Social work educators concur that writing and critical thinking are basic components of effective practice, yet students are often deficient in these skills. Although there is agreement among educators about the need to enhance students’ writing skills, there is little understanding of the nature of students’ problems—a necessary step in the development of effective educational approaches. This article reports on a qualitative study that sought to understand which factors contributed to the weak writing skills of a group of social work undergraduates. Based on its findings and analysis of previous literature, the authors suggest a set of interrelated components that influence students’ writing. The study’s findings may contribute to the development of potential solutions to this persistent problem.

Beyond “Writing to Learn”: Factors Influencing Students’ Writing Outcomes

Although instructors express concerns about social work students’ writing skills, little research has been conducted One remedy is a social work–focused writing course This study assessed a required writing course with a sample of 49 baccalaureate students From online pre- and posttest surveys, 2 student outcomes improved significantly: self-reported scores for writing self-efficacy and competence in course objectives On-demand writing samples improved significantly based on anonymous ratings by the course instructors; however, blind ratings found gains but not at a significant level Improved outcomes were not associated with demographic or background characteristics We discuss limitations of the study and implications for social work education

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Student Progress in a Social Work Writing Course: Self-Efficacy, Course Objectives, and Skills.

v List of Figures ix List of Tables x Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Larger Context 1 Local Context 12 Purpose Statement 15 Research Questions 16 Scope 18 Specialized Vocabulary 20 Limitations 21 Chapter 2: Literature Review 23 Theoretical Framework 25 Writing Theory 25 Skill Transfer 27 How Learning Happens 28 Themes from the Literature 29 Student Learning 29 Faculty’s Role 33 Differing Contexts 34 Supporting Students 37 Areas of Weakness 38

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Faculty expectations and perceptions of writing at a community college

Criminal justice faculty members often express disappointment that their students are not meeting the writing expectations of the discipline. This study was a collaborative project between criminal justice and English faculty members to institute a writing pedagogy intervention to examine if criminal justice students’ writing would improve over the course of a semester. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine student attitudes toward writing, documentation style, grammatical correctness, academic diction, and paraphrasing/plagiarism. The results revealed statistically significant improvements in student writing when writing assignments were scaffolded and frequent feedback was provided. Additionally, this study used independent raters to compare student performance on papers from a previous semester, when minimal writing instruction was provided, to the papers from the current study. The results suggest the intervention may improve criminal justice student writing.

Improving Criminal Justice Students’ Writing Outcomes Through Systematic Writing Instruction

Lack of proficiency in writing and research among social work students has increasingly concerned social work educators and practitioners. Given the significance of written communication with clients and emphasis on evidence-based practice in the field of social work, it is critical to assess students’ competence in both writing and research. However, deficit-based approaches to assessing writing and research competence have disadvantaged students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This pilot study aims to assess writing and research proficiency of HBCU master’s of social work (MSW) students through empirical analysis of their capstone papers and surveys from educators to provide implications for developing a writing and research manual for social work programs at HBCUs. Ten capstone papers were randomly selected and qualitatively analyzed; nine faculty and one field supervisor completed the survey, and their respondents were analyzed using cross-case analysis. Analyses of th...

An empirical assessment of writing and research proficiency in HBCU social work students

Concerns about social work students' writing are well documented, but the cost of specialized writing programs leaves budget-stressed programs confronting a problem they may feel they have few means to address. However, a valuable resource is already available: faculty expertise in social work writing. The challenge is helping faculty realize their knowledge is not transparent to students; it must be taught, intentionally and explicitly, in undergraduate social work classrooms. Engaging faculty in a process of articulating their expectations will help them elicit more effective student writing and change their attitudes toward student writing from frustrated to excited and optimistic.

Kelly S. Moor

Papers

Small Change, Big Difference: Heightening BSW Faculty Awareness to Elicit More Effective Student Writing