Promising Innovations in Child Welfare Education: Findings From a National Initiative

For many years, schools of social work have engaged in partnerships, especially with public child welfare agencies, to prepare a competent and professional child welfare workforce through the mechanism of Title IV-E training. In 2008 the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) established an additional resource for preparing students in social work schools for child welfare practice. Twelve NCWWI traineeship programs supported a diverse group of BSW and MSW students from 2008 to 2013 and prepared them for client-centered practice informed by child welfare and leadership competencies. This article highlights a curriculum innovation in an MSW program and a field innovation in a BSW program that were designed to increase the readiness of BSW and MSW students for child welfare practice.     

BSW Program Administration: Directors' Perceptions of Their Power to Manage

Abstract

A national survey of 299 bachelor of social work (BSW) program directors was conducted to identify management functions of director positions and perceptions of power to influence these functions. Sources of personal, structural, and institutional power were found to be important predictors of power for middle managers in academic settings. Findings indicated that BSW directors have varying perceptions of power to direct their programs and manage resources associated with departmental administration in higher education. This study supports the complexity of academic management and emphasizes the need to broaden social work education to help provide a foundation for administration in academic settings.     

Assessing BSW Student Direct Practice Skill Using Standardized Clients and Self-Efficacy Theory

Entering and exiting BSW students were compared on self-efficacy and on direct practice skill performance with a standardized client. Self-efficacy was tested as a predictor and as a mediator of skill performance. Ordinary least squares hierarchical regression found BSW education to be predictive of higher skill and higher self-efficacy. After controlling for BSW education, self-efficacy negatively predicted direct practice skill, and mediation was not supported as hypothesized. This study suggests caution in the use of self-efficacy as an outcome measure, advances the use of standardized clients for assessment, and affirms the need for the development of valid and reliable instruments for assessment of direct practice skill in social work education.     

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.     

Training Social Workers in Personal Finance: An Exploratory Study

Social workers have opportunities to help individuals and families with their financial problems in a variety of practice settings, yet receive no formal training to do so. Using data from an online survey of social workers and other human service professionals (N?=?56) who completed or expressed interest in a financial social work certification program, we found that respondents were able to apply what they learned to help their clients and valued the practical and interactive nature of program content. We also found that respondents were not immune from experiencing some of the same financial problems that confront their clients. Implications for educating BSW and MSW students about household finance are presented and discussed.     

Social Work Students' Research-Related Anxiety and Self-Efficacy: Research Instructors' Perceptions and Teaching Innovations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine social work research instructors' perceptions of research-related anxiety and research confidence among social work students, and teaching strategies to identify and manage anxiety. A national web-based survey of 186 BSW and MSW social work research instructors was conducted. Many BSW (70%) and MSW (61%) research instructors reported that they used specific activities or approaches to assess or impact upon student anxiety. Qualitative analysis results suggested a teaching model for social work research instructors designed to reduce students' research-related anxiety, including by enhancing their research confidence. Strategies that instructors can use include creating a supportive class climate, providing activities that are emotion-, cognitive-, and action-focused as well as the use of strategic timing. These findings can be used to guide social work research instructors' facilitation of students' attainment of research competencies and help further students' research–practice integration.     

Predicting empathy in helping professionals: comparison of social work and nursing students

There is a growing trend in social work to produce social work students who demonstrate empathy. Empathy levels in social work students are not well-researched, especially in comparison with students in other helping professions. This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between empathy, self-esteem, and work engagement in 472 undergraduate and graduate students in the helping professions. Comparisons between BSW, MSW, and nursing students found overall high levels of affective empathy. Graduate MSW and nursing students scored higher than BSW students on most empathy constructs, self-esteem, work engagement, and had more work and volunteer experiences. A hierarchical multiple regression model was used to assess predictors of comprehensive empathy. Significant predictors of comprehensive empathy, as measured by the Empathy Assessment Index, included volunteer experience, work engagement, and affective empathy. Demographic variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, and years of work were non-significant predictors. Different constructs of empathy emerged, and implications of how empathy is relevant to social work practice are discussed with recommendations for social work education.     

Potential Employers' Views of the Ideal Undergraduate Social Work Curriculum

Abstract

Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) curriculum design is generally considered a collaborative process involving educators, students, practitioners, and employers. The social agency contributes in critical economic, pedagogical, and political ways. The literature is ambiguous, however, regarding compatibility of educators' and practitioners' views on curricula, homogeneity of perceived training needs, and societal changes necessitating curriculum revision. In this study, 77 agency personnel reported their views of 56 BSW curriculum items. The development of communication competence, the mastery of content on socialization and the small group, and the cultivation of basic social work values were commonly viewed as essential. BSW program directors, graduates, and potential employers generally had compatible views. Practice conditions—especially service position (direct or indirect), field of practice, and client age group—influenced curriculum priorities. Changes in educational priorities across a decade were minor, with increasing emphasis on ethical practice, especially as related to confidentiality.     

Two Problems of the Graduate Program

The establishment of the BSW as the beginning professional degree including the “base” content of professional education is precipitating structural changes in social work education that could provide a unique opportunity for the establishment of a truly “advanced” two-year MSW. However, the path of least resistance currently practiced forecloses this alternative in favor of advanced standing and a one-year MSW for BSW graduates and the vague possibility of a practice doctorate as the way to upgrade professional education. This dilemma/opportunity is examined here, a case is made for an upgraded two-year MSW, and strategy to facilitate its implementation is suggested.     

The future of clinical practice: A study

This paper presents the results of a study conducted to determine how BSW and MSW social work students differentially assess the relative prestige and effectiveness of casework, psychotherapy, and private practice in relation to thirteen other social work methods, and to ascertain what methods they would ideally like to practice upon graduation from their respective programs. The results indicate that undergraduate and graduate students view the average prestige and effectiveness of the three clinical methods quite differently. Also, the results reveal a very low correlation between what methods the students would like to practice and how they assess their prestige and effectiveness.     

