Building Strong Working Alliances with American Indian Families

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cass Dykeman ◽  
J. Ron Nelson ◽  
Valerie E. Appleton
Keyword(s):  
American Indian ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Working Alliances ◽  
Cultural Characteristics ◽  
Educational History ◽  
Cultural Heterogeneity ◽  
And Training

A strong working alliance between school and home is essential for positive student outcomes. Such alliances are based on a spirit of respect and a desire for collaboration. Given their unique roles and training, school social workers, counselors, and psychologists play a pivotal role in the formation of a strong school–home alliance. With American Indian families, this alliance can be developed only through a sound understanding of the cultural characteristics of these families. Only through such understanding will stereotypes of American Indian families be replaced by more accurate and positive perspectives. To help school social workers, counselors, and psychologists promote strong school–home working alliances, this article outlines six key cultural characteristics of American Indian families: geographical isolation, cultural heterogeneity, extended family, inclusive role for children, group primacy, and traumatic educational history. In addition, the implications of these characteristics for effective consultative and psychotherapeutic activities are discussed.

Professional Development, Supervision, and Mentoring

2021 ◽  
pp. 174-184
Author(s):  
Robin DeLuca-Acconi ◽  
Denise Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
And Training

The chapter discusses the complexities involved in the supervision and mentoring process for school social workers. The orientation and training of social workers is often in contrast to that of their school colleagues and administrators, so they may need to educate their supervisors and colleagues about a variety of social work topics. This chapter explains the importance of connecting with professional organizations for continued professional development. It explores ways to bridge the gap between orientation and training and offers tips and tools to help new social workers become leaders in their profession and in their district. The experiences of the chapter authors, an educator and a social worker, are highlighted.

Panel: MFT Education and Training with American Indian Graduate Students

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linna Wang ◽  
Waymon Hinson ◽  
Jeremiah Whitebird ◽  
Jodene Platero
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
American Indian ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
And Training

Schemes and social workers: Issues of time pressure and training

1988 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 30-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Crosbie ◽  
Anne Vickery ◽  
Ian Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
And Training

scholarly journals Practice in a Pandemic: School Social Workers’ Adaptations and Experiences During the 2020 COVID-19 School Disruptions

2021 ◽  
pp. 104438942110098
Author(s):  
Michael S. Kelly ◽  
Rami Benbenishty ◽  
Gordon Capp ◽  
Kate Watson ◽  
Ron Astor
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
School Social Work ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Virtual School ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Traditional Practice

In March 2020, as American PreK-12 schools shut down and moved into online learning in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there was little information about how school social workers (SSWs) were responding to the crisis. This study used a national online survey to understand how SSWs ( N = 1,275) adapted their school practice during the initial 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Findings from this study indicate that SSWs made swift and (relatively) smooth adaptations of their traditional practice role to the new context, though not without reporting considerable professional stress and personal challenges doing so. SSWs reported significant concerns about their ability to deliver effective virtual school social work services given their students’ low motivation and lack of engagement with online learning, as well as significant worries about how their students were faring during the first months of the pandemic. Implications for school social work practice, policy, and research are discussed.

The Art of Becoming Indispensable

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Academic Preparation ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Master Of Social Work ◽  
New School ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Work Practitioner ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
The Impact

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.

Future proofing child protection social work

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 202-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Shemmings
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Secondary Trauma ◽  
Working Alliances ◽  
Helping Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Skills ◽  
Lasting Change

Purpose How might the profession of child protection social work be “future proofed”, i.e. remain intact and of value beyond its present existence? The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This is a discussion/“think piece” paper, in which the author argues that foregrounding the art and science of helping relationships is a way forward. Recognising and promoting the centrality of helping relationships is the direction in which the author believes (or is it hopes?) social work should head, because “more of the same” is not, in the author’s view, possible to sustain for much longer. Treading the well-worn but pot-holed path of box-ticking, endless risk assessment and perfunctory statutory visiting is likely to lead to continuing problems retaining social workers and, for those who do stay, increased burnout, compassion fatigue and secondary trauma, each of which interrupts or delays the development of working alliances with family members. Findings Growing reliance on thresholds and checklists to assess risk has served to increase referrals. As a result, social workers spend much of their time on triaging and filtering rather than working with the children and families that most need help and protection. Further, it is not what is in the practitioner’s toolkit that matters: rather, it is a defined set of personal skills and qualities that tips the balance to achieve lasting change. Thus, in order to “future proof” social work, we would do well to deepen our understanding of how helping relationships can lead to lasting change. Supporting social workers in this work is not just the responsibility of individual practitioners and their professional bodies, action also needs to be taken at governmental and managerial levels. Originality/value This is a discussion/“think piece”.

On the Job Training of Social Workers the Case for the Continuing Seminars

1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arie Halachmi
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Job Training ◽  
On The Job Training ◽  
And Training ◽  
Available Resources

The increase in the need for social services and the decrease in available resources may intensify the conflict between professional and organizational loyalties of social workers. Unless this conflict is resolved social workers will remain frustrated and uncooperative. The paper suggests the continuing seminar as a framework for action research and training. It suggests that such an approach may reduce the conflict of loyalties and provide social workers with a meaningful opportunity for professional growth.

School Social Workers and Teachers' Strikes

1980 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Marion Huxtable
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
School Social Workers
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