WASHINGTON-The NASW Press has released a special issue of its scholarly journal Children and Schools, which explores how well school social work practice aligns with current educational and social work research. . .  "This special issue was inspired by what we see as the persistent disconnect among much of school social work practice and our discipline's commitment to an ecological orientation, educational effectiveness research, and trends in education policy and practice," write Michael S. Kelly, Andy J. Frey and Dawn Anderson-Butcher, the editors of this issue of Children and Schools and two of whom are members of ACSSW.  Click here for the full press release. 

Media and Children's Aggression, Fear and Altruism

"Noting that the social and emotional experiences of American children today often heavily involve electronic media, Barbara Wilson takes a close look at how exposure to screen media affects children's well-being and development.  She concludes that media influence on children depends more on the type of content that children find attractive than on the sheer amount of time they spend in front of the screen." 

     Wilson begins by reviewing evidence on the link between media and children's emotions. She points out that children can learn about the nature and causes of different emotions from watching the emotional experiences of media characters and that they often experience empathy with those characters. Although research on the long-term effects of media exposure on children's emotional skill development is limited, a good deal of evidence shows that media exposure can contribute to children's fears and anxieties. Both fictional and news programming can cause lasting emotional upset, though the themes that upset children differ according to a child's age." For the full article click Aggression, Fear and Altruism.  Scroll to page 87.