Evaluation Of The Impact Of Social Work Services In Rural School Districts, Breanna Heinrich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students in rural communities are often subject to unique barriers and challenges that impact their holistic emotional, cognitive, physical, and social success in school. Because these factors have a strong impact on school attendance, behavior, and overall success, educators have begun to implement social work programs within both rural and urban school districts across the nation. While existing research affirms the effectiveness of school social work, very little research has been conducted to determine the effect in rural school districts. This paper evaluates the impact of a newly developed social work pilot program in two West Texas school districts implemented …

Students Taking A Right Stand – Male Youth Violence Prevention Through Positive Development And Role Modeling, Katie Dight, Rolanda Patrick, Corey Graham

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Cabarrus STARS is a comprehensive program designed to promote positive youth development for minority male youth through a combination of system-, group-, and individual-level services. Program staff will discuss the successes and challenges they experience in working with a variety of schools, students, and families. Ideal for student support staff and community-based organizations focused on adolescent health.

Some Secrets Should Be Shared: Implementing An Evidence-Based Suicide Prevention Program, Meghan W. Diamon

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Youth suicide is a preventable tragedy that can occur when children's mental health needs are unmet. Participants will discuss published research on risk factors for youth suicide, how to implement an evidence-based prevention program, and how to tackle common obstacles encountered. Participants will be prepared to mobilize school staff, parents, and community members to address the critical issues of depression awareness and suicide prevention.

Preparing For Excellence: Mentoring African American Girls To Encourage Positive Academic, Interpersonal, And Vocational Outcomes, Tera R. Reid

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

African American girls face significant barriers to educational and personal success. Mentoring has been shown to have a positive effect among youth. This workshop will explore the interventions of a mentoring program in Georgia.

This workshop targets anyone interested in practical solutions. Participants will be empowered and engaged to learn specific strategies, interventions, and develop solutions of their own.

The Development Of An After-School Program For Youth Placed At-Risk: A Collaborative Approach, K. Andrew R. Richards, Victoria Shiver, Michael A. Lawson, Tania Alameda-Lawson

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Educators, program practitioners, and potential community partners may enjoy this presentation on a collaborative approach to improving the lives of youth that have been placed at-risk within and outside of a Title I elementary school’s after-school program. By combining resources, expertise, and disciplines, the program works to develop well-rounded and personally and socially responsible children through academic enrichment, sport-based youth development, and parental engagement.

Stop Truancy Before It Starts: Getting Every Kid To School, Everyday, Brittany Roulette, Hannah Twedt, Paula Skala

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Attending school consistently builds a foundation for academic achievement and social success in the future. Students missing an excessive number of school days throughout childhood for any reason experience increasingly negative outcomes as they grow older. When truancy leads to dropping out of school, this costs individuals money in lost wages associated with reduced education levels. Truancy also costs society as a whole in reduced tax collection, increased crime, and increased need for public services. Research demonstrates that minority students and youth with other risk-factors are more likely to experience school disengagement leading to truancy. Punitive school policies such as …

Teaching At Branch Campuses: The Faculty Experience, Whitney Harper, Larry W. Owens, Simon Funge, Dana J. Sullivan

Social Work Faculty Publications

There is limited research on the perceptions of faculty who teach branch campus students. Exploratory in nature, this qualitative study explored the branch campus teaching experiences of a particular subset of educators – those who teach in social work education programs. The paper will discuss social work faculty members’ perspectives about the advantages and challenges of teaching branch campus students. Eighty-one social work educators from twenty-six states completed an online survey developed by the researchers. The survey included qualitative questions that explored both resident and non-resident faculty members’ perceptions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of teaching branch campus students. The …

Partnering With Educational Leaders To Advance Social Work Education In Vietnam, Laurie Drabble, Edward Cohen, Hoa Nguyen, Alice Hines, Debbie Faires, Tuan Tran, Patrick Thanh Ngo

Faculty Publications

This case study describes the leadership component of the Social Work Education Enhancement Project (SWEEP), an international collaboration designed to strengthen the capacity of Vietnam’s undergraduate social work programmes to deliver quality education. SWEEP strategies for building capacity in leadership and administration include the following: 1) leadership development, 2) development of university-specific and collective strategic plans, and 3) improving collaboration among leaders. Thematic analysis of qualitative evaluation data identified eight effective elements of the leadership programme. Findings underscore the importance of partnership and flexibility in planning, as well as the value of supporting a leadership consortium to guide ongoing national …

