School Social Work in Louisiana: A Model

of Practice
Laura A. Richard and Leticia Villarreal Sosa

Although the role of the school social worker has historically been inconsistent, fragmented,
and contextual, concerns about the need to advocate for school social work positions, dem
onstrate the effectiveness of school social work practice, understand the consequences of role
ambiguity, and respond in a proactive way to policy changes has necessitated a focus on the
development of a more clearly defined school social work role. The purpose of the current
exploratory-descriptive study was to examine the role of school social workers in Louisiana
(!V= 378). Results of the analysis led to a consistent role definition in Louisiana and the
development of a conceptual practice model. This conceptual model and role definition
has implications for school social workers ability to advocate for their positions, provide
accountability for their work, and guide the training and education of school social workers.
KEY W ORDS: role ambiguity; role theory; school social work; school social work role

he role of school social workers has con

tinually been fragmented and determined
by the context in which they work as well
as policy changes at the federal level (Kelly, 2008).
School social work has evolved over the past 100
years from enforcing mandatory school attendance
in 1918 to providing emotional support for children
and families beginning in the 1930s (Allen-Meares,
2006). N ew and changing educational legislation
surrounding early childhood education and educa
tion o f children with disabilities recently led to the
expansion o f school social work. Moreover, con
temporary roles also include an emphasis on margin
alized children by calling for school social workers
to address violence in schools (Mandalawitz, 2000)
and to influence education policy (Villarreal Sosa,
2011 ).
R ole development is a combination o f both a
social w orkers skills and the perception o f the
employment setting (Agresta, 2006; Anand, 2010;
Beauchem in & Kelly, 2009; Constable, 2009).
However, because the school social w orkers role
has not been prominent in Louisiana, the schools
perception o f the social w orkers role tends to
take precedence over the social workers skills and
training. The lack o f knowledge that schools and
school districts possess about what tasks a social
w orker performs in a school setting, such as the
case in Louisiana, has created a variety o f role defi
nitions. Consequently, school social workers often
find themselves unsure about their role in schools

doi: 10.1093/cs/cdu022

2014 N ational Association o f Social Workers

and how their role corresponds with requirements

o f the laws and ethical standards governing school
social w ork practice. A lack o f uniformity in state
and national role definition contributes to the role
ambiguity among school social workers, with
potential consequences for their jo b satisfaction,
performance, and ability to advocate for the profes
sion. This study contributes to a growing body of
research on the role o f school social workers in an
effort to enhance the process o f developing a role
definition and model o f practice (for example,
Anand, 2010; Frey & Dupper, 2005; Frey et al.,
2013; Kelly, Berzin, et al., 2010).
Growth o f national organizations supporting
school social work in the 1990s, along with the
growing challenge o f educating more diverse and
more disadvantaged students, encouraged the es
tablishment o f national standards for practice and
qualification requirements for the practice o f school
social work (Allen-Meares, 2006; Dupper & Evans,
1996; Frey et al., 2013; NASW, 2002,2012). How
ever, consistent national standards and qualifica
tion requirements are not established at a policy
level and continue to differ from state to state.
T hough national standards exist (NASW, 2002,
2012), Louisiana has not incorporated them into
its requirements for school social w ork practice,
resulting in a lack o f congruency in school social
w ork practice in Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana, like many other states, has defined a
role for school social workers: to provide services

211

to a student and his family to assist the student

to make satisfactory emotional and social adjust
ment in the school environment to enhance their
academic progress (Louisiana D epartm ent o f
Education [LDOE], 2010). Though defined, actual
practice roles incorporated in this definition are
lacking, leading to questions regarding the exact
practice role, and uncertain, ambiguous, or overzealous role definitions by school districts in Loui
siana. Research is needed to collect reliable and
valid information about school social work practice
to support the development o f state and national
standards that guide practice and policy. Louisiana
has taken steps in that direction by surveying the
population o f school social workers in the state.
The purpose o f this study was to examine the role
o f school social workers in Louisiana; the data were
used in combination with the N A S W Standards for
School Social Work Services (NASW, 2002, 2012) to
develop a conceptual model of practice for Louisi
ana school social workers.
DEFINING SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK

