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School Social Workers And Extracurricular Activities: The Unanswered Questions About Potential Role Conflict, Jeffrey Mccabe, Hannah Hagan

International Journal of School Social Work

Abstract

School social workers respond to students’ mental health needs from an education training perspective that defines set professional role boundaries in service provision that may differ from the multiple roles teachers have with students. One of those perspectives is a recognition of what may happen if a boundary crossing was to occur in a dual relationship with a client. Teachers are encouraged to take on a secondary role with students by coaching athletics or advising a club. Taking on dual roles with students has led to both increased job satisfaction and concerns regarding burnout for teachers. There is an …

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 & …

Perceptions And Practices In School Social Worker-Teacher Interprofessional Collaboration, Stacy A. Gherardi, Kimberly Knox, Allison Stoner, Bethany Garling-Spychala

International Journal of School Social Work

School social work requires significant skills for interprofessional collaboration, especially collaboration with teachers. While the value of such skills is increasingly recognized in fields such as healthcare, there has been limited attention to assessing or supporting interprofessional practice in education. This exploratory mixed-methods study analyzed survey data from 264 school social workers across the United States in order to understand their perceptions of teachers as collaborators and their practices relating to collaboration with teachers. Barriers to collaboration were also identified. Data suggested that school social workers had positive perceptions of teachers as collaborators generally, but saw limitations in the training …

The Shalem Counselling Assistance Plan For Students (Caps): Delivering Social Work Services To Faith-Based School Systems, Mark Vander Vennen, Marg Smit-Vandezande, Ken Van Wyk, Mikaeli Cavell, Danielle Vandenakker, Richard Csiernik

International Journal of School Social Work

In Ontario, Canada, non-Catholic faith-based schools do not receive provincial government funding but are funded primarily by families of students and through fundraising. As a result, historically school-based provision of counselling or school social work resources to students has been the exception rather than the rule, as this has typically been considered an adjunct resource. A new initiative was launched in the province of Ontario in 2011 to address this gap, the Counselling Assistance Plan for Students (CAPS). CAPS was premised on another novel idea, a Congregational Assistance Plan, which itself grew out of concepts derived from Employee Assistance Programming …

Leadership In School Social Work: Implications For Promoting The Preparedness Of Tomorrow’S Practitioners, Yasmine Perry, Susan E. Elswick, Matthew J. Cuellar

International Journal of School Social Work

Current research suggests that leadership skills in the field of school social work are valuable and needed. However, these skills are not always clearly outlined by governing entities as a result of little examination and research. This article examines differences of perceptions toward and engagement in professional leadership skills among school social work practitioners across the United States (N = 686). Using descriptive and multivariate methods, this paper examines practitioner perceptions toward and engagement in school-based leadership and what this leadership looks like in today’s schools. Findings call for educators and practitioners to advocate for the incorporation of leadership …

Partnerships To Address School Safety Through A Student Support Lens, Summer G. Woodside, Tamara Estes Savage, Nicole A. Stargell, Veronica L. Hardy, Whitney P. Akers, Ki Byung Chae, Cindy Locklear, Shenika J. Jones, Joshua A. Peele, Skyla D. Pryor

International Journal of School Social Work

School safety is a primary concern of school leaders, employees, parents, and a variety of community stakeholders. Attempts to mitigate and prevent school safety concerns often focus on strategies around school climate assessment, emergency communication, school safety plan development, and school resource officer employment (U.S. DHS et al., 2018). Involvement of key stakeholders, such as school social workers, school counselors, and school-based mental health professionals is emphasized in creating and assessing school safety in a wholistic manner. This article provides an overview of a Trainings to Increase School Safety grant program that was implemented with public school stakeholders through partnerships …

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, …

The Importance Of Trauma-Informed Approaches In Education – The Impact Of Implementing A Brain-Based Approach To Supporting Learners Across A Scottish Local Authority, Lesley Taylor, Whitney Barrett

International Journal of School Social Work

Throughout the history of education, a series of fashions, fads and trends has come and gone – some resulting in widespread changes in approach, some creating barely a ripple in the "pedagogical pool". Currently, a wave is being created by the desire to develop approaches that are trauma-informed – a move that is being driven by a number of factors including the introduction of funding streams such as the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) and the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF), alongside growing public awareness of the impact childhood trauma and adversity has across many areas of a child’s development.

