Can We Assess Suitability at Admission? A Review of MSW Application Procedures

The gatekeeping role in social work education begins with the admissions review process. This article reports on findings from a 1995-96 national survey of MSW programs that focused on the nonacademic admissions criteria and procedures they use to assess applicants. Over 80% of the respondents identified nonacademic indicators used to assess the suitability of applicants; 100% reported using some form of screening procedure (e.g., reference letters, personal interviews); and 66% provided samples of admissions review materials. The authors assess the commonalities found among sample materials, describe challenges in using nonacademic admission criteria, and present a model for defining and assessing student suitability throughout the professional education process.     

Factors Associated With Success in Doctoral Social Work Education

Although admission criteria such as GRE scores and undergraduate GPAs (UGPAs) have been shown to moderately predict success in graduate school for students in other academic disciplines and in MSW programs, no published research has examined factors associated with success in social work PhD programs. This article reports the findings of a pilot study in a Midwestern university that examined the relationship between common admissions variables and success in the doctoral program. Results indicate that GRE quantitative score, first-year doctoral GPA (DGPA), and age at admission were associated with successful completion of the doctoral program. Verbal GRE and UGPA were significantly correlated with first-year DGPA. Limitations and implications for admission and retention of students are discussed.     

The Neglected Aspect of Foreign Affairs,by Charles Frankel. Washington,D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1966. 148 pp. $5.00 Hardbound

This article presents one portion of the findings from a research study of the relationship between a student's prior experience and his performance in solving social work problems commonly found in a first-year MSW program. It reports a beginning effort to find variables that appear to differentiate high-scoring students on the principal research instrument with previous work experience in social work, from low-scoring students. The findings should be of particular interest to members of admissions committees and to faculty involved in curriculum planning for advanced entering students to the master's program in social work.     

ADVANCED STANDING AND BRIDGE COURSES: STRUCTURES AND ISSUES

This study explores the issue of advanced standing in MSW programs in light of the new Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). Advanced standing structures of MSW programs were studied using a purposive sample consisting of 203 MSW program directors with a response rate of 28% (N=58). The results indicate that slightly more than 15% of programs do not provide advanced standing to incoming students, that slightly more than 63% require a bridge course, and that bridge courses are most often used to increase the academic readiness of students. The study's findings are used to frame a discussion of the significant issues raised by the introduction of a common set of competencies for BSW and MSW students in the new EPAS.     

Teaching Note—Evaluation of an Avoiding Plagiarism Workshop for Social Work Students

A 1-hour workshop on how to avoid plagiarizing when writing academic papers was developed and delivered at an orientation session for BSW and MSW students at a university in the northeast United States. Six social work instructors led the workshops at the university’s main campus and two extension centers. Before and after the workshop, students read an original passage from a social work text and were asked if the material were paraphrased in four different ways would it constitute plagiarism. Pre- and posttest results indicated that the workshop increased the percentage of students who could correctly identify examples of plagiarism versus ethical writing. Implications for social work education are discussed.     

Social Work Student Self-Care and Academic Stress

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between self-care and academic stress in the hope that training social work students to practice self-care will start them on the right path to academic success and career longevity. The study surveyed 90 BASW and MSW students using the Academic Stress Scale. Students who practiced daily self-care had lower academic stress. In addition, with each year of progression through the program, students experienced minimally less academic stress. The type of self-care practiced was not a factor. Social work programs can be encouraged to teach self-care. Self-care theory and domains are also reviewed. More studies are needed to examine other factors that might reduce academic stress.     

Perceptions of Self-Care Among MSW Students: Implications for Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

For students new to social work, self-care is a strategy for addressing potentially negative impacts of the profession. Curiously, however, participation in a university’s self-care program has been chronically low. The purpose of this study is to explore social work students’ perceptions of self-care and to create a database for supporting changes in social work education. Qualitative data were collected via an online survey from MSW students. The findings revealed 5 categories for student perceptions of self-care, including health, time, activities, balance, and professionalism, and 3 categories for self-care and the social work program, including academic program experiences, resources, and modeling. Implications of the study in developing and tailoring a self-care program to students in MSW programs are discussed.     