School social work practice in a school setting

involves the provision o f support to students in their
school, family, and community life to ensure that
students reach their full potential in the educational
setting (Constable, 2009). School social workers
provide the bridge betw een schools, homes, and
the community in an environment where supports
for families are deteriorating while the areas o f need
remain (Constable, 2009; NASW, 2012). The defi
nition has continued to evolve to include those that
encompass clinical casework, primary prevention,
and response to intervention (RTI) (Kelly, Berzin,
et al., 2010). School social w ork is distinguished
from other school-based professions by its emphasis
on serving marginalized and oppressed populations
as well as its theoretical foundation framing practice
from an ecological systems perspective. School
social workers must be aware o f how microsystems,
mesosystems, exosystems, and macrosystems affect a
child and determine which level should be the tar
get o f intervention (Allen-Meares, 2010; Corbin,
2005; Diehl & Frey, 2008; Frey & Dupper, 2005).
Thus, the child is viewed as nested in a classroom,
school, school district, family, and community; each
o f these systems is within a larger social and histor
ical context (Villarreal Sosa, 2011).
School social w ork roles began evolving with
the enactment o f the Elementary and Secondary

212

Education Act o f 1965 (ESEA) (P.L. 89-10) and

the Education for All Handicapped Children Act
o f 1975 (EAHCA) (P.L. 94-142). Both laws were
established to ensure equal educational opportunity
for all children regardless o f their background. The
1965 ESEA was significant in that it expanded the
role o f the school social worker by providing ad
ditional responsibilities and funds to offer those
services (Rowen, 1967). In 1975, EAHCA was
passed to ensure that all students, regardless of
their disability, would have access to a free and ap
propriate public education (Association for Career
and Technical Education, 2009). EAHCA described
a social workers role as completing social histories,
providing individual and group counseling, mobi
lizing com m unity resources, and linking home
and school to help students adjustment (Humes
& Hohenshil, 1987).
Because o f continued educational disparities,
policymakers looked to additional educational re
form strategies focused on services provided for stu
dents within the school to effect improved outcomes
(Stone, 2009). As a result o f these reforms, there
were five major trends that affected the role o f
school social work: R T I, evidence-based practice,
growing mental health concerns, accountability
requirements, and data-driven decision making.
However, Corbin (2005) argued that the role o f the
school social w orker in these processes has re
mained ambiguous.
THE NEED FOR ROLE CLARITY

Because school social w ork roles continue to be

unclear, context dependent, and continually evolv
ing, school social workers may experience role
ambiguity, with consequences for their job perfor
mance and satisfaction. Furthermore, role clarity has
implications for collaboration and boundaries with
other school-based professions. Finally, role clarity
is necessary to clearly communicate the value o f the
profession, gamer support from administration, and
advocate for the profession and the students served.
Role ambiguity among employees occurs when
expectations are not clear, creating an uncertainty
that comes with a lack o f clearly defined responsi
bilities and expected outcomes in a certain position
(Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, & Snoek, 1964). The role of
the school social worker clearly fits this description;
the exact role o f a school social worker has never
been agreed on or enforced when standards have
been put forth by state or national organizations.

Children dr Schools

V olume 36, N umber 4

O ctober 2.014

In addition, because job descriptions do not always

explicitly state the expected role o f a school social
worker or respond to changes in educational poli
cies that directly affect the role o f a school social
worker, role ambiguity can becom e a reality for
school social workers. W hen role ambiguity occurs,
employees may experience stress, decreased job
satisfaction, burnout, and high rates o f turnover
(Bebetsos, Theodorakis, & Tsigilis, 2008; Miles,
1975), leading to adverse effects on self-efficacy
(Eys & Carron, 2001; Weiner, 2005) and a higher
likelihood o f leaving the job (Bedeian & Armenakis, 1981).
School social workers in Louisiana and nationally
have never had a defined role to guide their practice
parameters. School social workers are aware o f the
national standards, but school districts in Louisiana
do not use the national standards to define school
social work roles across the state. Furthermore,
Louisiana school social workers practice in a vari
ety o f settings: traditional public schools, charter
schools, Recovery School District direct-run tradi
tional public schools (districts administered by the
LDOE after schools are deemed failing for at least
four consecutive years), school-based health climes,
and through agencies contracting social workers to
the school district (Richard, 2013). The variety o f
practice settings in Louisiana serves to magnify the
fragmentation.
Furthermore, Agresta (2004, 2006) argued that
role clarity is needed to both distinguish and under
stand overlap in roles among the school psycholo
gist, social worker, and counselor. Both school
psychologists and school counselors have models of
practice adopted by their professional organizations
(American School Counselor Association, 2008;
National Association of School Psychologists, 2010)
and greater consistency with concurrent certification
standards across states (Altshuler & Reid Webb,
2009). Altshuler and Reid W ebb (2009) described
the need to increase the legitimacy o f the school
social work profession by clearly defining role expec
tations and developing consistency across states.
Tower (2000) suggested that poor role definition leads
to school administrators undervaluing social workers
because they do not know what their roles entail.
In addition, other school-based professionals have
included domains historically performed by social
workers in their own role definitions, creating in
creased uncertainty about the uniqueness o f the
school social worker (Agresta, 2004). Consequendy,

