JSWE Award Winners for Volume 57
Best Reviewers
Congratulations to Jeane W. Anastas (New York University) and Brent Angell (University of Windsor), who have been selected as the Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE) Best Reviewers of 2022! Each year, the recipients of the Best Reviewer awards are selected by the JSWE Editorial Advisory Board to recognize manuscript reviewers who have demonstrated exceptional service in responsiveness to requests for review, timeliness in submitting completed reviews, and quality of written reviews.
CSWE and the JSWE Editorial Advisory Board would like to thank all the dedicated professionals who generously donate their time and expertise to review manuscripts and thus contribute to the value and success of the journal.
Best Articles of JSWE Volume 57
The criteria for choosing the Best Articles published in JSWE include the importance and timeliness of the content, originality of thought, innovative conceptualization of the topic, and presentation of conclusions and/or recommendations that add significantly to the professional knowledge base and to social work education.
Best Conceptual Article
Laurel Iverson Hitchcock, Johanna Creswell Báez, Melanie Sage, Matthea Marquart, Kaitlyn Lewis, & Nancy J. Smyth (2021). Social work educators’ opportunities during COVID-19: A roadmap for trauma-informed teaching during crisis. Journal of Social Work Education, 57, 82–98. DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2021.1935369
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 resulted in major disruption for social work education, as many teachers and programs shifted from on-campus classes to remote or blended teaching using digital technologies. Social work educators have an opportunity to apply the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to meet the needs of students and communities in ways that are grounded in our professional values. Due to the pandemic, many students and faculty were learning and teaching via online education for the first time and managing personal and community trauma. The purpose of this article is to provide social work educators with a practical, theory-informed approach that supports an unexpected switch to crisis teaching in times of extended crisis, to maintain quality education, and move toward best practices gleaned from trauma-informed approaches. We describe theoretical frameworks that can inform educational practices and decision making in times of disruption. Then we offer trauma-informed teaching and learning principles and technology-mediated strategies for best practices in crisis course design and delivery. We share practical strategies for the delivery of social work education that are especially needed in times of disruption.
Best Quantitative Article
Kelsey M. Moffatt, Holly K. Oxhandler, & James W. Ellor (2021). Religion and spirituality in graduate social work education: A national survey. Journal of Social Work Education, 57, 287–298, DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2019.1670307
This article describes a national survey of program directors in December 2017 at 257 master of social work programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education regarding the inclusion of religion and spirituality (RS) content in their curricula. A total of 104 MSW programs responded, yielding a 40.5% response rate. Of the 98 programs indicating whether their program offers a specific course on RS, 36 (36.7%) reportedly offer a RS course. Furthermore, RS content was often infused across the curricula, with the most popular content areas being human behavior and the social environment, clinical practice courses, and the field seminar. Implications and recommendations to help support MSW program administrators incorporate RS content into their curriculum are discussed.
Best Qualitative Article
M. Alex Wagaman, Edward J. Alessi, Jacob Goffnett, Keith J. Watts, Giovanni Iacono, De’Shay Thomas, Megan S. Paceley, & Shelley L. Craig (2021). Interrupting hetero- and cisnormativity in social work programs: LGBTQ+ student strategies for increasing inclusion. Journal of Social Work Education, 57, 342–356, DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2019.1671261
The Council on Social Work Education mandates that students be prepared to work competently across lines of difference. Research suggests that social work programs have inadequate curricula for preparing students to work with LGBTQ+ people, and can be unsupportive of the needs of LGBTQ+ students. Little is understood about the experiences of LGBTQ+ social work students who work to address these programmatic inadequacies. This qualitative study collected data from LGBTQ+ social work students in the US and Canada who had engaged in efforts to increase inclusion in their programs. A thematic analysis found that students used individual and collective strategies to increase programmatic inclusion of LGBTQ+ people and content. Participants also described the burden associated with doing this identity work.
Best Mixed Methods Article
Kelli E. Canada, Danielle Easter, & Anthony Banks (2021). Paving the path for tele–mental health services: Transitions in a student-led behavioral health clinic during COVID-19. Journal of Social Work Education, 57, 4–18, DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2021.1929622
Attempts to control COVID-19 pushed mental health providers to offer remote services to engage clients. This article discusses transitions in a student-led behavioral health clinic and has three aims: explore experiences transitioning to telehealth services, examine client mental health and quality of life outcomes, and compare client engagement through no-show and cancellation rates. This study is an evaluation and used a nonexperimental design. Data were collected from clinic students and faculty (n=21) and from clients (n=46). Data were analyzed using directed content analysis and univariate descriptive statistics. Students and faculty encountered few barriers moving services to telehealth. During a pandemic, client symptoms remained stable. No-show and cancellation rates declined following telehealth. Implications for student-led clinics and training are discussed.
Best Note
Faye Mishna, Jane E. Sanders, Karen M. Sewell, & Elizabeth Milne (2021). Teaching note—Preparing social workers for the digital future of social work practice. Journal of Social Work Education, 57, 19–26, DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2021.1912676
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted an abrupt shift in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in practice. The pre-pandemic use of informal ICT was already ubiquitous in social work practice. The purpose of this teaching note is to highlight that social work education must prepare students for practice using ICT during COVID-19 and beyond. Incorporated are findings from an international study on informal ICT use before COVID-19, which confirmed its ubiquity in social work, underscoring the need to educate and prepare social workers to use ICTs. Six knowledge areas important for social work education related to ICT use are discussed: integrating theoretical foundations; ethical considerations; confidentially and documentation; access and equity; risk assessment and management; and supervision and policy.