A Study of Select Factors Associated with School Social Workers' Perceived Effectiveness in Providing Services to Homeless Students in Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, 2019

Jones, Sandrea Alexia

2010-2019

This study examined the relationship between school social workers perceived effectiveness and their perceived levels of competency (knowledge and skills), collaboration, and school culture when providing services to homeless students. A quantitative descriptive research design was employed in this study. Specifically, this study provided insight on how these select factors influence school social workers perceived effectiveness in providing services to homeless students. The study sample consisted of 103 school social workers and homeless liaisons who serve the metropolitan Atlanta. Respondents participated in the study by completing the School Social Workers Perceived Effectiveness Survey that was disseminated via email or in person. All respondents participated in the study voluntarily. Data analysis was conducted at three levels. The first level presented descriptive findings associated with demographic information and school social work experience of the respondents. The second level utilized crosstabs to examine the relationship between the dependent variable, perceived effectiveness, and each of the independent variables (competency, collaboration, and school culture). The third level of analysis was analytical procedures which tested the hypothesis under this study. This section used Spearmans Correlation Coefficient to determine the strength of the relationship between the dependent variable and each of the independent variables. This study found a positive, strong correlation between school social worker perceived effectiveness and skill-set, competency, collaboration, and school culture. There was a positive moderate correlation between school social worker perceived effectiveness and knowledge. The conclusions drawn from the findings of this research suggested that all of the independent variables showed a significant correlation with the dependent variable. The study findings proved to be useful for school social workers, policy makers, school administrators, homeless students and their families, and other school-based staff. KEYWORDS: Social Work

text

application/pdf

2019-05-20

dissertation

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Clark Atlanta University

Social Work

White, Gerry
Lyle, Richard
Tinsley, Vasanne

Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library

Georgia--Atlanta

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2019_jones_sandrea_a