This paper aims to understand the impact on student learning of redesigning an elective substance use course with the intent of contextualizing the topic by modeling a structural critical lens. In addition, we look at how this shift impacts students' approaches to working with clients who use substances. Secondary data from student course…

One goal of the Social Work Grand Challenge is to positively influence the applications of technology. Nowhere is the challenge of integrating innovative technology more apparent than in field education settings. However, current technology trends, challenges, as well as interns' use of technology, which is often used in field education settings,…

Social workers are well positioned to meet the needs of the immigrant population in the United States (U.S.) and social workers across all fields and specializations should both feel competent and have the appropriate skills to work with immigrant clients. In this paper, we provide context around the immigrant population in the U.S. and discuss…

Among graduate social work students, experiences of childhood adversity and trauma, along with secondary exposure to others' trauma, can result in negative effects. Unaddressed, this may lead to secondary traumatic stress, burnout, or difficulty sustaining effective practice. Self-care strategies that adequately promote well-being and resilience…

This study sought to respond to the increased number of mature students in social work education and the understudied topic of their experiences. The research deployed semi- structured interviews and thematic analysis to explore the benefits, challenges, and needs of mature students (N = 19) over the age of 30 in a Canadian Bachelor of Social Work…

Over the past two decades, the number of online and distance social work programs has grown rapidly. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted interest in online options from both students and instructors. As programs grow, it is important to recognize the need for retention strategies, especially for students with marginalized identities. The…

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic upon social work programs have been profound and institutions have struggled to identify appropriate policies and interventions to address students' educational, health, and safety needs. This manuscript reports the results of a survey administered to BSW and MSW students at three different timepoints during the…

Social workers need to possess professional skills and personal qualities, often referred to as "soft skills," along with disciplinary knowledge, to be successful and to deliver high-quality client services. This study reports on the importance US social work faculty place on soft skills, the extent to which these faculty incorporate…

Many factors within the social work profession can lead to empathic distress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. These concerns also apply to college students preparing for a career in social work. Compassion has been noted to be of benefit in connecting workers to clients, families, and communities. Likewise, self-compassion involves the skills of…

The long-recognized disconnect between research and practice is reflected by social work students who often report significant apprehension about their research classes, likely at least in part because of a poor understanding of the research-practice interface and an unfamiliarity with larger professional social change initiatives like the Grand…

Social work educators are compelled to use reliable and valid methods to assess student learning outcomes. This study adapted a clinical simulation by integrating traditional role-play of case scenarios and elements of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, which is often used to assess students' practice skills. Master of Social Work…

Many students report increasing test anxiety in the months before taking the national social work licensure exam. We evaluate whether adding a test-anxiety-reduction module to an online exam preparation course reduces MSW students' test anxiety. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest control-group design was used to compare 42 students who did not…

Self-care is receiving increased emphasis in the NASW Code of Ethics, and while social work programs may teach about self-care, it has yet to be embedded in the curriculum. This paper examines the idea of self-care being taught using an embodied framework and integrated throughout social work education programs. Research examining social work…

Suicide is a major public health issue in the United States and schools of social work have an important role to play in educating future social workers in suicide prevention. This article describes the results of a survey of BSW and MSW practice instructors (N = 259) exploring the strategies used to teach suicide content, including resources used…

This paper explores the experiences of social work practitioners making a career move from front-line practice into academia. Six participants engaged in a focus group and subsequent individual semi-structured interviews to reflect on their transitional experiences. From this, factors that helped or hindered the transition were identified and…