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School Social Work NOW
Supporting Innovative Practice, Effective Leadership & Applied Research
December 2010 - Vol 1, Issue 10 |
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| Greetings! |
This will be the last newsletter of the calendar year so it will be a little longer, having a few more interesting links than usual. Watch for the next ACSSW newsletter on 1/6/2011. SAVE THE DATES! The 2nd National Summit on School Social Work Research will be held June 26-28 in the Chicago area. This will be a forum in which to (1) learn about current research projects, (2) become familiar with research models you can apply in your setting and practice, and(3) showcase your projects to colleagues. Further details are pending. Watch this newsletter and the ACSSW website for more information. Plan to join your colleagues for this unique experience!
If you have enjoyed or benefited from these emails in recent weeks, give your friends a free gift that helps to insure that they, also, are up-to-date on national educational movements and school social work activities. Forward this newsletter and encourage them to Get Connected! on ACSSW's home page. Just click on the orange "Send to a Colleague" button on the left, below.
During the month of December the ACSSW website will be undergoing some "tweaking", particularly behind the scenes. At times there will be an "Under Construction" message. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you find the website down and wish to join, please click the red ACSSW Membership Form link below, download and complete it, and mail to the address at the bottom of this newsletter or fax it to: 1-224-649-4408. If you have questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact me.
Do enjoy the Holidays with your families and friends!! President
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| In the News | |
Police, Schools Grapple with Student Interview Laws
A local investigation into the alleged groping of a 7-year-old girl by her substitute teacher at school hit an unexpected roadblock last month -- demands for a warrant -- and left the Bakersfield City School District caught between protecting kids and following the law. This dilemma is not an isolated incident. Read more.
Social Worker Who Urged the School District to Crack Down on Bullying Is Fired
Officials in Stutsman County, ND, have fired a [county] social worker who, "as a parent", has been urging the Jamestown school district to crack down on bullying . . . [She was let go] shortly after she attended a school district meeting and said she was not only a concerned parent, but a social worker who sees bullying. Click here to read more and view video.
Esther Cepeda: A Role to Fill in Our Schools
If all that schools had to worry about these days was setting common standards for the curriculum and agreeing on how to measure student progress and teacher effectiveness, our national education picture would be downright rosy. But add in the social problems that are increasingly challenging students and the shortage of school social workers - usually the only resource dedicated to helping students with personal concerns - and you're looking at another major, but rarely noticed education issue. To read the full article or to contact Ms. Cepeda use these links.
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| Request for Research Assistance | |
An Examination of Homophobia and Social Work Practice Among a Sample of School Social Workers
Milka Ramírez, MSW, a member of the American Council for School Social Work and the School Social Work Association of America and a school social worker in Chicago, is conducting her doctoral research and would like you to participate in the 30 minute survey. Please take time to support this important research. Click the following link to participate in this essential work: Homophobia & Social Work |
| Practice Points |
While bullying is a pervasive problem in many schools, schools can take specific steps to improve the school climate and encourage positive interactions designed to reduce or prevent bullying. Schools using a social and emotional learning (SEL) framework can foster an overall climate of inclusion, warmth, and respect, and promote the development of core social and emotional skills among both students and staff. Because bullying preventiontion is entirely congruent with SEL, it can be embedded in a school's SEL framework. The aims of this brief are to (a) provide a basic description of a school-wide SEL framework, (b) illustrate the relationship between social and emotional factors and bullying, and (c) explain how an SEL framework can be extended to include bullying prevention. To read the full PDF click here.
The ways that schools intervene with students' challenging behavior have been historically "reactive, exclusionary, and ineffective" (Liaupsin, Jolivette, & Scott, 2005, p. 488). Traditional reactive discipline interventions include detention, suspension, and expulsion, all of which punish students by excluding them from school and limiting opportunity to receive positive support for behavior change. Furthermore, punitive and reactive disciplinary measures have been linked to the increased severity and incidence of the target behaviors (Turnbull et al., 2002). Click here to read more.
Social institutions that have been around for thousands of years generally change slowly, when they change at all. But that's not the way things have been playing out with marriage and family since the middle of the 20th Century. Some scholars argue that in the past five decades, the basic architecture of these age-old institutions has changed as rapidly as at any time in human history.
