Case Study: The First Israeli BSW Program for Haredi Women Students

The article summarizes a longitudinal case study of the very first Israeli program in social work targeted to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) population (1997–1999). The program's success played an important role in the last decade's dramatic change of attitude in the Israeli Council for Higher Education toward social work education and higher education for the Haredi population. Aside from describing an interesting case of intercultural educational encounter, exploring the dynamics of the interaction between the social work faculty and the Haredi students, and investigating changes in the participants' perceptions of themselves, the other, and the situation, the findings provide some theoretical and practical clues for the inclusion of culturally peripheral populations in social work and higher education.     

Giving Our Students Professional Voice: Development and Implementation of a BSW Course on Writing for Agency Practice

In social work practice, writing is a tool for advocacy, communication with clients, and other professionals, and accountability. In virtually all practice settings, workers at every organizational level invest significant time and effort in writing. However, the social work education literature reveals little attention to teaching BSW students to write for practice settings. This article summarizes the development of a BSW course on writing human service agency documents, decisions made and lessons learned in the process, and suggestions for creating similar courses elsewhere.     

BSW Students of Color: Principle Factors Influencing Intent to Persist Through Completion of Degree

Students of color remain underrepresented in social work education programs. According to the Council on Social Work Education (2016), only 37.4% of the 19,596 BSW degrees awarded during the 2014–2015 academic year were awarded to students from historically underrepresented groups. Through the lens of empowerment theory, this article presents a conceptual framework for understanding the varied and nuanced influencing factors contributing to BSW students’ intent to persist through completion of degree. This article explores ways social work education programs can provide opportunities for students to demonstrate that they are motivated and competent learners who intend to persist in their social work education endeavors. Findings will inform postmatriculation activities such as academic advising and field-practicum.     

The Group-Centered BSW Curriculum for Community Practice

ABSTRACT

The “mundane extreme environment” of racism and poverty follows us into the new millennium (McAdoo, 1986). In response, I propose a group-centered curriculum for community practice as the professional foundation for social work education. Shifting the curricular focus from individual development to social development and from a domestic perspective to an international human rights perspective, the group-centered curriculum would teach social group work, inter-group work, and inter-professional practice as methods for promoting social and economic justice.     

Racial Mistrust Among Immigrant Minority Students

This paper examines perception of racial mistrust held by minority students towards white teachers during middle school years. The investigation determined relationships between levels of racial mistrust and the length of time English-speaking West Indian and Haitian students lived in the United States. Results indicate 35 to 50% of the students perceived moderate or high levels of racial mistrust. While no statistically significant relationships were indicated during the 6th and 7th, or 8th grades towards the ending of the 9th grade positive and statistically significant relationships were indicated for English-speaking West Indian as well as Haitian students. In addition to risks of unfavorable levels of racial mistrust low academic achievements remained a concern for both groups. Implications for social work research and practice with immigrant students are addressed.     

少数民族大学生政治认同教育的特殊性及对策

少数民族大学的政治认同是指少数民族大学生对现行政治体系及其价值观念所产生的一种心理归属和情感倾向,并在政治实践中对政治体系的运作给出一定的心理评价。少数民族大学生的政治认同对我国的民族团结、社会稳定具有重要意义,但由于自身的特殊性以及民族文化和教育环境的特殊性,少数民族大学生还存在政治认同偏差,还需坚持以尊重少数民族大学生文化传统为基本前提、营造良好的政治认同教育环境为社会根基、拓展少数民族大学生政治认同教育实践为关键途径,逐步增进少数民族大学生对现行政治体系和主流价值观念的认同。     

Recruiting Participants for Community Practice Interventions

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on recruiting participants for community practice interventions. We begin by presenting a case study of the recruitment methods used in a community-based development effort in the southeastern United States. In the next sections, we review some key issues in recruitment as discussed in the community practice and social movement literatures, and use them to reflect upon the case study. In the final section, we try to make social movement theory more accessible to community practitioners by developing a set of principles for use in recruitment.     

少数民族大学生宗教信仰研究

在京就读的少数民族大学生来自祖国的四面八方,具有不同的宗教文化背景。通过问卷调查和个案访谈发现、信教的少数民族大学生的可以归纳为七种类型,分别是：传统有神类;抗阻型怀疑论类;情境性宗教类;文化认同类;世俗——人本主义类型;道德救赎类;时代个性的需要。同时也研究也显示,少数民族大学生蕴藏在其生活中的关于信仰与生活的精神流动的曲线。在新形势下,需要从组织、参与与教学三大机制方面对少数民族大学的信仰进行有效地引导,提高信仰教育的针对性和时效性。     

