A developmental perspective on the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines

The Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines were developed to help multidisciplinary school-based teams use a decision tree to evaluate student threats and take appropriate preventive action. A main goal of this approach is to allow school-based teams to recognize and respond to the developmental complexities of children and adolescents without resorting to the use of zero tolerance discipline. The model takes a triage approach that involves progressively more extensive assessment and intervention according to the severity of the threat and the student's intentions. The article summarizes two field test studies of the model, a study of training effects on staff attitudes and knowledge about violence prevention, and a quasi-experimental study showing that secondary schools using the model enjoyed a more positive school climate characterized by less bullying and greater willingness among students to seek help for threats of violence.     

Housing and transport: access issues for disabled international students in British universities

This article explores two disabled people’s ‘Seven Needs’ to independent living, those of ‘housing’ and ‘transport’ issues, in relation to disabled international students in British universities. Firstly, students’ living arrangements, including issues related to the suitability of university accommodation to their disability-related needs, have been identified. Secondly, the choice and accessibility of transport used is examined. A range of barriers that this group of students encounter based on their double or multiple identities as ‘disabled’, ‘international’ and sometimes ‘mature’ or ‘postgraduate’ students has thus been identified and discussed. The article highlights the barriers that are reinforced and exacerbated by the interplay of students’ different identities, proposing ways of removing these difficulties.     

Alcohol, drugs, and links to sexual risk behaviors among a sample of Virginia college students

This project was significant in that it administered the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS), a health risk assessment, to a sample of students at three public universities in Virginia. Virginia was never included in the original or subsequent nationwide assessments using this instrument. This health risk assessment is comprehensive, easy to administer, and free. The NCHRBS assesses risk behaviors in six categories including: (1) behaviors that contribute to unintentional and intentional injuries; (2) tobacco use; (3) alcohol and other drug use; (4) sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and STDs, including the HIV infection; (5) unhealthy dietary behaviors; and (6) physical inactivity. This article focuses on student responses to questions about alcohol and other drugs and sexual behaviors linked to the use of these substances. It provided baseline data on health risk behaviors of college students which can help determine wellness/health education course objectives and health promotion programming and services provided to the students within the universities. In addition, this project provided protocol to expand use of the survey statewide.     

High Tech and High Touch: The Human Face of Online Education

SUMMARY

This article decribes and evaluates a Web-based course in cultural competency. The evaluation focused not only on course content but also on the experiences of both the learners and instructors in a relatively new Internet environment of an online course for social work students and faculty.     

Social work students' conception on roles within the family in Greece

The present article is based on a small-scale research that took place with third-year students in the department of social work at Technological Educational Institute of Patras. During class the students, who undertake the laboratory course ‘Social Work with Families’, were asked to discuss family roles and depict them on drawings. Analysing their drawings in a qualitative approach the findings suggest that students adopt traditional views on family issues and the family roles. Various gender stereotypes and prejudices were reflected in students' drawings and this is alarming for both social work education and practice.     

Beyond Words: Comics in the Social Work Classroom

ABSTRACT

Equipping future social workers to interrogate social justice, human rights, and cultural issues requires a revision of social work education. Culturally relevant teaching is increasingly important in today’s globalized world. In this article, we explore the role of comics as a form of social work pedagogy to tackle complex social issues. The article argues that comics offer specific benefits to educators seeking to develop critical thinking and self-reflexivity in their students. We present findings from focus group discussions with social work students to examine the relevance of comics in social work education. Ultimately, the use of comics as a teaching tool contributes to the effective preparation of future social workers through the mutual transformation it engenders in students and educators.     

An evaluation of a social norms marketing project for tobacco prevention with middle, high, and college students; use of funds from the Tobacco Master Settlement (Virginia)

The Anti-Tobacco Media Blitz (ATMB), a social-norms marketing program, was utilized for tobacco prevention with middle and high school students. University students assisted middle and high school students with the implementation of this campaign, which included a variety of media. Students worked in teams to design, develop, and evaluate tobacco-free messages through posters, radio, television, and peer-led activities. Evaluation of the campaign was constant and included assessment of message retention and demonstration of positive behaviors. This article discusses the procedures of this project, the five-step social norms marketing model, with emphasis on the student-centered evaluation and results.     