Theory Informed Practice For Undergraduate Social Work Students: Impact On Cultural Competence, Gayle Mallinger, April Murphy

Social Work Faculty Publications

Human Behavior & the Social Environment EPAS 2015

• Competencies 6-9
• Compentency 2

Theory informed mezzo/macro practice

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 …

Maximizing Academic Success For Foster Care Students: A Trauma-Informed Approach, Anna A. Berardi Phd., Brenda M. Morton

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Children in foster care have experienced significant trauma due to the loss of primary attachment figures and the circumstances associated with that loss. Children who have suffered trauma generally present with cognitive, social, physical, and emotional vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are often expressed in the P–12 academic setting through difficulties with behavioral and emotional self-regulation, academic functioning, and physical ailments and illness related to chronic stress-induced compromised immune systems. This results in academic failure for half of all children in care. Training in how to respond to children who have suffered trauma is essential to ensure that children are comfortable and …

Disparities In U.S. Elementary And Secondary Public Education, Myhanh D. Barrette

The Graduate Review

Educational disparities in America’s elementary and secondary public education are illustrated by official statistics on school readiness in young children, per pupil expenditures, high school graduation rates, standardized test scores, advanced courses enrollment, high school dropout rates, school disciplinary actions, and college entrance and completion rates. The astounding disproportionate difference in achievement (or lack thereof) between Black and minority students compared to their White counterparts raises alarming concerns regarding two important aspects of public education: equal access and equal quality. This paper attempts to understand our society’s view of education throughout the nation’s history in order to analyze important public …

Sex Education In Montana Schools: An Assessment Of The Needs Of Sexual And Gender Minority Youth, Elizabeth A. Redinger, Annie Sondag

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Youth are particularly vulnerable to infection from HIV and STIs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth between the ages of 13 and 24 accounted for about 26% of all new HIV transmission cases in the United States in 2010, In young MSM specifically, there was a 22% increase in new infections from 2008 to 2010 (CDC, 2015). Education is one of the factors that plays a role in sexual health practices starting in high schools, yet in Montana there is no clear set of guidelines as to what is covered during sex education classes in the …

Faith And Homelessness: Examining The Influence Of The Faith-Based Component Of A Transitional Housing Program On The Attitudes And Behaviors Of Homeless Men, Douglas Edward Luffborough Iii

Dissertations

Homelessness is a social and public policy concern. In the United States, homelessness is a problem with multiple and complex causes that include mental illness and the effects of physical, economic, and social conditions such as extreme poverty, exposure to the elements, mental and substance abuse disorders, malnutrition, and victimization. Transitional housing is a temporary option offered as a response to homelessness, recognizing that if individuals are provided with shelter, they may be supported in their attempt to achieve self-sufficiency.

There is some evidence that supports the benefits of federally funded transitional housing programs, but to date, few studies have …

Predicting And Reducing Aggression And Violence Toward Teachers: Extent Of The Problem And Why It Matters, Susan D. Mcmahon, Andrew Martinez, Linda A. Reddy, Dorothy L. Espelage, Eric M. Anderman

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Although violence prevention has largely focused on students, national and state-level studies suggest that teacher-directed violence warrants attention by researchers, policy makers, and school stakeholders. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the empirical literature on teacher-directed violence, including the extent of the problem, types of violence teachers experience, measurement issues, and how this problem varies across perpetrators and social contexts. We specify recommendations for assessment, including developing and using reliable and valid measures to better understand teachers' experiences with violence. Violence prevention approaches are described, and we advocate for assessment and intervention that incorporate teacher experiences. Using a …

Will I Be Able To Understand My Mentee? Examining The Potential Risk Of The Dominant Culture Mentoring Marginalized Youth, Jennifer Lindwall