Sample Selection in Models of Academic Performance

This article shows how admission and enrollment processes affect the interpretation of simple validation studies of academic performance. In a competitive market for students, optimal behavior of admissions committees and applicants drives the simple correlation between test scores and performance toward zero, regardless of the relationship in the population of prospective students. Data from our university's MBA program support the prediction that applicants exhibit a higher correlation between test scores and undergraduate GPAs than do current students. This suggests that standard validation studies will understate the importance of GMAT scores in predicting performance of potential MBA students. (JEL C24 , I121 , C52 )     

Emerging Social Work Field Education Trends in China

MSW field education in China has been adopting Western models. However, this adaptation cannot address all educational and professional training needs in China. This study used an exploratory qualitative study design and interviewed 54 MSW students regarding their field experiences at a university in Shanghai. Results revealed six key themes: field education curriculum design’s influence on student field experiences, faculty advisers’ influence on student field experiences, field agencies’ expectations toward MSW intern performance, field agencies’ capacity to host MSW interns, student perceptions of their professional competencies, and students’ coping strategies to manage challenges in field practicum. Competency-based social work field education is a potential solution to address the current social work field education challenges in China.     

Seven strategies for facilitating access of nontraditional students to graduate education in social work

Undergraduate academic performance as a principal criterion guiding admission to graduate social work education may result in the exclusion of otherwise strong candidates for involvement in graduate education. This paper presents seven strategies for strengthening the admission status of nontraditional students, that is, those students who do not possess adequate undergraduate grade point averages to justify admission. These strategies are particularly important in the United States given the elimination or substantial limitation of affirmative action policies in higher education. Schools of social work, like other educational institutions, must become more creative and proactive to ensure that candidates for graduate education who can make important and substantive contributions to the profession gain entry. Using adult learning theory, the authors offer a rationale that underscores the need to look at an individual's vocational background and professional experience as well as professional commitment to serving vulnerable populations in order to assess readiness for admission. And, the authors identify the importance of offering opportunities to these individuals to strengthen their post-undergraduate academic records in order to be more competitive in the applicant pool. Each of the seven strategies is discussed in terms of its key processes and outcomes in relationship to developing these individuals as viable candidates who can compete in the admission process. The strategies are based on the logic of empowerment theory and they underscore the necessity of building on the strengths and assets that these individuals bring to graduate social work education. The authors illustrate the inclusion of these strategies into the admissions process of a school of social work in the United States and suggest that the use of these strategies can facilitate 'affirmative access' to social work education.     

Korean Social Work Students’ Attitudes Toward Homosexuals

For this article, the Hudson and Ricketts Index of Attitudes toward Homosexuality (IAH) was used to measure levels of homophobia in a convenience sample of 124 students enrolled in social work programs in two major universities in the Republic of South Korea. The results indicated that BSW and MSW Korean students had high levels of homophobia, particularly in comparison to U.S. samples. In-class discussion of homosexuality was found to be significantly associated with lower levels of homophobia. The authors review these and other research findings and discuss implications for social work education in South Korea and the United States.     

Researching Admissions: What Can We Learn about Selection of Applicants from Findings about Students in Difficulty on a Social Work Programme?

This paper explores the findings of a small‐scale empirical study of social work admissions data. It is designed to be exploratory in nature and used to illustrate key themes discussed in a previous paper. The study has been designed as a comparator to a Canadian study with the aim of building upon their findings within the current UK/England context. The research examines the relationship between applicants' pre‐admission information and their subsequent performance on the programme. Data relating to a sample of students and available at the pre‐admission stage (from application forms and interviewer report forms) and data relating to students on the programme who had been identified (by faculty) as having difficulties in one or more areas of their learning, are compared to a sample of those not identified as having experienced such problems. The two groups (total sample size = 150) are drawn from one university in southern England and comprise students from both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Methodological issues are critically analysed and findings are explored and compared to that of the Canadian study. Key themes regarding the seemingly complex relationships between performance on the programme and academic background, extent of previous experience and a range of other factors are discussed and examined in relation to other available literature. Implications are explored in relation to current practice and development needs within social work education.     

Field Practica in Social Work Administration: Tasks,Auspice, Selection Criteria and Outcomes

Abstract

This evaluative study of the field practicum in one MSW program in social work administration is based on data collected over a period of ten years on tasks performed by students, auspice of field placement agency and student prior experience in relation to outcomes of student performance and satisfaction. The findings revealed that better outcomes are associated with tasks performed on upper organizational levels, working with line staff, performing interactional tasks, interorganizational functions, in agencies under voluntary auspices. Data on age and prior experience of students indicate no support for using these criteria for selection of students for this type of education. The policy implications for social work education are discussed.     

Motivations to become a master in social work: a typology of students

ABSTRACT

In the field of social work education, many studies address students’ motivations to become social workers. Most of these studies focus on bachelor‘s students in social work and confirm that altruistic and expressive motivations underlie students’ decisions to enter the social work profession. However, few studies focus on students earning a Master in Social Work (MSW). The purpose of this paper is to explore why students want to earn a master’s degree in social work. An online questionnaire was developed, and the results of six focus group discussions were used. The sample includes 116 graduates from the past 8 years and current students from the MSW programme at the University of Antwerp. We use exploratory factor analysis and identify two types of motivation. In line with earlier studies, we find that the first type is an expressive motivation. These students want to learn more about poverty and social justice and are motivated to improve the life conditions of vulnerable target groups. The second type is an instrumental motivation. These students are oriented towards the development of their professional careers.     

