How to Become Indispensable to School Administrators

2021 ◽  
pp. 24-33
Author(s):  
Dee Stalnecker ◽  
Michelle E. Alvarez ◽  
Courtney Porter ◽  
Ashley Rayne Leeds

The chapter provides new school social workers with practical information about how they can make themselves indispensable to school administrators. Social workers must collaborate with administrators and fully understand their roles within the district because these leaders directly impact the social worker’s tasks and duties. Social workers are advised to learn about the organizational structure of the district and the roles of the school board, the superintendent, and principals. They should observe the leadership styles displayed by administrators and learn what their goals are and what data they need from the social worker. The chapter details a practical plan for developing and nurturing working relationships with administrators, along with strategies for linking the social worker’s goals with those of administrators.

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Lainey Collins ◽  
Wendy DuCassé ◽  
Rachel Forsyth

This chapter examines the unique internal and external political landscape of public schools and its relevance to the practice of school social work. The chapter focuses on four key concepts essential for new school social workers to navigate the politics of schools: (1) developing an understanding of the internal and external systems in which they interact; (2) clearly defining the role of school social worker, often within systems that are unclear or are new to the social worker’s role; (3) collaborating across all of the disciplines; and (4) sharing resources and information. Navigating the political landscape in schools is never easy and requires school social workers to be attuned to all of the nuances and complexities of the political landscape both inside and outside of schools.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Varathagowry Vasudevan ◽  
Osamu Kobayashi ◽  
Kazue Kanno

School social workers adopt ecological perspectives to facilitate children with social needs. The purpose of this study is to explore school social work practice in Sri Lanka to cater the children with social needs. A semi structured interviews was conducted with selected five school social workers. The interview questions were about their practices as a school social worker, daily activities especially effective support activity for students with social needs, student’s school life and their home, especially difficulties for supporting their families. Findings reveal that School Children with social needs around social problems, social relationship problems, structural and systemic problems such as child poverty, mother labour migration, lack of housing, lack of love and affections, lack of acceptance, love and kindness, belongingness, lack or inadequate security for the children. These social needs related lack of emotional and social developmental needs lead to impact on children’s educational performance. School social workers are very proactive in applying social work generic skills in school context in Sri Lanka. This study provides evidences for professionalizing the social work profession and enhances school system to provide guidance and consultation to school administrators, policy makers and practitioners focusing the significance of fulfilling the social needs of children during each stages of life via school social work programmes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 97-106
Author(s):  
Ricki L. Moran ◽  
Cristina Marquez ◽  
James Garner

This chapter discusses the importance of clearly establishing social worker roles within and outside of the building and the professional ramifications of differential training between school social workers and teachers. Steps are outlined for maintaining the social work code of ethics while partnering with other school personnel who are not bound to the same code. The importance of explaining confidentiality and its limitations early in the professional relationship is stressed. The social worker should remember to self-disclose only when it benefits the client. Advice is offered for building a solid foundation of trust and establishing credibility during a school social worker’s first three years in a school setting. Potential pitfalls will be discussed as well.


Author(s):  
Joseph Walsh

Social workers are like anyone else in that there are people to whom they are drawn and others toward whom they develop negative feelings. Some clients have engaged in behaviors so repulsive that almost anyone would feel uncomfortable in their presence, but there are others who simply “push the buttons” of social workers in ways that are unique to each of them. The purposes of this chapter are to recognize that social workers may have difficulty experiencing empathy for some clients and to consider how they can transcend that barrier to develop positive working relationships with them. Three sources of negative feelings are considered: client rejection of the social worker, client violation of social norms, and unconscious practitioner reactions.