R ichard

and

Anand (2010) stated that much o f their time seems

to be wasted in trying to make a place for themselves
(p. 242), which results in feelings o f isolation and
frustration. A lack of role clarity and overlapping role
responsibilities can also create competition between
professional groups (Davis, 1996; Forte, 1998) and
lead to decreased collaboration and less effective teams
(Villarreal Sosa & McGrath, 2013).
For all the reasons outlined earlier, making pro
gress toward role clarity is important for the individ
ual school social worker and the profession overall.
The current study used information gathered from a
statewide survey o f Louisiana school social workers
to establish a consistent role definition and concep
tual model for the practice o f school social work in
Louisiana. It corrects the limitations o f previous
studies o f school social work roles by gathering spe
cific information on roles performed by school
social workers in Louisiana and using all the infor
mation gathered to construct a more precise defini
tion. By estabhshing a set o f standards for practice,
training and poheies can be implemented to rein
force the role o f the school social w orker and to
provide a solid foundation for advocacy o f school
social work in an era o f budget cuts and account
ability requirements.
METHOD AND PROCEDURES
Participants and Sample

The entire population o f school social workers in

Louisiana employed in public school districts, charter
schools, Recovery School District direct-run public
schools, school-based health clinics, and agencies
that contract with schools to provide school social
work services (N = 487 as o f October 2010) were
recruited for this study. The population from each
type o f school social w ork practice district was
obtained through consultation with the LDOE,
direct contact with school districts, and information
received from interested parties such as coworkers
and state organizations. All participants had e-mail
addresses through their employing school districts,
which allowed for ease in contacting them. Partic
ipants were contacted via e-mail and directed to the
hnk containing the survey instrument. Among the
487 potential participants, 378 completed the sur
vey, for a response rate o f 78 percent.
Instrum entation

Based on the national and state descriptions and

standards o f school social w ork practice, national

V illarreal Sosa / School Social Work in Louisiana: A M odel o f Practice

213

and state surveys previously conducted, and school

districts social w ork jo b descriptions, a 46-item
instrument was developed to survey the population
o f school social workers in Louisiana. The items in
the survey were closed-ended and followed a Likert
scale format or a bounded recall technique for
responses. The last question in the survey was openended to allow for responses that could not be
included in the closed-ended questions. The items
were designed to obtain demographic information
from respondents and to ascertain their role in the
particular school district they served. The survey
was distributed to all school social workers in
Louisiana through e-mail using a Survey M onkey
link. The survey inquired about the types o f activ
ities in which Louisiana school social workers were
involved, including how many and what types o f
students were served, types o f support received,
and demographic information.
Data Collection Procedures

A pilot of the survey was conducted with school social

workers in Louisiana. Twelve potential pilot partici
pants received e-mailed letters requesting their partic
ipation in the pilot; eight o f the 12 potential pilot
participants consented to participate. Each pilot partic
ipant was asked to complete the survey online through
a Survey Monkey link sent in an e-mail. An attach
ment containing a request for a written response to
the survey was included in the e-mail and returned
by the pilot participants via e-mail. The pilot partici
pants provided feedback on the survey content and its
relationship to the practice o f school social work,
length of the survey, and amount of time needed to
complete the survey. Based on responses from the
pilot participants, the decision was made not to alter
the survey before statewide distribution.
The survey instrument was e-mailed to the popu
lation o f school social workers in Louisiana begin
ning O ctober 20, 2010. The body o f the e-mail
contained an introductory letter explaining the pur
pose o f the study, information about confidentiality,
and an acknowledgment o f the right o f the individ
ual to refuse to participate in the survey. By clicking
on the Survey Monkey link embedded in the e-mail,
the school social worker agreed to participate in the
survey. Before the school social workers received the
survey, the LDOE distributed a letter to school dis
trict superintendents and charter school administra
tors informing them o f the upcoming survey. The
Louisiana chapter o f NASW also posted on its

