This study surveyed the opinions of students and faculty about perceptions of mandated counseling for Master of Social Work (MSW) students at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). The MSW program at CSUSB does not explicitly endorse a strategy to facilitate personal growth and development, such as personal counseling. Given the evidence that counseling can help build self-awareness, reduce stress and manage mental illness, counseling can be beneficial to its students, as it relates to personal growth and professional development. This study’s significance is that it examined social work students and professionals, specifically. This study used a quantitative survey design and the results were analyzed using a between-groups ANOVA. The implications affect policies towards mandated counseling and the means by which students develop professionally.

This research study examined the spirituality comfort levels amongst social work students. This study examined 48 social work students who participated in this study with most participants being Hispanic females, however, there were other various participants. Quantitative research was used for this study by handing out surveys to Master of Social Work students at California State University, San Bernardino. Students were asked to state their opinions and views to the following: spirituality in social work practice, spirituality and professional interventions, need for spirituality education and training, personal ideology, and demographics. The results of this study suggest that students are open and comfortable with the idea of spirituality in social work practice, however, they are uncomfortable when applying concrete terms and ideology to practice. This is due to the fact that students have stated they are not satisfied with their spirituality education and need more of it to integrate it into practice. Students have stated they have not received the proper spirituality education needed to serve clients, and are willing to enroll in spirituality integration classes for further professional growth.

Stigma is one of the foremost barriers to effective mental health treatment of consumers. Social workers currently provide the majority of mental health treatment in the United States. Examining levels of stigma present in social work students would be valuable in providing future interventions. A quantitative study was conducted utilizing an online questionnaire. The survey was distributed by the CSUSB Department of Social Work to graduate social work students. Statistical analysis utilizing SPSS software was conducted following data collection. Data analysis indicated that there was no significant difference in the attitudes regardless of exposure to severe mental illness. The findings of this study indicate that exposure to severe mental illness may not be the only factor in determining one’s attitude. Implications of these findings for social work research include outlining the need for further examination of stigma to identify more specific factors in the formation of stigmatic attitudes.

Abstract Children with developmental disabilities are a particularly vulnerable population with complex, unique needs. In order to ensure that these clients are achieving the best quality of life possible, they typically require an array of community support services where social workers will often intersect with them in a variety of settings and roles. Therefore, there is a substantial need to ensure that student’s entering the workforce as newly qualified workers have some familiarity and exposure to what presenting issues these children are facing as well as the different techniques and tools available to engage with and assess them. This study examined California State University School of Social Work student’s preparedness, willingness, and eagerness to work with children who have developmental disabilities. It utilized a quantitative approach with a questionnaire that was distributed via the Qualtrics system to student’s emails. A total of 80 social work students participated in the study and answered questions regarding their demographics, familial and curriculum exposure to developmental disabilities, their work experience, and their perceived levels of preparedness, willingness, and eagerness to work with children who have developmental disabilities. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the student data collected. The social work curriculum provided to students in the program is designed with the intent to prepare them for working with a diverse population that have a variety of needs, which will include individuals who have developmental disabilities. In order to effectively do this, it is recommended that courses offer more comprehensive lesson plans exploring not just a definition-based approach to developmental disabilities, but also incorporate elements of effective engagement, advocacy, and assessment methods.

Due to the lack of literature on social worker involvement with the rehabilitation of previously incarcerated individuals, this study was designed to explore social work student’s views and attitudes towards working with this population in the future. This study used a web-based quantitative survey design containing one open-ended question to survey 77 CSUSB social work students. Findings reveal that most social work students recognize previously incarcerated individuals as a vulnerable and marginalized population that is deserving of services and expect to work with this population in the future. Additionally, this study identified that having children may impact social work student’s views and attitudes towards working with previously incarcerated individuals. Common themes that emerged were dignity and worth of persons, intersectionality of this population with social work, and concerns regarding skills, training, and experience which reflected social work students’ adherence to professional social work values and ethics as set forth by the NASW. This study highlights the need of social work students to be provided with the tools necessary in making them feel equipped to work with the rehabilitation of previously incarcerated individuals. Future research identifying barriers that prevent social worker involvement with this population can generate information that can be used to develop trainings to provide further education and knowledge to promote social work student’s competency with this population.

