Military children experience a variety of military-specific stressors. Stressors include repeated geographic relocation and parental separation, both of which can negatively affect social, emotional, psychological, and academic outcomes. Educational reform research, however, has found that caring and responsive schools can moderate the effects of psychological stress on the social and emotional outcomes of students. Lacking are studies that examine the transformative role of principals and other school administrators in providing school supports for military children. Hence, this study is guided by multiple objectives. This study examined the military-connected (MC) school administrators' philosophy as it relates to military students, programmatic efforts for military students, and assessment of military social work interns. Data were collected using an online survey tool, and results suggest consensus among most MC school administrators regarding the unique needs of military students and the need for programs and resources that address these needs. This study found that many administrators struggle to provide adequate supports for military students.
Field education is a vital part of learning and training for students pursuing an MSW degree. Guided by competencies created by the Council on Social Work Education, MSW programs are continuously evaluating the effectiveness of field experiences. U.S.-based public schools lack the training and capacity to provide adequate support to military-connected students. To understand the skills and competencies of MSW students placed in militaryconnected schools, we collected data from 30 first-year MSW students and their eight field instructors at two time points (fall and spring) during the 2010-2011 academic year. Both students and instructors gave higher-than-midpoint ratings to students on competencies at both time points. At time 1, students rated themselves lowest on application of complex practice models, policy issues, and working on the macro level with military organizations, whereas instructors rated students lowest on items related to systemic monitoring and research in practice. Progress toward competencies during the academic year was noted for more than half of the competencies. Although as groups, students and field instructors provided similar assessments, similarity within student-instructor dyads was low, suggesting opportunities for growth in the context of field instruction and the need for development of individual student-instructor relationships.
Despite research suggesting that supportive school communities can shield students from depression, alienation, and school failure, civilian schools have struggled to address the unique needs of military-connected (MC) children. In response to this, a consortium between eight MC school districts and a school of social work was established. As part of the consortium, MSW students were trained to engage in direct service provision with MC children. This study examines the activities of 30 MSW student interns during a single academic year. Findings show that interns spend the majority of their time engaging in individual work with students, approximately 36 percent of whom are MC. Interns also spend a considerable amount of time engaging in group work and conducting psychosocial assessments. Interns allocate a significant amount of time to students' academic struggles, issues of bullying, attendance and truancy, school violence and bystander responses, and school connectedness. Findings from this study provide a baseline assessment of interns' current practice. The data generated have implications for social work education and practice.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.