Examining Social Work Students Knowledge of and Attitudes About Abortion and Curriculum Coverage in Social Work Education

Affilia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 088610992110682
Author(s):  
Heather Witt ◽  
Maha K. Younes ◽  
Erica Goldblatt Hyatt ◽  
Carly Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Affiliation ◽  
Reproductive Justice ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Abortion Attitudes ◽  
Curriculum Coverage ◽  
Work Education ◽  
And Training

Despite social work's stated commitment to abortion rights, research on this topic is not prolific within the discipline (Begun et al., 2016). If we are to live up to our ethical principles, this should be changed. The authors posit that increasing students’ exposure to and understanding of abortion is necessary in the preparation of competent social work practitioners. Using Begun et al.’s (2016) Social Workers’ Abortion Attitudes, Knowledge, and Training questionnaire, the authors expanded the survey by creating additional questions about social work curriculum coverage and training experiences, as well as further content on abortion. Findings indicate that most social work students believe abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances, and also that abortion laws should be less restrictive in the United States. Reported religion and political affiliation had significant effects on several of the abortion attitude statements. Only 7.2% of respondents indicated that abortion is regularly discussed in social work classrooms, and only 2.7% of respondents report they have received training on the topic of abortion in their field placement. The results suggest that social work curriculum coverage on reproductive justice is tenuous and inconsistent at best, leaving students to grapple without the necessary professional foundation.

Student-Directed Behavioral Community Interventions in Social Work Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Bördlein
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Behavior Analysis ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Community Interventions ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Social Work Interventions ◽  
Work Education

Behavioral social work is the application of behavior analysis to the field of social work. There are behavioral social work interventions for individuals, groups, and communities. Nevertheless, behavioral social work is far from a widely adopted approach among social work practitioners. A reason for the underuse might be seen in the fact that most interventions in behavioral social work aim at individual clients and groups. Social work could further benefit from the application of methods taken from behavioral community interventions. Behavioral community interventions modify the behavior of a larger group of people (e.g., pedestrians using a crosswalk, cafeteria patrons, students using a university building) with antecedent- and consequence-focused interventions. The article describes a training program for social work students in behavioral community interventions. Results of two projects, undergraduate students designed and performed, are presented. Behavioral community interventions are recommended as a valuable part of the education of social workers.

scholarly journals Animal Assisted Intervention at The Nelson ARK: A social work placement reflection

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Letitia Meadows ◽  
Karen Howieson ◽  
Tessa Bashford ◽  
Brooke Silke-Atkins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Work Placement ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Animal Assisted Intervention ◽  
Work Student ◽  
And Training

The involvement of animals in aspects of social work assessments and interventions has been touted as a positive development. Yet, little attention has been given to the potential for animal involvement in social work education and training. This practice reflection describes social work student placements at The Nelson ARK, where Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) is employed in programmes for youth. Social work placement coordinator, Letitia, and The Nelson ARK manager, Karen, provide the background to this initiative, while students, Tessa and Brooke, share a snapshot of their placement experiences that highlight a fresh appreciation of human–animal relations. From our collective experiences, the authors propose that field education in services that provide AAI affords novel and valuable learning for social work students.

scholarly journals Legal education for social work students: Toward an interdisciplinary framework of teaching and practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
Vered Ben David ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
The Law ◽  
Work Education

Since social work practice interfaces with the law in various ways, there is a need to integrate legal studies into social work education. Currently, social work curricula leave little room for basic legal education and, furthermore, there appears to be a general negative reaction to the law among social workers. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the importance of law to social work, and discusses aspects of the law that are particularly valuable to social work education and practice. We contend that it is vital to provide social work students with basic legal education in order to promote efficient social work practice and collaboration between the law and social work. We analyze inter-connections between social work and legal disciplines and discuss the challenges and benefits derived from combining the two disciplines. Key areas of legal education that should be addressed in order to educate future effective social work practitioners are also discussed. The discussion is based on our experience in providing legal education to social work students, our belief in the importance of law to social work, and our experience in the practice of both legal and social work.

scholarly journals Sociometry, Psychodrama, and Experiential Teaching in Social Work Education and Supervision

2021 ◽  
pp. 393-422
Author(s):  
Scott Giacomucci
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Experiential Teaching ◽  
Current State ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
History Of ◽  
Work Education ◽  
University Settings

AbstractThis chapter is devoted to the use of Moreno’s methods within education and supervision contexts to prepare the next generation of competent social work practitioners. The history and current state of Moreno’s methods in US and international academia is outlined, along with limitations to embedding psychodrama within university settings. Social work education’s history of experiential education is described with its relevance to sociometry and psychodrama as experiential teaching tools. Research on the effectiveness of experiential teaching and role-play in the classroom is offered and the importance of supervision in social work and psychodrama is highlighted. Examples and structured prompts are provided with a focus on using experiential sociometry processes (spectrograms, locograms, floor checks, step-in sociometry, hands-on-shoulder sociograms, and the circle of strengths) to enhance the learning experience of social work students, interns, and supervisees in various settings. Vignettes are also included which depict the use of written sociometric processes and psychodramatic role-plays within supervision or mentorship contexts.

