Admission and completion of social work programs: Who drops out and who finishes?

Abstract

Summary This study explored differences between 389 Israeli students in a Social Work department who finished their studies and 120 students who began, but did not complete their degree. Three groups of variables were compared: demographic variables (gender and age), test scores (on the matriculation and psychometric exams), and assessment of participation in a group interview prior to acceptance. Findings Except for gender, there were no significant differences between the students who finished their studies and those who dropped out. Among the students who completed their degree, only women, who received a higher score on the psychometric test, finished their studies with a higher grade point average. Only the men, who had a higher score on their matriculation exams, ended with a higher grade point average. The results also showed that, for the men, there was a significant positive correlation between the assessment of their performance on the interview and the final grade point average. Furthermore, there were significant correlations between the way the candidates were categorized by the interviewers and the overall assessment they received on this criterion. Applications The results of this study add support to previous research that showed that gender and the scores on the matriculation and psychometric exams are connected to success in social work programs. In addition, it was found that the pre-acceptance group interview can differentiate between those candidates who will complete their studies and those who will not. These findings can hopefully help social work departments improve the procedures they use in their admissions’ mechanisms.

To fail or not to fail: enhancing our understanding of reasons why social work students failed practice placements (2015–2019)

“…Parker and Ashencaen Crabtree (2014) study suggested that the profession can be an 'unwelcoming and even hostile territory for male practitioners' (p. 325) with male students often facing negative stereotypes and different learning expectations. Two other studies (Furness, 2012;Levinger & Segev, 2016) reported that males are more likely to drop out of social work programmes, that males tend to struggle more than women, and that male students feel they are 'on the margin in the educational context' (Levinger & Segev, 2016, p. 15).…”

The gender-related experience of frontline Israeli male social workers

“…At the same time, coping with this and other challenges in the course of social work studies was not easy, and residual contradictions remained, both small and large, between the former and new identities. These contradictions could be painful and contribute to the disproportionately high dropout rate among male social work students (Levinger & Segev, 2018).…”

The assessment of emotional intelligence in social care and healthcare student selection: a qualitative descriptive study

“…Although EI assessment has been identified as an important element of student selection in nursing (Haavisto et al 2019), there is insufficient previous research on the issue in this context (Talman et al 2019). In general, research on social care and healthcare student selection and related matters has focused primarily on the assessment of academic skills, such as literacy, mathematics and problem-solving (Hughes 2002;Levinger and Segev 2016;Talman et al 2018). The current study, then, offers a contribution to research efforts by investigating EI assessment in the context of social care and healthcare student selection.…”