A Collaborative Approach to Service,Learning, and Scholarship

ABSTRACT

This article describes a research course that was a collaborative endeavor between a school of social work and a community organization. This project was guided by learning, service and scholarship goals. Specifically, the participants in this course provided a pro-bono evaluation for a community benefits district. The benefits district solicited assistance from the authors, with the caveat that district members not be involved in the data collection and analysis. The authors situate this project on a continuum of traditional versus participatory research, and propose a “mixed” model for collaborative university-community efforts. The authors suggest ways of engaging students in “real world” research that benefits the community and facilitates their own training as macro social work practitioners. Factors that facilitate and hinder such a project are also discussed.     

Technology and School Social Work Services: Introducing Technology in an Alternative School

SUMMARY

The public school system, one of the largest human service institutions in our nation, is continuously engaged in a struggle to balance the needs of a growing and diverse population with continuing threats of budget cuts. Under these conditions, it becomes even more critical that school social workers understand and appreciate the role of technology in delivering and evaluating services. To assess the effectiveness of school social work services, evaluation will have to be planned for, and systems of data collection and processing will have to be conducted on an ongoing basis.

This paper outlines the process whereby school social workers in a local school district proceeded to introduce technology into their service delivery regimen. Secondly, the paper shows how such technology was, and may be, used to evaluate the services provided by school social workers in an alternative school.     

Japanese Contributions to Theory and Practice in Developmental Psychology

ABSTRACT

Despite the potential of digitally enhanced learning environments for supporting twenty-first-century learning and educational change, there is a dearth of research knowledge on students’ transformative agency in their use of digital technologies and media within these contexts. Transformative agency accounts for young people’s initiative and commitment to transform their activity and its context(s) for personal and/or academic ends. This paper reports an investigation of students’ transformative agency in a novel, student-centered design and learning environment, referred to as a makerspace. We present our empirical findings as a narrative, illustrating how transformative agency emerged and developed via three intertwined discursive and action-level manifestations of such agency, namely “deviating”, “switching”, and “transfiguring”, in the social activity of a group of four 5th grade students participating in the makerspace environment over one school semester. Our study makes an original contribution to the research on students’ transformative agency and its temporal unfolding in a novel digitally enhanced learning environment.     

Educating Social Workers for Practice in Integrated Health Care: A Model Implemented in a Graduate Social Work Program

ABSTRACT

This article introduces a curricular innovation, the Integrated Health Scholars Program (IHSP), developed to prepare master's-level social work students for practice in integrated health care settings, and presents preliminary findings related to students’ self-reported program competencies and perceptions. IHSP, implemented in a research-intensive school of social work in a large midwestern public university, includes specialized course work, interprofessional education across health science disciplines, and field practicum in integrated health care settings. Curricular components support stepwise learning and follows the British Columbia model of interprofessional education learning tiers: exposure, immersion, and skill mastery. Despite IHSPs successful development in a well-resourced, supportive environment, challenges facing our profession's ability to develop and sustain training of MSW students in integrated health care are discussed.     

The Transition to High School

Abstract

This study investigates teacher reports of their communication and relationships with parents over the transition to high school in a large, urban, and predominantly minority school district. Hierarchical linear modeling techniques were used to estimate elementary (n = 10,237) and high school (n = 3,140) teachers' outreach to and trust of parents, controlling for their background and school compositional characteristics. Teachers with more negative attitudes about student learning capacities and non-White teachers reported less communication and less positive relationships with parents. Teachers in high schools with predominantly Latino student bodies reported less communication and less positive relationships with parents, while this was not true for teachers in elementary schools. Implications for school practice and policy are discussed.     

Going the Distance: Using Technology in Human Services Education

SUMMARY

Learning objects are bite-sized digital learning resources designed to tackle the e-learning adoption problem by virtue of their scale, adaptability, and interoperability. The learning object approach advocates the creation of small e-learning resources rather than whole courses: resources that can be mixed and matched; used in a traditional or online learning environment; and adapted for reuse in other discipline areas and in other countries. Storing learning objects within a subject specific digital repository to enable search, discovery, sharing and use adds considerable value to the model. This paper explores the rationale for a learning object approach to e-learning and reflects on early experiences in developing a national learning object repository for social work education in Scotland.     

