Social workers can help advance public health through increased acceptability of harm reduction principles and practices. This study evaluated Master of Social Work students' attitudes towards harm reduction before and after a substance use and social work practice course and assessed differences in students' attitude outcomes across multiple…

Social workers engage with many professionals to address complex social problems. This includes leveraging the power of social work to support quality interventions on interprofessional teams. While generalist social workers are prepared to apply multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks and rely on interprofessional collaboration, specialized…

Master of social work (MSW) students will work with a significant number of people with disabilities and thus need to learn about disability as both a descriptive and a political identity. While new curriculum resources and competencies developed by the Council on Social Work Education for teaching about disability are a critical step, little has…

This study examined the prevalence and types of criminal justice content being offered in Council on Social Work Education programs. Data were collected through questions sent via e-mail to program administrators and content analysis of school websites for three hundred and eight MSW programs. Criminal justice content was measured in three main…

This study examines individual factors that influence activity in antiracism advocacy and political-social advocacy among MSW students. The research team sent an online survey link to the current MSW students and recent graduates of five schools in the United States. The results indicate that people who identify as bisexual and queer, study a…

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted social work students accustomed to in-person learning, forcing a shift to remote education. During fall 2021 and spring 2022, they faced a return to physical classrooms. Few studies have explored the effects of reverting to in-person classes amidst the pandemic. This exploratory study surveyed 135 Master of Social…

This research examines professional values and individuals' decisions to pursue social work education, with gatekeeping as a mediator of this relationship. Motivations are derived from Community of Practice theory: community, domain, practice, and skills. MSW students (N=528) were recruited across the U.S. Structural equation modeling was used to…

This article reports the use of online live-streamed simulations (online LSS), implemented on Zoom with Master of Social Work students. A thematic analysis was conducted from an online survey (n = 26 responses) to explore, 1) if online LSS can offer the same potential to develop holistic competence as in-class simulations, and 2) how students…

Although there has been increased attention to religion and spirituality (RS) in social work and related helping professions over the last few decades, less attention has been given to whether, where, and how RS content is delivered within Master of Social Work (MSW) programs' implicit and explicit curricula. The present study included the results…

Social work has seen significant federal investment through the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) for Professionals grants. This research note examined differences between BHWET trainees and general MSW graduates regarding self-reported knowledge of integrated behavioral health competencies, job placement, and starting…

Those in the field of social work education are continuously looking for methods to enhance the production of competent, effective MSWs. One approach is to provide enhanced training programs to select groups of students. Historically, research on these programs has been limited other than for Title IV-E programs. The current study assesses a…

Macro social workers have consistently taken up the difficult task of articulating and refining our identity. Deciding on priorities for the preparation of students is a key component of this work. Standards and areas of focus set by our accrediting and organizing bodies (Council on Social Work Education [CSWE], Association for Community…

To contribute to best practices in educating social work students on environmental justice, we report the results of a study evaluating a module that was incorporated into the course Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE). A mixed-methods design was used to examine student attitudes toward environmental justice. Participants were 61…

Elections have become the new battleground for democracy and civil rights. Yet few social work programs provide opportunities for students to gain competency in electoral politics and voter engagement. This article describes an elective course for Master of Social Work students offered in the runup to the 2018 and 2020 elections. Using classroom…

Drawing from original and best practice research, this article proposes a model for teaching social work students how to practice with refugees using Bronfenbrenner's ecological model as a guide. Social workers globally must be prepared across the social work curriculum with best practice research and recommendations that keep pace with the…