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International Federation of Social Workers

Global Online conference

Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training

August 1, 2020

Latvian Translation Spanish Translation

PREAMBLE RATIONALE THE SCHOOL     1. Core Mission, Aims and Objectives     2. Resources and Facilities     3. Curriculum     4. Core Curricula             Social Work in Context             Social Work in Practice             Practice Education (Placement)     5. Research and Scholarly activity THE PEOPLE     1. Educators     2. Students     3. Service Users THE PROFESSION     1. A shared understanding of the Profession     2. Ethics and Values     3. Equity and Diversity     4. Human rights and Social, Economic and Environmental Justice MEMBERS OF THE JOINT TASKFORCE

back to top The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of  Schools of Social Work (IASSW) have jointly updated the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training. The previous version of the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training document was adopted by the two organisations in Adelaide, Australia in 2004. Between 2004 and 2019, that document served as an aspirational guide setting out the standards for excellence in social work education.

With the adoption of a new Global Definition of Social Work in July 2014, and the publication of the updated Global Social Work Statement of Ethical Principles in 2019, the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training document should be updated to integrate the changes in these two documents and to reflect recent developments in global social work.

To this effect, the two organisations created a joint task group comprising the IFSW Interim Global Education Commission and IASSW’s Global Standards Taskforce. This task group engaged with the global social work community through a rigorous consultation that lasted for over 18 months and included feedback from 125 countries represented by 5 Regional Associations and approximately 400 Universities and Further Education Organisations. In addition, members of the joint task force facilitated two international seminars involving service user representatives.

Therefore, we are confident that the present document has been the product of a dynamic and collective process. It has also been the culmination of a rigorous exploration of epistemological, political, ethical and cultural dilemmas.

The main objectives of the Global Standards are to:

• Ensure consistency in the provision of social work education while appreciating and valuing diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Ensure that Social Work education adheres to the values and policies of the profession as articulated by the IFSW and IASSW.
• Support and safeguard staff, students and service users involved in the education process.
• Ensure that the next generation of social workers have access to excellent quality learning, opportunities that also incorporate social work knowledge deriving from research, experience, policy and practice.
• Nurture a spirit of collaboration and knowledge transfer between different social work schools and between social work education, practice and research.
• Support social work schools to become thriving, well-resourced, inclusive and participatory teaching and learning environments.

While appreciating the overarching objectives, we are also mindful of the fact that the educational experience and policy framework in different countries varies significantly. The Global Standards aim at capturing both the universality of social work values and the diversity that characterises the profession through the articulation of a set of standards that are divided between compulsory (those that all programmes must adhere to) and aspirational (those standards that Schools should aspire to include when and where possible). The former represents foundational elements, which are intended in part to promote consistency in social work education across the globe.

Professor Vasilios Ioakimidis Professor Dixon Sookraj

back to top We took the following realities of social work across the globe into account in developing the standards:

• Diversity of historic, socio-cultural, economic and political contexts in which social work is practiced, both within countries and across the globe.
• Diversity of practices according to: 1) practice setting (e.g. government, NGO, health, education, child and family services agencies, correctional institutions, other community-based organizations and private practice settings); 2) field or area of practice (e.g. population served, type of personal and social, economic, political and environmental issues addressed); and 3) practice theories, methods, techniques and skills representing practice at different levels – individual, couple/family, group, organization, community, broader societal and international (i.e., micro, mezzo and macro levels).
• Diversity of structures and delivery methods of social work education. Social work education varies in terms of its position within the structures of education institutions (e.g., units, departments, schools, and faculties). Some social work education programs are aligned with other disciplines, such as economics and sociology, and some are part of broader professional groupings such as health or development. In addition, the level, attitudes toward, and integration of distance education and online learning vary a great deal among programs.
• Diversity of resources available to support social work education, including social work educators and directors across the globe.
• Diversity in levels of development of the social work profession across the globe. In many countries, it is a well-established profession backed by legislation and accompanying regulatory bodies and codes of ethics. A recognized baccalaureate social work degree is often the minimum educational requirement for professional practice. These mechanisms serve in part to protect the use of the title of ‘social worker’, define the scope of practice (what social workers can or cannot do in practice), ensure that practitioners maintain competence and protect the public from harm by social workers. In other countries social work takes different forms. Social work educational programs may be added to existing curriculum offerings rather than standing as separate academic units. They may range from individual course offerings, to one-year certificate programs, to two-year diploma programs. The curriculum standards presented in this document apply primarily to social work degree programs. Shorter certificate and degree programs may use the standards, but they may not be able to incorporate all the standards.
• The adverse effects of colonization and educational imperialism on the development of social work in the Global South. We believe and stand firm that the theoretical perspectives and practice methods, techniques and skills developed in the Global North should not be transported to the Global South without critical examinations of their suitability and potential effectiveness for the local contexts.
• The growing number of common issues and challenges affecting social work education and practice across the globe. These include growing inequalities produced by neoliberal globalization, climate change, human and natural disasters, economic and political corruption and conflicts.
• Many new developments and innovations, especially those relating to sustainable development, climate change and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, are occurring in the Global South. Thus, connecting the global and the local within the curriculum would strengthen the academic preparation of social workers everywhere; it will facilitate assessments for transferability of social work education across jurisdictions, including international borders;  it will also help strengthen students’ professional identities as members of a global profession.
• Finally, curriculum specializations’ contribution to fragmentation in education and practice. Regardless of the area of specialization delivered in the curriculum, the program should prepare students to understand the interconnectedness of practice at all levels – individual, family, group, organization, community, etc. (i.e., micro, mezzo, macro). This broader understanding will help students to become critical, ethical and competent practitioners.

This version of the Global Standards is organised around three overarching domains that capture the distinct, yet intertwined, elements of Social Work education: The School, The People and The Profession 

back to top Social Work education has historically been delivered by a wide and  diverse range of organisations, including Universities, Colleges, Tertiary, Further and Higher Education bodies- public, private and non-profit.  Notwithstanding the diversity of education delivery modalities, organisational and financial structures, there is an expectation that social work schools and programmes are formally recognised by the appropriate education authorities and/or regulators in each country. Social Work education is a complex and demanding activity that requires  access to adequate resources, educators, transparent strategies and up- to-date curricula.

1. Core Mission, Aims and Objectives

back to top All Social Work Programmes must develop and share a core purpose statement or a mission statement that:

• Is clearly articulated, accessible and reflects the values and the ethical principles of social work.
• Is consistent with the global definition and purpose of social work
• Respects the rights and interests of the people involved in all aspects of delivery of programmes and services (including the students, educators and service users).

Where possible, schools should aspire to:

• Articulate the broad strategies for contribution to the advancement of the Social Work profession and the empowerment of communities within which a school strives to operate (locally, nationally and internationally).

In respect of programme objectives and expected outcomes, schools must be able to demonstrate how it has met the following requirements:

• Specification of its programme objectives and expected higher education outcomes.
• Identification of its programme’s instructional methods that support the achievement of the cognitive and affective development of social work students.
• A curriculum that reflects the core knowledge, processes, values and skills of the social work profession, as applied in context-specific realities.
• Social Work students who attain an initial level of proficiency with regard to self-reflective use of social work values, knowledge and skills.
• Curriculum design that takes into account of the impact of interacting cultural, political, economic, communication, health, psychosocial and environmental global factors.
• The programme meets the requirements of nationally and/or regionally/internationally defined professional goals
• The programme addresses local, national and/or regional/international developmental needs and priorities.
• The provision of an education preparation that is relevant to beginning social work practice interventions with individuals, families, groups and/or communities (functional and geographic) adaptable to a wide range of contexts.
• The use of social work methods that are based on sound evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions whenever possible, and always promote dignity and respect.
• Governance, administrative supports, physical structure and related resources that are adequate to deliver the program.
• The conferring of a distinctive social work qualification at the certificate, diploma, first degree or post-graduate level, as approved by national and/or regional qualification authorities, where such authorities exist.

In order to further enrich their mission and objectives, schools should aspire to:

• External peer evaluation of the programme as far as is reasonable and financially viable. This may include external peer moderation of assignments and/or written examinations and dissertations, and external peer review and assessment of curricula.
• Self-evaluation by the education programme constituents to assess the extent to which its programme objectives and expected outcomes are being achieved.

2. Resources and Facilities

back to top With regard to structure, administration, governance and resources, the school and/or body  designated as the education provider must ensure the following:

• Social work programmes are independent of other disciplines and should therefore be implemented through a distinct unit known as a Faculty, School, Department, Centre or Division, which has a clear identity within education institutions.
• The school has a designated Head or Director 1 who has demonstrated administrative, scholarly and professional competence, preferably in the profession of social work.
• The Head or Director has primary responsibility for the co-ordination and professional leadership of the school, with sufficient time and resources to fulfil these responsibilities.
• The social work programme’s budgetary allocation is sufficient to achieve its core purpose or mission and the programme objectives.
• The budgetary allocation is stable enough to ensure programme planning and delivery in a sustainable way.
• The necessary clerical and administrative staff, as well as educators, is made available for the achievement of the programme objectives. These staff members are provided with reasonable amounts of autonomy and opportunity to contribute programme development, implementation, and evaluation.
• Irrespective of the mode of teaching (in the classroom, distance, mixed-mode, decentralised and/or internet-based education) there is the provision of adequate infrastructure, including classroom space, computers, texts, audio-visual equipment, community resources for practice education, and on-site instruction and supervision to facilitate the achievement of its core purpose or mission, programme objectives and expected outcomes.
• Internet-based education should not fully substitute spaces for face-to-face instruction, practice learning and dialogue. Face-to-face spaces are critical for a well rounded social work education and therefore irreplaceable.

Social Work courses tend to be administratively complex and resource-demanding due to the synthesis of the theoretical, research and practice-based elements, including relational training and service user interaction. Therefore, Schools could aspire to achieve the following:

• Sufficient physical facilities, including classroom space, offices for the educators and the administrative staff and space for student, faculty and field- liaison meetings.
• Adequate equipment necessary for the achievement of the school’s core purpose or mission and the programme objectives.
• High quality of the education programme whatever the mode of delivery. In the case of distance, mixed-mode, decentralised and/or internet-based teaching, mechanisms for locally based instruction and supervision should be put in place, especially with regard to the practice component of the programme.
• Well-resourced on-site and online libraries, knowledge and research environment, and, where possible, internet resources, all necessary to achieve the programme objectives.
• Access to international libraries, international roaming services (e.g., EduRoam), e-journals and databases.

3. Curriculum

back to top With regard to standards regarding programme curricula, schools must consistently ensure the following:

• The curricula and methods of instruction are consistent with the school’s programme objectives, its expected outcomes and its mission statement.
• Clear mechanisms for the organisation’s implementation and evaluation of the theory and field education components of the programme exist.
• Specific attention to undertaking constant review and development of the curricula.
• Clear guidelines for ethical use of technology in practice, curriculum delivery, distance/blended learning, big data analysis and engagement with social media

Schools should always aspire to develop curricula that:

• Help social work students to develop skills of critical thinking and scholarly attitudes of reasoning, openness to new experiences and paradigms and commitment to lifelong learning.
• Are sufficient in duration 2 and learning opportunities to ensure that students are prepared for professional practice. Students and educators are given sufficient space and time to adhere to the minimum standards described herein.
• Reflect the needs, values and cultures of the relevant populations.
• Are based on human rights principles and the pursuit of justice.

