfare issue of interest to them. They will also gather evidence about how another …

The Comparative Impacts Of Social Justice Educational Methods On Political Participation, Civic Engagement, And Multicultural Activism, Amy Krings, Elizabeth A. Austic, Lorraine M. Gutierrez, Kaleigh E. Dirksen

Amy Krings

This cross-sectional, repeated measures, quasi-experimental study evaluates changes in college stu- dents’ commitment toward, and confidence in, political participation, civic engagement, and multi- cultural activism. Our sample (n = 653) consisted of college students in a Midwestern university who participated in one of three social justice education course types (service learning, intergroup dialogue, or lecture-based diversity classes) or in an “introduction to psychology” course (the non-intervention group). After completion of a social justice education course, students reported an increase in politi- cal participation and multicultural activism, whereas students enrolled in the non-intervention group reported no changes in these measures. Service …

Profesional Ethics In Rural Social Work Practice, Paul Force-Emery Mackie

Social Work Department Publications

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Describe differences between values, morals, and ethics from a rural practice perspective
   
   
2. List at least 3 common ethical issues identified in rural social service practice that challenges service delivery
   
   
3. Identify 3 rural practice considerations that complicate rural practice from an ethical perspective.

Rural Social Work: Recruitment, Job Satisfaction, Burnout, And Turnover, Aaron Raymond Brown, Jayme Walters, Aubrey Jones, Omotola Akinsola

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Rural agencies have unique challenges related to recruitment and retention of social workers. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine job satisfaction, burnout and turnover among rural social workers. Based on 28 included articles, results indicate: (a) rural social workers tend to be from rural areas or have completed training in rural settings; (b) poor job satisfaction predicts turnover among rural social workers; (c) rural vs. urban differences for satisfaction, burnout, intention to leave, and turnover are mixed; and (d) greater work-life balance and supervisory support increase retention among rural social workers. This study provides recommendations for informing education, …

Rural Social Work: Recruitment, Job Satisfaction, Burnout, And Turnover, Aaron R. Brown, Jayme E. Walters, Aubrey E. Jones, Omotola Akinsola

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Rural agencies have unique challenges related to recruitment and retention of social workers. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine job satisfaction, burnout and turnover among rural social workers. Based on 28 included articles, results indicate: (a) rural social workers tend to be from rural areas or have completed training in rural settings; (b) poor job satisfaction predicts turnover among rural social workers; (c) rural vs. urban differences for satisfaction, burnout, intention to leave, and turnover are mixed; and (d) greater work-life balance and supervisory support increase retention among rural social workers. This study provides recommendations for informing education, …

Fostering Forever Families: Implementing Trauma-Based Interventions In Diverse Settings, Natalie Higgs

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Within the past few decades, there has been a concern for adoptive parents to be able to attach and connect with their adoptive children. For many adoptive or foster families, behavioral issues arise that can disrupt placements. Also, a lack of attachment between adoptive parents and their adopted children can lead to a dissolution of adoption and can also traumatize the child even more than he/she might already be. Attachment and behavioral problems are not just with adoptive families either; the problems are also with foster families and children who have experienced trauma. To help correct behavioral issues and prevent …

Concurrent Participation In Federally-Funded Welfare Programs And Empowerment Toward Economic Self-Sufficiency, Rigaud Joseph

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the odds for low-income households to become and remain economically self-sufficient as a result of participating in federallyfunded welfare programs. An evaluation in nature, this study assessed the merits and shortcomings of federally-funded welfare programs. Using the public-use version of the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Panel, this quasi-experimental investigation compartmentalized 4,216 low-income households into two groups: an intervention group (n = 2,436) and a comparison group (n = 1,780). Households in the intervention group received one or more federal means-tested welfare benefits for the most part of the …

Cal State San Bernardino Social Work Students' Attitudes Toward Domestic Minor Sex-Trafficked (Dmst) Youth, Crystal Lorraine Marinelli, Andrea Sara Hunt

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) affects hundreds of thousands of youth every year. In the past, DMST youth were often viewed by law enforcement and the criminal justice system as "offenders" and were usually arrested for solicitation even though they were minors. While new laws have begun to identify youth as victims, it has not yet been ensured that social workers have adopted this perspective. This quantitative study's purpose was to examine Cal State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) Bachelor of Social Work (BASW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) students' attitudes toward DMST youth. Participants completed an online questionnaire using …

Student Censorship In The Social Work Classrooms, Lisa Kozlowski

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Through the evolution of the field of social work, a divide in its ideologies has emerged and certain political and ideological groups such as the religious and conservatives have become underrepresented. As a result, over the years the liberal philosophies have emerged as the dominant group. This has led to a decrease in diversity within the field. Recognition of biases in the field of social work is difficult. Through a qualitative analysis method, this study was meant to explore if social work students feel they are free to share openly in the classroom, and if they are accepting of all …

