Research Knowledge of Advanced Standing and Traditional Students: Implications for BSW Education

Abstract

The advanced standing model of social work education, which affords graduate credit to qualified BSW students who pursue their MSW, has not been without issue or controversy, including questions of potential differences in performance on various educational outcomes. Specifically related to research curriculum, the importance of which is often not wholly embraced by students, this article reports the results of a secondary data analysis comparing research knowledge among advanced standing and traditional MSW students as well as among the various undergraduate majors (i.e., BSW, psychology, and sociology). Results suggest that research knowledge is similar and low across student subgroups. Important differences in research knowledge were found among student groups based on undergraduate major, with BSW undergraduates without advanced standing, on average, scoring lower than any other group. Implications for BSW research curriculum are considered.