4. Core Curricula

back to top Social work education programs vary by economic and political contexts, practice settings, population served, type of personal and social, economic, political, or environmental issues addressed, and practice theories and approaches used. Nevertheless, there are certain core curricula that are universally applicable. Thus, the school must ensure that social work students, by the end of their first Social Work professional qualification 3 , have had sufficient/required and relevant exposure to the following core curricula which are organised into the following broad conceptual components:

a) Social Work in Context: refers to the broader knowledge that is required in order to critically  understand the political, socio-legal, cultural and historical forces that have shaped social work.

b) Social Work in Practice: refers to a broader set of skills and knowledge required to design and  deliver e ff ective, ethical and competent interventions.

The above two conceptual components are interdependent, dynamic and should be considered simultaneously.

Social Work In Context

back to top In relation to Social Work in Context, education programmes must include the following:

• Critical understanding of how socio-structural inadequacies, discrimination, oppression, and social, political, environmental and economic injustices impact human development at all levels, including the global must be considered.
• Knowledge of how traditions, culture, beliefs, religions and customs influence human development across the lifespan, including how these might constitute resources and/or obstacles to growth.
• Knowledge of theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledges
• Critical understanding of social work’s origins and purposes.
• Critical understanding of historical injustices affecting service user communities and the role of social workers in addressing those.
• Sufficient knowledge of related occupations and professions to facilitate interprofessional collaboration and teamwork.
• Knowledge of social welfare policies (or lack thereof), services and laws at local, national  and/or regional/international levels
• Understanding of the roles of social work in policy planning, implementation, evaluation and in social change processes.
• Knowledge of – human rights, social movements and their interconnectedness with class, gender and ethnic/race-related issues.
• Knowledge of relevant international treaties, laws and regulations, and global standards  such as the Social Development Goals.
• Critical understanding of the impact of environmental degradation on the well-being of our communities and the promotion of Environmental Justice.
• A focus on gender equity
• An understanding of structural causes and impact of gender-based violence
• An emphasis on structural issues affecting marginalised, vulnerable and minority populations.
• The assumption, identification and recognition of strengths and potential of all human beings.
• Social Work contribution to promoting sustainable peace and justice in communities affected by political/ethnic conflict and violence.

Social Work in Practice

back to top In relation to Social Work In Practice, education programmes must prepare students to:

• Apply knowledge of human behaviour and development across the lifespan.
• Understand how social determinants impact on people’s health and wellbeing (mental, physical, emotional and spiritual).
• Promote healthy, cohesive, non-oppressive relationships among people and between people and organisations at all levels –individuals, families, groups, programs,  organizations, communities.
• Facilitate and advocate for the inclusion of different voices, especially those of groups that have experienced marginalisation and exclusion.
• Understand the relationship between personal life experiences and personal value  systems and social work practice.
• Integrate theory, ethics, research/knowledge in practice.
• Have sufficient practice skills in assessment, relationship building, empowerment and  helping processes to achieve the identified goals of the programme and fulfil professional obligations to service users. The programme may prepare practitioners to serve purposes, including providing social support, and engaging in developmental, protective, preventive and/or therapeutic intervention – depending on the particular focus of the programme or professional practice orientation.
• Apply social work intervention that is informed by principles, knowledge and skills aimed at promoting human development and the potentialities of all people
• Engage in critical analysis of how social policies and programmes promote or violate human rights and justice
• Use peace building, non-violent activism and human rights-based advocacy as intervention methods.
• Use problem-solving and strengths-based approaches.
• Develop as critically self-reflective practitioners.
• Apply national, regional and/or international social work codes of ethics and their applicability to context-specific realities
• Ability to address and collaborate with others regarding the complexities, subtleties, multi-dimensional, ethical, legal and dialogical aspects of power.

Practice Education (Placement) 4

back to top Practice education is a critical component of professional social work education. Thus practice education should be well integrated into the curriculum in preparing students with knowledge, values and skills for ethical, competent and effective practice. Practice education must be sufficient in duration and complexity of tasks and learning opportunities to ensure that students are prepared for professional practice. Therefore, schools should also ensure:

• A well-developed and comprehensive practice education manual that details its practice placement standards, procedures, assessment standards/criteria and expectations should be made available to students, field placement supervisors and field placement instructors.
• selection of practice placement sites;
• matching students with placement sites;
• placement of students;
• supervision of students;
• coordination of with the program;
• supporting students and the field instructors;
• monitoring student progress and evaluating student performance in the field; and
• evaluating the performance of the practice education setting.
• Appointment of practice supervisors or instructors who are qualified and experienced, as determined by the development status of the social work profession in any given country, and provision of orientation for practice supervisors or instructors.
• Provision of orientation and ongoing supports, including training and education to practice supervisors.
• Ensuring that adequate and appropriate resources, to meet the needs of the practice  component of the programme, are made available.
• Policies for the inclusion of marginalized populations, and reasonable accommodation and  adjustment for people with disabilities and special needs.
• The practice education component provides ongoing, timely and developmental feedback to students.

Schools also should aspire to:

• Create practice placement opportunities that correspond to at least 25% of the overall education activity within the courses (counted in either credits, days, or hours).
• Nurture valuable partnerships between the education institution and the agency (where applicable) and service users in decision-making regarding practice education and the evaluation of student’s performance.
• If the programme engages in international placements, additional standards, guidelines and support should be provided to both students placed abroad and agencies in the receiving end. In addition the programme should have mechanisms to facilitate reciprocity, co-learning genuine knowledge exchange.

5. Research and Scholarly activity

back to top As an academic discipline, social work is underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences,  humanities and indigenous knowledges. Social work knowledge and scholarship are generated  through a diverse range of sources, including education providers, research organisations,  independent researchers, local communities, social work organisations, practitioners and service users.  All education providers should aspire to make a contribution to the development, critical  understanding and generation of social work scholarship. This can be achieved, when and where  possible, through the incorporation of research and scholarship strategies, including:

• An emphasis on the process of knowledge production in social work, by explaining  different methodological approaches within the discipline and how these have evolved.
• An appreciation of the rigorous and diverse methods used by social workers in order to  appraise the credibility, transferability, confirmability reliability and validity of information.
• Teaching that is informed by current, valid and reliable evidence.
• Provision of opportunities for students to critically appraise research findings and acquire  research skills.
• Involvement of students in research activities.
• Support students to acquire and develop programme/practice evaluation skills, including  partnering with them in such work.

1 Depending on the setting, other titles may be used to signify administrative leadership. 2 In many contexts, a first professional qualification (or baccalaureate degree in social work) is completed in within three  or four years of full-time  studies, although the amount of non-social work course contents included may  vary. 3 See description above. 4 The terms “field education” and “field instruction” are also commonly used.

back to top Social Work programmes comprise a dynamic intellectual, social and material community. This community brings together students, educators, administrators and service users united in their effort to  enhance opportunities for learning, professional and personal development.

1. Educators

back to top With regard to social work educators 5 , schools and programmes must ensure:

• The provision of educators, adequate in number and range of expertise, who have  appropriate qualifications, including practice and research experience within the field of  Social Work; all determined by the development status of the social work profession in any given country.
• Educator representation and inclusion in decision-making processes of the school or programme related to the development of the programme’s core purpose or mission, in the formulation of the objectives, curriculum design and expected outcomes of the programme.
• A clear statement of its equity-based policies or preferences, with regard to considerations of gender, ethnicity, ‘race’ or any other form of diversity in its recruitment and appointment of members of staff.
• Policies regarding the recruitment, appointment and promotion of staff are clearly articulated and transparent and are in keeping with other schools or programs within the education institution.
• Policies that are in-line with national labour legislation and also take into consideration International Labour Organisation guidelines. f. Educators benefit from a cooperative, supportive and productive working environment to facilitate the achievement of programme objectives.
• Institutional policies regarding promotion, tenure, discipline and termination are transparent and clear. Mechanisms for appeal and decision review should be in place.
• Teaching and other relevant workload are distributed equitably and transparently.
• Variations in workload distribution in terms of teaching, scholarship (including research) and service are inevitable. However, workload allocation should be based on principles such as equity and respect for educators’ diverse skills, expertise and talents.
• When there are differences and conflicts, transparent and fair mechanisms are in place to address them.

All Schools should also aspire to:

• Provide a balanced allocation of teaching, practice placement instruction, supervision and administrative workloads, ensuring that there is space for engagement with all forms of scholarship including creative work and research.
• With regards to educators involvement, a minimum of a Master’s level qualification in social work is preferred.
• Staff reflect the ethics, values and principles of the social work profession in their work on behalf and with students and communities.
• The school, when possible, nurtures interdisciplinary approaches. To this effect, the School, strives to engage educators from relevant disciplines such as sociology, history, economics, statistics etc.
• At least 50% of educators should have a social work qualification, and social work modules or courses should be taught by educators with a Master of Social work qualification, in line with the status of the profession in each country.
• The School has provisions for the continuing professional development of its educators.

2. Students

back to top In respect of social work students, Schools must ensure:

• Clear articulation of its admission criteria and procedures. When possible, practitioners and service users should be involved in the relevant processes.
• Non-discrimination against any student on the basis of race, colour, culture, ethnicity, linguistic origin, religion, political orientation, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, functional status, and socio-economic status.
• Explicit criteria for the evaluation of practice education
• Grievance and appeals procedures which are accessible, clearly explained to all students and operated without prejudice to the assessment of students.
• All information regarding, assessment, course aims and structure, learning outcomes, class attendance, examination rules, appeals procedures and student support services should be clearly articulated and provided to the students in the form of a handbook (printed or electronic) at the beginning of each academic year.
• Ensure that social work students are provided with opportunities to develop self-awareness regarding their personal and cultural values, beliefs, traditions and biases and how these might influence the ability to develop relationships with people and to work with diverse population groups.
• Provide information about the kinds of support available to students, including academic, financial, employment and personal assistance
• Students should be clear about what constitutes misconduct, including academic, harassment and discrimination, policies and procedures in place to address these.
• Comprehensive retention policies that prioritise student well-being.
• Positive action should be taken to ensure the inclusion of minority groups that are underrepresented and/or under-served.
• Democratic and sustained representation of students in decision-making committees and fora.

3. Service Users 6

back to top With regards to service user involvement Schools must :

• Incorporate the rights, views and interests of Service Users and broader communities served in its operations, including curriculum development, implementation and delivery.
• Develop a proactive strategy towards facilitating Service User involvement in all aspects of design, planning and delivery of study programmes.
• Ensure reasonable adjustments are made in order to support the involvement of Service Users.

Also aspire to:

• Create opportunities for the personal and professional development of Service Users involved in the study programme.

5 Different terminologies are used to represent and or describe the people providing the education (ie academics, faculty, instructors, pedagogues, teachers, tutors, lecturers etc.). For the purposes of this document we have adopted the term “Social Work Educators” to represent these diverse terminologies. 6  Depending on the context, other terms, including clients and community constituents are used instead of service users.

The Profession

back to top Social Work Schools are members of a global professional and  academic community. As such, they must be able to contribute to  and benefit from the growth of scholarly, practice and policy  development at a national and global level. Nurturing, expanding  and formalising links with the national and international  representative bodies of the social work profession is of paramount  importance.

1. A shared understanding of the Profession

back to top Schools must ensure the following:

• Definitions of social work used in the context of the education process should be congruent with the Global Definition of Social Work as approved by IASSW and IFSW including any regional applications that may exist.
• Schools retain close and formal relationships with representatives and key stakeholders of the social work profession, including regulators and national and regional associations of social work practice and education.
• Registration of professional staff and social work students (insofar as social work students develop working relationships with people via practice placements) with national and/or regional regulatory (whether statutory or non-statutory) bodies.
• All stakeholders involved in social work education should actively seek to contribute to and benefit from the global social work community in a spirit of partnership and international solidarity.

Schools should also aspire to:

• monitor students’ employability rates and encourage them to actively participate in the national and global social work community.

