Browsing by Author "Morgan, George, advisor"
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Item Open Access Assessing master's level social work students' attitudes and knowledge of pychotropic medication and attitudes about people with serious mental illness following a classroom intervention(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) O'Day, Catherine, author; Morgan, George, advisor; Buchan, Victoria, advisorAttitudes towards people with serious mental illness influence the treatment they receive and decisions of policymakers. Social workers have become the largest group of mental health providers in the United States. Therefore, it is important to assess attitudes of social work students who will likely work with people with serious mental illness during their career. Masters level social work students enrolled in a foundation practice course and a concentration course participated in a classroom intervention that provided exposure to people with serious mental illness, explored the use of psychotropic medication, and provided the opportunity to practice assessments with standardized clients. A control group of students enrolled in alternative sections of the same course participated in order to determine if the intervention affected attitude and knowledge change. Three instruments were used in the pre and posttests. Two instruments were used to measure attitudes. The Attitude to Mental Illness scale (Singh, Baxter, Standen, & Duggan, 1998) measured attitudes to people with mental illness. The Attitudes toward Psychotropic Medication scale (Bentley, Farmer, & Phillips, 1991) measured attitudes toward the use of psychotropic medication. In order to measure knowledge about psychotropic medication, the Knowledge Index on Psychotropic Medication questionnaire (Bentley, Fanner & Phillips, 1991) was used. The results of the study indicated that social work students who participated in the study possessed pre-existing fairly high positive attitudes toward people with serious mental illness and psychotropic medication. Therefore, the interventions had no significant change in the pre to posttest scores for both measures. The control group who reported five months to two years of experience had a significantly higher change in their KIPMSW questionnaire posttest scores than the experimental group. Results indicate that the intervention may have been effective for participants who had some experience with people with serious mental illness. This study has implications for social work educators who are responsible for ensuring that future generation of social workers obtain adequate knowledge and attitudes in order to be effective mental health practitioners. Furthermore, the classroom interventions provide examples for teaching a variety of students about specific populations and fields of practice.Item Open Access Bachelor social work students' ratings of social work skills and advising experience: an analysis of the national Baccalaureate Educational Assessment Package (BEAP) Exit Survey data(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Hamilton, Tobi A. DeLong, author; Morgan, George, advisor; Buchan, Victoria, advisorThis study examined two sections the Baccalaureate Educational Assessment Package Exit Survey data from 2000-2007. BEAP is used by BSW programs to track students over time from entrance into a social work program to two years after graduation. A total of 16,996 student responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis Almost 90% of the participants were female students and 10% were male students and the mean age of students was 28 years-old. The overall student GPA was 3.3 and the majority had no reported disability (72%). The majority of social work programs that used the BEAP Exit Survey were smaller, BSW only, and located in public institutions. Student demographics did not predict social work skill ratings or advising experience. However, there were consistent patterns between skill and advising experience for non-traditional students. Program demographics did show notable results. Students in the smallest social work programs rated their skills higher on half of the skill questions. Students in private social work programs rated their social work skills higher than those students in public programs and students in BPD region six rated their social work skills higher than all other BPD regions. There were no differences in advising or social work skill ratings for students in BSW or combined BSW/MSW programs. Program demographics also showed notable results in the area of advising experience. Students in private denominational programs rated their advising experience higher than the other two program types and students in BSW only programs rated their advising experience higher. Students in the smallest programs rated their advising experience higher than other programs and students in BPD region one rated their advising experience higher than students in the other regions. Competency-based learning, with agreed upon outcomes, is the basis for assessing and certifying individual student achievement within social work programs. This study provided meaningful data about social work students and programs and their relationships to social work skills and the advising experience. Based upon the results, suggestions for future research to fill gaps in the literature and to improve social work program assessment were made.Item Open Access Combating employee burnout in long-term care(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Ferrara, Katherine, author; Morgan, George, advisor; Buchan, Vicky, advisor; Quijano, Louise, committee