scholarly journals Prioritizing School Social Workers' Roles and Responsibilities to Combat Oppression in K-12 Schools: Perspectives from Educators with Anti-oppressive Orientations

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley-Marie Hanna Daftary
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
K 12

Response to Intervention in Schools

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Response To Intervention ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Behavior Supports ◽  
Behavioral Functioning ◽  
Positive Behavior ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Community Based ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Behavior Supports

This entry will focus on a model of intervention (the three-tier model often known as “Response to Intervention,” or RTI) that has become infused into school districts around the United States and is likely going to continue to impact the practice of school social workers and community-based social workers who provide services in schools. Since the 1990s, the literature around improving the academic achievement and behavioral functioning of school-age children has gradually focused more on RTI as a way to implement effective early intervention strategies for youth to prevent school failure. The principles of RTI have also come to be associated with a related but distinct model of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS, sometimes also called Positive Behavior Supports/PBIS or School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports/SWPBIS) and this approach has also been promoted as an effective framework to improve an entire student body’s academic and social, emotional, or behavioral functioning. This entry will discuss the history of RTI (and PBIS), the policy context for the approaches’ growing adoption in American K–12 schools, and the (still small but growing) evidence base for RTI and PBIS as approaches for schools to enhance student academic and behavioral outcomes. Additionally, the specific role of school social workers (and community-based social workers working in schools) will be highlighted, specifically how the growing influence of RTI and PBIS offers new opportunities for social workers to serve schools, students, and families.

scholarly journals Camaraderie, Collaboration, and Capacity Building: A Qualitative Examination of School Social Workers in a Year Long Professional Learning Community

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Brake ◽  
Michael Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
First Year ◽  
Services And Supports ◽  
K 12

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become commonplace in K-12 schools for helping teachers collaborate to build their professional capacities and address school-based problems. However, rigorous research on the key components, mechanisms, and impact of PLCs has been limited overall, with virtually no research conducted on PLCs with school social workers (SSW). This article examines the first-year experiences of school mental health professionals (SMHP) in a two-year PLC made up largely of SSW from an array of schools and districts throughout metropolitan Chicago. Drawing on qualitative data gathered from three rounds of in-depth interviews with participants during the first year of the PLC, we find that the PLC drew participants who sought specific opportunities through the PLC to improve their knowledge and skills to lead their schools in advancing social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) services and supports in their schools. Through the professional camaraderie they quickly found among their PLC colleagues, participants engaged collaboratively to develop an array of interventions for their schools, strengthened their professional capacities, and enhanced their sense of professional self-efficacy. By the end of the first year, participants overwhelmingly cited their PLC experiences as beneficial to reducing SMHP professional isolation, creating a supportive, resource-rich group of SMHP colleagues, and rejuvenating their commitment to the profession and their ability to lead their schools in advancing SEMH services and supports. Implications for further research on PLCs and advancing the professional development of SSW are discussed.

scholarly journals Pivoting during a Pandemic: School Social Work Practice with Families during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley-Marie H Daftary ◽  
Erin P Sugrue ◽  
Brian D Gustman ◽  
Stephanie Lechuga-Peña
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
School Social Work ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
K 12

Abstract The COVID-19 global pandemic led to the unprecedented shuttering of nearly all K–12 public education settings across the United States from March through June 2020. This article explores how school social workers’ roles, responsibilities, and work tasks shifted during spring 2020 distance learning to address the continuing and changing needs of families and the larger school community. Interviews were conducted with 20 school social workers in K–12 public schools, across three states, to understand the primary needs of children and families during the pandemic and to learn how school social workers can be most effective in responding to these needs. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Study findings revealed that during spring 2020, school social workers consistently had increased contact and interaction with students’ parents that centered around two major activities: (1) food assistance and referrals for families and (2) parent check-ins and coaching. The article discusses implications for the field of school social work during crises and beyond. Considerations include increased funding for schools that serve communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic and the reprioritization of school social workers’ roles and responsibilities to include increased contact with parents.

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.

School Social Workers and Teachers' Strikes

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

scholarly journals Challenges Facing School Social Workers in Saudi Arabia

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulhadi Sharhan Alotaibi ◽  
Mohd Suhaimi Mohamad ◽  
Nor Jana Saim ◽  
Ezarina Zakaria
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
School Social Workers

Job stress, perceived inequity and burnout among school social workers in Hong Kong

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony S.K. Tam ◽  
Lilian P.K. Mong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Job Stress ◽  
Personal Accomplishment ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Identity Confusion ◽  
Stress Au Travail ◽  
Social Welfare Services ◽  
The Social ◽  
Milieu Scolaire

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.

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