2. Ethics and Values

back to top In view of the recognition that social work values, ethics and principles are the core components of the profession, Schools must consistently ensure:

• Adhered to the Global Ethics Statement approved bythe IFSWW and IASSW.
• Adherence to the National and Regional Codes of Ethics.
• Adherence to the Global Definition of Social Work as approved by the IFSW and IASSW.
• Clear articulation of objectives with regard to social work values, principles and ethical conduct. Ensuring that every social work student involved in practice education, and every academic staff member, is aware of the boundaries of professional practice and what  might constitute unprofessional conduct in terms of the code of ethics.
• Taking appropriate, reasonable and proportionate action in relation to those social work students and academic staff who fail to comply with the code of ethics, either through an established regulatory social work body, established procedures of the educational institution, and/or through legal mechanisms.

Schools should also aspire towards:

• Upholding, as far as is reasonable and possible, the principles of restorative rather than retributive justice in disciplining either social work students or academic staff who violate the code of ethics.

3. Equity and Diversity

back to top With regard to equity and diversity Schools must :

• Make concerted and continuous efforts to ensure the enrichment of the educational experience by reflecting cultural, ethnic and other forms of diversity in its programme and relevant populations.
• Ensure that educators, students and service users are provided with equal opportunities to learn and develop regardless of gender,socioeconomicc background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and other forms of diversity.
• Ensure that the programme has clearly articulated learning objectives in upholding the principles of respect for cultural and ethnic diversity, gender equity, human rights.
• Address and challenge racist, homophobic, sexist and other discriminatory behaviours, policies and structures.
• Recognition and development of indigenous or locally specific social work education and practice from the traditions and cultures of different ethnic groups and societies, insofar that such traditions and cultures are congruent with our ethical codes and human rights commitments.

4. Human rights and Social, Economic and Environmental Justice

back to top Social, Economic and Environmental Justice are fundamental pillars underpinning social work theory, policy and practice. All Schools must :

• Prepare students to be able to apply human rights principles (as articulated in the International Bill of Rights and core international human rights treaties) to frame their understanding of how current social issues affect social, economic and environmental justice.
• Ensure that their students understand the importance of social, economic, political and environmental justice and develop relevant intervention knowledge and skills.
• Contribute to collective efforts within and beyond school structures in order to achieve social, economic and environmental justice.

They should also aspire to:

• Identifying opportunities for supporting development at grass roots level and community participatory action to meet the aspirations of the Social Development Goals.
• Making use of opportunities to exchange knowledge, expertise and ideas with global peers to support the advancement of social work education free from colonial influences.
• Creating platforms for Indigenous social workers to shape curricula and relevant courses.

Members of the Joint Taskforce 

back to top

IFSW Interim Education Commission

Chair : Vasilios Ioakimidis

Members: African Regional Commissioners: Lawrence Mukuka and Zena Mnasi Asia and Pacific Regional Commissioner: Mariko Kimura European Regional Commissioner: Nicolai Paulsen Latin American and Caribbean Regional Commissioner: Marinilda Rivera Díaz North American Regional Commissioners: Dr.  Joan Davis-Whelan and Dr. Gary Bailey

IASSW Global Standards Taskforce

Chair: Dixon Sookraj

Members: Carmen Castillo (COSTA RICA): Member, Latin American Rep. Karene Nathaniel-DeCaires (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO): Member, North American/Caribbean Rep. Liu  Meng (CHINA): Member, China National Rep. Teresa Francesca Bertotti (ITALY): Member, European Association Rep. Alexandre Hakizamunga (RWANDA): Member, African Association Rep. Vimla Nadkarni (INDIA): Member, Past IASSW President Emily Taylor (CANADA): Student Rep. Ute Straub (GERMANY): IASSW Co-Chair & Board Representative

Consultants: Carol S. Cohen (USA): Commission on Group Work in Social Work Education of the International Association for Social Work with Groups, Co-Chair. Shirley Gatenio Gabel (USA). Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, Co-Editor Varoshini Nadesan (SOUTH AFRICA). Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions, President.

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Characteristics and Outcomes of School Social Work Services: A Scoping Review of Published Evidence 2000–June 2022

1 Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd 3.112, Austin, TX 78712 USA

Estilla Lightfoot

2 School of Social Work, Western New Mexico University, Silver City, NM USA

Ruth Berkowitz

3 School of Social Work, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

Samantha Guz

4 Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL USA

Cynthia Franklin

Diana m. dinitto.

School social workers are integral to the school mental health workforce and the leading social service providers in educational settings. In recent decades, school social work practice has been largely influenced by the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) approach, ecological systems views, and the promotion of evidence-based practice. However, none of the existing school social work reviews have examined the latest characteristics and outcomes of school social work services. This scoping review analyzed and synthesized the focuses and functions of school social workers and the state-of-the-art social and mental/behavioral health services they provide. Findings showed that in the past two decades, school social workers in different parts of the world shared a common understanding of practice models and interests. Most school social work interventions and services targeted high-needs students to improve their social, mental/behavioral health, and academic outcomes, followed by primary and secondary prevention activities to promote school climate, school culture, teacher, student, and parent interactions, and parents’ wellbeing. The synthesis also supports the multiple roles of school social workers and their collaborative, cross-systems approach to serving students, families, and staff in education settings. Implications and directions for future school social work research are discussed.

Introduction

This scoping review examines the literature on school social work services provided to address children, youth, and families’ mental/behavioral health and social service-related needs to help students thrive in educational contexts. School social work is a specialty of the social work profession that is growing rapidly worldwide (Huxtable, 2022 ). They are prominent mental/behavioral health professionals that play a crucial role in supporting students’ well-being and meeting their learning needs. Although the operational modes of school social work services vary, for instance, operating within an interdisciplinary team as part of the school service system, or through non-governmental agencies or collaboration between welfare agencies and the school system (Andersson et al., 2002 ; Chiu & Wong, 2002 ; Beck, 2017 ), the roles and activities of school social work are alike across different parts of the world (Allen-Meares et al., 2013 ; International Network for School Social Work, 2016, as cited in Huxtable, 2022 ). School social workers are known for their functions to evaluate students’ needs and provide interventions across the ecological systems to remove students’ learning barriers and promote healthy sociopsychological outcomes in the USA and internationally (Huxtable, 2022 ). In the past two decades, school social work literature placed great emphasis on evidence-based practice (Huxtable, 2013; 2016, as cited in Huxtable, 2022 ); however, more research is still needed in the continuous development of the school social work practice model and areas such as interventions, training, licensure, and interprofessional collaboration (Huxtable, 2022 ).

The school social work practice in the USA has great influence both domestically and overseas. Several core journals in the field (e.g., the International Journal of School Social Work, Children & Schools ) and numerous textbooks have been translated into different languages originated in the USA (Huxtable, 2022 ). In the USA, school social workers have been providing mental health-oriented services under the nationwide endorsement of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) (Avant & Lindsey, 2015 ; Barrett et al., 2020 ). In the past two decades, efforts at developing a school social work practice model recommended that school social workers have a master’s degree, embrace MTSS and use evidence-based practices (EBP) (Frey et al., 2012 ). Similar licensure requirements have been reported in other parts of the world (International Network for School Social Work, 2016, as cited in Huxtable, 2022 ), but the current state of research on MTSS and EBP applications in other countries is limited (Huxtable, 2022 ). Furthermore, although previous literature indicated more school social workers applied EBP to primary prevention, including trauma-informed care, social–emotional learning, and restorative justice programs in school mental health services (Crutchfield et al., 2020 ; Elswick et al., 2019 ; Gherardi, 2017 ), little research has been done to review and analyzed the legitimacy of the existing school social work practice model and its influence in the changing context of school social work services. The changing conditions and demands of social work services in schools require an update on the functions of school social workers and the efficacy of their state-of-the-art practices.

Previous Reviews on School Social Work Practice and Outcomes

Over the past twenty years, a few reviews of school social work services have been conducted. They include outcome reviews, systematic reviews, and one meta-analysis on interventions, but none have examined studies from a perspective that looks inclusively and comprehensively at evaluations of school social work services. Early and Vonk ( 2001 ), for example, reviewed and critiqued 21 controlled (e.g., randomized controlled trial [RCT] and quasi-experimental) outcome studies of school social work practice from a risk and resilience perspective and found that the interventions are overall effective in helping children and youth gain problem-solving skills and improve peer relations and intrapersonal functioning. However, the quality of the included studies was mixed, demographic information on students who received the intervention, such as race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and special education enrollment were missing, and the practices were less relevant to the guidelines in the school social work practice model (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2012 ). Later, Franklin et al. ( 2009 ) updated previous reviews by using meta-analytic techniques to synthesize the results of interventions delivered by social workers within schools. They found that these interventions had small to medium treatment effects for internalizing and externalizing problems but showed mixed results in academic or school-related outcomes. Franklin et al. ( 2009 ) approached the empirical evidence from an intervention lens and did not focus on the traits and characteristics of school social workers and their broad roles in implementing interventions; additionally, demographic information, symptoms, and conditions of those who received school social work services were lacking. Allen-Meares et al. ( 2013 ) built on Franklin and colleagues’ ( 2009 ) meta-analysis on school social work practice outcomes across nations by conducting a systematic review with a particular interest in identifying tier 1 and tier 2 (i.e., universal prevention and targeted early intervention) practices. School social workers reported services in a variety of areas (e.g., sexual health, aggression, school attendance, self-esteem, depression), and half of the included interventions were tier 1 (Allen-Meares et al., 2013 ). Although effect sizes were calculated (ranging from 0.01–2.75), the outcomes of the interventions were not articulated nor comparable across the 18 included studies due to the heterogeneity of metrics.

Therefore, previous reviews of school social work practice and its effectiveness addressed some aspects of these interventions and their outcomes but did not examine school social workers’ characteristics (e.g., school social workers’ credentials) or related functions (e.g., interdisciplinary collaboration with teachers and other support personnel, such as school counselors and psychologists). Further, various details of the psychosocial interventions (e.g., service type, program fidelity, target population, practice modality), and demographics, conditions, or symptoms of those who received the interventions provided by school social workers were under-researched from previous reviews. An updated review of the literature that includes these missing features and examines the influence of current school social work practice is needed.

Guiding Framework for the Scoping Review

The multi-tiered systems of support model allows school social workers to maximize their time and resources to support students’ needs accordingly by following a consecutive order of prevention. MTSS generally consists of three tiers of increasing levels of preventive and responsive behavioral and academic support that operate under the overarching principles of capacity-building, evidence-based practices, and data-driven decision-making (Kelly et al., 2010a ). Tier 1 interventions consist of whole-school/classroom initiatives (NASW, 2012 ), including universal positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) (Clonan et al., 2007 ) and restorative justice practices (Lustick et al., 2020 ). Tier 2 consists of targeted small-group interventions meant to support students at risk of academic or behavioral difficulties who do not respond to Tier 1 interventions (National Association of Social Workers, 2012 ). Finally, tier 3 interventions are intensive individual interventions, including special education services, meant to support students who do not benefit sufficiently from Tier 1 or Tier 2 interventions.

The current school social work practice model in the USA (NASW, 2012 ) consists of three main aspects: (1) delivering evidence-based practices to address behavioral and mental health concerns; (2) fostering a positive school culture and climate that promotes excellence in learning and teaching; (3) enhancing the availability of resources to students within both the school and the local community. Similar expectations from job descriptions have been reported in other countries around the world (Huxtable, 2022 ).

Moreover, school social workers are specifically trained to practice using the ecological systems framework, which aims to connect different tiers of services from a person-in-environment perspective and to activate supports and bridge gaps between systems (Huxtable, 2022 ; Keller & Grumbach, 2022 ; SSWAA, n.d.). This means that school social workers approach problem-solving through systemic interactions, which allows them to provide timely interventions and activate resources at the individual, classroom, schoolwide, home, and community levels as needs demand.