Despite their academic preparation and lived experiences, new school social workers face a learning curve when moving from entry-level practice to proficiency. The Art of Being Indispensable: What School Social Workers Need to Know in Their First Three Years of Practice is the first book focusing specifically on the needs of new school social workers as they transition to this complex role. Each of the book’s 20 chapters features an academic scholar and at least one school social work practitioner; overall, there are 18 academics and 42 practitioners from 28 different states. The diversity of the authors’ experiences, representing all variations of schools and districts, ensures that the content is applicable to a variety of practice contexts. Each chapter addresses the challenges of a public health pandemic and the impact of racial injustice. There is a timeless quality to this text since every year, new school social workers are being hired, whether from master of social work and bachelor of social work programs or from the ranks of professional social workers changing fields and becoming school social workers. This indispensable guide will help new school social workers to effectively execute their roles and responsibilities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsin-Yi Chen ◽  
I-Chen Tang

The human rights concept is that everyone is entitled to enjoy those rights inherent to being human, without distinction. However, should human rights be considered a self-evident value for the social work profession? This study was to explore how social workers in Taiwan perceive the human rights concept. Responses from 276 social worker participants were analyzed by using a self-administered questionnaire. This study showed that social workers had a general knowledge of human rights. Receiving human rights educational training and engaging in social protests were important variables in increasing human rights awareness for social work practitioners.


Author(s):  
Maryna Lekholetova

The article presents an analysis of different approaches of domestic scientists to the interpretation of the concept of «social work management». The author surveys the features of management as an object of governance in the activities of a social worker. Features include the social nature of management information; the need for motivation methods that effectively influences and motivates professionals to better results in social work; availability of social workers' professional competence; the presence of problems with forecasting the results of management in the social sphere; the importance of current and final management results. The author proves the necessity of social workers' self-management skills (time management, motivation, stress resistance and recuperation, development of emotional intelligence) for the effective performance of management tasks in professional activities.  The article highlights the principles that should be followed in solving organizational and managerial tasks in social work management (purposefulness, ability of realization, adaptability, efficiency). The researcher presents the structure of social work management methods in the study (economic, administrative, social counselling, psychological and pedagogical influence, social influence). Research characterizes the methods of social work management while working with recipients of social services (methods of individual social work, methods of group social work, methods of community work, methods of social service design).


2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony S.K. Tam ◽  
Lilian P.K. Mong

English Job stress and perceived inequity are revealed as correlates of burnout among school social workers in Hong Kong. The findings do not support the expectation that burnout is general, in spite of the government’s reforms in the social welfare services. A sense of personal accomplishment may serve as a mediator. However, the respondents suffer from role strain and identity confusion due to lack of communication among schools authorities, students and parents. French Cet article décrit comment la conjugaison du stress au travail et inéquités perçues sont liées au `burnout' chez les travailleurs sociaux en milieu scolaire à Hong Kong. Les résultats ne semblent pas confirmer la croyance que le `burnout' existe de façon généralisée malgré les changements observables introduits par le gouvernement en vue d'améliorer l'efficacité des coûts des services de bien-être social. Un sentiment d'accomplissement personnel sert possiblement de médiation efficace. Les répondants souffrent néanmoins de tensions face à leur rôle et de confusion identitaire dues à l'incompréhension du rôle du travailleur social scolaire par les autorités scolaires, les étudiants et les parents. Spanish Este trabajo describe el agotamiento en el trabajo y la percepción de inequidad como correlatos del descontento entre los trabajadores sociales de la escuela en Hong Kong. Los hallazgos no parecen apoyar la expectativa de que el descontento exista como patrón general a pesar de los cambios observables introducidos por el gobierno en los servicios de bienestar social. Un sentido de realización personal puede servir como ,mediador efectivo. Sin embargo los entre,vistados padecen una tensión de rol y confusión de identidad que proviene de la falta de comunicación entre autoridades de la escuela, los estudiantes y los padres de familia.


Author(s):  
Fahri Özsungur

Social work plays an important role in managing the process of planning, supervising, and ensuring the sustainability of protective and supportive measures applied to children who are dragged into crime and in need of protection in order to prevent incompatibilities that may arise in society. Social workers are actors in the field in the execution of the process. In this chapter, these practitioners who have made significant contributions to social work by giving reports and opinions about the measures taken by the courts about the children dragged into crime, determining the criminal tendencies of the children and the necessary precautions and training, are examined closely in the context of the Turkish legal system. The chapter includes the issues of judicial control, protective and supportive measures, preparation of a plan for the implementation of cautionary decisions, confidentiality, the role of the social worker and the social worker board for children who are dragged into crime and in need of protection.


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