JBSW

From Pippi Longstockings to Minnie Mouse: Reexamining Theories of Female Development
Melissa R. Lavitt

An awareness of the influence of sexism on the lives of women is typically evident in social work teaching and practice. The growth of scholarship on female psychological development makes fostering this awareness easier. This paper cautions against wholesale incorporation of the research findings on adolescent girls into the classroom or agency. Without such consideration, we are in danger of pathologizing female experience at adolescence, ignoring the concerns of younger girls, and decontextualizing human development. The feisty, self-assured nine-year-old Pippi Longstockings may not be an accurate picture just as the tentative 16-year-old Minnie Mouse may be limited in its generalibility. One must be cautious in claiming to discover yet another female problem. This paper summarizes and critically analyzes the current body of research; philosophical, theoretical and methodological concerns are described. Finally, recommendations for using the research in this area are outlined.

Child welfare is a field of practice replete with opportunities that are well-suited to entry-level social workers, yet many child welfare agencies remain hampered by staff shortages and high turnover rates. As recently enacted welfare restrictions are implemented, child welfare agencies can expect to face even greater challenges--ones that make the recruitment and hiring of qualified staff an even more urgent priority. This article presents the results of a large-scale, empirical study designed to identify what makes BSW and MSW students interested, or disinterested. In pursuing employment in child welfare agencies, and what kinds of incentives they believe might motivate them to seek child welfare work. Recommendations are offered for social work programs, child welfare agencies, state and local governments, Congress and the Administration, and advocates for children.

Institution, the "first awareness," is receiving increased attention in numerous fields. Although intuition has direct application to social work practice and education, this transrational way of knowing is rarely acknowledged in the literature This paper will: (1) provide a brief description of a context for intuition in social work; (2) present the results of an inquiry sent to social work educators on the inclusion of intuition in their curricula; and (3) provide results of a study of the attitude toward, and awareness of, intuition of students who were exposed to this concept to make a case for the inclusion of intuition in the social work curriculum.

A Social Work Program Needs Assessment
Quintin E. Sullivan and Mary Cunningham

Social agencies in the central region of a midwestern state were surveyed to determine the present and future need for BSW and MSW graduates. The sample included administrators of 126 agencies who currently hire social workers or who plan to in the future. The study also addressed wbarriers for employees seeking social work degrees, and the projected efforts of future "credentializing" such as social work licensure and Medicaid reimbursement. The projected need for future BSW workers is twice that of MSW workers. Agency administrators generally predicted that all future credentializing movements would increase the future need for MSW workers. For BSW workers agency accreditation, managed care and social work licensure should increase demand while the effects of Medicaid reimbursement and third-party payments are uncertain. Barriers to the education of current employees continue to exist, and demand for employees positively relates to the proximity to current and proposed social work education programs. Features of this descriptive study which limit its generalizability include the sample utilized (local agencies either currently employing or interested in employing social workers) and lack of control for extraneous variables.

The Use of the World Wide Web by Undergraduate Social Work Education Programs
Jerry Fin and Marshall Smith

Social work education programs have begun to used the World Wide Web as a means of providing an educational tool and a delivery system for information about their programs. This paper provides an introduction to Web concepts, describes a procedure for creating a simple Web site, and investigates current use of the Web by BSW programs. It was found that 125, (39.1 percent) BSW programs have a social work Web site. The types and quality of information provided varied widely among programs. Programs provide information on mission, course descriptions, faculty descriptions, admissions requirements, and curriculum. In addition, almost half of programs offered a means for students to contact the program through e-mail. Only a small number of programs provided other program specific information such as syllabi, newsletters, financial aid, alumni information, or policy manuals. Approximately one-third of the programs provided links to other sources on the Internet. Only 14 percent of programs' sites were rated excellent by students. The potential of the World Wide Web to promote information sharing among social work programs and organizations is discussed.

Preparing Students for the Spiritual Issues of Their Clients Through a Self-Awareness Exercise
Debora S. Rice and James R. Dudley

In this recent study, 55 percent of the BSW students surveyed at a medium-size southeastern, public university stated that spirituality significantly influenced their decision to become social workers. Ninety-eight percent identified themselves as having a vital spiritual identity that included the belief in God or a universal spirit. Yet, until recently, social work education has all but ignored the relevance of spirituality in the lives of students and clients. This paper will present an assessment exercise designed to help students explore spiritual issues along with the responses of students to the exercise. Finally, the implications of this exercise for social work education will be discussed.

BSW Students Coding Qualitative Data: A Teaching and Research Note
YvonneA. Unrau and Heather D. Coleman

This study explores how BSW students code qualitative data and describes an approach to teaching introductory qualitative data analysis to this student group. A first-level coding task of text data was conducted by 111 students. Their resulting codes were then examined for individual coding styles. This study found that different coding styles do exist and can be assessed. Also, students with research experience rated the coding task less difficult than those without research experience. The study's findings have implications for teaching qualitative data analysis to BSW students and for using undergraduate assistance in analyzing qualitative data.