The concept of development: Smith and Marx revisited

This paper attempts to provide a framework for understanding and analyzing the social origins of underdevelopment in contemporary third world societies. In critically examining Adam Smith, Karl Marx, the dependency school, and the sociological modernization theories, it shows that the considerable dispute between the two commonly advanced explanations, “conservative” modernization theory and “radical” dependency theory is spurious. It is argued that neither Smith and the modernization theories that draw upon him, nor the dependency school, provide an appropriate framework for analyzing the historical rise of capitalism and examining the obstacles thereto.     

Rising from the Ashes of Cutback,Political Warfare and Degraded Services

Abstract

The economic and social decline of the white middle class over the last 20 years, fueled by intense economic shifts in global capital formation and worldwide market competition, has led to a conservative politics of the 1990s that harbingers a further erosion of the welfare state. This essay defines some of the critical areas which progressives must carefully examine if they are to counter conservative arguments more effectively, including a realistic assessment of the global economy, the role poor communities can play in social transformation, the need to reconfigure social services in today's politicized environment, the use of services as an economic investment in community, and the importance of expanding organizing activities throughout the field.     

Reconceptualising refugee education: exploring the diverse learning contexts of unaccompanied young refugees upon resettlement

Abstract

This article explores unaccompanied young refugees’ participation in various learning contexts beyond school. Drawing from a qualitative study based on interviews with unaccompanied young refugees, educators and social workers in Norway, the findings emphasise the need for a holistic approach to refugee education in and across contexts of learning. The refugees originate from countries where access to formal schooling was difficult or disrupted. Many of them have been exposed to traumatic events prior to arrival. As the educational and psychosocial needs of resettled refugees are diverse and complex, it is unlikely that schools are able to meet them all. Participation in diverse settings, activities and practices beyond school may expand young refugees’ opportunities for meaningful learning as well as promote their social inclusion. Facilitating access to adequate learning contexts, along with supporting their own commitment to succeed, is decisive for young refugees’ educational achievement, psychosocial adjustment and inclusion in society. The paper emphasises the need for reconceptualising refugee education as inclusive of diverse learning contexts in and outside of school. Enhanced collaboration between schools, local community organisations and wider society will facilitate and support resettling young refugees’ opportunities to achieve their fullest potential.     

Implementing Web-Based Learning: Evaluation Results from a Mental Health Course

SUMMARY

This paper reports on the evaluation results of a web-enhanced mental health course. The instructional design of the course was based on the principles of constructivist and collaborative learning environments. Students strongly supported the use of web-based learning in this course and found that the online environment enhanced their learning. The benefits and disadvantages of web-based learning and the implications for future course development are discussed. Issues in implementing web-based learning in social work education are also identified.     

Altering the Curriculum of the Home: Learning Environments for Korean and U.S. Students

ABSTRACT

The family and home environment are considered the most significant influences on children's development and learning. These factors directly influence student ability, motivation, and interest in learning. This study focuses on alterable factors in the home environment (i.e., homework time, attitudes, expectations, reading). A multiple-factor model provides a framework to discuss the family influences that appear to explain achievement differences. To gain perspective from international comparative studies, statistical findings highlight family practices in Korea and the United States. The implications from this article discuss altering the curriculum of the home, providing supportive family conditions, early intervention, and family–school collaborations. Altering constructive factors in the home environment in any culture may strongly influence children's learning and development.     

Engaging Students in a Virtual Classroom: The Use of Bulletin Boards in Teaching and Learning for Chinese Learners

ABSTRACT

Chinese learners, being influenced by Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC), exhibit unique perceptions and behaviors in a web-based learning environment, such as passivity in expressing opinions and uncertainty about their learning without a teacher's assurance. Findings in this paper reflect such influences in a web-based social policy course for Chinese students which made extensive use of bulletin board discussion. In addition, their involvement in it is associated with how they feel about teachers' concern about their learning and whether expectations and assignments are clear. The paper recommends ways to improve web-based teaching and to facilitate Chinese learners in this new learning environment.     

