JSWE Award Winners for Volume 59
Best Reviewer Award
The Journal of Social Work Education Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) recognizes an outstanding manuscript reviewer each year at the CSWE Annual Program Meeting. The award is given based on the percentage of manuscripts accepted, average time taken to return reviews, and quality of feedback to authors.
Best Article Award
Each year the EAB chooses the best articles of the previous volume year. These important articles discuss timely issues and significantly expand or deepen the body of knowledge related to their topics. They show originality of thought and provide sound or innovative conceptualization of their topics. Empirical articles also demonstrate a logical and sophisticated methodology appropriate for the study conducted, use advanced statistical procedures that are appropriate for the data analysis, and provide clear implications that add significantly to the professional knowledge base and to social work education.
Best Reviewer
Congratulations to Dr. Peter Choate (Mount Royal University), who has been selected as the Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE) Best Reviewer of 2024! Each year, the recipient of the Best Reviewer award is selected by the JSWE Editorial Advisory Board to recognize a manuscript reviewer who has 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 59
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
Amittia Parker. (2022). Black Social Workers Matter: Using Parallel Narratives to Discuss Social Work History. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(1), 255–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2021.2019634
This article presents parallel narratives as a pedagogical strategy to increase awareness, facilitate critical reflection, and dialog about the role of Black social work pioneers in the development of the social work profession. Using this approach, history is reconstructed and presented in ways that decenter Whiteness and avoid marginalizing people of color. The Black settlement house movement that occurred simultaneous with Jane Addams’s Hull House, the work of Lugenia Burns Hope alongside Mary Richmond, and the work of W. E. B. Du Bois and Bertha Reynolds, are parallel narratives discussed. This article intentionally shares the history of the social work profession with multiple narratives, and in addition emphasizes that doing so is a step toward the realization that Black Social Workers Matter.
Best Quantitative Article
Suzanne Pritzker & Natalia Giraldo-Santiago. (2022). Policy Education in U.S. Social Work Programs: Results of a National Study. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(2), 477–492. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2022.2039818
Using data from the Council on Social Work Education’s Annual Survey, this study captures a baseline snapshot of policy practice education in U.S.-based bachelor of social work and master of social work programs. Results indicate that the nature of students’ preparation to incorporate policy change into practice depends on which program they attended. This first study of policy practice education across U.S. BSW and MSW programs examines policy-related coursework, instruction, field-based learning, and hands-on educational experiences. The study finds substantial program variation, including the type of faculty teaching policy courses and their direct policy practice experience, as well as in the inclusion of field-based and hands-on policy learning opportunities. Implications for strengthening policy education in the United States are discussed.
Best Qualitative Article
Gita R. Mehrotra & Anita R. Gooding. (2022). What Contributes to Meaningful Experiences in Social Work Field Education?: Perspectives of Students of Color. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(3), 790–802. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2022.2033658
Despite the importance of field in social work education, little is known about the specific experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students in field placements. In this qualitative study with 42 social work students, we explored what factors contribute to meaningful experiences in field. Findings include: (a) connection to the practice area or community being served, (b) the importance of relationships with field instructors, including BIPOC field instructors; and (c) supportive agency context. Implications of this study support the recruitment and retention of BIPOC field instructors, continuing to build field instructors’ capacity to engage with issues of race, identity, and oppression, ongoing attention to agency context, and building more robust research regarding racial equity in field.
Best Qualitative Article (Scoping Review; Qualitative Synthesis)
Elizabeth Baker & Angelique Jenney. (2022). Virtual Simulations to Train Social Workers for Competency-Based Learning: A Scoping Review. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(1), 8–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2022.2039819
To successfully respond to the increasing needs and demands of clients, social workers must be equipped with a broad range of knowledge and skills. Due to limitations with traditional in-person methods, the field is considering virtual simulations to enhance students’ knowledge and competency-based skills. Virtual simulations are a method of using a computer/software/the Internet to teach knowledge and competency-based skills. In this article, we examine the different types of virtual simulations, categories of educational topics and competency-based skills that these virtual simulations address, and evidence of their usefulness. Initial findings suggest that these online learning modalities may not only be effective at teaching knowledge and competency-based skills, but that they may bridge a gap that exists in traditional teaching methods.
Best Note (Field)
Caroline N. Sharkey, Jennifer Elkins, & Zoe Johnson. (2021). Field Note—Creating Trauma-Informed Library Spaces: Lessons Learned From a Pilot Program. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(2), 583–590. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2021.1978913
Public libraries play an increasingly vital role as a public hub and safe haven open to all, with innovative programming and services that increase literacy, access to resources, and capacity-building. This field note describes the implementation of a federally funded academic–community partnership integrating a trauma-informed care framework and social work field placements into a public library to address the needs of vulnerable patrons in accessing community resources. It describes the process of developing this pilot program, including placing MSW student interns, assessment, implementation, training, and community integration of services. It concludes by discussing implications, strategies and lessons learned from this innovative pilot project with attention to navigating the challenges of adapting services and field placements during a global pandemic.