Home Current Issue Previous Issues Manuscript Submissions Editorial Board Consulting Editors Contact Us Library Orders Advertising in JBSW	Volume 3, Number 1 Fall 1997
		From Pippi Longstockings to Minnie Mouse: Reexamining Theories of Female Development Melissa R. Lavitt An awareness of the influence of sexism on the lives of women is typically evident in social work teaching and practice. The growth of scholarship on female psychological development makes fostering this awareness easier. This paper cautions against wholesale incorporation of the research findings on adolescent girls into the classroom or agency. Without such consideration, we are in danger of pathologizing female experience at adolescence, ignoring the concerns of younger girls, and decontextualizing human development. The feisty, self-assured nine-year-old Pippi Longstockings may not be an accurate picture just as the tentative 16-year-old Minnie Mouse may be limited in its generalibility. One must be cautious in claiming to discover yet another female problem. This paper summarizes and critically analyzes the current body of research; philosophical, theoretical and methodological concerns are described. Finally, recommendations for using the research in this area are outlined. The Child Welfare Choice: An Analysis of Social Work Students' Career Plans Sunny Harris Rome Child welfare is a field of practice replete with opportunities that are well-suited to entry-level social workers, yet many child welfare agencies remain hampered by staff shortages and high turnover rates. As recently enacted welfare restrictions are implemented, child welfare agencies can expect to face even greater challenges--ones that make the recruitment and hiring of qualified staff an even more urgent priority. This article presents the results of a large-scale, empirical study designed to identify what makes BSW and MSW students interested, or disinterested. In pursuing employment in child welfare agencies, and what kinds of incentives they believe might motivate them to seek child welfare work. Recommendations are offered for social work programs, child welfare agencies, state and local governments, Congress and the Administration, and advocates for children. A Case for Intuition in the Social Work CurriculumBarbara B. Luoma Institution, the "first awareness," is receiving increased attention in numerous fields. Although intuition has direct application to social work practice and education, this transrational way of knowing is rarely acknowledged in the literature This paper will: (1) provide a brief description of a context for intuition in social work; (2) present the results of an inquiry sent to social work educators on the inclusion of intuition in their curricula; and (3) provide results of a study of the attitude toward, and awareness of, intuition of students who were exposed to this concept to make a case for the inclusion of intuition in the social work curriculum. A Social Work Program Needs Assessment Quintin E. Sullivan and Mary Cunningham Social agencies in the central region of a midwestern state were surveyed to determine the present and future need for BSW and MSW graduates. The sample included administrators of 126 agencies who currently hire social workers or who plan to in the future. The study also addressed wbarriers for employees seeking social work degrees, and the projected efforts of future "credentializing" such as social work licensure and Medicaid reimbursement. The projected need for future BSW workers is twice that of MSW workers. Agency administrators generally predicted that all future credentializing movements would increase the future need for MSW workers. For BSW workers agency accreditation, managed care and social work licensure should increase demand while the effects of Medicaid reimbursement and third-party payments are uncertain. Barriers to the education of current employees continue to exist, and demand for employees positively relates to the proximity to current and proposed social work education programs. Features of this descriptive study which limit its generalizability include the sample utilized (local agencies either currently employing or interested in employing social workers) and lack of control for extraneous variables. The Use of the World Wide Web by Undergraduate Social Work Education Programs Jerry Fin and Marshall Smith Social work education programs have begun to used the World Wide Web as a means of providing an educational tool and a delivery system for information about their programs. This paper provides an introduction to Web concepts, describes a procedure for creating a simple Web site, and investigates current use of the Web by BSW programs. It was found that 125, (39.1 percent) BSW programs have a social work Web site. The types and quality of information provided varied widely among programs. Programs provide information on mission, course descriptions, faculty descriptions, admissions requirements, and curriculum. In addition, almost half of programs offered a means for students to contact the program through e-mail. Only a small number of programs provided other program specific information such as syllabi, newsletters, financial aid, alumni information, or policy manuals. Approximately one-third of the programs provided links to other sources on the Internet. Only 14 percent of programs' sites were rated excellent by students. The potential of the World Wide Web to promote information sharing among social work programs and organizations is discussed. Preparing Students for the Spiritual Issues of Their Clients Through a Self-Awareness Exercise Debora S. Rice and James R. Dudley In this recent study, 55 percent of the BSW students surveyed at a medium-size southeastern, public university stated that spirituality significantly influenced their decision to become social workers. Ninety-eight percent identified themselves as having a vital spiritual identity that included the belief in God or a universal spirit. Yet, until recently, social work education has all but ignored the relevance of spirituality in the lives of students and clients. This paper will present an assessment exercise designed to help students explore spiritual issues along with the responses of students to the exercise. Finally, the implications of this exercise for social work education will be discussed. BSW Students Coding Qualitative Data: A Teaching and Research Note YvonneA. Unrau and Heather D. Coleman This study explores how BSW students code qualitative data and describes an approach to teaching introductory qualitative data analysis to this student group. A first-level coding task of text data was conducted by 111 students. Their resulting codes were then examined for individual coding styles. This study found that different coding styles do exist and can be assessed. Also, students with research experience rated the coding task less difficult than those without research experience. The study's findings have implications for teaching qualitative data analysis to BSW students and for using undergraduate assistance in analyzing qualitative data.