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Although students must successfully navigate transition years in school in pursuit of sustained academic success, not enough is known about the context-linked experiences of African American male adolescents as they seek to traverse their senior year, one of the most important pivotal points in time for all students. This study examined the relationship between perceptions of support from significant others, exposure to contextual risks, and two achievement outcomes in a representative sample of 139 African American male high school seniors. At this critical juncture in their education career, teacher support was predictive of higher grade point average (GPA), and a specific type of family support was associated with lower GPA. Qualitative analysis revealed similarities and differences in types of support reported to have had an impact on the participants' success in school. Results from the study confirm one hypothesis that exposure to contextual risks predicts poorer achievement outcomes. Findings affirm the need for tailored interventions that target and strengthen the systems of support within the social environment of academically at-risk African American male students.

The growing diversification of the kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) classroom presents unprecedented challenges that will alter the ways in which school social workers, counselors, and psychologists function in school systems. Education reform continues to breed greater competition for diminishing resources and will ultimately reduce the collective network of services provided by the integration of roles and responsibilities among related services personnel. In a solution-focused presentation, the authors will examine ways in which school social workers, counselors, and psychologists can meet and exceed the challenges of increasing diversity in school systems through culturally competent collaborative practice. The authors will demonstrate how collaboration and coordination among related services personnel can address the increasing diversity of public grade school systems to enhance practice efficacy, facilitate teaching and learning, devise evaluation research, and reduce the duplication of services.

The purpose of this article is to report on findings from a follow-up study that examined the relationship among social work education programs, postgraduate professional development, and school social workers' perceived levels of cultural competence in practice with urban minority youth. The initial study demonstrated that African Americans perceived a higher level of cultural competence than their Anglo American counterparts did. Findings highlight the need to understand the processes by which practitioners become culturally competent for urban school social work practice. Underscoring the importance of professional development, the authors determined that geographic location of practice may serve as a factor that influences how practitioners anticipate the need for culturally competent practice with diverse populations. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

With the needs and challenges of adolescent homelessness on the rise, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (MVA) was crafted as a public policy initiative aimed at facilitating access to schools for this population. While school social workers are the designated personnel for practice with homeless school-aged children, we know little about their abilities to implement the MVA or what hinders or facilitates their practice with this population. In this qualitative study of 201 school social workers, barriers to school social work practice with homeless children are explored. The most common barriers cited by the participants revolved around parental issues and support. We determined that the role that parents of homeless students play might be paramount to the success of MVA implementation. However, future research should investigate that relationship in greater detail. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.)

Objective: The McKinney-Vento Act (MVA) is the primary federal policy addressing homelessness in America with specific mandates designed to ameliorate the effects homelessness has on educational attainment for school-age children. The extent to which this policy is implemented may have far-reaching effects for homeless children. The MVA Implementation Scale (MVAIS) was developed for the purpose of providing a tool for assessing school-based social services personnel's perceived knowledge and awareness of implementation of the MVA within their service areas. This study tests the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the 26-item instrument. Method: Data were collected from a purposive sample of school social workers (N = 201) attending a Mid-Western regional conference in order to examine the reliability and the validity of this measure. Results: The hypothesized factor structures were confirmed. Findings also indicated high levels of reliability among items, as well as initial evidence of instrument validity. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that the MVAIS adequately measures participant's perceived implementation of the MVA. Future implications for research and practice are discussed. (Contains 8 tables.)

This study explores school social workers' perceptions of their ability to successfully engage in practice tasks that reduce the likelihood of school suspension and undesirable behaviors among racial and ethnic groups within diverse geographical locations (urban, suburban, and rural). Using survey research methods with a convenience sample, 201 public school social workers participated in the project. Social work licensure, years of direct practice experience, barriers to practice, and greater amounts of cultural competence training were all found to be significant factors via the use of analysis of variance. Findings from this investigation can assist school social workers to better understand the need to evaluate their efforts at curbing student behaviors that lead to school suspension. Suggestions for future research are discussed, along with implications for school social work practice and practice evaluation.

The purpose of this article is to report on findings from an exploratory study that examines the linkages among social work education programs, professional development, and school social workers' perceived level of cultural competence in urban public school systems that have a majority African American student enrollment. This study seeks to shed light on the need to engage in empirical investigations concerning cultural competence and school social work practice. Findings from this study highlight the need for both social work education programs and postgraduate professional development programs to monitor practitioners' preparation for culturally competent practice in urban public school systems. (Contains 5 tables.)

This exploratory study examined the contribution of social work experience and licensure to self-reported levels of cultural competence of social workers in urban public school systems. In addition, it examined the influence of practitioners race or ethnicity on perceived levels of culturally competent practice in urban schools. Using survey research methods with a convenience sample, data were collected from a cross-section of urban school social workers. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that total years of experience were a predictor of specific areas of culturally competent practice. Race and level of social work licensure significantly correlated with culturally competent practice. The study yielded important implications for practice, and future directions for research on school social work practice are discussed.

The author discusses the context in which absenteeism and truancy occur through an analysis of risk and protective mechanisms and suggests best practice methods based on a review of literature and research on several successful absenteeism and truancy prevention and reduction programs. The author suggests ways that school social workers can participate in truancy prevention and reduction projects through collaborative efforts with other school professionals, community organizations, social services agencies, parents, and school children.

The purpose of this article is to report on findings from an exploratory study that examines the linkages among social work education programs, professional development, and school social workers' perceived level of cultural competence in urban public school systems that have a majority African American student enrollment. This study seeks to shed light on the need to engage in empirical investigations concerning cultural competence and school social work practice. Findings from this study highlight the need for both social work education programs and postgraduate professional development programs to monitor practitioners' preparation for culturally competent practice in urban public school systems., THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS of the nation's changing demographics challenge school-based practitioners to keep up with the growing diversity found in classroom settings. This challenge is greatest in urban school settings [...]

Although students must successfully navigate transition years in school in pursuit of sustained academic success, not enough is known about the context-linked experiences of African American male adolescents as they seek to traverse their senior year, one of the most important pivotal points in time for all students. This study examined the relationship between perceptions of support from significant others, exposure to contextual risks, and two achievement outcomes in a representative sample of 139 African American male high school seniors. At this critical juncture in their education career, teacher support was predictive of higher grade point average (GPA), and a specific type of family support was associated with lower GPA. Qualitative analysis revealed similarities and differences in types of support reported to have had an impact on the participants' success in school. Results from the study confirm one hypothesis that exposure to contextual risks predicts poorer achievement outcomes. Findings affirm the need for tailored interventions that target and strengthen the systems of support within the social environment of academically at-risk African American male students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]