This study compared dual-degree master of social work/master of public health (MSW/MPH) and MSW-only graduates with 3 or more years of postgraduate experience. Thirty graduates from an MSW/MPH program were matched with 30 MSW-only graduates. All subjects were randomly selected from the alumni directory and interviewed via telephone. Results showed…

Employing a large-scale sample of 521 BSW students from 4 Israeli schools of social work, this research examines the factors affecting social work students' interest in working with a wide range of client groups. The results suggest that student interest in working with specific client groups is affected by factors related to desire for…

In this study, 230 licensed social workers participated in a cross-sectional survey to examine participants' self-perceived change in knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) following formal and informal continuing professional education (CPE). Self-perceived change scores were significantly higher for informal than formal CPE. Higher motivational…

This study examines the publications in refereed professional journals that ranked American schools of social work for a 13-year period. The trends are contrasted with those reported in the most widely disseminated rankings of social work schools, namely, "U.S. News and World Report." Substantial differences emerge when findings from the 2 data…

This research examined the influence of undergraduate degree and ethics education on the moral reasoning of social workers. Statistical analyses found MSW social workers with liberal arts undergraduate degrees more likely to prefer postconventional levels of moral reasoning, defined as greater complexity of thought and principled reasoning. The…

Identical vignettes except for a sentence describing a client's economic resources were randomly assigned to 129 MSW students. The vignettes described a social worker who agreed with a client's decision to relocate her residence as a partial solution to a presenting problem but did not assess or address economic barriers to the client's…

This article reviews the emergence of secondary analysis of data (SA) as a methodology for examining questions of relevance for social work and its implications for student education. Given the rapid expansion of available data archives from agencies, governmental and research sources, and technological advances in accessibility and ease of use,…

This study examined guilt feelings among social work students who were pregnant for the first time during field work training. Semi-structured interviews were conducted either in the 9th month (n=5) or 2-12 months after delivery (n=5). Content analysis revealed 6 main triggers, illustrated by excerpts, which stimulated field students' guilt…

This exploratory qualitative study elicited the complex constructs underlying experienced field instructors' perspectives about competence. Eighteen experienced field instructors were asked to describe exemplary and problematic students, as well as student performance on 7 core dimensions. Themes that emerged revealed the importance that field…

At institutions of higher education across the United States, faculty have increasing opportunities to define their research and teaching activities as components of the evolving "scholarship of engagement" field. Using an "interpersonal relationship" framework outlined by Bringle and Hatcher (2002), this article presents some of the challenges…

The first completely Web-based advanced standing master of social work program began in 2002, and 32 students had graduated by 2005. This article presents a preliminary evaluation comparing the first two online cohorts with a face-to-face (F2F) cohort of advanced-standing students. Results showed several demographic differences between groups…

This exploratory study describes social workers' perceptions of the depiction of the social work profession found in the news and entertainment media. A random sample of 665 MSW social workers who were members of the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers were surveyed regarding how they felt the profession was depicted in…

How do people define spirituality and religion and what, if any, relationship do they see between the 2 constructs? In this study, we answer these questions using a qualitative methodology with a nationally representative sample of graduate-level social work students affiliated with the National Association of Social Workers (N=303). A relatively…

Described is the administration and outcomes of an asynchronous, Web-based, comprehensive exam covering MSW foundation curriculum. Over a 48-hour period of test availability, 198 students completed the 4-hour-long exam composed of 100 randomly generated questions. Significant differences in student performance across college locations were found.…

This article conceptualizes an attachment-based model of the student-field instructor relationship, based on empirical research concerning internal working models of attachment, which continue into adulthood and serve as templates for life-long relating. Supportive relationships within a noncritical context are salient for effective supervision;…