member; Kaiser, Leann, committee memberEmployee burnout in long-term care is a growing concern due to the changing demographics of individuals admitted to nursing homes in the United States. There is an increase in the number of admissions to nursing homes that include residents with dementia or some form of major mental illness. In addition to having some form of mental disorder, over half of these individuals also have some type of challenging behavior such as verbal or physical aggression. In spite of these changing demographics, there is a lack of adequate training for staff in these settings to care for this population. Lack of training and poor stress management coping skills can contribute to burnout. Burnout can have detrimental effects on the organization, the individual and the residents served in nursing homes. An eight session skills based intervention derived from the Cognitive-Behavioral therapeutic foundation was designed to educate employees on stress management skills and skills to effectively manage challenging resident behaviors. The skills based intervention was implemented in eight sessions to three different nursing homes that had a minimum of a 40% resident population with some form of mental disorder as a diagnosis. This study used a pretest/posttest comparison group design. Change scores on the data collection instruments were analyzed to determine the effect of the intervention on employee level of burnout as well as level of knowledge of behavior management techniques, for the intervention group only. Results indicated no statistically significant difference between the experimental and comparison group on change scores pertaining to level of burnout. There was, however, a significant gain in knowledge of behavior management techniques from pre to post intervention. Other constructs measured that are considered characteristics of burnout included tardiness and absenteeism. There was significant decrease in frequency of absenteeism comparing pre to post intervention in the experimental group. There was no significant change from pre to post intervention in the area of tardiness. A participant evaluation was administered to experimental group participants. Results of a participant evaluation indicated participants had a positive experience with the intervention. Participants felt an increase in level of support from co-workers and increase of knowledge on how to effectively care for residents with challenging behaviors. The length of time of the intervention may have been too short to achieve the desired results of a significant decrease of level of burnout from pre to post intervention. Evaluations revealed the majority of participants would have liked more time for the intervention. Also, vicarious trauma was not a consideration for the development of the intervention or as a contributing factor to burnout in the participants of this study. The majority of participants in the experimental group were classified as non-direct care staff, included members of the activities, social services and business office. It is recommended to include vicarious trauma as a contributing factor of burnout and to include interventions to combat vicarious trauma in future studies. It is further recommended for future studies to have the length of time of the intervention increased to greater than eight sessions. A final recommendation would be to limit participants to both the experimental and comparison groups to those who are classified as direct care staff.Item Open Access Correlates of, and intervention effects on, parent-school relationships(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Rattenborg, Karen, author; Morgan, George, advisor; MacPhee, David, advisorThe purpose of this study was to examine parent-teacher relationships within the context of a community-based intervention program. This study used an experimental, repeated measures design to explore how similar parent and teacher role expectations were, how perceptions of school climate related to parent involvement, and whether participation in the program strengthened parent-teacher relationships and increased parent involvement in schools. This study was part of a larger program evaluation of the effectiveness of the DARE to be You (DTBY) Bridge program. This innovative project provided community-based intervention to children along with their parents and their K-1 teachers through a series of workshops that focused on building relationships and improving the learning environment, with the goal of enhancing school readiness and adjustment. Participants were recruited from kindergarten classes and first-grade classes in the Four Corners area of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The sample consisted of 347 parents, who were randomly assigned to a control or an experimental group, and 80 teachers. At baseline, findings indicated that parents and teachers agreed that they should be supportive of one another's roles, that parents should have more responsibility than schools for teaching social skills, and that family and school should have equal responsibility for children's school success. Furthermore, teachers had significantly higher expectations than parents for parent involvement, and parent involvement was significantly greater when parents perceived parent-teacher communication to be more frequent and the school climate to be welcoming. No significant intervention effects were found for parents on actual parent involvement, role expectations, or parent-teacher