An exploratory study of early professional experiences and job burnout among BSW graduates in China

Although previous studies have addressed turnover issues among social workers in Western countries, this study explores the early professional experiences (during the first 3 working years) and job burnout among BSW graduates in China and identifies factors influencing their decisions to leave social work jobs. Using semi-structured interviews with 15 BSW graduates in the Shenzhen metropolitan area, this research identifies the primary reasons new social workers leave the profession. Data analysis revealed three themes: personal struggles, work environment issues, and social support factors. This exploratory study highlights the professional experiences and burnout among BSW graduates in China and has implications for social work education and professional practices.     

Cracking the Code—An Approach to Developing Professional Writing Skills

The development of writing skills sufficient to meet the complexities of contemporary social work practice is a growing demand from employers and practice educators. The paper explores current pedagogical debate relating to student support and the development of writing skills and relates this debate to meeting the needs of social work students engaged in practice learning and professional practice. A number of questions are raised about current social work education in England and the needs of students entering from non-traditional academic backgrounds facing the increasingly rigorous demands of professional report writing. The discussion is then grounded in a practice example of staff from a university social work course and education guidance service working together to meet student need in respect of developing writing skills. The development, implementation and evaluation of a university writing skills programme for social work students are explored. The paper concludes by setting out a range of challenges arising from experience of the programme and a consideration of theory, and points to potential ways forward based on a social practice approach to teaching writing skills.     

The Virtual Community: Computer Conferencing for Teaching and Learning Social Work Practice

SUMMARY

This author describes the use of a web-based conferencing program to augment classroom learning in generalist social work practice courses in a BSW program. This “virtual classroom” allows students to have more or less continual access to the instructor and to each other, greatly expanding opportunities for teaching, learning, and communication.     

MICRO- OR MACRO-ORIENTATION? ISRAELI STUDENTS' CAREER INTERESTS IN AN ANTISOCIAL ERA

The growing interest in social work education in Israel over the past 5 years, despite its current social and political context, was the impetus for this study, which attempted to identify the practice orientations of 119 incoming BSW students in an antisocial era. Two distinct, equal-size clusters were found. Half of the students were micropractice oriented, indicating greater interest in working with individuals, couples, and families. The other half were macropractice oriented, more interested in working with communities and in policy-practice and social change activities. Conclusions and implications for social work education are discussed.     

An Examination of Fieldwork Models at Adelphi University School of Social Work

Practitioners' orientation toward research was compared with that of social work students. Practitioners' views on the importance and usefulness of research were significantly less favorable than those of graduate students in social work and more similar to students at the BSW level; but no differences were found with regard to belief in the unbiased nature of social work research. The differences between the practitioners and graduate students might be a manifestation of the failure of the curriculum to articulate research concepts and methodology in a manner responsive to the realities of practice.     

Issues and Challenges in Gatekeeping: A Framework for Implementation

Social work educators' role in gatekeeping within BSW and MSW academic programs continues to be a concern and challenge for the profession. Social work programs are the entry point in which students develop the required competencies to practice within the field. The social work literature on gatekeeping is extensive and expansive. The literature reviews and addresses the importance and need for gatekeeping as well as challenges in implementing gatekeeping within social work programs. This paper reviews the literature on gatekeeping in social work programs, discusses the legal issues pertinent to gatekeeping, and identifies the challenges faced by social work programs in implementing gatekeeping procedures. The paper suggests an integrated conceptual framework using the Council on Social Work Education's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) for competencies in gatekeeping in social work programs.     

Use of Title IV-E Funding in BSW Programs

Summary

Title IV-E provides resources that allow social work education and state child welfare agencies to collaborate to provide an educational experience that prepares students to move quickly into a complex practice experience. In 1998-1999 all BSW programs that were accredited and in candidacy were surveyed to see if they were using Title IV-E funds to provide support for students who would agree to work in public child welfare programs after graduation. The questionnaire used was based on Zlotnik's earlier survey (Zlotnik & Cornelius, 2000) of all programs receiving IV-E funds. Of the 464 BSW programs surveyed, 282 replied, 59% of these were public institutions, the rest private. Forty-eight schools reported receiving some type of IV-E funding for students. Results indicate a number of models are used to support collaboration between the schools and their state agencies. These include differences in the requirements of students while they are in school and after graduation and in the amount of funding available to students. In addition, institutions not receiving IV-E funds were asked to describe why they were not. Implications for BSW programs are discussed.     

Teaching Note—Creating an Integrative Research Learning Environment for BSW and MSW Students

ABSTRACT

Research courses are often the least popular among BSW and MSW students because the connection between social work practice and research is not always evident. This teaching note introduces the structure of the Social Work integrative Research Lab (SWiRL), which was implemented in a social work program without a doctoral program at a large public university. SWiRL offers students opportunities to engage meaningfully in a variety of social work research projects using a framework of nested mentoring. Students gain hands-on research experience while they develop confidence, leadership, and mentoring skills within this structure. The authors discuss recommendations for other social work programs that do not have doctoral education or an established research environment.     

BSW students' perceptions of key competencies,values, and practitioner skills Implications for social work education

Abstract

This study profiled undergraduate Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students' self-reported skill levels and valuations of personal qualities, practitioner skills, values and ethics, scientific skills and key competencies germane to social work practice. Differential assessments of personal qualities, practitioner skills, values and ethics, and scientific skills as well as differential assessments of the importance of 14 key competencies challenge a pattern of social work education where an integration of theory and practice is made difficult by a linear sequence of theory, followed by applied theory, followed by practice.     

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.