Hence, the present scoping review explores and analyzes essential characteristics of school social workers and their practices that have been missed in previous reviews under a guiding framework that consists of the school social work practice model, MTSS, and an ecological systems perspective.

This scoping review built upon previous reviews and analyzed the current school social work practices while taking into account the characteristics of school social workers, different types of services they deliver, as well as the target populations they serve in schools. Seven overarching questions guided this review: (1) What are the study characteristics of the school social work outcome studies (e.g., countries of origin, journal information, quality, research design, fidelity control) in the past two decades? (2) What are the characteristics (e.g., demographics, conditions, symptoms) of those who received school social work interventions or services? (3) What are the overall measurements (e.g., reduction in depression, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], improvement in parent–child relationships, or school climate) reported in these studies? (4) What types of interventions and services were provided? (5) Who are the social work practitioners (i.e., collaborators/credential/licensure) delivering social work services in schools? (6) Does the use of school social work services support the promotion of preventive care within the MTSS? (7) What are the main outcomes of the diverse school social work interventions and services?

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first scoping review to examine these aspects of school social work practices under the guidance of the existing school social work practice model, MTSS, and an ecological systems perspective.

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension guidelines for completing a scoping review (Tricco et al., 2018 ) were followed for planning, conducting, and reporting the results of this review. The PRISMA scoping review checklist includes 20 essential items and two optional items. Together with the 20 essential items, the optional two items related to critical appraisal of included sources of evidence were also followed to assure transparency, replication, and comprehensive reporting for scoping reviews.

Search Strategy

The studies included in this review were published between 2000 and June 2022. These studies describe the content, design, target population, target concerns, delivery methods, and outcomes of services, practices, and interventions conducted or co-led by school social workers. This time frame was selected since it coincides with the completion of the early review of characteristics of school social work outcomes studies (Early & Vonk, 2001 ); furthermore, scientific approaches and evidence-based practice were written in the education law for school-based services since the early 2000s in the USA, which greatly impacted school social work practice (Wilde, 2004 ), and was reflected in the trend of peer-reviewed research in school practice journals (Huxtable, 2022 ).

Following consultation with an academic librarian, the authors systematically searched relevant articles in seven academic databases (APA PsycINFO, Education Source, ERIC, Academic Search Complete, SocINDEX, CINAHL Plus, and MEDLINE) between January 2000 and June 2022. These databases were selected due to the relevance of the outcomes and the broad range of relevant disciplines they cover. When built-in search filters were available, the search included only peer-reviewed journal articles or dissertations written in English and published between 2000 and 2022. The search terms were adapted from previous review studies with a similar purpose (Franklin et al., 2009 ). The rationale for adapting the search terms from a previous meta-analysis (Franklin et al., 2009 ) was to collect outcomes studies and if feasible (pending on the quality of the outcome data and enough effect sizes available) to do a meta-analysis of outcomes. Each database was searched using the search terms: (“school social work*”) AND (“effective*” OR “outcome*” OR “evaluat*” OR “measure*”). The first author did the initial search and also manually searched reference lists of relevant articles to identify additional publications. All references of included studies were combined and deduplicated for screening after completion of the manual search.

Eligibility Criteria

The same inclusion and exclusion criteria were used at all stages of the review process. Studies were included if they: (1) were original research studies, (2) were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals or were dissertations, (3) were published between 2000 and 2022, (4) described school social work services or identified school social workers as the practitioners, and (5) reported at least one outcome measure of the efficacy or effectiveness of social work services. Studies could be conducted in any country and were included for full-text review if they were published in English. The authors excluded: (1) qualitative studies, (2) method or conceptual papers, (3) interventions/services not led by school social workers, and (4) research papers that focused only on sample demographics (not on outcomes). Qualitative studies were excluded because though they often capture themes or ideas, experiences, and opinions, they rely on non-numeric data and do not quantify the outcomes of interventions, which is the focus of the present review. If some conditions of qualification were uncertain based on the review of the full text, verification emails were sent to the first author of the paper to confirm. Studies of school social workers as the sample population and those with non-accessible content were also excluded. If two or more articles (e.g., dissertation and journal articles) were identified with the same population and research aim, only the most recent journal publication was selected to avoid duplication. The protocol of the present scoping review can be retrieved from the Open Science Framework at  https://osf.io/4y6xp/?view_only=9a6b6b4ff0b84af09da1125e7de875fb .

A total of 1,619 records were initially identified. After removing duplicates, 834 remained. The first and the fourth author conducted title and abstract screening independently on Rayyan, an online platform for systematic reviews (Ouzzani et al., 2016 ). Another 760 records were removed from the title and abstract screening because they did not focus on school social work practice, were theory papers, or did not include any measures or outcomes, leaving 68 full-text articles to be screened for eligibility. Of these, 16 articles were selected for data analysis. An updated search conducted in June 2022 identified two additional studies. The combined searches resulted in a total of 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The first and the fourth author convened bi-weekly meetings to resolve disagreements on decisions. Reasons and number for exclusion at full-text review were reported in the reasons for exclusion in the PRISMA chart. The PRISMA literature search results are presented in Fig.  1 .

PRISMA Literature Search Record

Data Extraction

A data extraction template was created to aid in the review process. The information collected from each reference consists of three parts: publication information, program features, and practice characteristics and outcomes. Five references were randomly selected to pilot-test the template, and revisions were made accordingly. To assess the quality of the publication and determine the audiences these studies reached, information on the publications was gathered. The publication information included author names, publication year, country/region, publication type, journal name, impact factor, and the number of articles included. The journal information and impact factors came from the Journal Citation Reports generated by Clarivate Analytics Web of Science (n.d.). An impact factor rating is a proxy for the relative influence of a journal in academia and is computed by dividing the number of citations for all articles by the total number of articles published in the two previous years (Garfield, 2006 ). Publication information is presented in Table ​ Table1. 1 . Program name, targeted population, sample size, demographics, targeted issues, treatment characteristics, MTSS level, and main findings (i.e., outcomes) are included in Table ​ Table2. 2 . Finally, intervention features consisting of study aim and design, manualization, practitioners’ credential, fidelity control, type of intervention, quality assessment, and outcome measurement are presented in Table ​ Table3. 3 . Tables ​ Tables2 2 and ​ and3 3 are published as open access for review and downloaded in the Texas Data Repository (Ding, 2023 ).

Journals Reviewed, Impact Factor, and Number of Articles Selected for Review

* The definition of impact factor (IF) is from Journal Citation Reports produced by Clarivate Analytics. IF is calculated based on a two-year period by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the two previous years

General Information on the Included School Social Work Practices

Note. Bx behavior, ed education, yo years old, yr = year. tx treatment, w  with, T treatment group, C control group, INT intervention, CON control, FRPL Free/Reduced prices lunch, IEP Individualized education program, CBT cognitive behavior therapy, BST Behavior skill training, HADS-A Hospital anxiety and depression scale

Characteristics of the Included Research Studies

Note. NR Not reported, NA Not applicable, h hours, tx treatment, wk week, SSW School social work, IOA Interobserver agreement, SS single subject, AB baseline and intervention, SBC Student behavior checklist, GPA Grade point average, SRAS-C-R School refusal assessment scale-children-revised, SRAS-P-R School refusal assessment scale-parent-revised, CD-RISC Connor-davidson resilience scale, FAD-GFS McMaster family assessment device general functioning scale, PSS Perceived stress scale, PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder, PC-PTSD Primary care post-traumatic stress disorder screen, RYDM Resilience youth development module, CHKS The California healthy kids survey, CPSS Child PTSD symptom scale, CDI Children depression inventory, TRF Teacher report form, BRIC Behavior rating index for children, HPC  Problem checklist, BERS The behavioral and emotional rating scale, SSRS The social skills rating system. SSP The school success profile, BDI Beck depression inventory. DAS Dysfunctional attitudes scale, PGIS-II Personal growth initiative scale II, GHQ-12 Chinese general health questionnaire-12, Q-LES-Q-18 Abbreviated quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction questionnaire, PSI Parenting stress index- parent domain, PSOC Parenting sense of competence scale- efficacy subscale

The 18 extracted records were coded based on the data extraction sheet. The first and the fourth authors acted as the first and the second coder for the review. An inter-rater reliability of 98.29% was reached after the two coders independently completed the coding process.

Quality Assessment

The quality of the eligible studies (e.g., methodological rigor, intervention consistency) was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (Evans et al., 2015 ). Specifically, each included study was assessed for selection bias, study design, confounders, blinding, data collection method, dropouts or withdrawals, intervention integrity, and analyses. The first and fourth authors rated each category independently, aggregated ratings, and came to a consensus to assign an overall quality rating of strong, moderate, or weak for each of the 18 studies.

Data Analysis

Due to the heterogeneity of the interventions, study purposes, methods, and measurements of the selected studies, and the lack of outcome data to calculate effect sizes, a meta-analysis was not feasible. Hence, the authors emphasized the scoping nature of this review, data were narratively synthesized, and descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentage, mode, minimum, maximum, and range) were reported. Characteristics of included studies include topics, settings, participants, practice information (e.g., type of services, practitioner credential, MTSS modality, and other characteristics), and program efficacy. Within each reported category of interest, consistency and differences regarding the selected studies were synthesized. Unique features and reasons for some particular results were explained using analysis evidence according to the characteristics of the study.

Overall Description of Included Studies

Of the 18 included studies, 16 were reported in articles that appeared in 11 different peer-reviewed journals, and two were dissertations (Magnano, 2009 ; Phillips, 2004 ). Information on each of the 11 journals was hand-searched to insure thoroughness. Of the 11 journals, seven were in the field of social work, with one journal covering social work as it relates to public health; one was a school psychology journal; one a medical journal covering pediatric psychiatry; and one journal focused on child, adolescent, and family psychology. The most frequently appearing journal was Children & Schools , a quarterly journal covering direct social work services for children (Oxford University Press, 2022 ). An impact factor (IF) was identified for six of the 11 journals. Of the six journals with an IF rating, four were social work journals. The IF of journals in which the included studies were published ranged from 1.128 to 12.113 (Clarivate Analytics, n.d.). Of the 18 studies, 5 studies (28%) were rated as methodologically strong, 8 studies were rated as moderate (44%), and 5 studies were rated as weak (28%).

The studies were conducted in five different geographical areas of the world. One study was conducted in the Middle East (5.56%), one in north Africa (5.56%), one in Eastern Europe (5.56%), two in East Asia (11.11%), and the rest (13 studies) in the USA (72.22%).

Research Design and Fidelity Control

Concerning research design, most included studies used a pre-posttest design without a comparison group ( n  = 10, 61.11%), one used a single case baseline intervention design (5.56%), six (33.33%) used a quasi-experimental design, and one (5.56%) used an experimental design. For the control or comparison group, the experimental design study and four of the six quasi-experimental design studies used a waitlist or no treatment control/comparison group; one quasi-experimental design study offered delayed treatment, and one quasi-experimental design study offered treatment as usual. Nine studies (50%) reported that training was provided to the practitioners prior to the study to preserve fidelity of the intervention, four studies (22.22%) reported offering both training and ongoing supervision to the practitioners, and one study (5.56%) reported providing supervision only.

