Social Workers (School)

Role and Function

School social work is a specialized area of social work practice. School social workers help students make successful school adjustments to enhance their ability to learn in their educational environment. They work with other school personnel and local social service agencies to help students overcome or cope with [Page 515]physical, emotional, or economic difficulties, as well as address social and behavioral problems that may be influencing their ability to perform well in school. School social workers often provide individual and group counseling, consult with teachers, participate on educational teams, facilitate communication and change for the benefit of their students, and advocate for students' needs (NASW, 1973). In promoting enhanced school adjustment and functioning for students, school social workers help the school, family, and community coordinate their efforts for the benefit of those they serve in the school. They facilitate collaboration of all systems by providing the best services available to meet student needs. School social workers often assist in working with parents and the community for the purposes of promoting a better understanding of the school's practices, policies, and philosophies. Most school social workers have a master's degree in Social Work (MSW), and many are often certified or licensed according to the NASW Standards for School Social Work Services (Barker, 1999).

Comparison to School Psychologists

The roles of school social workers may overlap with the professional roles of school psychologists. According to Fagan and Wise (2000), a school psychologist is a professional psychological practitioner who applies a psychological perspective when working with the difficulties of students and educators in a school. Like school social workers, school psychologists are often employed by school districts and serve on educational teams to help students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. Both school social workers and school psychologists work directly and indirectly with children, teachers, parents, and the community to meet the needs of students and promote learning (Fagan & Wise, 2000). Social workers and school psychologists are trained to work at the individual level as well as the systems level. Each of these professionals may engage in counseling, consultation, assessment, and various intervention activities.

Despite these similarities, there are differences in their training and practice. Unlike school social workers, school psychologists have extensive training in both education and psychology, including expertise in providing both direct and indirect comprehensive psychological services (Fagan & Wise, 2000). School psychologists have a master's, specialist, or a doctoral degree in school psychology. To practice school psychology, school psychologists must be certified or licensed in the state of employment. School psychologists are trained to provide a wide range of services including psychoeducational assessment, intervention, prevention, and mental health promotion. The expertise of social workers centers on understanding human development and behavior within the social environment, psychosocial assessment, casework, and social services; school psychologists' expertise lies in their training as psychoeducational consultants. They have an understanding of the learning environment as well as the cognitive, affective, social, and behavioral factors that may be influencing students' abilities to learn. When working to meet the needs of children, school psychologists consider the developmental levels and processes of children within the context of their environment; thus school psychologists take into consideration all factors that could be influencing a student's performance and functioning (Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology, 1998).

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