Underlying Causes Of Burnout For Practitioners Who Intervene With Persons Living With Substance Use, Michelle Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Professors repeatedly warn students against burnout throughout the years of schooling that is required to earn a credential or license to work with persons who suffer from a substance use disorder. Despite these many warnings, burnout amongst practitioners continues to occur. There has been considerable research done over the years on the phenomenon of practitioner burnout, its causes and how to prevent it. Substance use disorder practitioners’ challenges often include high caseloads, difficult cases and lack of self-care. The data collected through an electronic server Survey Monkey allowed for a quantitative cross-sectional analysis which focused on participants’ perceptions of …

Investigating The Attitudes Of Graduate Social Work Students Toward Severe And Persistent Mental Illness, Jennifer Nicole Thompson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Stigma is one of the foremost barriers to effective mental health treatment of consumers. Social workers currently provide the majority of mental health treatment in the United States. Examining levels of stigma present in social work students would be valuable in providing future interventions. A quantitative study was conducted utilizing an online questionnaire. The survey was distributed by the CSUSB Department of Social Work to graduate social work students. Statistical analysis utilizing SPSS software was conducted following data collection. Data analysis indicated that there was no significant difference in the attitudes regardless of exposure to severe mental illness. The findings …

Strategies And Coping Mechanisms Utilized By Nicu And Picu Social Workers To Prevent Primary Trauma, Secondary Trauma Stress, Compassion Fatigue And Burnout, Amy Hernandez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit social workers are a particularly vulnerable group of professionals due to their chronic exposure to trauma. Current research has overlooked how social workers specifically can adopt certain strategies and coping mechanisms to prevent the symptoms associated with primary trauma, secondary trauma stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Thus, the study that follows was designed to explore the strategies and coping mechanisms utilized by NICU and PICU social workers. Data for this project was collected through the use of open-ended questions in an electronic survey format and analyzed through a conventional content analysis …

Making It Right In The End: Conflict On The Hospice Interdisciplinary Team, Sarah Green

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the role of social workers in addressing conflict on the hospice interdisciplinary team. Seven semi-structured interviews were completed to generate qualitative data from licensed social workers on hospice interdisciplinary teams in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. A brief review of literature showed there are many causes of conflict on the hospice interdisciplinary team including role blurring, leadership in the interdisciplinary team, and physical aspects of care superseding psychosocial. There are many studies exploring social work roles on the hospice interdisciplinary team, factors contributing to success on an interdisciplinary team in a …

Assessing And Addressing Family Caregiver Burden: Palliative Care Social Work Perspective, Taylor Logeais

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Social workers employed in end-of-life care settings are in a unique position to engage with family caregivers who are at a heightened risk for experiencing caregiver burden, which can have detrimental impacts on the caregivers’ health and wellbeing. Even though the National Association of Social Workers (2004) directs social workers specialized in palliative care to assess the complex needs of and provide helpful interventions to family caregivers, research suggests that this objective often fails to be met. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the ability for palliative care social workers to assess family caregivers for caregiver burden …

What Can We Learn From Death And Dying? One Man’S Experience, Brooke K. Benson

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The research explored a personal account of a man's experience of actively dying. From the findings, five major themes emerged describing the participant’s experience of dying. The first theme, physical states, was sub-categorized by states of being, felt senses, and physical things. The second emerging theme, mental, was sub-categorized by emotions and cognitions. The third emerging theme, beheviors, was sub-categorized by actions and communications. The fourth emerging theme was spirituality and the fifth and final theme was time. The findings provide valuable insight into the process of death and dying, the emotions surrounding the process of dying and various aspects …

Examining Post-Adoption Services: What Adoptive Families Need For Beneficial Outcomes, Lindsey Crawford

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This research is about what post-adoption services exist, what sort of supports and services adoptive families need, and if there are any disparities. The researcher aimed to answer the multidimensional research question: What types of post-adoption issues do adoptive parents identify, how were these issues addressed, and what do they recommend to other adoptive parents? A qualitative research design with a narrative analysis was used to conduct the study. The Ecological Approach was used as the conceptual framework. The researcher found that both participants participated in foster to adopt, felt they did not receive the full extent of the supports …

Lessons For Social Workers: A Review Of The Latino/A Undocumented Immigrant Experience, Katie J. Ducklow

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Undocumented Latino/a immigrants seeking social work services face additional challenges due to their immigration status, such as social isolation, trauma, a hostile political climate, and fear of deportation. The researcher of this systematic literature review sought to answer the research questions: “What factors do undocumented Latino/a immigrants identify as helpful when utilizing social work services?” and “What factors do undocumented Latino/a immigrants identify as hurtful or barriers when utilizing social work services?” A systematic review was conducted using the databases SOCIndex, PsycINFO, and Social Work Abstracts and variations of the search terms “Latino/a,” “immigrant,” and “social work services.” Articles that …

Effectiveness Of Self-Care In Reducing Symptoms Of Secondary Traumatic Stress, Angie Stockwell