Minority Students in Mathematics: The Reading Skills Connection

The research discussed in this paper examined the performance of male and female minority students in the subject areas of mathematics and reading. The subjects for the study consisted of over one thousand junior and senior high school students who were enrolled in fifty-nine different mathematics classes at eleven different schools across the country. Most of the students–69 percent–were of non-minority background. Blacks represented the largest portion (87.6 percent) of the minority segment. The study had four objectives: (1) to compare the performance of minority students on achievement tests in mathematics with their performance on achievement tests in reading; (2) to compare the performance of minority students on achievement tests in mathematics and reading with the performance of non-minority students in those tests; (3) to compare the performance of male minority students with that of female minority students; and (4) to consider the relationship between performance on achievement tests in reading and mathematics to course grade in mathematics. The overall purpose of the study was to further our understanding of the type of academic preparation occurring among pre-college students from minority backgrounds.     

Sources of Mathematics Self-Efficacy in High School Students

The relation of four hypothesized sources of self-efficacy information to high school students' math self-efficacy was explored. Results indicated that (a) of the hypothesized sources, prior performance was the most efficient predictor of self-efficacy; (b) global academic self-concept did not explain unique self-efficacy variation beyond prior performance; and (c) the effect of self-efficacy on the perceived utility of math to future life and work plans was mediated by students' math/science interests.     

Assessing School Climate Among Sexual Minority High School Students

ABSTRACT

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and intersex (i.e., sexual minority) youth are often targets of aggression because of their sexual identity, both in and out of schools. Literature on school-related aggression toward sexual minority youth often relies on quantitative surveys or retrospective studies. Little non-retrospective research has been done with this population investigating the nature of bullying, school climate, and the effects of being a sexual minority youth in schools. Sixteen sexual minority high school youth participated in face-to-face, in-depth interviews. Results for the themes from these interviews are presented in four categories: Sexual minorities' overall perspective on their school climate, the nature of aggression in schools against sexual minorities when present, the characteristics of the victims and bullies, and the consequences of being a sexual minority in schools. These youth's perspectives provide support for existing literature on the nature of bullying while providing additional insights into the nature and deficiencies of the resources available to them at schools. Ideas for future research with sexual minority youth in school-based settings also are included.     

Recruiting immigrants for long-term care nursing positions

Recent immigrants and workers in foreign countries are two groups frequently identified as potential sources of new workers for nursing positions in long-term care (LTC). Recruiting workers directly from other countries, either permanently or temporarily, is difficult because of restrictive visa classifications; is unlikely to impact significantly the worker shortage; and may have risks that outweigh the potential rewards. On the other hand, with targeted recruitment and retention efforts, the nation's rapidly growing immigrant population (the so-called "New Americans") can become an even more important source of labor for frontline LTC workers. To be successful employees in LTC, however, New Americans will have to overcome a variety of cultural and language barriers. Equally important, the institutions and agencies that comprise the LTC system must exhibit a higher level of sensitivity to cultural differences. Efforts to recruit, train, and retain New Americans for positions in LTC present win-win opportunities and should be expanded.     

民族地区医学院校学生职业道德素质

为了解民族地区医学院校学生职业道德素质状况,特以我院为例进行无记名问卷调查,根据调查结果,对民族地区医学院校学生职业道德素质方面存在的主要问题及其成因进行分析,并结合学校实际提出对策探讨.     

Goals for Undergraduate Social Work Research: A Survey of BSW Program Directors

Abstract

This study examines research curricular goals for undergraduate social work education. Two hundred fifty-six BSW program directors were surveyed about the appropriateness of eight research goals derived from CSWE's Curriculum Policy Statement (CPS). The findings indicate a very high level of support for seven of the eight goals. The goal to prepare students to contribute to the generation of knowledge for practice received the least amount of support. Implications of the findings for possible revisions of the CPS and for undergraduate social work education are discussed.     

Recruiting adoptive parents for children with developmental disabilities

One agency describes a systematic approach to recruitment of prospective adoptive families for children with developmental disabilities. The recruitment methodology, preliminary conclusions, and implications for future recruitment of families are presented.     

The Impact of Internships on Recruiting and Retaining Mental Health Workers: Views From Students and Their Supervisors

ABSTRACT

In 2015, 81% of counties in Texas were designated as full or partial Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas. To address this problem, we worked with a community-based association of mental health practitioners, using the social theory of career selection, to explore factors that influence students to join the mental health field. Our goal was to better understand how to recruit and retain mental health-trained students. We interviewed bachelor and master-level mental health interns in social work, counseling, and psychiatric nursing and field instructors using semistructured, open-ended interviews. Five themes emerged from the interviews: 1) attraction to mental health; 2) professional experience; 3) impact capacity; 4) develop social work skills; and 5) intern preparedness.