ERIC Number: EJ1457253
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jan
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1532-8759
EISSN: EISSN-1545-682X
Examining Preparedness and Onboarding for Social Work Practice in Schools
Tory Lynn Cox; Terence Fitzgerald; Michelle Alvarez
Children & Schools, v47 n1 p7-16 2025
This article highlights a research study investigating how school social workers (SSWers) are prepared during their MSW programs to work in various school settings. A survey was completed by 175 SSWers at the School Social Work Association of America 2019 National Conference. The results suggest that survey participants deemed insufficient the level of school social work (SSW) preparedness received at degree-granting institutions. For example, 38 percent of respondents did not take an SSW course, 49 percent did not intern in a school setting, and 85 percent would have benefited from additional SSW courses. Further, the respondents discussed numerous areas of improvement to be addressed by SSW preparation programs and employment settings, including preparation for the political environment of schools and more intensive onboarding and mentoring in their first years of service. The evidence also points to the fortitude of SSWers to persevere in their educational settings. In response to the survey results, the study researchers organized an edited book titled "The Art of Becoming Indispensable: What School Social Workers Need to Know in Their First Three Years of Practice." Limitations and implications for SSW practice are discussed as well.
Descriptors: Social Work, School Social Workers, Masters Programs, Career Readiness, Program Evaluation, Program Improvement, Politics, Personnel Selection, Mentors, Entry Workers
Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, UK. Tel: +44-1865-353907; Fax: +44-1865-353485; e-mail: jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org; Web site: http://cs.oxfordjournals.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A