Education Commons^™

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 …

A Global Picture Of School Social Work In 2021, Marion Huxtable

International Journal of School Social Work

The article provides a global picture of school social work in 2021 using data gathered by the International Network for School Social Work. School social work is a growing specialty around the world. There are school social workers practicing in more than 50 countries. School social workers support students' educational success, especially those who are marginalized by poverty, oppression, disability and other personal or social problems. Ideally school social workers practice within a multi-disciplinary team to address wide-ranging barriers to education and participate in preventive programs for all students. The article describes the growth of school social work around the …

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 …

The Healing Power Of Teacher-Student Relationships In Repairing Childhood Abuse: Commonalities And Differences With Clinical Social Work Practice, Mehak Jamil

International Journal of School Social Work

Research indicates survivors of childhood abuse are able to form the same quality relationships with teachers as non-abused children (Armstrong, Hasket & Hawkins, 2017). However, there is little research indicating what factors within the teacher-student relationship help build this resiliency. This study looks to clinical social work practice as a basis for understanding what qualities of the therapeutic relationship can extend to or overlap with non-clinical relationships with students who have a trauma history, within the teaching field. To better understand experiences within these relationships, semi-structured interviews were conducted with both a clinical social worker who has teaching experience at …

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.