During the past 10 years, there has been a growing use of distance education, including the practice of holding classes in virtual world educational formats such as Second Life. Both the psychiatric and medical fields have caught on quickly to the functionality of virtual world teaching, yet social service educators have not ventured likewise.…

Social work field instructors are responsible for the gatekeeping function of evaluating student performance and determining practice readiness. Yet little empirical literature elucidates how field instructors of graduating BSW students judge competence, suitability, or readiness for practice. This qualitative study reports findings from 6 focus…

Strengths-based practice (SBP) is one of the primary modalities of social work practice. The literature on SBP does not address a standardized tool for measuring SBP or whether receipt of a social work degree is related to practice orientation. We measure SBP with a provider-based Strengths-Based Practices Inventory (SBPI-P) and examine whether a…

Experiential learning is recommended as a way to increase critical thinking and engagement, enhance theory-informed practice, increase preparedness, and improve multicultural understanding for students involved in social work education. The purpose of this study is to validate the Experiential Learning Survey (ELS), which measures students'…

There is a decades-old debate in social work regarding the appropriateness of the use of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM) by clinicians in this profession. Despite often contentious perspectives, there has been very little study regarding clinical social workers' experiences, attitudes, and beliefs…

This study examined the treatment of epistemology and methodological rigor in qualitative social work dissertations. Template-based review was conducted on a random sample of 75 dissertations completed between 2008 and 2010. For each dissertation, we noted the presence or absence of four markers of epistemology: theory, paradigm, reflexivity, and…

The use of a student self-assessment system (Sequential Criterion-Referenced Educational Evaluation) in social work education is discussed. Results of a pilot study that examined the system's reliability and validity support its utility. (Author/MH)

Students' perceptions of their field placements rarely are taken into account in the literature on field practicum and supervision. This survey of master's program students at a southern university examines factors associated with student satisfaction with field agency, field instructor, and field learning. (Author/MH)

The Quality of Study Rating Form incorporates principles of meta-analysis to rate key features in a social work evaluation study. The method is described, a test of its reliability is outlined, and its potential applications are discussed. (MSE)