214

Web site a copy o f the letter from the LDOE and

a letter from its organization supporting the survey.
Three e-mail reminders with the survey link attached
were sent within two weeks o f the initial mailing
and again within two weeks after the first reminder.
Finally, a third reminder e-mail was sent two weeks
after the second reminder. A mailed copy o f the
survey was then distributed to all the school social
workers in the two least responsive regions o f the
state, Region 4 and Region 9.
DATA ANALYSIS

Univariate analyses were used to summarize data

(Rubin & Babbie, 2011). Descriptive analyses were
used to describe the study participants according
to practice roles, types o f licenses held, educational
background, jo b title, supervision received, and
needs for professional development. Most o f the
questions on the Louisiana survey were at a nominal
level o f measurement. The response categories o f
the practice role question supporting the concep
tual model o f practice presented in this article are
described in Table 1.
RESULTS
Practice Roles

School social workers in Louisiana were asked what

practice approaches they engaged in and responded
Table 1: Description o f Practice Role
Variables
Variable

Description

Practice approaches
A ssessment and
evaluation

C ond u ctin g a part o f or coordinating a

Pupil Appraisal special education
evaluation or assessment o f a student
for special education evaluation
purposes

Case m anagem ent

Referral to o ther sources, abuse/neglect

reporting or m onitoring, or
com m unity collaborative services

D irect services

Individual or group counseling, crisis

intervention, family counseling, or
parent education

Indirect services

Prevention services, schoolw ide

intervention, school personnel
consultation, m ultidisciplinary team
collaboration, administrative duties,
and any o ther tasks involving no
direct student contact

Professional
developm ent and
supervision

Children & Schools

Program developm ent, providing

professional supervision, program
evaluation, attending professional
developm ent conferences and
sem inars, and policy developm ent

V olume 36, N umber 4

O ctober 2014

T a b le 2: P ra c tic e In f o r m a t io n ( N = 3 7 8 )
n

S a m p le R e s p o n s e s

(% )

Practice approaches used frequently

A ssessment and evaluation

218 (58)

Case m anagem ent

168 (45)

D irect services

260 (70)

Indirect services

285 (76)

Professional developm ent and supervision

105 (28)

Note: Percentages do n o t add up to 100%, as respondents could select m ore th a n one

choice f o r some questions.

on a Likert-type scale ranging from never to fre

quently. As shown in Table 2, the practice ap
proaches chosen as most frequently engaged in
were indirect services (n = 285; 76 percent), direct
services (n = 260; 70 percent), assessment and eval
uation (n = 218; 58 percent), case management
( = 168; 45 percent), and professional develop
ment and supervision (n = 105; 28 percent). Indi
rect services included macro-level practice such as
prevention and schoolwide intervention (see
Table 1). Prevention activities most used by school
social workers in Louisiana were as follows: partic
ipating on a schoolwide com m ittee or task force
(n = 188; 49 percent) and in teacher professional
developm ent (n = 133; 35 percent), increasing
parental involvement in school activities (n = 113;
30 percent), and engaging students and families in
community services and activities (n = 79; 21 per
cent). These activities were consistent w ith the
NASW Standardsfor School Social Work Services Stan
dard 10 Interdisciplinary Leadership and Collab
oration, w hich states that school social workers
promote positive school climate through consulta
tion, training, and engagement o f parents, school
personnel, and other professionals or community
stakeholders (NASW, 2012).
Seventy-two percent provided R T I for behavior
and determined how effective their services were by
using school system data (n = 299; 82 percent),
teacher and administrator reports (n = 256; 70 per
cent), self-constructed graphs (n = 117; 32 percent),
and case notes (n = 197; 54 percent). This suggests
that school social workers in Louisiana are practic
ing in a way that is consistent w ith Standard 5
Decision M aking and Practice Evaluation, which
emphasizes data-driven decision making and the
Guiding Principles o f these standards, which
emphasize the use of multitier interventions (NASW,
2012).

