National and state surveys over the past several decades have concluded that school social workers, despite an awareness of and training in macro level practice strategies, are highly individualistic in their practice focus. Although clinical skills are necessary, they are insufficient for effective school social work practice in the 21st century.…

This article presents a collaborative study conducted in a large urban school district, in which the authors surveyed 55 clinicians within the special education system, with a focus on the mental health services provided to students who were receiving related-services counseling as a mandated component of their individualized education plan.…

Bullying has been shown to be negatively related to both academic performance and attendance among students. The present study examined a small-scale bullying intervention using a video-discussion model. Eighty-one students in grades 4 through 6 completed pre- and posttests examining gains in knowledge of bullying and responses to it. Results…

This article explores the coping strategies of five junior-high school students with a history of peer victimization and how those strategies help them manage the effects of bullying. The data were collected using observations, interviews, and a review of school records. The data were analyzed using categorical aggregation, direct interpretation,…

School bullying is a source of growing concern. A number of intervention programs emphasize the importance of a positive school climate in preventing bullying behavior. The aim of the presented pilot study was to examine whether calming background music, through its effect on arousal and mood, could create a pleasant atmosphere and reduce bullying…

A cross-sectional, Web-based survey was completed by 250 members of the School Social Work Association of America. This article addresses the research-practice gap in the delivery of mental health services in the school setting by examining the extent to which evidence-supported school violence intervention programs (ESPs) are known and used by…

The authors begin this article by highlighting clinical social casework as a historic trend in school social work practice. They then identify two major shifts in current education policy related to school social work practice. One shift is an emphasis on a multilevel intervention approach, and the other is the differentiation between academic and…

This article presents a compelling case for the increased role of social workers in work with individuals with autism and Asperger's syndrome in secondary school settings, specifically in transition planning for postsecondary educational pursuits. Social work education prepares social workers to address micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice…

Intervention research is vital for social work, as it aims to develop practice/program approaches and provide evidence to understand which interventions are effective and for whom. Despite growing attention, little social work research exists that evaluates interventions. Among the reasons for the dearth of intervention research within social work…

Truancy is associated with an array of negative social consequences, including poor school performance, delinquency, and dropout. Numerous individual, family, school, and community risk factors associated with truancy are also associated with adolescent substance abuse. However, little is known about substance use patterns among court-adjudicated…

Despite scholarly calls for school social work (SSW) practice to orient more toward systems within and around schools, evidence indicates that individual and small-group interventions continue to dominate practice as well as the research that informs it. In response, the authors propose a more thorough consideration of educational and sociological…

In spite of multidisciplinary recommendations to use evidence-based interventions in schools and a growing knowledge base of such practices, most schools are not using empirically supported interventions. On the basis of a careful analysis of barriers to the implementation of the best researched programs, an online, free, and publicly available…

Girl fighting and its relational context is a problem that is receiving extensive attention in popular and academic circles. This article reports on a project that gathered the opinions from focus groups of seventh- and eighth-grade girls, organized to understand the perspectives of young adolescent girls in middle school on girl fighting. Both…

School social workers have historically had a great deal of flexibility in the practices they use, yet few studies have systematically examined them. This study used data collected as part of the National School Social Work Survey to examine the practice of school social workers within the context of the principles of the response to intervention…

The rate of bullying among individuals with disabilities is alarming. Because of the social and motor deficiencies that individuals with Asperger's syndrome (AS) often display, they are frequently targets of bullying. The physical education setting often consists of a larger number of students than the typical academic instructional setting. This…