scholarly journals Graduating BSW student attitudes towards vulnerable populations and their preferences towards interventions to serve them

10.18060/120 ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim G. Reutebuch
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Work Education

A one-time cross-sectional survey was administered to 78 fourth-year social work students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus during the2000 /2001 academic year to explore graduating seniors’ attitudes towards poverty, delinquency and the elderly as well as students’ preferred interventions towards these vulnerable populations in the United States. Additional survey items included student perceptions towards individually-oriented versus socially-oriented goals of the social work profession, preferences regarding place of employment, and types of services, interventions and practices preferred. After calculating mean scores, ANOVA tests revealed statistically significant findings in student ideologies and practice preferences. The potential impact of these findings on social work education and practice will be discussed.

scholarly journals Service users and carers as co-educators of social work students

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-112
Author(s):  
Rob Mackay ◽  
Margot Fairclough ◽  
Michael Coull
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Service Users ◽  
The Social ◽  
Scottish Government ◽  
Work Education ◽  
And Training

This paper considers issues related to the requirement by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and the Scottish Government that service users and carers are partners and stakeholders in social work education. This requirement is one of many used by the SSSC in the approval of Scottish universities to deliver social work courses.This paper explains and reflects on the experiences of including service users and carers as co-educators with the social work courses at the Robert Gordon University (RGU) making particular reference to one module. It examines the issues around the process of their involvement with the education of social work students, and considers student evaluations of this module. Lastly it discusses the broader implications for partnership working in relation to the education and training of students for professional practice. The focus is on the role that service users and carers can play as partners in the classroom through the use of personal narratives. The experience of presenting as a service user or carer is discussed and the contributions highlight how such presentations can heighten student awareness as to the lived experience of a disability or a mental health problem.

Perceptions of social work students in Mexico and the United States regarding the role of the government in addressing social issues: Implications for social work education

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 1230-1244
Author(s):  
David Becerra ◽  
Jason Castillo ◽  
Maria Rosario Silva Arciniega
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
The Government ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Role Of The Government

The purpose of this article was to examine social work students’ perceptions of the role of the government in addressing social issues among social work students from the United States and Mexico. Data were drawn from a sample of 893 social work students from universities in the United States and Mexico, in the fall of 2010. Multivariate ordinary least squares regressions indicated that compared with social work students in the United States, students in Mexico reported significantly higher beliefs that government should do more to lessen social gaps, and ensure housing, employment, health insurance, basic necessities, an adequate standard of living, and equal opportunities.

Promoting Dignity and Worth of People: Implications for Social Work Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gertina Jacoba Wessels
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Global Agenda

The second pillar of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development calls on social work practitioners and educators to promote the dignity and worth of people. The scope of this article is to provide a conceptual analysis of the concept dignity and worth of people and to provide a theoretical presentation aimed at encouraging social work students and practitioners to mindfully apply theory taught at universities in this pursuit. In this article dignity and worth are scrutinised, cognisant of the current debate regarding the contextualising of social work and against the backdrop of developmental social work. Human rights, social justice, participation and the recognition of diversity are identified as major contributors to the promotion of the dignity and worth of people. These aspects should not be viewed in isolation, but as interlinked in both social work education and practice. Suggestions will be provided for the promotion of the dignity and worth of people to be reflected in social workers and student social worker’s thinking and actions on a daily basis.

scholarly journals Social Distancing of Depressive and Panic Disorders in an International Sample of Social Work Students

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 480-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna S. Wang ◽  
Scott Smith ◽  
Chris R. Locke
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Panic Disorders ◽  
Professional Interest ◽  
Case Vignettes ◽  
Work Education

: Using an international sample, this study examined what variables were associated with social distancing among social work students. A total of 1,042 students from seven universities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia participated in a cross-sectional paper and pencil survey that applied the Social Distancing Scale to case vignettes describing an individual with panic disorder or major depressive disorder. The results show that levels of social distancing were related to age, knowing someone with a mental illness, type of disorder, level of conservatism, race, country, professional interest in mental health, level of student, and sex. Overall, 16.8% of the variance was accounted for with these significant variables. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed.

Developing Awareness of the Subtleties of Heterosexism and Homophobia among Undergraduate, Heterosexual Social Work Majors

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Raiz ◽  
Susan Saltzburg
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
Quantitative Data Analysis ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Relationship

Homophobia and heterosexism are inconsistent with social work values but have been reported in studies of social workers and social work students. This study analyzed and compared the responses to qualitative and quantitative items of 147 heterosexual undergraduate social work majors from twelve institutions throughout the United States. One open-ended item explored attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and support for relationship rights for this group. Herek's Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Men scale (ATLG) and a relationship rights scale, constructed for this study, provided quantitative data. Analysis of the open-ended item identified three thematic categories that represented acceptance; non-acceptance; and tolerance, but with conditions. The uniqueness of each of the three categories was supported by significant differences among them on Herek's ATLG and on the relationship rights scale. Numerous quotes from respondents underscore the subtle prejudice that can be missed by social work educators who are unaware of the nuances of language in this area. Implications for social work education are presented.

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