ic h a r d

a n d

il l a r r e a l

So s a /

C r e d e n tia ls a n d J ob T itle s

MSW degrees were held by 95 percent ( = 335) of

the respondents, and 82 percent ( = 274) were
licensed clinical social workers. O ther licenses
held by m any participants were certified school
social w ork specialist (n = 1 6 3 ; 49 percent) and
the LDOE ancillary certification o f qualified school
social worker (an LDOE-required ancillary certifi
cation) (n 159; 47 percent). Before receiving their
masters degree, some MSWs were social work
majors at the bachelors level and received a BSW
( f t = 31; 9 percent), whereas others received their
bachelors degree in another field (n = 60; 18 per
cent). M ore than one category on this question
could be chosen, allowing a respondent to choose
each level and category o f schooling they had
achieved. O f the 5 percent o f respondents who
had a masters degree in a field other than social
work, the majority were employed as pupil
appraisal social workers or school-based social
workers (n = 16; 84 percent). Given the practice
roles that school social workers participate in and
NASW (2012) recommendations of an MSW or a
BSW with M SW supervision, it is critical to con
sider the level and type o f preparation for these
roles.
School social workers in Louisiana had a variety
ofjob titles. The most commonly used job title for
the school social workers in Louisiana participating
in the survey was pupil appraisal social worker (n =
147; 47 percent). O ther job titles included schoolbased social worker (n = 101; 33 percent), behavior
interventionist ( = 28, 9 percent), child welfare
and attendance social worker (n = 11; 4 percent),
school-based mental health social worker (n = 10;
2.6 percent), charter school social worker ( = 7;
1.9 percent), and early childhood or pre-K social
worker ( = 6; 1.6 percent). The variety ofjob titles
reflects potential variations in roles and the impor
tance o f a practice model that can underscore the
common elements o f school social work practice
in a variety o f contexts reflected by these job titles.
S u p e rv is io n

Most o f the social workers received an annual eval

uation ( = 311; 90 percent). However, only 19
percent (n = 78) o f social workers were supervised
by a social worker. In addition, the means o f eval
uation varied. Forty percent (n = 267) were evalu
ated on the basis o f progress on their professional
growth plan, direct observation accounted for all

School Social Work in Louisiana: A M odel o f Practice

215

or part o f the evaluation o f 24 percent (n 159) of

school social workers, and 18 percent (n = 119) of
the social workers received a generic evaluation
completed for all employees. O ther methods o f
evaluation included student progress notes (n 19;
3 percent), student discipline reports (n = 13; 2 per
cent), student standardized test scores (n = 3; 0.4 per
cent), student grades (n = 3; 0.4 percent), student
attendance (n = 10; 1 percent), special education
placement numbers ( = 7; 1 percent), treatment
plan goals for student (= 18; 3 percent), and by
some other means. The NASW (2012) standards rec
ommend supervision by an MSW-level school social
worker. This is an area o f weakness for Louisiana
school social workers. Few are supervised by MSWlevel school social workers, and there is inconsistency
in the methods of evaluation. Directly including this
domain in the model highlights the importance of
addressing supervision for school social workers in
Louisiana.
Id e n t if ie d N e e d s o f C h a n g in g R oles

Tw o hundred nine (87 percent) social work

respondents believed they were offered adequate
training opportunities by their school district for
their practice o f school social w ork. Trainings
provided by school districts included behavior
intervention development (n = 208; 21 percent),
academic intervention development (n = 142; 15
percent), analyzing intervention data ( = 111; 11
percent), evidence-based practice (n = 86; 9 per
cent), use and interpretation o f specific assessment
tools ( = 86; 9 percent), mental health issues (n =
97; 10 percent), substance abuse issues ( = 30;
3 percent), interpreting academic or behavior inter
vention data (n = 84; 9 percent), medication issues
(n = 29; 3 percent), and child development (n = 34;
3 percent). If trainings were offered by their school
district, respondents indicated that they would
be interested in enrolling in the following train
ings: behavior intervention development (n = 290;
17 percent), academic intervention development
( = 98; 6 percent), analyzing academic or beha
vior intervention data (n = 1 8 5 ; 10.8 percent),
evidence-based practice ( = 229; 13 percent),
use and interpretation o f specific assessment tools
( = 182; 11 percent), mental health issues (n = 264;
16 percent), substance abuse issues (n = 1 4 7 ; 9
percent), interpreting academic progress ( = 105;
6 percent), medication issues (n = 218; 13 percent),
and child development (n = 137; 8 percent). These

