Characteristics and Outcomes of School Social Work Services: A Scoping Review of Published Evidence 2000-June 2022

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. However, none of the existing school social work reviews have examined the latest characteristics and outcomes of school social work services. This scoping review analyzed and synthesized the focuses and functions of school social workers and the state-of-the-art social and mental/behavioral health services they provide. Findings showed that in the past two decades, school social workers in different parts of the world shared a common understanding of practice models and interests. Most school social work interventions and services targeted high-needs students to improve their social, mental/behavioral health, and academic outcomes, followed by primary and secondary prevention activities to promote school climate, school culture, teacher, student, and parent interactions, and parents' wellbeing. The synthesis also supports the multiple roles of school social workers and their collaborative, cross-systems approach to serving students, families, and staff in education settings. Implications and directions for future school social work research are discussed.

Exploring the Relationships Among Student Outcomes and Case Management Services Delivered by School Social Workers

Purpose

School social workers (SSWs) deliver case management (CM) services to connect students to an array of supports that meet their academic and non-academic needs. However, gaps exist in understanding the profiles of students receiving CM services delivered by SSWs, and the relationships between dosage and receipt of CM services and student outcomes.

Method

Researchers utilized secondary data from three large middle schools to explore the demographics of students (N = 3,012) receiving CM services and students not receiving CM services. Among students receiving CM services (n = 238), binary and multinomial regression analyses explored relationships among students' demographic characteristics, dosage of CM services, and non-academic and academic outcomes. Student outcomes were also compared among a demographically matched subsample of 181 students receiving CM services and 181 students not receiving CM services.

Results

Students receiving CM services were more likely to be at-risk, Hispanic/Latino, and limited English proficiency status than students not receiving CM services. Regression analyses indicated a higher dosage of CM services was associated with higher odds of receiving two or more behavioral referrals and failing 60% or more courses. Moreover, among a demographically matched subsample, students receiving CM services were significantly more likely to have two or more behavioral referrals and fail 60% or more courses than students not receiving CM services.

Discussion

Our findings suggest SSWs provide CM services to students with significant academic and behavioral risks. We discuss the implications of our results concerning SSW practice, education, research, and policy.

Psychosocial Problems of Adolescent Girls during Menstruation

AIM

To study the psychosocial problems of adolescent girls during menstruation.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study was conducted in Chennai. Descriptive research design was used. Sample size: Sixty students were selected randomly by the teacher from Bhoodhur Govt high school, Sholavaram, Chennai and referred to researcher for the study purpose. Inclusion criteria: Adolescent girls who were aged 13-16 years and attained menarche.

RESULTS

Majority (71.7%) of adolescent girls belong to the age group of 14 - 15 years, 68% were in ninth standard. Nearly half of the respondents were using pads (45%) and clothes (42%) as absorbent, majority (65%) preferred to discuss about their menstrual problems with mother, 28% with friends about menarche, 7% do not discuss with anyone. Most of them (58%) as faced physical problems during menstruation such as pre-menstrual syndrome (55%), menorrhagia (12%), sleep disturbance (12%), body pain (68%), head ache (45%), leg pain (55%).Majority (67%) had psychological problems such as change in the mood (70%) irritability, (78%) restlessness, (63%) unstable mood, (58%) feeling stressed). One-third had faced psychosocial problems in terms of unaware of menarche before the onset (65%), 10% do not have privacy to change sanitary pad and do not know how to use pad, 32% faced restrictions during menarche.

CONCLUSION

Mental health education of adolescent girls is essential to deal with psychosocial problems related to menstruation.

Remotely Successful: Telehealth Interventions in K-12 Schools During a Global Pandemic

The K-12 school setting is often considered an ideal environment to provide social emotional programming for children and youths. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused most K-12 schools to close their physical doors and shift to telehealth approaches to fulfill students' academic and non-academic needs. For the first time, school social workers (SSWs), often responsible for the social emotional well-being of students, were required to provide social emotional services virtually. Subsequently, this research study explored SSWs' experiences implementing social emotional telehealth services in K-12 public schools during the spring semester of 2020. Twenty SSWs from nine school districts across three states participated in key informant interviews related to their experiences navigating their professional role during distance learning. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative approach. The findings highlight the barriers SSWs encountered when providing social emotional telehealth interventions, including poor attendance resulting in ineffective group interventions, technology-specific barriers, and concerns for students' privacy. Opportunities and potential solutions to strengthen telehealth in schools are discussed.

The Role of Trauma-Informed Training in Helping Los Angeles Teachers Manage the Effects of Student Exposure to Violence and Trauma

Exposure to trauma, such as community violence, has far-reaching effects on childrens' learning and behavior. While schools are a critical place to provide positive and safe spaces for students, teachers have self-reported a lack of knowledge on how to work effectively with traumatized students. In response to this, there has been an increase in teacher training on trauma-related topics. However, it is unclear how training impacts teachers' trauma knowledge and difficulty responding to traumatized students in the classroom. As such, this exploratory study used a survey (N = 94) with Los Angeles teachers to assess whether training on violence and trauma is related to trauma knowledge and reported difficulty responding to traumatized students. Regression analyses indicate that total training increased teachers' trauma knowledge, which was found to mediate teachers' difficulty responding to traumatized students. Findings from this study support the need for a focus on trauma-informed training within the education context.