The purpose of the following study was to explore and examine the prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and coping methods among social work students at a Southern California university. The literature on ACE scores suggests that higher levels of ACE can impact well-being and functioning in adults, yet, provides limited information relating to social work. A quantitative survey instrument constructed by Felitti and colleagues (1998) and two additional questions relating to coping methods and strategies were constructed by the researchers were used to gather data for the purpose of this study. Data for the following study was collected through a self-administered, online questionnaire distributed by a Southern California university school of social work administration via Qualtrics online survey software. The data was analyzed with SPSS software, using descriptive statistics, frequencies, and independent sample t-tests. The study’s results suggest that social work students, in general, have higher ACE scores than are found in the general population. The majority of respondents reported having more than 2 instances of ACE. Yet, less than half of respondents reported using effective, healthy coping methods to cope with experiences of childhood hood trauma. These findings suggest that schools of social work, and the agencies that employee their graduates, should consider providing enhances, supports, and training for social work students and professionals coping with ACE events.

This study focuses on the preparedness, and perception of Bachelor and Master of Social Work students in a California State University when encountering with clients in mixed-status families. The students were contacted via school email and provided with a questionnaire that inquired their preparedness when assisting undocumented clients, and their families. The results of the study concluded that majority of the students have encountered working with mixed-status families either in a personal or professional setting. Though, the data collected indicated that there are several factors that have impacted their knowledge of how to assist and provide linkage to other resources to undocumentedindividuals, and their families. The majority of respondents reported having an insufficiency knowledge of resources on the topic. These outcomes suggest that the Schools of Social Work should consider literature on Mixed-status families for Social Work students to provide appropriate services for them. A quantitative method was used to analyze and collect information from the students.

This paper focuses on how young people use and are affected by Facebook. The study embodies students from the social work program in Sweden and their view on Facebook use. Earlier research has shown that Facebook use has increased among youths. At the same time research tells us that social interaction plays an important part in shaping our identity. It is from those stands that we base this paper on, and explore our interview persons answer after the theories of Erving Goffman and the people who have studied him, such as Bernie Hogan and Zeynep Tufekci. The results showed that people tend to only present on Facebook, what was good and things that weren’t so personal. It was clear that Facebook can be used as a very effective communication tool, however the networking site can also cause stress. Something that several of the students were concerned about was how Facebook, and internet in general would be used in the future, this considering parents that upload contents about their small children.

The practicum is regarded by many as the most important part of social work students’ program experience. The literature pertaining to Indigenous social work student experiences in field placements is minimal, as is the literature relating to the health and wellness of Indigenous students engaged in social work field education. This thesis is designed to begin to address the gap in the literature. Child protection services have been a destructive force in Indigenous communities in BC. Some research shows that frontline child protection workers suffer negative health consequences due to the stress of the work (Gold, 1998; Reid, 2006). The research questions that directed this study are as follows: How is the holistic health and wellness of Indigenous female students impacted during, and directly following, a government child protection practicum? What factors contribute to an Indigenous student’s resiliency in a Child Welfare Specialization field placement? What coping strategies do Indigenous students employ to stay healthy and balanced during the practicum? The ultimate goal of this thesis research is to create a space for the knowledge and voices of Indigenous women in social work, and to create knowledge that will be used to support future Indigenous practicum students. This research is a qualitative study. Five Indigenous women courageously shared their fourth year child protection social work practicum experiences in respective two hour interviews. All the participants were recent graduates of an undergraduate social work program in British Columbia. All of the study participants were enrolled in a Child Welfare Specializations program. The Indigenous women’s stories were documented using a blend of Indigenous and narrative qualitative methodological approaches. The findings of this thesis reveal that Indigenous student holistic health is significantly impacted during child protection practicum placements. All of the Indigenous women who participated in this thesis experienced stress at different points of the practicum, which had an impact on their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. A significant theme that emerged in the women’s stories was the importance that the supervisor plays in the child protection practicum. The findings of this study suggest that Indigenous students are more vulnerable to stress and ill health in government placements. Therefore particular care needs to be taken to ensure that Indigenous students are placed with supervisors who are sensitive to their needs. Students employ a number of strategies to rebalance their holistic health. Good attention to self-care, engaging in cultural practices and development of support networks are themes that emerged as strategies for coping with the stress of the practicum. This study concludes with recommendations to educators, MCFD policy makers and others who work with Indigenous students.

There exists a strained situation with social services in Sweden. Many social services consists a lack of educated social workers. Furthermore, it is thought by social work students that the work is heavy and stressful. As numerous of today's students have social services as a future workplace, the purpose of this survey is to see what attitudes the students possess about the profession. Further, the purpose is also to see if these attitudes affect their willingness to work with social services after they graduate. A survey is conducted with 94 students that study social work at Linnaeus University in Kalmar. The students who participated are in semester 2, 4 and 6. The results show that there exists a mainly positive attitude towards social services and that social services carry out an important work. On the other hand, the result also shows that many students felt that the work environment is stressful and has a high work strain. The result further shows that the students' attitude has an impact on their willingness to work with social services. However, a majority of the students would only work with social services as their first job or a shorter period of their career.