School social work (SSW) roles are often surrounded by ambiguity across schools, districts, states, and nationally. The School Social Work Association of America's National Practice Model and National Evaluation Framework, along with the National Association of Social Workers' "Standards for School Social Work Services" are the guidance…

School social workers are integral to the school mental health workforce and the leading social service providers in educational settings. In recent decades, school social work practice has been largely influenced by the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) approach, ecological systems views, and the promotion of evidence-based practice.…

This article analyzes school social work's history to provide perspective on current dilemmas in social work practice and research. The authors use interstitial emergence theory, which holds that practices from overlapping fields (like social work and K-12 education) can develop into new fields, as an analytic framework. This perspective extends…

Social work is frequently missing when policy and practice conversations turn to juvenile justice system youths. However, school social workers are well positioned to have a vital role in the readmission and reentry process for these young people. Formerly incarcerated youths present unique challenges for themselves, their families, and…

Despite efforts to get school social work practitioners and researchers to do research on school practices, most of the literature is framed as if school social workers are getting a failing grade concerning their performance at generating good outcome studies. However, school social workers are not that far behind other practice-based…

This editorial serves to introduce an issue of Social Work in Education that explores gender within the domain of school social work practice. Some topics discussed in this issue include gender issues in schools during adolescence, and the concurrence of aggressive and oppressive behaviors in unsupervised or unmonitored areas in schools.…

Based on a review of intervention studies in 13 social work journals, one group of researchers organized the targets of interventions and the interventions tested in relation to them as a first step to develop practice guidelines for social workers. The authors replicated and extended that work to the specialty of school social work by reviewing…

Screening for suicidality, as called for by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, is a major public health concern. As a place where adolescents spend a considerable amount of their waking hours, school is an important venue for screening adolescents for suicidal behaviors and providing preventive education and risk management.…

Reports on data collected in interviews about the relationships between lesbian-parent families and their children's schools. The central focus is on themes and issues identified by parents as important in the lives of their families as they interacted with schools. These interactions provide information about successful and failed strategies to…

Examines intervention practices for children with emotional and behavioral disorders and provides recommendations for how school social workers should use the knowledge base to inform practice. Best practices and the unique role of school social workers in supporting best practices are presented. (Contains 16 references.) (GCP)

Young adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the problems of sexual harassment. Legal guidelines and norms of practice have changed substantially in recent years. School mental health practitioners are in an excellent position to help young people learn appropriate behaviors and resolve hurtful feelings. Advocating for these students can make…

Reports on the use of organization development consultation at a middle school to enhance the process of implementing shared governance. Improvements in many aspects of organizational functioning were reported in follow-up interviews. Presents organizational development consultation as a new role for school social workers, adding value to the…

An awareness of the empirical knowledge concerning school violence and programs that have been supported by research is essential for the successful adaptation of school violence prevention programs. Yet, knowledge of national trends and model programs is not sufficient. School social workers must also balance the importance of research-supported…

This article focuses on student-to-student harassment, discussing incidents of harassment in schools, the effects on students, and the reasons it occurs in schools. The legal framework is reviewed with attention to the new legal standard established by the Supreme Court ruling in "Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education." Discusses the…

This article provides a rationale for school social workers to be knowledgeable about empirically validated family approaches for treatment for ADHD. The literature is reviewed and organized according to theoretical framework and developmental stage of the child. The authors critique the literature and offer suggestions for further research and…