communication. However, parents from the intervention group, compared to controls, reported the school climate to be more welcoming a year after enrolling in the program. Findings are discussed within the context of several frameworks of family school-relations. Teachers' tendency to want increased parental involvement in teaching social skills is discussed in terms of the Separate Spheres model and parents' perception of a welcoming school climate is discussed in terms of the importance of high-quality communication.Item Open Access Master's of social work students' research self-efficacy, attitude, and knowledge across the foundation year(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Holmquist-Johnson, Helen R., author; Morgan, George, advisor; Buchan, Victoria, advisorThis study examined foundation year MSW student outcomes with regard to the research curriculum. The researcher sought to understand students' attitudes toward research, research knowledge acquisition, and research self-efficacy. The Research Self-Efficacy (RSE) scale (Holden, Barker, Meenaghan, & Rosenberg, 1999) and a modified Kirk-Rosenblatt Research Inventory (K-RRI) (Kirk & Rosenblatt, 1981) were combined to create the survey instrument. Students enrolled at five schools of social work were recruited in the classroom to complete the survey. A pre-post design allowed students' responses at the beginning and end of the foundation year to be matched (n=75). Data collection for this study spanned the academic year of 2007-2008. Self-report responses were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings suggest that students' attitudes are favorable toward research. Knowledge of research increased over the foundation year. Students who completed one semester of research coursework were compared with those completing two semesters of research coursework. The group with two semesters of research coursework gained statistically significantly more knowledge than the one semester group. Research self-efficacy increased 24 points, a statistically significant change, suggesting a wide range of student confidence and preparedness. Recommendations for both social work practice and education communities are made based on the findings of this study. Changes to the field of evaluation research and technological advances in the last thirty years have been vast. Both faculty and students may benefit by attempting to set aside bias toward research. It is suggested that social work faculty seek to provide a positive learning environment surrounding the research curriculum. Incorporation of the research curriculum with other curriculum components continues to be of interest. The use of service-learning and the field practicum should continue to be explored as a means of integrating the practice and research curriculum (Williams, 2002). The social work practice community can influence the amount and type of research curriculum a social work programs provide. Finally, another research task force may be in order. There remains a need to determine the content of the research curriculum, how the curriculum is taught, and whether or not, research findings are used by social workers.Item Open Access Master's of social work students' research self-efficacy, attitude, and knowledge across the foundation year(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Johnson-Holmquist, Helen R., author; Morgan, George, advisor; Buchan, Victoria, advisor; Davies, Tim, committee member; Valentine, Deborah, committee memberThis study examined foundation year MSW student outcomes with regard to the research curriculum. The researcher sought to understand students' attitudes toward research, research knowledge acquisition, and research self-efficacy. The Research Self-Efficacy (RSE) scale (Holden, Barker, Meenaghan, & Rosenberg, 1999) and a modified Kirk-Rosenblatt Research Inventory (K-RRI) (Kirk & Rosenblatt, 1981) were combined to create the survey instrument. Students enrolled at five schools of social work were recruited in the classroom to complete the survey. A pre-post design allowed students' responses at the beginning and end of the foundation year to be matched (n=75). Data collection for this study spanned the academic year of 2007-2008. Self-report responses were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings suggest that students' attitudes are favorable toward research. Knowledge of research increased over the foundation year. Students who completed one semester of research coursework were compared with those completing two semesters of research coursework. The group with two semesters of research coursework gained statistically significantly more knowledge than the one semester group. Research self-efficacy increased 24 points, a statistically significant change, suggesting a wide range of student confidence and preparedness. Recommendations for both social work practice and education communities are made based on the findings of this study. Changes to the field of evaluation research and technological advances in the last thirty years have been vast. Both faculty and students may benefit by attempting to set aside bias toward research. It is suggested that social work faculty seek to provide a positive learning environment surrounding the research curriculum. Incorporation of the research curriculum with other curriculum components continues to be of interest. The use of service-learning and the field practicum should continue to be explored as a means of integrating the practice and research curriculum (Williams, 2002). The social work practice