A Meta-Analysis of Published School Social Work Practice Studies

Abstract

Objective: This systematic review examined the effectiveness of school social work practices using meta-analytic techniques. Method: Hierarchical linear modeling software was used to calculate overall effect size estimates as well as test for between-study variability. Results: A total of 21 studies were included in the final analysis. Unconditional random effects model shows an overall weighted mean effect size estimate of .23 for externalizing problem outcomes and .40 for internalizing problem outcomes; both categories were statistically significant at the p < .05 level. Subgroup analysis for academic outcomes showed mixed results for knowledge, attendance, and grade point average outcome measures. Conclusions: Results highlight the positive impact school social workers may have on student emotional, mental, behavioral, and academic outcomes.

The Role of Self-Efficacy in Reading Achievement of Young Children in Urban Schools

“…A recent meta-analysis found that while many school social work studies have found positive impact on mental health, fewer were able to demonstrate change in academic outcomes like grades (Franklin et al 2009). Franklin and colleagues recommended that social workers seek measures more sensitive to incremental change (Franklin et al 2009). As elementary schools may measure academic skills according to more qualitative categories rather than quantitative grades, such change may even be more difficult to measure.…”

Estrategias para promover la participación de los padres en la educación de sus hijos: el potencial de la visita domiciliaria

“…A la vez, un rol clave para ayudar a prevenir los problemas de los estudiantes. El rol clave que juegan en la prevención se fundamenta en dos razones: 3 Franklin et al (2009) señalan que los trabajadores sociales escolares llevan alrededor de 100 años desempeñando su rol en las escuelas estadounidenses. Basados en las estadísticas de la Asociación Americana de School Social Work, estiman que en la actualidad habrían entre 20.000 y 22.000 trabajadores sociales desempeñándose en las escuelas de Estados Unidos, aunque se sospecha que la cifra estaría sub representada.…”

“…Según Openshaw (2008), el trabajo social escolar tiene como propósito permitir que el estudiante funcione y aprenda en el contexto escolar, es decir, mejorar la vida de los estudiantes en términos de su éxito académico. El trabajador social de escuelas está orientado a ayudar a los estudiantes a su aprendizaje y a adaptarse satisfactoriamente a la escuela, coordinando e influenciando los esfuerzos de la escuela, la familia y la comunidad para ayudar a lograr la meta (Franklin et al, 2009).…”

School Social Work in the United States: Current Evidence and Future Directions

“…Three reviews of the school social work literature have been published to date, including one narrative and two meta-analytic reviews, respectively (Early and Vonk, 2001;Franklin, Kim and Tripodi, 2009;Allen-Meares, Mongomery and Kim, 2013). AllenMeares et al conducted an international search of what are described as Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions.…”

“…If this course was chosen, school social workers would emphasize their impacts on student access to the highest quality services across the spectrum of prevention to indicated services and focus on behavioral and mental health domains. While there is an evidence base supporting the efficacy of various tiered strategies (Durlak et al, 2011;Hoagwood et al, 2007;Franklin, Kim and Tripodi, 2009), academic outcomes and reduction of the achievement gap would fall out of focus. Rather, greater focus would be placed on the translation of empirical findings into to real world school settings, how to deliver these strategies in the most sustainable and efficient ways possible (Domitrovich et al, 2011), and how to integrate them with extant school initiatives such as Response to Intervention and Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (Kelly et al, 2010b).…”