Study Sample Characteristics

Across the 18 included studies, the total number of participants was 1,194. In three studies, the participant group (sample) was no more than ten, while in nine studies, the intervention group was more than 40. Overall, there was a balance in terms of students’ sex, with boys comprising an average of 55.51% of the total participants in all studies. There were slightly more studies of middle school or high school students ( n  = 8) than pre-K or elementary school students ( n  = 5). Across the eight studies that reported students’ race or ethnicity, 13.33% of the students were Black, 18.41% were White, 54.60% were Latinx, 12.38% were Asian, and 1.27% were categorized as “other.” Although the studies reviewed were not restricted to the USA, the large number of Latinx participants from two studies (Acuna et al., 2018 ; Kataoka et al., 2003 ) might have skewed the overall proportions of the race/ethnicity composition of the study samples. As an indicator of socioeconomic status, eight studies reported information on free/reduced-price lunches (FRPL). The percentage of students who received interventions that qualified for FRPL varied from 53.3 to 87.9%. Five studies reported the percentage of students enrolled in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or special education, ranging from 15.4% to 100%.

Variation in School Social Work Services

The services carried out or co-led by school social workers varied greatly. They included services focused on students’ mental health/behavioral health; academic performance; school environment; student development and functioning in school, classroom, and home settings; and parenting. More specifically, these interventions targeted students’ depression and anxiety (Kataoka et al., 2003 ; Phillips, 2004 ; Wong et al., 2018a ), social, emotional, and behavioral skills development (Acuna et al., 2018 ;Chupp & Boes, 2012 ; Ervin et al., 2018 ; Magnano, 2009 ; Newsome, 2005 ; Thompson & Webber, 2010 ), school refusal and truancy (Elsherbiny et al., 2017 ; Newsome et al., 2008 ; Young et al., 2020 ), trauma/PTSD prevention, community violence, and students’ resilience (Al-Rasheed et al., 2021 ;Ijadi-Maghsoodi et al., 2017 ; Kataoka et al., 2003 ; Wong et al., 2018a ), homework completion and grade-point average improvement (Chupp & Boes, 2012 ; Magnano, 2009 ; Newsomoe, 2005 ), parental stress (Fein et al., 2021 ; Wong et al., 2018b ), family functioning (Fein et al., 2021 ), and parenting competence and resilience (Wong et al., 2018b ). All of the studies were school-based (100%), and the most common setting for providing school social work services was public schools.

Diverse Interventions to Promote Psychosocial Outcomes

Services can be grouped into six categories: evidence-based programs or curriculums (EBP), general school social work services, case management, short-term psychosocial interventions, long-term psychosocial intervention, and pilot program. Seven studies (38.89%) were EBPs, and four (57.14%) of the seven EPBs were fully manualized (Acuna et al., 2018 ; Al-Rasheed et al., 2021 ; Fein et al., 2021 ; Thompson & Webber, 2010 ). Two EBPs (28.57%) were partially manualized (Ijadi-Maghsoodi et al., 2017 ; Kelly & Bluestone-Miller, 2009 ), one did not report on manualization (Chupp & Boes, 2012 ), and one is a pilot study trying to build the program’s evidence base (Young et al., 2020 ). The second-largest category was short-term psychosocial interventions reported in six (33.33%) of the studies; they included cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), and social/emotional skills training. One study reported on a long-term psychosocial intervention (Elsherbiny et al., 2017 ), and one was a case management program (Magnano, 2009 ). Two studies included general school social work services (e.g., one-on-one interventions with children and youth, group counseling, phone calls, official and informal conversations with teachers and parents, check-ins with students at school, and collaboration with outside agencies) (Newsome et al., 2008 ; Sadzaglishvili et al., 2020 ).

Program Population

Of the 18 interventions, seven (38.89%) involved students only (Al-Rasheed et al., 2021 ;Chupp & Boes, 2012 ; Ervin et al., 2018 ; Newsome, 2005 ; Phillips, 2004 ; Wong et al., 2018a ; Young et al., 2020 ). One program (5.56%) worked with parent–child dyads (Acuna et al., 2018 ), and two (11.11%) worked directly with students’ parents (Fein et al., 2021 ; Wong et al., 2018b ). Four interventions (22.22%) involved students, parents, and teachers (Elsherbiny et al., 2017 ; Kataoka et al., 2003 ; Magnano, 2009 ), two (11.11%) were with students and their teachers (Kelly & Bluestone-Miller, 2009 ; Thompson & Webber, 2010 ), and two (11.11%) were more wholistically targeted at students, parents, and their families as service units (Newsome et al., 2008 ; Sadzaglishvili et al., 2020 ).

Practitioners and Credentials

School social workers often collaborate with school counselors, psychologists, and schoolteachers in their daily practice. As for the titles and credentials of those providing the interventions, twelve interventions were conducted solely by school social workers (Acuna et al., 2018 ; Fein et al., 2021 ; Ijadi-Maghsoodi et al., 2017 ; Kataoka et al., 2003 ; Kelly & Bluestone-Miller, 2009 ; Magnano, 2009 ; Newsome, 2005 ; Newsome et al., 2008 ; Phillips et al., 2004 ; Sadzaglishvili et al., 2020 ; Wong et al., 2018a , 2018b ). Four social service programs were co-led by school social workers, school counselors and school psychologists (Al-Rasheed et al., 2021 ; Chupp & Boes, 2012 ; Elsherbiny et al., 2017 ; Young et al., 2020 ). School social workers and schoolteachers collaborated in two interventions (Ervin et al., 2018 ; Thompson & Webber, 2010 ).

The most common credential of school social workers in the included studies was master’s-level licensed school social worker/trainee, which accounted for 62.50% of the studies (Acuna et al., 2018 ; Fein et al., 2021 ; Kataoka et al., 2003 ; Newsome, 2005 ; Phillips, 2004 ). Two studies did not specify level of education but noted that the practitioners’ credential was licensed school social worker (Ijadi-Maghsoodi et al., 2017 ; Wong et al., 2018a ). One intervention was conducted by both master’s and bachelor’s level social work trainees; however, the first author confirmed that they were all registered school social workers with the Hong Kong Social Work Registration Board (Wong et al., 2018b ).

Services by Tier

The predominant level of school social work services was tier 2 interventions (55.56%), with 10 interventions or services offered by school social workers falling into this category (Acuna et al., 2018 ; Elsherbiny et al., 2017 ; Ervin et al., 2018 ; Fein et al., 2021 ; Kataoka et al., 2003 ; Newsome, 2005 ; Phillips, 2004 ; Thompson & Webber, 2010 ; Wong et al., 2018a , 2018b ). The second largest category was tier 1 interventions, with five studies (27.78%) falling into this category (Al-Rasheed et al., 2021 ;Chupp & Boes, 2012 ; Ijadi-Maghsoodi et al., 2017 ; Kelly & Bluestone-Miller, 2009 ; Sadzaglishvili et al., 2020 ). Only three (16.67%) were tier 3 services (Magnano, 2009 ; Newsome et al., 2008 ; Young et al., 2020 ).

Intervention Modality and Duration under MTSS

Most services ( n  = 15, 83.33%) were small-group based or classroom-wide interventions (Al-Rasheed et al., 2021 ; Chupp & Boes, 2012 ; Elsherbiny et al., 2017 ; Ervin et al., 2018 ; Fein et al., 2021 ; Ijadi-Maghsoodi et al., 2017 ; Kataoka et al., 2003 ; Kelly & Bluestone-Miller, 2009 ; Newsome, 2005 ; Phillips, 2004 ; Sadzaglishvili et al., 2020 ; Thompson & Webber, 2010 ; Wong et al., 2018a , 2018b ). One tier 2 intervention was carried out in both individual and group format (Acuna et al., 2018 ). Of the three tier 3 intervention studies, one reported using case management to serve individual students (Magnano, 2009 ), and two included both individual intervention, group counseling, and case management (Newsom et al., 2008 ; Young et al., 2020 ).

Intervention length and frequency varied substantially across studies. Services were designed to last from 6 weeks to more than 13 months. There were as short as a 5- to 10-min student–school social worker conferences (Thompson & Webber, 2010 ), or as long as a three-hour cognitive behavioral group therapy session (Wong et al., 2018b ).

Social Behavioral and Academic Outcomes

Most of the interventions focused on improving students’ social, behavioral, and academic outcomes, including child behavior correction/reinforcement, social–emotional learning (SEL), school attendance, grades, and learning attitudes. Ervin and colleagues ( 2018 ) implemented a short-term psychosocial intervention to reduce students’ disruptive behaviors, and Magnano ( 2009 ) used intensive case management to manage students’ antisocial and aggressive behaviors. Both interventions were found to be effective, i.e., there were statistically significant improvements at the end of treatment, with Ervin et al. ( 2018 ) reporting a large effect size using Cohen’s d. The SEL programs were designed to foster students’ resilience, promote self-esteem, respect, empathy, and social support, and teach negotiation, conflict resolution, anger management, and goal setting at a whole-school or whole-class level (Al-Rasheed et al., 2021 ; Chupp & Boes, 2012 ; Ijadi-Maghsooodi et al., 2017 ; Newsome, 2005 ). Students in all SEL interventions showed significant improvement at the end of treatment, and one study reported medium to small effect sizes (Cohen’s d) for problem-solving and overall internal assets, such as empathy, self-efficacy, problem-solving, and self-awareness (Ijadi-Maghsooodi et al., 2017 ).

Four studies measured the intervention’s impact on students’ academic performance. Magnano and colleagues ( 2009 ) reported that at the completion of the school social work case management intervention, academic skills were improved among both the intervention group students and the cross-over (control) group students who received the intervention at a later time. One study specifically addressed students’ school refusal behaviors and attitudes and found improvement in the treatment group at posttest and six-month follow-up (Elsherbiny et al., 2017 ). Two studies that addressed students’ absenteeism and truancy exhibited efficacy. School social work services significantly reduced risk factors related to truant behaviors (Newsome et al., 2008 ), and attendance increased post-program participation and was maintained after one, two, and three months (Young et al., 2020 ).

Students’ Psychological Distress

The studies that addressed students’ mental health focused on psychological distress, especially adolescents’ depression and anxiety. In three studies, school social workers conducted short-term psychosocial interventions, all using group-based CBT (Kataoka et al., 2003 ; Phillips, 2004 ; Wong et al., 2018a ). Kataoka and colleagues ( 2003 ) reported that bilingual, bicultural school social workers delivered group CBT in Spanish to help immigrant students cope with depressive symptoms due to violence exposure. Similarly, Wong and colleagues ( 2018a ) delivered group CBT in Chinese schools using their native language to address teenagers’ anxiety disorders. In the Kataoka et al. ( 2003 ) study, all student participants were reported to have made improvements at the end of the intervention, although there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention group and waitlisted comparison group. Phillips ( 2004 ) reported an eta-squared of 0.148 for cognitive-behavioral social skills training, indicating a small treatment effect. One study used a resilience classroom curriculum to relieve trauma exposure and observed lower odds of positive PTSD scores at posttest, but the change was not statistically significant (Ijadi-Maghsoodi et al., 2017 ).

School Climate and School Culture

Regarding school social workers’ interest in school climate and school culture, Kelly and Bluestone-Miller ( 2009 ) and Sadzaglishvili and colleagues ( 2020 ) specifically focused on creating a positive learning environment and promoting healthy school culture and class climate. Kelly and Bluestone-Miller ( 2009 ) used Working on What Works (WOWW), a program grounded in the SFBT approach to intervene in a natural classroom setting to build respectful learning. Students were allowed to choose how to respond to expectations regarding their classroom performance (e.g., students list the concrete small goals to work upon in order to create a better learning environment), and teachers were coached to facilitate, ask the right questions, and provide encouragement and appropriate timely feedback. Sadzaglishvili and colleagues ( 2020 ) used intensive school social work services (e.g., case management, task-centered practice, advocacy, etc.) to support students’ learning, whole-person development, and improve school culture. At the end of the services, both studies reported a more positive school and class climate that benefited students’ behaviors and performance at school.