216

results suggest that school social workers in Louisi

ana are being provided w ith and are seeking out
professional development opportunities consistent
with the description o f an evolving context o f edu
cation calling for evidence-informed strategies and
multi-level interventions (NASW, 2012).
The results o f the Louisiana school social work
survey combined with the general standards in the
2012 N A S W Standardsfor School Social Work Services
provided a conceptual classification o f school social
w ork practice in Louisiana into four major areas:
supervision o f other social workers, macro-practice
encompassing school- or districtwide program de
sign and management, micro-practice including in
dividual and group mental health treatment or
behavior intervention, and special education evalu
ation and evaluation coordination. This model pro
vides a framework in which to understand the scope
o f the roles o f school social workers in Louisiana,
regardless o f job title or practice context (Richard,
2012). The conceptual model o f school social work
practice in Louisiana is presented in Figure 1.
The model o f school social work practice consid
ered the social and pohtical context as well as the
various systems such as school, community, and
family. The NASW (2012) standards include the
changing context o f education, such as the increased
use o f data-informed practice and the use o f R TI.
The tasks that school social workers in Louisiana
engaged in were consistent with this evolving con
text o f education and subsequent impact on the
types o f roles school social workers have. School
social workers should address all the systems affecting
a student and work to provide appropriate interven
tions to alleviate difficulties the student has in the
school setting. The four areas o f practice micro,
macro, evaluation, and supervision are embedded
within this ecological context. At the center are
the core values and skills required for effective prac
tice across all four areas o f practice: advocacy; cultural
competence; family, staff, and community collabora
tion; and accountability and data-based decision
making (NASW, 2002,2012).
DISCUSSION

The present study examined the practices o f school

social workers in Louisiana. This sample dem o
graphic was similar to those reported in published
survey research (see Allen-Meares, 1994; Dibble,
2008; Kelly, 2007; Kelly, Raines, Stone, & Frey,
2010; Whittlesey-Jerome, 2010). Flowever, the

Children & Schools

V olume 36, N umber 4

O ctober ZO14

F ig u r e 1: M o d e l o f S c h o o l S o c ia l W o r k P r a c tic e

Social
Inequalities

Mental
Health

Systemic
Climate

Legislation

Political
Climate

Environm ent

Source: Richard, L. (2012). S c h o o l s o c ia l

w o r k e r s : E f f e c t iv e n e s s m e a s u r e s , y e a r 2 .

Unpublished report submitted to Louisiana Department of Education.

questions asked in this study were intended to

obtain a snapshot o f school social work practice in
Louisiana and to assist in developing a conceptual
model o f practice for Louisiana school social work
ers, and were not specific to a particular focus o f
practice like the other surveys. Kelly and Stone
(2009) noted that studies o f school social work
practice have not moved beyond a description o f
the tasks, activities, and services that school social
workers perform. However, until a unified descrip
tion o f school social work tasks, activities, and ser
vices is developed and is representative o f all states,
forward movement in the following o f a national
role definition o f school social w ork will not likely
occur.
Louisiana school social workers indicated by
their answer choices on the types o f practice ap
proaches used that the categories chosen for the sur
vey questions were congruent w ith their actual

R i c h a r d a n d V il l a r r e a l S o s a

practice, thus supporting the development o f the

conceptual model. The four areas o f practice and
the continuum o f skills that are used within these
four areas affect and are affected by what occurs in
the other systems within and outside o f a school set
ting, such as the political climate, legislation, class
room, home, community, peers, social inequalities,
mental health, and the systemic climate of the micro-,
macro-, meso-, and exosystems. By focusing on the
four areas o f practice, the continuum o f activities
within each, and the external influences that interact
with the student, school social work can maximize
the success o f interventions if allowed to engage all
parts o f a childs life and all parts o f practice. Further
more, adopting this model o f practice can assist
school social workers in advocating for an ecological
approach in a system that often only supports micro
level interventions. This model can help non-social
workers and administrators understand the unique