Teachers' Goals and Role Behavior*

A survey in junior and senior high schools assessed the goal orientations of 316 teachers. These goals are factor analyzed and produce a two-factor structure, each composed of four items. Teachers are rated as low, medium or high on each factor, called socialization and academic. Teachers' goals are related to the grading practices and sanctions used in the classroom. A stress on academic goals is positively related with the use of performance criteria in grading students and to the infrequent use of sanctions. A socialization emphasis is positively related to the use of non-performance criteria in grading and the frequent use of sanctions.     

Relationships Among Diverse Students in a Cohort-Based MSW Program: A Social Network Analysis

ABSTRACT

Peer relationships are an integral part of social work education. This study examined three types of social ties (academic, friendship, and professional) among first-semester students in a cohort-based MSW program. Data were collected three times during the semester and analyzed using social network analysis. By semester’s end, students had an average of 10.2 ties (significantly more than the midsemester mean of 8.6 ties per student), almost exclusively within their own cohort. Participants (N = 144) had a greater percentage of ties with people of a different racial or ethnic group at end of semester compared to midsemester, although relationships were more likely to exist between students of the same race or ethnicity, especially for friendships. Implications for MSW education are discussed.     

The Process of Field Instruction

This article reports on the results of two surveys that asked BSW and MSW students to evaluate the supervision provided by their field instructors at two points during their practicum. Students responded to a variety of questions pertaining to the supervisory assignments and activities of their field instructor. The author discusses the relationship between supervisory skills and students’ perceptions of enhanced learning. Early in the practicum, activities reported as most helpful to students were those that introduced them to the agency and clarified expectations of their performance. At the end of their experience, students perceived as most helpful those activities which helped them to be self-critical and to link classroom and field learning.     

Feminist attitudes and ideologies: an examination of a Northeastern US MSW program

The relationship that Masters in Social Work (MSW) students in the United States have with feminism appears to be paradoxical, in which MSW students tend to endorse feminist principles but are hesitant to identify themselves as feminists. In an effort to better understand MSW student support of feminist principles, as well as social work students’ relationship with feminism and possible implications for social work education, a survey of MSW students was conducted at a Northeastern US MSW program utilizing an established scale, the Liberal Feminist Attitude and Ideology Scale, which is comprised of five subscales. Scores on the subscales were compared and findings indicate that MSW students were more likely to highly endorse the Gender Roles, Global Goals, and Specific Political Agendas subscales compared to Discrimination and Subordination and Collective Action subscales; suggesting that students promote gender role parity and feminist goals, but were less likely to acknowledge discrimination and the need for collective action. This article will discuss the importance of social work education as an instrument for exploring the ways in which women face gender-based discrimination and highlighting the necessity for students to take a more active role in participating in collective action to reduce gender-based oppression.     

Exploring MSW students’ and social workers’ orientation toward the evidence-based practice process

The aim of this exploratory study was to assess whether practicing social workers currently enrolled in Master Social Work (MSW) programs (hereafter referred to as MSW students) were more oriented to the evidence-based practice (EBP) process and more engaged in it than practicing social workers who are not currently enrolled in MSW programs (hereafter referred to as social workers) in the Netherlands. Data were collected from MSW students (n = 32) and from social workers (n = 341) using the EBP Process Assessment Scale. MSW students reported a stronger orientation toward the EBP process, more positive attitudes toward EBP, more familiarity with EBP and more intentions to engage in EBP than social workers did, however, they were less positive about the feasibility of implementing EBP in practice. These preliminary results suggest that there are grounds for optimism about MSW students’ acceptance of and engagement in the EBP process. Implications for social work education are discussed.     

WORKING TO LEARN: INTERNSHIPS FOR TODAY'S SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS

This study compares student learning in employment-based internships with learning in nonemployment-based internships. Data from foundation and advanced employment-based and nonemployment-based students (N=180) indicate statistically significant gains during the academic year. Pre- and post-evaluative data from field instructors (N=22) also reflect statistical significance. This counters concerns about the value of employment-based internships. There was a trend for employment-based foundation MSW students to perceive themselves initially as more knowledgeable than nonemployment-based students. By the end of the foundation year, this difference disappeared. Recommendations are made for employment-based field practica.