Teacher, Parent, and Student Interaction

Four studies addressed interactions among teachers, parents, and students to achieve desired outcomes. For instance, two studies provided a mesosystem intervention (e.g., a parent’s meeting with the teacher at the public school the child attended, which encompasses both the home and school settings). Acuna and colleagues ( 2018 ) provided a school-based parent–child interaction intervention to improve children’s behaviors at school and home, boost attendance, and improve academic outcomes. Similarly, Thompson and Webber ( 2010 ) intervened in the teacher–student relationship to realign students’ and teachers’ perceptions of school and classroom norms and improve students’ behaviors. Additionally, two interventions targeted the exosystem (e.g., positive environmental change to improve students’ stability, in order to promote school behaviors and academic performance). Kelly and Bluestone-Miller ( 2009 ) modeled solution-focused approaches as a philosophy undergirding classroom interactions between teachers and students. The positive learning environment further improved students’ class performance. Magnano and colleagues ( 2009 ) used a case management model by linking parents, teachers, and outside school resources to increase students’ support and achieve improvements in academic skills and children’s externalizing behaviors.

Parents’ Wellbeing

Most school counselors or school psychologists focus solely on serving students, while school social workers may also serve students’ parents. Two studies reported working directly and only with parents to improve parents’ psychological outcomes (Fein et al., 2021 ; Wong et al., 2018b ). Fein and colleagues ( 2021 ) reported a school-based trauma-informed resilience curriculum specifically adapted for school social workers to deliver to racial/ethnic minority urban parents of children attending public schools. At curriculum completion, parents’ overall resilience improved, but significance was attained in only one resilience item (“I am able to adapt when changes occur”) with a small effect size using Cohen’s d. Wong et al. ( 2018b ) studied school-based culturally attuned group-based CBT for parents of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); significantly greater improvements in the CBT parent group were found in distress symptoms, quality of life, parenting stress, competence, and dysfunctional beliefs post-intervention and at three-month follow-up .

This scoping review examined school social work practice by systematically analyzing the services school social workers delivered based on 18 outcome studies published between 2000 and 2022. The programs, interventions, or services studied were conducted by school social workers in five different countries/regions. These studies captured the essence of school social workers’ roles in mental health/behavioral health and social services in education settings provided to children, youth, families, and schoolteachers, and the evidence on practice outcomes/efficacy was presented.

Although using EBP, promoting a healthy school climate and culture, and maximizing community resources are important aspects of the existing school social work practice model in the USA (NASW, 2012 ), this review revealed and validated that school social workers in other countries used similar practices and shared a common understanding of what benefits the students, families, and the schools they serve (Huxtable, 2022 ). The findings also support the broad roles of school social workers and the collaborative ways they provide social and mental health services in schools. The review discussed school social workers’ functions in (1) helping children, youth, families, and teachers address mental health and behavioral health problems, (2) improving social–emotional learning, (3) promoting a positive learning environment, and (4) maximizing students’ and families’ access to school and community resources. Furthermore, although previous researchers argued that the lack of clarity about school social worker’s roles contributed to confusion and underutilization of school social work services (Altshuler & Webb, 2009 ; Kelly et al., 2010a ), this study revealed that in the past two decades, school social workers are fulfilling their roles as mental/behavioral health providers and case managers, guided by a multi-tiered, ecological systems approach. For example, in more than 80% of the studies, the services provided were preventive group work at tier 1 or 2 levels and operated from a systems perspective. Additionally, the findings suggest that while school social workers often provide services at the individual level, they frequently work across systems and intervene at meso- and exo-systems levels to attain positive improvements for individual students and families.

Evidence-based School Social Work Practice and MTSS

The present review supported school social workers’ use of evidence-based programs and valid psychosocial interventions such as CBT, SFBT, and social–emotional learning to foster a positive learning environment and meet students’ needs. Most of the included EBPs (85.71%) were either fully or partially manualized, and findings from the current review added evidence to sustain the common elements of general school social work practice, such as doing case management, one-on-one individual and group counseling, collaborations with teachers, parents, and community agencies. One pilot study examined the effectiveness of a school social worker-developed program (Young et al., 2020 ), which provided a helpful example for future research practice collaboration to build evidence base for school social work practice. However, although school social workers often work with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) student populations facing multiple risk factors, demographic information on race/ethnicity, special education enrollment, and socioeconomic status were missing in many included studies, which obstructed examination of the degree of match between the target population’s needs and evidence-based services or interventions provided.

Previous school social work national surveys conducted in the USA (Kelly et al., 2010a , 2015 ) found a discrepancy between the actual and ideal time expense on tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 school social work activities. Even though school social workers would like to spend most of their time on primary prevention, they actually spent twice their time on secondary and tertiary prevention than on primary prevention (Kelly et al., 2010a ). However, the present review found that most interventions or evidence-based programs conducted by school social workers were tier 1 and tier 2, especially tier 2 targeted interventions delivered in a group modality. This discrepancy could be due to the focus of this review’s limited services to those provided by professionals with a school social worker title/credential both in the USA and internationally, and tier 2 and 3 activities were grouped together as one category called secondary and tertiary prevention in the school social work survey (Kelly et al., 2010a ). Our review highlights that tier 2 preventive interventions are a significant offering in school social worker-led, school-based mental health practice. Unlike tier 1 interventions that are designed to promote protective factors and prevent potential threats for all students, or intensive tier 3 interventions that demand tremendous amounts of time and energy from practitioners and often involve community agencies (Eber et al., 2002 ), tier 2 interventions are targeted to groups of students exhibiting certain risk factors and are more feasible and flexible in addressing their academic and behavioral needs. Moreover, considering the discrepancy between the high demand for services on campuses and the limited number of school social workers, using group-based tier 2 interventions that have been rigorously examined can potentially relieve practitioners’ caseload burdens while targeting students’ needs more effectively and efficiently.

School Social Work Credential

Recent research on school social workers’ practice choices showed that school social workers who endorsed primary prevention in MTSS and ecologically informed practice are more likely to have a graduate degree, be regulated by certification standards, and have less than ten years of work experience (Thompson et al., 2019 ). Globally, although data are limited, having a bachelor's or master’s degree to practice school social work has been reported in countries in North America, Europe, and the Middle East (Huxtable, 2022 ). Even though all practitioners in the present review held the title of “school social worker,” and the majority had a master’s degree, we suggest future research to evaluate school social work practitioners’ credentials by reporting their education, certificate/licensure status, and years of work experience in the education system, as these factors may be essential in understanding school social workers’ functioning.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

School social workers are an integral part of the school mental health workforce in education settings and often work in interdisciplinary teams that include schoolteachers, administrators, school counselors, and school psychologists (Huxtable, 2022 ). This scoping review found that one-third of interventions school social workers conducted were either co-led or delivered in collaboration with school counselors, school psychologists, or schoolteachers. Future research examining characteristics and outcomes of school social work practice should consider school social workers’ efforts in grounding themselves in ecological systems by working on interdisciplinary teams to address parent–child interactions, realign teacher–student classroom perceptions, or student–teacher–classroom culture to improve students’ mental health and promote better school performance.

Study Limitations and Directions for Future Research

A scoping review is a valuable method for exploring a field that has not yet been extensively reviewed or is heterogeneous. Thus, a scoping review was chosen as the research method to examine school social work practice outcomes for this study. Although scoping reviews are generally considered rigorous, transparent, and replicable, the present study has several limitations. First, only published dissertations and journal articles published between 2000 and 2022 that were included in the seven aforementioned databases were reviewed. Government reports and other gray literature excluded from the present review might generate more results requiring critical evaluation and discussion. Second, although school social work practice is ecological system-centered, all studies analyzed in the present scoping review were school-based programs. The search terms did not include possible alternative settings. More extensive searches might identify additional results by specifying home or community settings. Third, this paper focused on the outcomes and efficacy of the most current school social work practices so that qualitative studies or studies that focus on practitioners’ demographics were excluded even though they might provide additional information on the characteristics of social workers. Last, evidence to support school social work interventions was based primarily on pre-posttest designs without the use of a control group, and some of the identified evidence-based programs or brief psychosocial interventions lacked sufficient information on participants’ characteristics (e.g., demographics, changes in means in outcomes), which are important in calculating practice effect sizes and potential moderators for meta-analysis to examine school social workers’ roles and effectiveness in carrying out these interventions.

The present scoping review found significant variation in school social work services in the US and other countries where school social work services have been studied. Social workers are a significant part of the mental health and social services workforce. Using schools as a natural hub, school social workers offer primary preventive groups or early interventions to students, parents, and staff. Their interests include but are not restricted to social behavioral and academic outcomes; psychological distress; school climate and culture; teacher, parent, and student interactions; and parental wellbeing. Future school mental health researchers who are interested in the role of school social work services in helping children, youth, and families should consider the changing education landscape and the response to intervention after the COVID-19 pandemic/endemic (Capp et al., 2021 ; Kelly et al., 2021 ; Watson et al., 2022 ). Researchers are also encouraged to collaborate with school social work practitioners to identify early mental health risk factors, recognize appropriate tier 2 EBPs, or pilot-test well-designed programs to increase students’ success.

Declarations

We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the scoping review.

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Social Work: Research Overview

• School of Social Work
• Literature Reviews
• Scoping Vs Systematic Reviews
• Search Strategies
• APA Tutorials and Software
• Paper Formatting Basics
• Citation Tips
• Qualitative Vs Quantitative
• Primary Vs Secondary Resources
• Data Management
• Research Mavs

Scoping Reviews

Systematic Review

• Scoping Review: Explained!
• PRISMA 2020 Example
• Process and Tools

• Joko Gunawan, PhD Youtube Channel He has other videos on different types of review styles which can be a useful tool.

• Scoping Reviews: Tools This is a guide with links that can be helpful on guides and tools on scoping reviews from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Systematic Reviews

• Systematic Review: Explained!
• About Systematic Reviews
• General Steps
• Time Commitment

Levels of Research Evidence

Systematic reviews are considered the highest form of evidence as they are an accumulation of research on one topic. Cochrane Systematic Reviews are considered the most rigorous systematic reviews being done .

