|
|
|
| |
|
Volume 9, Number 1 Fall 2003 |
|||
Parent Success among Single, Low-Income, African American
Mothers:
Implications for BSW Education This study is an exploratory investigation of parent effectiveness among 135 single, low-income African American mothers. This study investigated two aspects of parenting: satisfaction with one's ability to parent and parent effectiveness or ability. The Kansas Satisfaction Scale and the Parent Success Indicator for Parents were used to evaluate these concepts. Results from the study indicate high levels of effective parenting in the group on both measures. This was true regardless of the mother's age, level of income, number of children, or age of the oldest child. Implications of these findings for social work baccalaureate education are presented. The Impact of Cross-Cultural Service-Learning on Undergraduate Social
Work Students' Perceptions of Culture, Race, and Economic Justice This study examines the effect of service-learning in urban settings on students' values and their attitudes toward individuals of lower socioeconomic status and of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. A series of focus groups was conducted during one semester to identify changes in students' attitudes. A series of themes was identified, which demonstrated how students' attitudes toward people of lower socioeconomic status changed as a result of the service-learning experience. This study also includes strategies for integrating service-learning in social work education. Learning from the Experts: Teaching Diversity Content and the Politics of
Solidarity through a Cultural Immersion Experience This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion of appropriate material to be covered and methods to utilize in teaching diversity content in the social work curriculum. A case example of a cultural immersion experience for baccalaureate social work students is presented to illustrate how an out-of-classroom setting with community leaders can be used as a means to teach diversity holistically and with an ethno-conscious approach. Through horizontal learning and respectful dialogue, students have an opportunity to witness a community's strengths and resources and to develop relationships that foster understanding and cultural sensitivity. New Technology, New Approaches: Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Teaching on Violence Against Women The use of distance-learning technology provides teachers with creative and innovative opportunities to reach a variety of students in different fields of study. This article describes the collaborative development of an interdisciplinary distance-learning course focusing on research, theory, and practice in the area of violence against women. Course development considerations, issues, outcomes, and recommendations for the use of specific technologies are discussed. What's In a Label? Helping Undergraduate Students Become Familiar with the DSM in Preparation for Their Senior Year Fieldwork Practica This paper explores the development of an undergraduate course module devoted to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual: Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). The skills-based course in which this module is presented is focused on helping junior year BSW students to prepare for their senior year fieldwork practica. Students enrolled in this course between 1998 and 2000 were surveyed. The results indicate that the respondents found the course module to be helpful not only in preparing them for their senior year fieldwork practica but also in their post-BSW employment and MSW programs as well. An excerpt from the module is included as an appendix. Starting Where the Student Is: Adapting Social Justice Curricula to Poverty Attitudes Consistent with the generalist social work perspective and values, many social work students appear to begin their studies believing that the causes of poverty are structural (due to societal factors) and not individual (due to individual defects). There is some evidence that social work curricula serve to confirm this perception. Existing research, however, also suggests that, along with a deepening structural understanding of the causes of poverty, these students may develop fatalistic attitudes about alleviating poverty. In response to this challenge to social work education, this pilot study explores the potential of a course devoted to reinforcing perceptions of the structural causes of poverty without instilling fatalism. Findings suggest that the participants in this introductory level social work course develop significantly stronger structural explanations for poverty without developing a fatalistic attitude towards solutions. Undergraduate student attitudes, implications for social work curriculum developments and potential evaluation methods are discussed. Concepts of Theory, Practice, and Integration in Social Work: The Student Perspective The concepts of theory, practice, and integration in social work have largely been examined in the professional literature from an academic, normative approach with little attention to the student perspective. This exploratory study focused on the student voice and asked undergraduate social work students what these concepts meant to them. A knowledge of student understanding of these key concepts may help social work educators to better understand and reformulate the challenge of integrating practice and theory. The wide range of student responses were analyzed using the adult education framework of surface and deep approaches to learning. Findings carry implications for the development of meaningful teaching-learning strategies and areas of future research to address this longstanding challenge. Anonymity in Electronic Discussion Groups: Effect on Diversity Discussion This article explores the use of an electronic FORUM in a social work diversity class as a way to increase and enhance outside discussions related to contemporary diversity issues. A total of 45 students from two different BSW programs participated in the FORUM. Students were encouraged to remain anonymous during the discussions to enhance the opportunity for honest dialogue. A five-point Likert scale was developed to measure students' perceptions about whether or not their participation in the FORUM was personally beneficial and how anonymity affected their responses. Overall, students felt positive about their experience with the electronic FORUM, and appreciated being able to express their opinions openly without fear of reprisal. They also reported an increased awareness about other cultures, customs, and beliefs. Teaching Social Work Research: Does Andragogy Work Best? While the traditional approach to education views the student as a passive receptacle of knowledge, the model of adult learning known as andragogy views the learner as an active learner in the process. In this article, educational outcomes and student satisfaction were reported for three sections of an introductory research course at the undergraduate level. Two of these sections employed a text that was organized according to the principles of andragogy while the other section used a traditional text. Modest support for the model of adult learning (andragogy) was revealed in the qualitative data analyzed because more students evaluated this model as positive than as negative. The quantitative analysis of data failed to provide support for this model because there was not a statistically significant difference between the three sections on knowledge, satisfaction, or change in psychosocial variables such as willingness to participate in research activities.
|
||||
| |
|
| |