This Pew Research Center report, done in association with TIME, sets out to illuminate these changes by using two complementary research methodologies: a nationwide survey of 2,691 adults we conducted from Oct.1-21, 2010; and our analysis of a half century of demographic and economic data, drawn mainly from the U.S. Census. The trend analysis is designed to show how Americans' behaviors related to marriage and family have changed since 1960. The survey is intended to help explain why these changes have happened and what the public makes of them. Full Pew Research Center Report.
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| Leadership News |
 Follow the Leader: How Those in Charge Make Themselves Known Do you find yourself leading groups, or are you naturally more comfortable following others? New research shows that if you want to be a leader you're better off at the edges of a crowd, and not in the middle of the action. In a series of experiments on crowd behaviour, a research team from the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds also found that successful leaders display more decisive behaviour, spending less time following others and acting more quickly than others in the group. Follow the leader. Organizational leaders who come across as low or high in assertiveness tend to be seen as less effective, according to a study . . . in the February [2007] issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA). Leaders in the middle may have an "optimal" level of assertiveness, but there is plenty of company on the extremes. The research suggests that being seen as under- or over-assertive may be the most common weakness among aspiring leaders. Click here to read more.
A recent report from the nonprofit group Grantmakers for Education finds that philanthropies nationwide are increasingly getting engaged with education policy matters at the local, state, and federal levels through a range of activities, in recognition of the powerful reach of government in setting priorities for schools and directing far more money than philanthropies ever could. "The message we have communicated to our members is: If you're serious about improving educational outcomes for students in this country, you have to think very carefully about the role of policy to do that," said Christine T. Tebben, the executive director of Grantmakers for Education, a national network of public and private philanthropies based in Portland, Ore. "Policy is really an important part of the toolkit." Learn more. |
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| Research Highlights |
 Stability and Change in Rural Youths' Educational Outcomes Through the Middle and High School Years
Abstract: There is a dearth of literature that examines rural youths' school transition and adaptation over the middle and high school years. Given rural education challenges, this study examines rural youths' developmental trajectories of self-reported grades and affective and behavioral educational outcomes (i.e., school belonging, value of education, school misbehavior, and extracurricular activity participation). The cohort-sequential study consisted of 3,312 African American and White youth (50% female) who were surveyed over three and a half years, including the transition to high school. The results reveal significant changes in the outcomes from sixth to twelfth grade. For example, on average, school misbehavior increased over time while perceived school belonging decreased over time. Gender and race differences emerged; African American youth reported placing higher importance on education and less participation in school activities than White youth. The discussion focuses on the importance of examining rural adolescents' educational pathways during the high school transition. View full PDF on publisher website.
When to Intervene: Elementary School, Middle School or Both? Effects of keepin' It REAL on Substance Use Trajectories of Mexican Heritage Youth
Abstract: This article presents the findings of a study exploring two questions: What age is most efficacious to expose Mexican heritage youth to drug abuse prevention interventions, and what dosage of the prevention intervention is needed? These issues are relevant to Mexican heritage youth--many from immigrant families--in particular ways due to the acculturation process and other contextual factors. Link to complete abstract. Full article can be purchased on site.
Bullying in School and Cyberspace: Associations with Depressive Symptoms in Swiss and Australian Adolescents
Cyber-bullying (i.e., bullying via electronic means) has emerged as a new form of bullying that presents unique challenges to those victimized. Recent studies have demonstrated that there is a significant conceptual and practical overlap between both types of bullying such that most young people who are cyber-bullied also tend to be bullied by more traditional methods. Despite the overlap between traditional and cyber forms of bullying, it remains unclear if being a victim of cyber-bullying has the same negative consequences as being a victim of traditional bullying. Read the provisional PDF to learn more. [An Open Access Journal article] |
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| ACSSW Activities | |
ACSSW, in conjunction with university professors and direct service practitioners, is involved in a number of activities that are designed to advance the profession while examining and applying the field of research in relation to school social work. It is the intent of ACSSW to facilitate the conversations and activities regarding research between and among academics and practitioners. This is being done with the purpose of strengthening the profession of school social work and facilitating research development and application.
As you are aware, the three major activities being promoted are (1) increasing research projects and their application within the school environment, (2) developing a national school social work role paper and, a more long-term goal, (3) establishing a National Center for School Social Work Research. Recently, calls were held regarding research projects. Another will be scheduled for January.
Initial teleconference calls are being scheduled for January for persons interested in helping to develop a national school social work role paper, a much needed professional document. Information will be included in this newsletter. Again, if you are interested, be sure to contact me so that you can be notified of the date/time: Judie Shine. |
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