Narrative Literature Review Systematic Literature Review Broad Narrow Not specified, potentially biased Comprehensive sources and search approach explicitly specified Not usually specified, potentially biased uniformly applied preselected inclusion/exclusion criteria Variable Rigorous critical evaluation Often qualitative, quantitative through meta-analysis* Often qualitative, quantitative through meta-analysis* * Meta-analysis  is a method of statistically combining the results of multiple studies in order to arrive at a quantitative conclusion about a body of literature and is most often used to assess the clinical effectiveness of healthcare interventions ("Meta-analysis", 2008). Steps for a Systematic Review Develop an answerable question  Check for recent systematic reviews   Agree on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria  Develop a system to organize data and notes Devise reproducible search methods  Launch and track exhaustive search  Organize search results  Reproduce search results  Abstract data into a standardized format Synthesize data using statistical methods (meta-analysis)   Write about what you found To learn more, see this presentation. Timeline for a Cochrane Review Table reproduced from Cochrane systematic reviews handbook. Recommended Guidelines The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions is the official document that describes in detail the process of preparing and maintaining Cochrane systematic reviews on the effects of healthcare interventions. Welcome to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) website! PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PRISMA focuses on the reporting of reviews evaluating randomized trials, but can also be used as a basis for reporting systematic reviews of other types of research, particularly evaluations of interventions. The JBI Reviewers’ Manual is designed to provide authors with a comprehensive guide to conducting JBI systematic reviews. It describes in detail the process of planning, undertaking and writing up a systematic review of qualitative, quantitative, economic, text and opinion based evidence. It also outlines JBI support mechanisms for those doing review work and opportunities for publication and training. The JBI Reviewers Manual should be used in conjunction with the JBI SUMARI User Guide. These standards are for systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research of therapeutic medical or surgical interventions Green, S., & Higgins, J. P. T. (editors). (2011). Chapter 2: Preparing a Cochrane review. In J. P. T. Higgins, & S. Green (Eds.).  Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions  (Version 5.1.0). Available from  http://handbook.cochrane.org Meta-Analysis. (2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.),  International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences  (2nd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 104-105). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. << Previous: Literature Reviews Next: Search Strategies >> Last Updated: Aug 16, 2024 4:29 PM URL: https://libguides.uta.edu/c.php?g=1388834 University of Texas Arlington Libraries 702 Planetarium Place · Arlington, TX 76019 · 817-272-3000 Internet Privacy Accessibility Problems with a guide? Contact Us. 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With our unique collaboration with Mayo Clinic, as well as top-notch facilities and expert faculty, you will have access to one-of-a-kind opportunities that will enhance your knowledge and make you a standout job applicant. Centennial Hall 3015 1698 Park Avenue Eau Claire , WI 54701 United States University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 105 Garfield Avenue  P.O. Box 4004  Eau Claire, WI 54702-4004  715-836-4636 Shadow Health® Put the patient at the forefront of the learning experience with high-fidelity screen-based simulations with Shadow Health’s Digital Clinical Experiences™. Shadow Health is available for undergraduate and graduate nursing, as well as for novice nurses in healthcare organizations . Why Shadow Health? 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Student Performance Index™ You and your students see immediate, valid, and reliable measurements of clinical reasoning. These measurements include proficiency levels and detailed feedback to identify areas of strength and opportunities for remediation. Digital Clinical Experiences™ Learn more about the nurse educators behind Shadow Health's simulations. Bringing Real-World Experience to Simulation Design Tina, Lucas and Tanner  are just three of the Digital Standardized Patients™ that are part of Shadow Health’s simulations for undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. These ​​Digital Clinical Experiences™ are a vital part of the education of more than 700,000 nursing students across the country – giving them the opportunity to practice as often as they need with realistic, simulated patients. Undergraduate DCEs Graduate DCEs Research & Articles Screen-Based Patient Simulation – An Exemplar for Developing and Assessing Competency The purpose of this research study was to determine if virtual patient simulation is an effective strategy to assist learners in meeting competencies and sub-competencies outlined in the AACN Essentials. NorQuest College Boosts Student Performance and Lowers Faculty Grading Time with Shadow Health For nursing students, getting a complete health history from a patient is a critical skill that is necessary as a foundation for successful patient care. But leaders at NorQuest College, a publicly funded community college in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, realized that their instruction plan was limiting how students could integrate their learning. Learning to Bring Comfort to Patients and Families Through Palliative and Hospice Simulations Of all the vital functions of nurses, palliative and hospice care is one of the most impactful. When patients are approaching end-of-life situations, the conversations nurses have with both patients and their families are difficult, sensitive, and at times contentious. Using the Digital Clinical Experiences™ as Evidence for the Accreditation Process Learn how Shadow Health’s Digital Clinical Experiences™ can demonstrate high quality education outcomes for nursing programs to use as evidence during the accreditation process. The Value of Virtual Patient Scenarios Learn how virtual patient scenarios like Shadow Health can provide positive clinical judgment skill development for your students. Research suggests that high-fidelity simulations can be more realistic and challenging than traditional methods. Measuring Efficiency in Nursing Student Patient Care Skills Using the Digital Clinical Experiences (DCE) ™ Discover how the Shadow Health Digital Clinical Experiences™ help 82% of learners increase efficiency. Our research-backed program helps improve data collection, therapeutic communication, and care planning. Testimonials “health assessment has really improved my assessment skills, and how to do different types of focused assessments that i do not ordinarily do. it also makes me think deeper about how the different systems interact with one another, and reminds me that all are vitally important.” - nursing student, “pharmacology helped to improve my therapeutic communication as well as interview effectively so i could get the necessary information needed to properly care for my patient.” - nursing student, “shadow health provides many helpful tactics to help assess a patient in real life. i tried to assess someone before i even took a look at health assessment and i was clueless. after looking at these assignments, things became so much more easier on me. i started imagining myself working on tina jones and pretty much bringing the assignment to life.” - nursing student, “shadow health has helped me gain better assessment skills. this is something that all new nurses should have the chance in participating in to get more comfortable with the question/answer part of assessments. gerontology is helpful in the fact that we will be facing or maybe have already faced the elderly patient with cognitive deficits. the way in which we need to addressed certain questions and situations will be different. i appreciate the practice.” - nursing student, “this mental health assignment helps to explain mental status exam better, and allows you to practice assessment skills that are needed for nursing. you also get to encounter different types of patients with unique mental illnesses which is very helpful” - nursing student, “i feel that shadow health is a great way to practice providing care virtually and prepare for real-life experience because it has really made me think about how to ask questions and work on getting better at asking questions. i would recommend others to use the pediatrics dce as it does challenge critical thinking skills.” - nursing student, “i love being able to practice my skills prior to being in an actual clinical settings. certain assessment findings require follow up, and i struggle with that currently but health assessment allows me to have the time to correctly formulate my thoughts. i think this is a great learning tool” - nursing student, “shadow health is a wonderful tool that all nursing students should use. i love this way of learning because it is very interactive. i find pharmacology assignments are a very simple and easy way to learn medications. they give me the opportunity to learn patient interaction and teaching, as well as, medication management and my personal education of the different types of medications, what they're used for, side effect, and dosages.” - nursing student, “i am glad we were given the chance to practice on a geriatric patient because when it comes to real life i find myself nervous but eager to help. this simulation gave me the chance to practice my therapeutic communication skills.” - nursing student, “i find this mental health dce has helped me in many aspects of my nursing career. i am a returning student but i am still a practicing nurse and shadow health has improved my skills as a nurse, in and out of the classroom.” - nursing student, “through shadow health, i have gotten way better at my patient interviews and am able to gain the client's trust and establish a great rapport with the pediatric client and their family in the clinical setting. ” - nursing student, “i found this very valuable to my learning. i liked how i was responsible for the teaching and conversations with the patient. it pushed me to recall my knowledge and put it in to practice.” - nursing student, “i believe the maternal health simulation helped me learn how to improve on my education and how to teach a mother what to do in all parts of labor. i learned that i need to work on helping a timid patient feel more comfortable during my assessment.” - nursing student, “taking shadow health's leadership simulation has forced me to think beyond the scope of everyday delivery of nursing care. it forces me to think as a leader and how to handle interprofessional communications. in addition, it has helped with talking to and solving everyday problems with patients in a very professional manner without hurting anyone while adhering to organization's policies and procedures.” - nursing student, “as i continue to complete assignments within shadow health i am increasing my understanding of many aspects of nursing. i am utilizing aspects of nursing that i haven't had the opportunities to do in my clinical setting so far. an example from the leadership assignments is the use of sbar while communicating to a health care provider.” - nursing student, “the advanced pathophysiology exercises review the knowledge that i learned in the patho course which reinforces my skills in clinicals as a nurse practitioner.” - nursing student, “i absolutely love my shadow health assignments. i am so thankful for the visual animations of certain processes. the advanced pathophysiology dce has seriously been helpful to me to be able to understand fully certain concepts, even though i've been a nurse for 16 years.” - nursing student, “the advanced diagnostics exercise helps me think critically in finding the right diagnostic test to support my differential diagnosis. this simulation will help me through my np program and be able to utilize in the clinical settings.” - nursing student, “advanced diagnostics is a really great learning experience. it really aids in the clinical thinking processes and helps with understanding how to diagnose” - nursing student, “utilizing shadow health has greatly assisted me not just being more proficient at the patient interview, but also being more comfortable in my interview skills of asking appropriate and relevant questions toward the patient's care. the advanced pharmacology interactive sessions are also extremely helpful in visualizing the actual patient and body system involved making it more personal.” - nursing student, “i love shadow health. it helps me with patient assessment questions, prescribing and critical thinking about how to best treat my patient. it also makes me think about improving on my assessment and communication skills with patients. i would highly recommend this product in that the virtual reality patients made me feel like i was the provider. thank you shadow health for solidifying my reason for becoming an aprn.” - nursing student, “i really enjoy the content provided by shadow health and feel that i am getting a lot of experience and gaining knowledge by using this advanced health assessment program. i was able to further develop my assessment skills through this assignment and further develop my ability to put together a plan of care based on my assessment.” - nursing student, “this aha simulation is as real as it gets to actually examining and interacting with a patient. i learned to ask more probing questions to define, qualify, and quantify answers of the patient to facilitate a differential diagnosis.” - nursing student. For Shadow Health billing/invoicing questions, email our billing team or call 800-578-0528 press 2 for billing. Visit the Shadow Health Support Center for product support. Child-care spaces delayed for families working irregular hours 160 $10-a-day child-care spaces were supposed to open in may. Social Sharing Child-care spaces designed for families with irregular working hours won't be ready as soon as the Newfoundland and Labrador government thought. In November, Premier Andrew Furey said about 160 new $10-a-day spaces would be ready in May, or six months from the province's initial announcement.  Nearly nine months later, the spaces aren't available in St. John's, Bonavista and Corner Brook. At the construction site for a new child-care centre on St. Michael's Avenue in St. John's, Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell on Friday blamed the delays on logistical issues and safety regulations. "We did have some issues that we had to work through, in trying to get our sites open and operational, but we've overcome most of those obstacles," Howell said. Timeline skewed The child-care centre offering irregular hours in Labrador is open, contributing to the 10,100 spaces operating in Newfoundland and Labrador at $10 a day or less. About 1,600 spaces are currently in various stages of development. Howell said the province is on track to open the St. Michael's Avenue location operational in a few months. She said "a large portion" of the spaces in development will open this year.  "As with any project, there are things that you can't anticipate, and sometimes that just skews the timeline. But we're on track to have this one open and operational in the fall," she said.  About 3,300 parents are wait-listed for child-care services offered through the province's Early Learning Gateway. Since its launch in May, Howell says, about 100 families have found child care. Plans & pilot projects Howell and federal cabinet minister Gudie Hutchings also announced a three-year plan and pilot project to expand child care, early learning services, and provider hours. "We've got parents who work shift work, rotational work, servers in restaurants. They need options that fit their busy work schedule," Hutchings said. The pilot project will give parents up to 13 hours of care overnight and outside the usual 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. schedule at three locations.  The province is also creating 200 child-care spaces specifically for health-care workers in St. John's, Corner Brook, Bonavista, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Wabush. "Knowing that you have an appropriate care centre for your child while at work, whether it's in the daytime or at the evening or overnight, it provides peace of mind for parents," Howell said. In an emailed statement to CBC News, the federal opposition said the announcement was nothing more than a photo op — and that wait-lists for child-care spaces continue to grow across Canada. "Just like everything else he touches, Trudeau is making child-care worse for Canadian families," said Michelle Ferreri, Conservative critic for families, children and social development.  "Common sense Conservatives will fix Justin Trudeau's chaos, delays, and misery and bring lower prices and bigger paycheques so Canadian parents don't have to choose between putting food on the table for their kids and heating their homes," Ferreri said. Download our  free CBC News app  to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador.  