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Most people would agree they want to live in a world where every child has what he or she needs to thrive and grow into a healthy and productive adult. It is estimated that 5,000 mentoring programs serve 3,000,000 youth in the United States alone (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn, & Valentine, 2011). In many of these programs, a majority of the mentors are matched with a mentee who comes from a culture and community they know very little about. Many of the youth development programs that were founded and implemented by people of the perceived dominant culture represent their values …

Kids In Transition To School (Kits), Beth L. Green, Lorelei Mitchell, Lindsey Brianna Patterson

Early Childhood

During the summer and fall of 2016, children and families in 16 schools in Lane County participated in the Kids in Transition to School (KITS) Program. KITS includes 16 weeks of group-based child classes and 12 weeks of parenting workshops, using an evidence-based curriculum designed to improve school readiness skills and parenting. To learn more about the KITS program from the perspective of participating families, four focus groups were held with parents who participated in KITS. A total of 44 parents participated in the groups, which were located in four different schools (two small, rural locations and two larger more …

A Case Study Exploration Of Teachers' Perspectives On Children's Mental Health Service Needs In Title I Elementary Schools, Natalie Denise Yates

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children go to school for approximately 32 hours each week of an academic year. Many children who are in need of mental health treatment do not get the services they need because of barriers such as lack of access and stigma. Teachers are one of the primary sources of referrals for children's mental health services, and they often make referrals based on their perceptions of their students' mental health needs. Although teachers are typically the primary source of referrals for mental health services, they usually do not have any specialized mental health training. The purpose of this study was to …

The Transformation Of Homeless Adolescent Mothers Into Adult Leaders: Adolescent Pregnancy And Adolescent Reform, Annie Ware

All Capstone Projects

This phenomenological investigation recruited six female leaders using a convenient sampling method from social media connections and Governors State University’s graduate student distribution email lists to recruit leaders who were once homeless teenage mothers and resided in residential homeless shelters, foster families or without stable living arrangements. The women ranged in ages from 22 to 52. There was no restriction on race, ethnicity, or religion. The study included all women who were once homeless teenage mothers, yet ultimately attained a level of leadership within their chosen profession. Data uploaded into NVivo 11 from surveys and interviews were transcribed and coded …

Reducing Adolescent Anger And Aggression With Biofeedback: A Mixed-Methods Multiple Case Study, Jedidiah S. Savard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adolescent anger, aggression, and violent outbursts are social problems significantly affecting each of us. Individual therapeutic management of pathological anger is treated in various ways depending on practitioners’ theoretical orientations and competency levels. Popular psychological individual and group therapies addressing anger and aggression in adolescents focus primarily on cognitive-behavioral techniques that manage anger’s symptoms. Evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapies often require clients to self-identify emerging antecedents of anger without assistance; such therapies employ predetermined strategies to assist the client to emotionally de-escalate prior to an angry or aggressive episode. However, cognitive responses to an emotional upheaval stemming from an emergence of anger …

Attune With Baby: An Innovative Attunement Program For Parents And Families With Integrated Evaluation, Sara Beth Lohre

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Infants speak in their own language; sounds, screeches, cries, and howls that help them to communicate their caregiving needs. Unaware, parents may develop a checklist of caregiving approaches to the baby. The infant tells the adult directly what they need, and waits for the parent to respond. Infant talk may change from soft and quiet to loud and aggressive; coos and cries become crying and screams as the infant’s caregiver—communicating the intensity of emotion, urgency of their request, or their frustration with varied and sometimes inadequate, failed, or missing caregiving patterns the infant has no choice but to accept. When …

Perceptions Of Educational Accountability Among Single African American Mothers, Tierra Winston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The construct of educational accountability formally originated in 2001 as a means to improve education standards by holding teachers accountable for student academic progress; however, the definition of educational accountability for parents continues to be illusive. The purpose of this generic, qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of educational accountability among single, African American mothers of high school-aged children. The research question asked about how the beliefs of educational accountability among single African American mothers related to any involvement in their children's education. Azjen's theory of planned behavior, which outlines the relation of intention to action, was the framework …