Sense of Belonging in School as a Protective Factor Against Drug Abuse Among Native American Urban Adolescents

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results of a study conducted with 243 Native American students who were part of a multi-ethnic sample of adolescents attending middle school in a large urban center in the Southwest region of the United States. Native adolescents who felt a stronger sense of belonging in their school were found to report a lower lifetime use of alcohol and cigarettes, lower cigarette and marijuana use in the previous month, lower frequency of current use of these substances, fewer substances ever used, and a later age of initiation into drug use than other Native students. Research implications are discussed in relationship to school environment, culturally-grounded prevention curricula, and school social work practice.     

Strategies for enhancing online teaching in social work education

ABSTRACT

In response to the growing importance of online education in social work education, this article describes the context of online teaching and learning in social work education. Online teaching and learning are further discussed in the context of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We emphasize the importance and need for trained faculty to teach in an online environment, particularly in HBCUs; offer an example of how the University of the District of Columbia, an HBCU, prepares its faculty to teach online; and conclude with specific strategies for online teaching and social work faculty. Finally, we provide recommendations for social work education.     

Enhancing Competence in Health Social Work Education Through Simulation-Based Learning: Strategies From a Case Study of a Family Session

ABSTRACT

Simulation-based learning (SBL) is a powerful tool for social work education, preparing students to practice in integrated health care settings. In an educational environment addressing patient health using an integrated care model, there is growing emphasis on students developing clinical competencies prior to entering clinical placements or clinical practice settings. This article highlights the importance of SBL in the development of the clinical competencies of graduate social work students enrolled in a Social Work Practice in Health course. The development and implementation of an educational initiative using a family-based simulation scenario to enhance classroom learning for health social work practice is described, and recommendations for future educational initiatives using SBL are provided.     

Aligning research and practice: The role of academic-community partnerships for improving measurement and process

ObjectiveCommunity programs addressing social determinants of health are growing in prominence and are increasingly expected to provide metrics of success. Our objective is to assess the role of an academic-community partnership for a community health worker program targeting social and medical needs, and determine factors impacting its effectiveness.MethodsWe draw on a 4.5-year partnership that includes both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. Quantitative data collection mechanisms evolved as a result of the partnership. Qualitative interviews were conducted with community health workers and leadership.ResultsTo align medical and social support services in a sustainable and measurable manner, our academic-community partnership found that creating and maintaining a mutually beneficial space through small wins enabled us to then address larger problems and needs. Ongoing self-study and process evaluation allowed quick adjustments. Unique partnership elements such as having consistent funding and flexible timelines and objectives were essential.ConclusionsWhen integrating health and social services, academic-community partnerships create pathways for bidirectional learning than can quickly turn research into practice and support sustainability, especially when based on incrementally built trust and a history of small wins.     

Teaching Note—Developing an Online Blended Learning Course on Psychiatric Diagnosis

ABSTRACT

It has been suggested that the task of teaching and learning social work practice in an online environment can greatly be facilitated if thoughtful attention is paid to course design. This article details the design of a blended-learning online course to teach MSW students the process of psychiatric diagnosis. First, the development of the course philosophy is discussed. Second, the choice of the VARK (visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic) learning model is explained. Finally, the design of the course consistent with the philosophy and learning model is presented.     

Preparing for social work with refugees using enquiry and action learning

Internationally there is a need for social workers to be prepared to work with refugees and displaced persons. In many countries including the UK it may be difficult to ensure this is included in basic professional courses, especially if these are based on traditional disciplines, or if curriculum content is already overloaded. An approach to learning is described which is problem-led, and based on self-directed small group study, through which teaching and learning about work with refugees has successfully been included at a British school of social work.     

Reflective practice in a process for the re-approval of ASWs: An exploration of some inevitable resistance

In this article a mental health trainer and a group facilitator explore the background to developing a new protocol to manage the re-approval of mental health social workers in an inner London borough. The new procedure involved social workers attending a series of small group sessions in which they were invited to present and reflect on their work with clients. The dynamics of these sessions and particularly some of the transferential material between group members and facilitator are explored here. The significance for mental health social work, post-qualifying learning and the possibilities of reflective practice is considered.