The use of ill-structured case examples as an instructional strategy to teach ethical lessons is well-supported in the literature, however, case examples often lack an emotional or affective component. Given the importance of crafting cases for learners, more research is needed to better understand how to construct and present case examples to…

Using data from a large full-time social work program, we examine variation within and across three measures of MSW student competency: field instructor ratings, classroom instructor ratings, and student self-assessments through foundation and advanced years. The use of multiple student-level measures with identical wording and parallel response…

Experiential learning in the field is central to the training of many helping professionals, and field education is the signature pedagogy for social work. Service-learning offers another opportunity for graduate students in the helping professions to get hands on training. Volunteering would also offer a hands-on learning experience but appears…

This study assessed the extent that a large sample of MSW-level social workers perceived that their undergraduate programs prepared them for graduate social work education. A survey collected data using the Undergraduate Preparation Subscale of the Preparation for Graduate Social Work Education (PGSWE) Scale. The sample (N = 1,056) consisted of…

Alumni mentoring in social work allows students to connect with experienced practitioners in a nonevaluative context and for alumni to strengthen university connections. This study describes and evaluates one established student-alumni mentoring program. Pretest (n=277) and posttest (n=153) data were collected from participants across 3 years.…

Social work educators are compelled to use reliable and valid methods to assess student learning outcomes. This study adapted a clinical simulation by integrating traditional role-play of case scenarios and elements of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, which is often used to assess students' practice skills. Master of Social Work…

Educators and social workers are essential to promote the social and digital inclusion of people with intellectual disability. Their perceptions about Internet use by people with intellectual disability may lead to prejudices that can hinder the opportunity of this group to get equal and meaningful access to the virtual arena. To identify…

Integrative field seminars can help students with the difficult task of integrating learning between field and class. Are the seminars effective? We compared one cohort of MSW students who were required to attend an integrative field seminar (n = 101) with another cohort that was not offered a seminar (n = 147). We questioned each cohort at the…

The purpose of the current study was to compare 5 years of educational outcome data for online and face-to-face MSSW students (N=883) who graduated from University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Social Work. Students' knowledge (comprehensive exam scores, grade point averages), skills (field evaluation scores), and perception of their graduate…

The Council on Social Work Education requires schools of social work to meet diversity and social justice competencies. Many MSW programs meet these standards by having either a dedicated diversity and social justice course, or by using some form of diversity and social justice curricular infusion. The current study explored which of these…

This study sought to examine social work students' perceptions of Team-Based Learning (N = 154). Aside from looking at overall student perceptions, comparative analyses examined differences in perceptions between BSW and MSW students, and between Caucasian students and students of color. Findings for the overall sample revealed favorable…

Objective: This study tested the effects of integrating evidence-based practice (EBP) process material into a research curriculum for master of social work (MSW) students. Methods: A quasi-experimental design (N = 152) was used across 12 sections of a required program evaluation course, with half integrating EBP process material and half using the…

Problem: Equipping current and future social work practitioners with skills to deliver evidence-based practice (EBP) has remained an elusive prospect since synchronized efforts with field instructors have not been a consistent part of dissemination and implementation efforts. Recognizing the highly influential position of field instructors, this…

Social work students often have been labeled as research-reluctant. Consequently, it is important to identify effective teaching strategies. One innovative strategy is team-based learning. The effectiveness of team-based learning has not yet been evaluated with a social work research class. As a result, the current study compared the effectiveness…

Graduate social work students are mandated to be cultural competent to work with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. This exploratory study examined how best to teach graduate social work students to be culturally competent in working with LGB clients by assessing their perceived competence of attitudes, knowledge and skills as well as their…