High School To College Transition Among Black Males: An Action Research Project, Orval Albert Jewett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A participatory action research project involving social workers as stakeholders from high schools and the local community college in Nassau County, New York, provided the basis for an inquiry that addressed the effectiveness and implementation of clinical social work practice with Black male students transitioning to community college from high school. This study addresses how clinical social work practice may be utilized to enhance the experience of the transition process for Black male students from high school to college. Through the use of a qualitative in-depth interview process, 16 school-based social workers provided professional perspective and expertise that resulted in …

Experiences And Responses To Microaggressions On Historically White Campuses: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis, Y. Kafi Moragne-Patterson, Tracey M. Barnett

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2011), only 59% of students who sought bachelors’ degrees from four-year postsecondary institutions in 2006 completed the degree within six years, and among African American/Black students, only 40% finished college within six years. Despite efforts to quantify factors that contribute to low retention rates among African American students, less is known about the qualitative experiences of students who remain on campuses across the United States. This qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis examines the microaggressive encounters experienced by African American undergraduate college students (ages 17-22) at historically White, fouryear colleges and universities to better understand how …

Queens Speak - A Youth Participatory Action Research Project: Exploring Critical Post-Traumatic Growth Among Black Girls Within The School To Prison Pipeline, Stacey Michelle Ault

Doctoral Dissertations

A gap exists in both research and practice when it comes to issues related to girls within the school-to-prison pipeline. Girls are also often ignored in the educational literature about trauma. Educators tend to take a deficit approach toward youth experiencing trauma and often reinforce trauma through discriminatory and exclusionary disciplinary practices. Using a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) methodology centered in the lives of Black girls, with an intentional focus on their agency and growth, this study educated, coached, and supported a research team called Queens Speak. The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to elevate the voices …

Recovery From Design, Cassandra J. Ellison

Theses and Dissertations

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form.

Uncovering The Processes And Consequences Of Egyptian Immigrant Parental Involvement In Their Children’S Education: Bridging Cultural Differences, Hend Shalan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

For more than a decade, researchers have concluded that immigrant parents face several barriers to becoming involved in their children’s education. All studies agree that language and cultural differences are the most significant barriers to immigrants’ involvement in their children’s education, yet we know little about what these cultural differences are and how these cultural differences influence the school involvement of immigrant parents. This study integrates theories of cultural differences, acculturation, and culture shock and the corresponding literature to investigate the lesser involvement of immigrant parents in school-related activities.

A focused ethnographic design was employed and a thematic analysis …

An Orphanage In Mexico: Four United Nations' Human Rights Of Children And Wolins' Prerequisites For Efficient Group Care Through The View Of The Manager And Staff, Lucia Beatriz Quesnel Galván

Dissertations and Theses

In Mexico there are officially 1.8 million orphaned children, without counting non-orphaned children deprived of family, who also need care; of these, only 657,000 are living in 703 orphanages. Mexico's government invests less than 2% of its budget toward protection of children. There is a lack of substantive research or official assessment of orphanages. According to the scant research found, the children's human rights most frequently violated in Mexican orphanages are the rights to nutrition and health care, to be protected from further victimization, to free expression and participation, and to not be exploited. This study was carried out through …

Relationship Between Preponderance Of Adhd In The African American Community And How Teachers Are Trained To Type Students As Adhd, E Madison

Capstone Collection

The following capstone paper “Relationship between preponderance of ADHD in African American community and how teachers are trained to type students as ADHD” explores the epidemic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis in students and the prevalence of ADHD in the African American community. In recent years the number of African American children with ADHD have skyrocketed concerning parents about the over diagnoses and misdiagnoses of the disorder (Ahmann, 2016). A recent study by Getahun and colleagues found a "70 percent increase in the number of ADHD diagnoses among African American children, with a 90 percent increase among African …

The Social Work Librarian And Information Literacy Instruction: A Report On A National Survey In The United States, Margaret Bausman, Sarah Laleman Ward

Publications and Research

As an interdisciplinary profession encompassing macro, mezzo, and micro fields of praxis, well-informed and ethical social work practice necessitates the continual utilization of information literacy skills across a wide and ever-evolving range of information sources and access points. In response to a dearth of scholarship concerning information literacy instruction in social work education, this article reports on an initial endeavor to quantify and describe the nature of information literacy instruction in social work education on a national level in the United States. In addition to a review and discussion of the National Social Work Librarians Survey's descriptive data, this article …