However, we …

School Social Workers In The Milieu: Ubuntu As A Social Justice Imperative, Lynn Lim, Johanna C. Baez, Meghan Gabriel Pataky, Ellen Wilder, Hester Wilhelmina Van Sittert

International Journal of School Social Work

Supporting community resilience throughout the milieu, or school community, is a social justice imperative in providing trauma-informed approaches in education. More school social workers need to view their work as a community-level intervention with a trauma-informed approach that includes collaborating with students and staff throughout the building and within the neighboring community. This conceptual article will explore the humanistic concepts of the milieu as a focus of intervention and the South African value of ubuntu, our interconnectedness, through the lens of school social work. The milieu is a humanistic principle in which the community works together to support each …

Special Issue 2: Trauma Informed Care From A Social Justice Lens

International Journal of School Social Work

This editorial provides the rationale for the special issue as well as a summary of the articles in these two special issues.

Trauma-Informed Education Viewed Through A Social Justice Lens: Introduction To The Special Issue, Gary Walsh, Michael S. Kelly

International Journal of School Social Work

The purpose of this special issue is to apply a social justice lens to the question of how education practitioners operating within primary and secondary school contexts around the world are thinking about trauma-informed education and care. Papers explore what school social workers and other educators are doing to address these issues in schools and consider the broader implications of a global shift towards trauma-informed approaches in education. This special issue, the first one for IJSSW, features 10 papers from diverse fields (social work, psychology, education) that all reflect on how trauma-informed practices in schools can be enhanced and understood …

Prioritizing School Social Workers' Roles And Responsibilities To Combat Oppression In K-12 Schools: Perspectives From Educators With Anti-Oppressive Orientations, Ashley-Marie Hanna Daftary

International Journal of School Social Work

This study used a subset of data from a larger qualitative research study that investigated anti-oppressive practices in K-12 education. Eleven educators with anti-oppressive orientations provided insight into various ways school social workers can combat oppression in K-12 schools. A flexible coding approach was used to analyze the data. Findings suggest that school social workers should consider prioritizing the following activities to combat oppression in schools: 1) Provide leadership in social justice work and anti-oppressive practice; 2) Increase visibility and integration on campus and in the classroom; and 3) Complement student interventions with psycho-education and social-emotional support for teachers. The …

School Social Work: Now More Than Ever, Michael S. Kelly

International Journal of School Social Work

We are excited to publish our 5th volume of the International Journal of School Social Work, marking five continuous years of the journal's publication. This issue is arriving at a crucial time for our schools and communities around the world, and in this brief essay, I argue that it's never been a more exciting and consequential time to be a school social worker.

Facilitating Racial Equity: Evaluating A Leadership Workshop Series For School Social Workers, Summer G. Woodside, Veronica Hardy

International Journal of School Social Work

This article provides an overview of a leadership training workshop series designed to provide professional development to Pre-K through 12th grade school social workers about racial equity and leadership. The series' objectives included promoting social workers’ understanding of and obligation to facilitating racial equity in schools, analyzing educational data through a racial equity lens, conceptualizing school social workers as influencers in addressing racial inequities in schools, and collaborating with school professionals of various disciplines to practice and implement evidence-based approaches for facilitating racial equity in schools. The authors conducted five workshops that were developed based on state school social work …

Data-Driven Recommendations For Promoting Collaboration Among School Security Personnel And School Social Workers In The United States, Soohyoung Lee, Matthew Cuellar

International Journal of School Social Work

In response to recent incidents of school violence in the United States over the last two decades, there has been a nationwide increase in the use of school security personnel in today’s schools. Concurrently, school social work practice continues to grow as a subspecialty of social work that provides crucial services to youth in school. Despite this increase in demand across both fields of practice, and an overlap in professional interests, current research suggests that we know little about how school social workers interact with and perceive school security personnel within their schools, and ultimately how such interaction and collaboration …

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 …