Using child abuse inquiries in child protection education and training

In this article the two authors describe and analyse their experiences of using child abuse inquiries in child protection education with pre-qualifying social work students, over a period of 10 years. The article addresses a range of issues, including the effects of changes in child protection policy and practice; changes in social work education; the cumulative effects of the number of inquiry reports over the past 25 years; use of particular inquiry reports to discuss issues of oppression; the importance of sensitivity to the processes of such teaching and the emotional impact on social work students. The authors, one woman and one man, are both white and in their middle years. Prior to teaching social work, both were in child care and child protection practice for many years. One author's experience of sexist oppression informs particular aspects of the content of this teaching (see article) and both authors' experiences of endeavouring to be aware of, and sensitive to, the needs of social work students as individuals and as groups, has led them to take a particular approach when using child abuse inquiry reports in educating social workers in the complex and contested field of child protection practice.     

Social Work Practice in a High Tech Era

The United States is entering the era of high tech. In order for this transition to be accomplished smoothly, a variety of policies must be formulated. Nonetheless, the U.S. appears to be moving ahead with technological development without a coherent plan to solve the problems that may result from this growth. This paper analyzes some of the key issues that must be addressed to insure technology is used to foster the common good. Accordingly, the relationship between technology and social work practice is discussed, in order to illustrate to social practitioners the limitations and benefits associated with high tech instruments.     

Screens and teens with migraines: visually sensitive learners in contemporary digital classrooms

Technology-rich school classrooms incorporate digital media in the form of computers and interactive whiteboards into the visual learning environment. Whilst evidence-based research shows use of technology improves academic outcomes for high school students in general, there are limited data available on the consequences of digital media use for high school students with migraine. This article highlights the historical issues with light-emitting media, the physical parameters that are changed by adoption of these digital media into the classroom and some of the adverse effects caused by visual light stimulation. The article concludes by calling for further social research to better understand adjustments needed by students with migraine in the digital media classroom, and the policies needed to support image parameter guidelines for schools. In this article, the term visual light sensitivity refers to any student’s abnormal sensitivity to optically sighted light leading to negative responses, including that of migraine.     

Careers in the Social Sciences

Thought experiments enable students to think about persistent social issues by drawing on both knowledge and imagination. In this article, the author provides examples of thought experiments found in literature for adults and middle school students, a rationale for doing thought experiments in the classroom, a step-by-step procedure to follow, and a rubric for evaluating student work. A sample of one student's work illustrates the process. The author also recommends several nonfiction books that can be used to jump-start thought experiments. By encouraging students to link past experiences with present concerns, thought experiments illustrate the relevance of the social studies.     

Reflections on Introducing Students to Multicultural Populations and Diversity Content

SUMMARY

The aim of this article is to identify factors the author feels facilitate learning in introductory courses focused on multicultural populations and related issues. These are reflections based on observations of patterns over a number of years, in a variety of teaching settings and structures, and with a very diverse body of students, and include the characteristics and behavior of the teacher and the students, the course structure, and important considerations with regard to course content and methods.     

Problems experienced by students on field placement: using research findings to inform curriculum design and content

Recent recognition of workplace learning from within the University sector has resulted in more emphasis being placed on including field experiences in course curriculum across a range of disciplines. This article begins with a short review of the literature relating to the current context in which work-based learning occurs. Next, selected findings from a survey of 39 Victorian social work students on their experiences of placement learning are reported. The survey focused on problems encountered by students on placement. A number of the problems students faced suggested the need for additional opportunities both before and during the placements to engage with material on safety in the field, and ways to deal with workplace stress and conflict. In response to these issues the article summarises some pedagogical strategies that may be used to enhance student learning in these areas both leading up to and during their field placements. In addition to matters relating to safety and stress, financial pressures were evident for students endeavouring to complete field placements. The recent moves from universities to embrace industry based learning, clearly has implications for funding support made available to students undertaking this type of education.     