community can influence the amount and type of research curriculum a social work programs provide. Finally, another research task force may be in order. There remains a need to determine the content of the research curriculum, how the curriculum is taught, and whether or not, research findings are used by social workers.Item Open Access Selection of social work as an academic major among male and female undergraduate baccalaureate students(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Rogers, LaTra Tracy, author; Morgan, George, advisor; Buchan, Vicky, advisorThe purpose of this research was two-fold. First, this research used a questionnaire to identify factors impacting female and male undergraduate students' motivations for selection of and experiences within the social work major. Second, this research seeks to further investigate the experiences of male BSW students in a female dominated major. There were 166 participants, 141 females and 23 males from two undergraduate social work programs in Colorado who completed a 32-item questionnaire that was divided into three parts: motivations, experiences, and demographics. Hanson and McCullagh (1995) identified two factors from 12 items about motivation to select a social work program. Factor 1 was labeled Service to Others and Factor 2 was labeled Job Self Interest. Students in the current study rated the Service to Others items higher than Job Self Interest items, and females rated the Service to Others scale as more important motivators than did males. The findings of the study revealed that there were three motivation differences based on gender, two motivation differences based on age, and one motivation difference based on marital status. There were four experience differences found based on grade level, three experience differences based on Prior Exposure to a Social Worker, and one experience differences based on ethnicity. Having experienced a psychosocial crisis was not rated as an important motivator to select the major, but males, older students, married students, and those with no prior exposure to a social worker were more likely to rate it as an important motivator than were females, younger, and unmarried students. There were few differences in experiences during the major based on demographics. In conclusion, both female and male participants in this study have shed light on key motivation and experience factors impacting female and male undergraduate selection of and experiences within the social work major. The male participants who were involved in the follow-up interviews and offered their personal reflections, have helped to shed insight on male experiences within social work and how the profession can attract more males into social work programs.Item Open Access Using evidence-based literature to inform and improve social work practice(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Kidd, Kathryn, author; Morgan, George, advisor; Valentine, Deborah, advisorThis study examined the use of professional evidence-based literature in informing practice, in knowledge-building, and in skill-building by MSW social workers practicing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The study was a mixed methods study utilizing two survey phases: questionnaires and interviews. A brief questionnaire was distributed to 51 MSW social workers. This questionnaire included questions about the social worker's MSW degree, professional memberships, and journal subscriptions. It included the Brief Research Self-Efficacy Scale (Holden, Barker, Meenaghan, & Rosenberg, 1999) to determine comfort with specific research-related tasks. Analysis showed greater comfort on the part of participants with searching and reviewing the literature than with tasks more related to conducting research. Additionally, most scale items negatively correlated with years since receiving the MSW degree and correlated positively with the number of research courses taken. In the second phase, ten social workers were interviewed to obtain an in-depth understanding of their experiences with evidence-based professional literature. Interviewees were asked questions about what informs their decision-making about their practice, how they perceive the value of evidenced-based literature, their use of evidence-based literature, their perceived benefits of and barriers to the use of evidence-based literature, and what would make evidenced-based literature more useful/accessible to their practice. Three primary thematic areas were uncovered through the interviews. The value and use of evidence-based literature included a discussion of the concerns with reliance on evidence-based literature to determine best practice. Practitioner resources primarily included time issues and ways of obtaining information. While professional journal articles could be included as a resource, they were a major concern to the social workers interviewed and so were discussed separately. The issues surrounding practitioner use of professional literature, and especially practitioner needs with regard to their utilization of professional literature, are varied and complex. Numerous avenues for additional research in this area were identified. In addition, recommendations were made to facilitate the provision of greater support for social work practice and social work practitioners. Implications were discussed for social work education, professional social work journals, and social service agencies/organizations. Identifying ways to increase the use of evidence-based literature for social work practitioners is recommended.