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Social workers who work with traumatized clients have an increased risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress (Sprang, Whitt-Woosley, & Clark, 2007). Up to 70% of workers reported at least one symptom of secondary traumatic stress in the past week (Bride, Robinson, Yegidis, & Figley, 2004). Secondary trauma was also believed to be a significant reason workers in the human services field left their employment (Bride, 2007). High turnover in human services organizations may lead to high recruiting and training costs and can also reduce the efficacy of services to clients (Harrison & Westwood, 2009). An intervention that was found to …

From The Father’S Heart To Our Hands: Christian Responsibility In The U.S. Foster System, Amelia Tam

Selected Honors Theses

Nearly half a million children are currently served by the child welfare system in the United States. This overwhelming strain on state departments and non-profit placement agencies is compounded by the fact that there are not enough available homes. There appears to be a shortage of capable and resilient foster and adoptive parents. Thousands of children who are ready to be adopted do not have anyone to take them in, and thousands more float in the system until new families agree to foster. This seeming shortage of homes is absurd considering the wealth of compassion and capability within the American …

Nutrition And The Person-In-Environment Perspective: Implications For Social Work, Kayla Harter

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research study was to explore the relationship between nutrition and social work education, practice, and perceptions on nutrition. Licensed master’s level social workers in the state of Michigan (n=45) were recruited online through Grand Valley State University’s School of Social Work listserv, social media, social work professors and colleagues. Participants completed an anonymous online survey through Google Forms which included 18 questions. The online survey involved open and closed-ended questions focusing on 1) integration of nutrition in practice; 2) perceptions on the value of nutrition in social work; and 3) nutrition training during and after graduate …

Sow 4510 Integrative Seminar, Penne Williams

Service-Learning Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Sow 3203 Intro To Social Work, Manisha Joshi

Service-Learning Syllabi

No abstract provided.

The Intersectional Oppressions Of South Asian Immigrant Women And Vulnerability In Relation To Domestic Violence: A Case Study, Ferzana Chaze, Archana Medhekar

Faculty Publications and Scholarship

South Asians ― persons who can trace their origins to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh ― are the largest racialized minority group in Canada. The National Household Survey (2011) revealed that 1,567,400 persons reported being of South Asian origin, making up 4% of the total Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2013). The substantial presence and rapid growth of this minority group make it an important population to understand in terms of their settlement and integration-related experiences.

The authors of this paper bring together their unique disciplinary lenses- social work and law - to discuss various factors that contribute to …

Bullying Is Not A Conflict, Jan Kircher

Social and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Research

The misconception of workplace bullying as normal workplace conflict is described and refuted. Motivations of workplace bullies are presented and how organizations can identify the difference between bullying and conflicts.

Recognising Birth Children As Social Actors In The Foster-Care Process: Retrospective Accounts From Biological Children Of Foster-Carers In Ireland, David Williams

Articles

While a wealth of literature exists on the topic of fostering, limited research has been published on the experiences of the biological children of foster-carers (Younes and Harp, 2007; Sutton and Stack, 2013). Literature that exists identifies increased recognition of the importance of birth children’s contribution to successful foster-care placements and the prevention of placement breakdown (Kalland and Sinkonnen, 2001; Hojer et al., 2013). This paper reports findings from an interpretivist study that explored the retrospective experiences of fifteen adult birth children of foster-carers (aged between eighteen and twenty-eight years) in Ireland. Using semi-structured interviews, birth children’s experiences of fostering …

Found In Translation : How Social Work Education Can Support Student Practice With Language-Discordant Client Systems, Martha Ann Early

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study’s research question was "How can schools of social work support their students to work with language-discordant client systems (LDCS)?" In addition to the need for general support, social work students are preparing to enter a field where the patient population is growing increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity, culture and language ability. Participants in the study described herein were current and recent social works students who were recruited for sample membership via broad social media outreach, supplemented with outreach to the researcher's professional network

The findings of this study indicate that the role of schools of social work …

Advancing Social Work Practice Research Education – An Innovative, Experiential Pedagogical Approach, Kam Man Kenny Kwong

Graduate School of Social Work Publications and Research

Achieving practice research competency is an essential pillar of social work practice. However, research material is often associated with dry lectures and incomprehensible statistical applications that may not reflect real life issues. Teaching research course is often antithetical to the pedagogical approach commonly used in social work education, which engages students in practical applications of real life situations with case examples. This paper described and evaluated six sets of experiential class and field activities designed to increase graduate level social work students’ competencies of practice research. These activities included: (1) formulating a practice-based research topic; (2) using assessment templates for …

Development Of The Ableist Microaggression Scale And Assessing The Relationship Of Ableist Microaggressions With The Mental Health Of Disabled Adults, Shanna Katz Kattari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 20% of U.S. residents are currently living with a disability. Ableism values a specific type of physical, mental and/or emotional capital as well as supports socially constructed expectations of ability, valuing these expectations over different types of ability and disability. One way in which ableism is perpetuated is through microaggressions, at the more interpersonal, or micro level. Microaggressions are everyday interactions that perpetuate inequalities and stereotypes against people who belong to marginalized communities. Experiencing multiple microaggressions has been referred to as death by a thousand paper cuts, indicating the severity of the sum total of these casual types of …