A model for value based public relations education in a diverse and poly-contextual society

This paper discusses the merit of using a Value Based Education (VBE) approach to equip future public relations and communication practitioners with the values needed to adhere to ethical practice and foster these values in the organizations they will steward. The approach utilizes in-depth and sustained exposure to complex societal issues to instill an ethical, poly-contextually responsive and diversity sensitive consciousness in students. The need to sensitize future practitioners at institutions of higher learning to the professional requirements of this context and to the inclusive values needed to respond appropriately is an important priority in increasing their strategic relevance globally. This article illustrates how VBE was practically implemented through engaging public relations and strategic communication students in complex social issues such as the plight of economically marginalized communities, human trafficking, and migration. In this paper we propose a Value Based Education model for PR education, based on our experience of teaching Millennial students in South Africa.     

Identity challenges and social experiences of higher education students with disabilities in Slovenia

This article focuses on the experiences and experiencing of disability, policies of self-understanding, and the life plans and aspirations of students with disabilities. The article draws on the results of a qualitative survey of students with disabilities taking courses in various faculties of the University of Ljubljana. The results show that students with disabilities are able to reshape their identities in a way that does not consist of the disability experienced, but is independent of it, and they are able to accept their disability as the reality of life without losing their own purpose of living and life plans. This experience is a significant part of the identity formation of people with disabilities, and the social experience of people with disabilities strengthens their selfhood while also producing new responses and challenges to contemporary issues of identity formation and identity policies.     

School Counselors Supporting African Immigrant Students' Career Development: A Case Study

School counselors play a critical role in preparing adolescent immigrant students to be college and career ready by attending to the complex variables that promote and inhibit career development. This article provides an illustrative case study of a Somali immigrant student's educational journey to highlight the academic and familial challenges that she encountered while attending U.S. schools. Through this case study, the authors discuss the issues immigrant high school students experience and present culturally responsive practices that school counselors can use to address career development. These culturally responsive practices include developing a strong knowledge of students’ backgrounds and cultures, designing small group interventions that are timely and sensitive to immigrant students’ needs, and strengthening school–family partnerships.     

Career Counseling With African Immigrant College Students: Theoretical Approaches and Implications for Practice

The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to explore the career development needs and issues that are unique to Black sub‐Saharan African immigrants, with an emphasis on college students, and (b) to discuss how career development professionals can implement strategies to better serve these students. The number of Black immigrants from sub‐Saharan African countries has increased recently. Many immigrants are confronted with complex life decisions. Career counselors are in a unique position to assist. Theoretical approaches, with a focus on contextual factors, are discussed. Six strategies for career counseling practice, suggestions for their application, and implications for practice are highlighted.     

The School Experiences of Same-Sex Attracted Students in the 14- to 19-Year-Old Secondary Sector in England: Within and Beyond the Safety and Tolerance Framework

SUMMARY

This article examines the social and political context within which lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth find themselves and, in doing so, a number of key issues are identified which have profound implications for the functions and responsibilities of schools in the United Kingdom. This article also considers how one secondary school and one Sixth Form College in south-east England are facilitating the gradual visibility of LGB students within a framework of safety and tolerance. In addition, attention is focussed on homophobic victimization identified by students and their experiences when disclosing sexual identity. Methods of data collection are outlined including focus groups with adolescent LGB identifying students, and a questionnaire survey distributed to 116 students (both heterosexual and LGB). Methodological issues are considered together with the difficulties of accessing same-sex attracted respondents and the ethical considerations which emerge as a consequence. Implications for policy and practice within the 14- to 19-year-old secondary sector and the possibility of moving beyond the framework of safety and tolerance are examined.