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Social Work Best Practices in Schools: Effect of Family-Focused Case Management on Rural School Students’ Success
Get PDFRural families and children have historically been challenged by a lack of public investment in their communities. Over generations, such deprivation created cycles of pervasive, persistent behavioral health and well-being disparities that negatively impact contemporary families and children, and threaten the socioeconomic future of America (Branson, 2019; Showalter et al., 2019; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). The purpose of this dissertation was to build a model of school social work best practices employing strategies intended to break cycles of unmet needs by reducing social determinant of health (SDOH) risks in rural environments, thereby enhancing the health and well-being of families, and the children in their care.
This work integrated current knowledge and advancements from multiple fields of study to forge innovations in practice supported by the foundational framework set forth by the School Social Work Association of America ([SSWAA], n.d.). The best practices model was piloted in five elementary schools in three rural school districts in northeastern Pennsylvania (N = 1,727). A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design was used to examine the effects of family-focused case management (FFCM) on student success. At the end of the first phase of this longitudinal community-based action research (CBPR) project (one public school trimester averaged 56 days), inferential statistics found no significant differences in the sample (n = 95) between the experimental group of youth whose family voluntarily participated in FFCM (n = 13) and the control group of youth whose family did not voluntarily participate in FFCM (n = 82). Barriers to implementing the model’s best practices of multisystem practice (MSP), family-in-environment (FIE), and planned change process (PCP) included lack of funding to achieve appropriate provider–student ratios in the high need, post-COVID-19 era and ideologies discounting families as a pivotal social institution. Provider shortages obstructed the inclusion of families in service offerings and the use of upstream prevention programs critical to reducing SDOH risk factors from the convenient hub of rural schools. Study implications and recommendations for future research are offered
Italian Settler and Family, Vineyards in Background, Mendoza, Argentina.
No full textLantern slide of Italian Settler and Family, Vineyards in Background, Mendoza, Argentina.https://research.library.kutztown.edu/lanternslideseducation/1966/thumbnail.jp
Liberating Self: An Autoethnographic Inquiry Into Black Male Mental Health
Get PDFThis autoethnography offers a first-person perspective on Black male mental health experiences. It incorporates personal narratives and academic research to explore the intersectionality of race, gender, and mental health, as well as the impact of historical and contemporary systemic racism and discrimination on Black males\u27 psychological and emotional well-being.
The Black Liberation Psychology theoretical framework and Africana Studies Conceptual framework examined how cultural norms, hip-hop culture, stigma, and societal factors, including racism, discrimination, and stereotypes about Black masculinity, shape Black male mental health experiences. The study also highlights Black males\u27 development of coping mechanisms and resilience strategies to navigate these challenges. The researcher employs their clinical skills as a licensed clinical social worker to critically analyze firsthand experiences navigating the mental health system, illuminating Black males\u27 unique challenges and barriers throughout their lives.
The findings suggest that Black male mental health is a complex issue, significantly impacted by white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. Therefore, African-centered interventions are identified as the only remediation to counteract Eurocentrism\u27s harmful effects on Black males.
The study calls for Black social work leadership professionals to create mental health programs that center on Black male experiences. Social work education should also educate prospective and current social work professionals on Black male experiences from a non-deficit perspective, promoting anti-racist practices through autoethnography and recognizing systemic racism and oppression
Amplifying Tutor Voices: A Qualitative Analysis for Improving Writing Center Tutoring Practices and Pedagogy
Get PDFWithin the walls of university writing centers, tutors and tutees collaborate. They discuss writing, but even more than that, they communicate about ideas and theories bigger than themselves, all while discovering their identities. Exploration of how tutors define their authority and agency, while also highlighting the importance of tutors’ voices, is necessary for the continuation of writing center studies. Writing center tutors’ roles may be understood by some, but the mental hurdles, the questioning natures, and the care-giver roles they are emersed into need to be further investigated. Through a study conducted at Kutztown University’s Writing Center, tutors were surveyed and interviewed to better understand tutors’ perceptions of their writing authorities and tutoring identities within the subsections of tutor training, tutoring sessions, and tutor stress. Additionally, this study discloses these tutors’ voices through anecdotal qualitative data, thus highlighting tutoring challenges and moments of advocacy and agency within the writing center
Wizard Island, Crater Lake, Oregon.
No full textLantern slide of Wizard Island, Crater Lake, Oregon.https://research.library.kutztown.edu/lanternslideseducation/1869/thumbnail.jp
The Kapellbrucke Crossing the River Reuss, Lucerne, Switzerland.
No full textLantern slide of the Kapellbrucke bridge crossing the River Reusse in Lucerne, Switzerland, circa 1905.https://research.library.kutztown.edu/lanternslideseducation/1678/thumbnail.jp
Hawk Mountain Raptor Migration Phenology’s Relation to Weather
Get PDFWe have been studying year-round raptor migration phenology across the United States and North America for multiple decades now. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s Autumn migration hawk count began in 1934 and is the longest running raptor migration count in the world. A decline in total raptor counts passing through Hawk Mountain’s North Lookout is well documented and much research has already been done in what could be the main causes for this decrease in counts year-over-year. We know that cold front passages have long been associated with autumnal migration in northeastern North America. Using updated analysis techniques, we examined 60 years’ worth of Hawk Mountain migration counts in relation to local climate variables.  The data was aggregated on an autumnal basis and the climate variables of interest were pulled, cleaned and sorted along with our target variable: the total raptor counts. For numeric non-target attributes, we recorded and visualized many scalar statistical values. Hawk Mountain’s temperature data has not been consistently recorded until around 1980, so, we merged NOAA Allentown weather station data for the days we see in the original dataset. Using this data, we were able to get a good understanding of initial correlations between weather attributes. Linear regression model evaluation using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient was run in order to try to find the best combination of predictors in order to predict the movement of the total raptors migrating through Hawk Mountain’s north lookout
Male Soldier ?
No full textLantern slide of Male Soldier.https://research.library.kutztown.edu/lanternslideseducation/2221/thumbnail.jp