Click here to visit our landing page . ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jenna Head is a journalist working with the CBC bureau in St. John's. With files from Jessica Singer Related Stories Ottawa lets N.B. subsidize more for-profit child-care spaces Long-delayed office space in Quarry Park switching to residential Add some “good” to your morning and evening. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the top stories in Newfoundland and Labrador. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply. Review of Social Work Education We led the review of social work education and our work on the review is continuing.. One of the key recommendations of the review was to establish a partnership approach to encourage and enable the full engagement of employers, educators and other key stakeholders to ensure continued improvement in quality and consistency of social work qualifying programmes. The Review Group recommended the development of a formal partnership at national level, with formal regional partnerships to support and enable a shared approach to professional learning and to ensure shared ownership, understanding and accountability across key partners. The Scottish Government has supported the establishment of a Social Work Education Partnership (SWEP) to facilitate this recommendation and we are working alongside partners in this. What else have we done so far Revised the Standards in Social Work Education (SiSWE) and embedded these throughout approved programmes in Scotland. Revised additional aspects of the Framework for Social Work Education including the entry requirements for approved programmes. Developed new arrangements for Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) for social service workers . What we are continuing to do Finalise work on revisions to the teaching, learning and assessment requirements for the Framework for Social Work Education in partnership with stakeholders. Continue to explore graduate level apprenticeships and other work-based routes into social work with the sector. Developing a national online resource for NQSW and their employers in Scotland. The following recommendations from the review require further work to explore implementation and funding implications so Scottish Ministers can consider them fully. We have started work in partnership with social work educators and employers in all these areas. Development of a shared approach to social work professional learning. Introduction of a mandatory, supported year for newly qualified social workers (NQSW). Widening access to social work education. Find out more For more information please contact Anne Tavendale at: [email protected] Read more about the background to the Review of Social Work Education, research and reports and our consultation on the Standards in Social Work Education here . Careers and Education   Getting started Careers ambassadors Qualifications Modern apprenticeships Information for providers Case studies Inspiring Care Stories Start your life changing career in social services by exploring our careers website. Learning Zone Watch our short film to discover what you’ll find on our Learning Zone. Open Badges Get recognition of your informal learning by claiming Open Badges. There are lots of topics to choose from to support your development. Other websites by the SSSC The sssc has created a number of other websites that provide specific services for learning and statistic reporting.. Workforce Data As an Official Statistics provider, The SSSC publishes data on the social service workforce in Scotland. Develop your skills with resources you can use on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Step into Leadership Find resources and information to develop your leadership skills, whatever your role in social services. Open Badges are digital certificates recognising learning and achievement. Cookies on CSWE Website We use cookies to improve your experience on our Website. By using our Website you accept our use of cookies. To find out more, read our updated privacy policy and cookie policy .  Not Registered Yet? The site navigation utilizes arrow, enter, escape, and space bar key commands. Left and right arrows move across top level links and expand / close menus in sub levels. Up and Down arrows will open main level menus and toggle through sub tier links. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. Tab will move on to the next part of the site rather than go through menu items. International Degree Review Accreditation Scope and Services International Social Work Degree Recognition and Evaluation Service The Department of Social Work Accreditation (DOSWA), part of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the United States. The office's International Social Work Degree Recognition and Evaluation Service (ISWDRES) recognizes academic credentials in social work that are comparable to accredited baccalaureate and master's degrees in social work in the United States. Recognition is necessary to establish qualifications for employment, graduate school admission, membership in the National Association of Social Workers, state licensing, and/or certification. Recognition is based on the general comparability of the program objectives (as stated in the program catalogue or program's official memorandum) and level of the applicant's social work education to social work education in the United States. Summary of 2023–2024 ISWDRES Fees Screening Fee $35 Additional Letter Fee $55 per letter Group A Application Fee $170 Group B Application Fee $380 Group C Application Fee $610 Go to the  application instructions  to learn more about the application process. 346 IMAGES Evaluations of Social Work Education: A Critical Review: Social Work bol.com European Social Work Education and Practice: Practicing Social Work in Social Work Learning Outcomes (PDF) Policy practice in social work education: A literature review Journal of Social Work Education, Research and Action(Vol.1-No.3 COMMENTS Council on Social Work Education About Us. Founded in 1952, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is the national association representing social work education in the United States. Its members include over 750 accredited baccalaureate and master's degree social work programs, as well as individual social work educators, practitioners, and agencies dedicated to ... Journal of Social Work Education The Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE) is a refereed professional journal concerned with education in social work and social welfare. Its purpose is to serve as a forum for creative exchange on trends, innovations, and problems relevant to social work education at the undergraduate, master's, and postgraduate levels. Accreditation CSWE accreditation is a rigorous peer-review process that balances requirements of comparable outcomes across programs with a level of flexibility that encourages programs to differentiate based on the program's context. This accreditation assures recipients of social work services and students, faculty, and staff of social work education ... Social Work Education Journal overview. Social Work Education publishes articles of a critical and reflective nature concerned with the theory and practice of social care and social work education at all levels. It presents a forum for international debate on important issues and provides an opportunity for the expression of new ideas and proposals on the structure ... The Teaching and Learning of Communication Skills in Social Work Education Purpose: This article presents a systematic review of research into the teaching and learning of communication skills in social work education.Methods: We conducted a systematic review, adhering to the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews for Interventions and PRISMA reporting guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Results: Sixteen records reporting on fifteen studies met the ... Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training Social Work education is a complex and demanding activity that requires access to adequate resources, educators, transparent strategies and up-to-date curricula. 1. Core Mission, Aims and Objectives ... Specific attention to undertaking constant review and development of the curricula. Clear guidelines for ethical use of technology in practice ... Simulation in Social Work Education: A Scoping Review This article presents a scoping review that synthesized empirical studies on simulation in social work (SW) education. The review maps the research examining characteristics of simulation studies in SW education and emerging best practices. Theoretical frameworks in social work education: a scoping review Social work education has been under pressure to respond to changing social and political landscapes. Business as usual is not an option. ... This paper presents the results of a scoping review, which aimed to inform the redesign by the identification of theoretical orientations of other social work programs. Anti-oppressive, critical and ... Journal of Social Work Education: Vol 60, No 2 (Current issue) Online Education: A Scoping Review Examining Learning and Satisfaction Outcomes in Social Work, Medicine, and Nursing. Nicholas Lanzieri, Stephen Maher & Michelle R. Munson. Pages: 236-254. Published online: 06 Nov 2023. Policy practice in social work education: A literature review The aim of this study was to review existing knowledge on policy practice (PP) in social work education that seeks to train undergraduate and graduate social work students to influence social policy. The review, based on different search strategies, identified 113 publications written by scholars from Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa, UK ... Lifelong Learning in Social Work Education: A Review of ... In recent years, the focus of social work education has evolved from knowledge learned to the development of practice competencies (Council on Social Work Education, 2015); the ability to apply ... Characteristics and Outcomes of School Social Work Services: A Scoping Children & Schools (formerly Social Work in Education) ... This scoping review examined school social work practice by systematically analyzing the services school social workers delivered based on 18 outcome studies published between 2000 and 2022. The programs, interventions, or services studied were conducted by school social workers in five ... The Social Work Role in Higher Education: A Systematic Review themes: the role of social work, field education, mental health, substance use, foster care, and. diversity and inclusion. The results of this review support that further research is needed on the. social work roles in higher education and that this setting is rich with field placement. opportunities. Background on the Review of Social Work Education A paper outlining the progress of phase one is available below. Review of Social Work Education: Statement on progress 2014-2015. Key sources of evidence considered to the end of phase one: Mapping of Standards in Social Work Education to the National Occupational Standards 2014. Conclusions from research about the perceptions of newly ... Review of Social Work Education The development of additional work-based routes will be explored (see 5.4). The existing Standards in Social Work Education (SiSWE) (Scottish Executive, 2003) have been revised to better reflect the current context of practice and the sector will contribute to the final consultation on these in late 2016. The broader principles underpinning the ... Review of Social Work Education The review of social work qualifying education is part of this programme of work. market-orientated and risk-averse public sector regimes and practices. participation and community empowerment. A formal review working group with a wide membership was established in September 2014. Reviewing Articles for JSWE Reviewing Articles for JSWE. JSWE's reviewers use their knowledge and expertise to provide blinded reviews of manuscripts submitted to the journal. They are experienced scholars in social work education and related fields who can make studied judgments about manuscripts and provide helpful comments for authors. Reviewers must have recent peer ... Evaluations of Social Work Education: A Critical Review A way forward for social work is proposed. Social work education needs to develop a critical pedagogy of hope to transform the profession's relationship not only to evaluations but to practise as well. The key message of this article is that evaluation studies of social work education mirror the underlying tensions of late modernity. Scoping Vs Systematic Reviews It describes in detail the process of planning, undertaking and writing up a systematic review of qualitative, quantitative, economic, text and opinion based evidence. It also outlines JBI support mechanisms for those doing review work and opportunities for publication and training. Master's Degree in Social Work As a nationally-ranked social work program, our in-person MSW gives graduate students a top-tier graduate education where they can gain new skills, methodologies, and industry expertise needed to succeed as social workers and make impactful community advancements. Apply Now MSW Program Mission and Goals Review of Social Work Education regulated social work settings or if they should be provided with a wider repertoire of transferable skills and understanding". Set against this background, Phase 1 of the Review of Social Work Education in Scotland (RSWE) (SSSC, 2015) identified a value in the further exploration of the subject of curriculum content to inform the College of Health and Human Sciences Consider a career in education, social work, communication sciences and disorders, kinesiology or athletic training. Our Departments and ProgramsThrough experiential learning in classrooms, labs, practicums, and field experiences, students gain knowledge and skills to promote the advancement of health and human sciences and to make a difference ... PDF 2022 EPAS Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards In social work, this approach involves assessing students' ability to demonstrate the competencies identified in the educational policy. Competency-based education rests on a shared view of the nature of competence in professional practice. Social work competence is the ability to integrate and apply social work knowledge, Nursing Simulation for Nursing students Bringing Real-World Experience to Simulation Design. Tina, Lucas and Tanner are just three of the Digital Standardized Patients™ that are part of Shadow Health's simulations for undergraduate and graduate nursing programs.. These Digital Clinical Experiences™ are a vital part of the education of more than 700,000 nursing students across the country - giving them the opportunity to ... Evaluating Social Work Education: A Review of Outcomes, Measures Abstract. This review considers how the outcomes of social work education can be identified with reference to Kirkpatrick's framework of levels of outcomes and Kraiger et al.'s general model of learning outcomes.It presents examples of different approaches to the measurement of outcomes and to the use of research designs in social work education and interprofessional education involving ... Child-care spaces delayed for families working irregular hours Some parents who work hours beyond the typical workday schedule are in for more delays obtaining child-care spaces, according to Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell. 160 $10-a-day child-care ... State Board of Educations Seeks Public Feedback On English Language Today, the State Board of Education launched an English Language Arts (ELA) standards feedback survey to gather public comments on Tennessee's K-12 ELA standards. All Tennesseans are invited to review the standards. The survey will remain open through September 8th, 2024. The State Board of Education is charged in state law with adopting academic standards to provide a common set of ... Review of Social Work Education We led the Review of Social Work Education and our work on the review is continuing. One of the key recommendations of the review was to establish a partnership approach to encourage and enable the full engagement of employers, educators and other key stakeholders to ensure continued improvement in quality and consistency of social work qualifying programmes. International Degree Review Recognition is based on the general comparability of the program objectives (as stated in the program catalogue or program's official memorandum) and level of the applicant's social work education to social work education in the United States. Summary of 2023-2024 ISWDRES Fees. Screening Fee $35. Additional Letter Fee $55 per letter. New Social Media Ambassador Program aims to engage and amplify PC While the phrase "under the influence" typically refers to someone who has imbibed alcohol or another mind-altering substance, in the era of social media platforms like Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, many of us find ourselves under the influence of content creators who document their lifestyle, review products, analyze our social and political landscape, or create memorable songs ... assignment essay homework phd report resume review speech thesis