/ School Social Work in Louisiana: A M odel o f Practice

217

role of school social workers and the importance of

their ecological approach in addressing student needs.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

There are several limitations to the current study,

mainly due to measurement, external validity, and
representativeness. The instrumentation was the
major source o f measurement error. Although the
survey appeared to have face and content validity,
criterion-related and construct validity could not
be determined. Also, it was not possible to know if
the social workers completing the survey completely
understood the meaning o f the questions asked.
Another error that may have occurred was the com
pletion o f the mail survey by participants who had
already completed the e-mail survey. It was not pos
sible to know if participants who submitted paper
surveys had completed the online survey.
There are also limitations due to the design o f the
current study. Even though the participants represent
the population o f school social workers in Louisiana,
they do not represent all school social workers who
ever worked or will ever work in Louisiana. A good
response rate (78 percent) was achieved, but it was
not 100 percent. Generalizability o f findings was
limited by the focus on one state. However, findings
o f the current study may serve as a basis for further
studies o f school social work practice in other states.
The rate o f attrition for the current study was rel
atively low (10 percent) and involved lack of com
pletion o f all o f the survey items. This attrition was
not found to be problematic. No inherent differences
were found among those completing the entire sur
vey and those not completing the entire survey.
IMPLICATIONS
Future Research

The current study should be replicated in other

states, thus gathering a m ore diverse sample of
school social workers. Additional research is needed
to clarify whether the Louisiana conceptual model
o f school social work practice developed from the
Louisiana survey is accurate in representing other
states school social w ork practice. Replication of
this survey in five yean in Louisiana is recommended
to assess changes in practice approaches once train
ing and education in the specific areas of focus are
conducted. Though not explored in this study, the
number and role of school social workers was differ
ent in the different regions o f the state, creating a
potentially interesting study o f those differences.

218

Further research exploring role ambiguity and

school social work should be done through use of
scales and assessments o f role ambiguity and job sat
isfaction in Louisiana and in other states. The scales
could be incorporated into the survey used in this
study when it is conducted in other states to create
support or lack o f support for the presence o f role
ambiguity in school social work. Research on role
ambiguity and school social w ork can provide
information regarding the relationship between
perceptions o f role ambiguity, predictors o f burn
out, and possible interventions to address and pre
vent burnout.
Policy and Practice Im plications

Addressing these issues in Louisiana has implications

for models, competencies, and roles among school
social workers nationally. Being able to determine
what types o f practices school social workers use
among different school settings could help identify
needed changes in role definitions and job descrip
tions statewide. By establishing a set o f standards for
practice, training and policies can be put into place
to reinforce the role o f the school social w orker
across all school settings and to provide a solid foun
dation for advocacy o f school social work in an era
o f budget cuts and accountability requirements.
School social workers should become more active
at the local, state, and national level to advocate
for policies including school social work practice
as a unique field o f social work. In addition, advo
cacy for a national role description and practice
parameters is needed. School social workers should
educate their employers, school districts, communi
ties, and states about their roles to be allowed to
practice within their skill set and not be relegated
to other activities. Although legislation such the
N o Child Left Behind Act o f 2001 (P.L. 107110) has not specifically designated a highly qual
ified school social worker, taking a proactive
position, such as the state o f Louisiana did, in defining
the role and, subsequently, methods o f evaluation
and preparation o f school social workers w ould
behoove the social work profession.
CONCLUSION

We hope that this research will contribute toward

the continued development o f the national model
o f practice and training. The current study begins to
fill the gaps noted in the literature o f defining the
role o f the school social worker and developing a

Children & Schools

V olume 36, N umber 4

O ctober 2014

conceptual model o f practice. This study also opens

the path for other research to expand on and con
tinue defining the school social work field o f prac
tice. Though the conceptual model proposed here
may be subjected to scmtiny and statistical confir
mation in future research, by establishing a concep
tual model o f practice in Louisiana, training and
policies can be put into place to reinforce the role
o f the school social worker and to provide a solid
foundation for advocacy o f school social w ork in
an era o f budget cuts and accountability require
ments. According to Franklin (2005), school social
workers must prepare themselves to work in highperformance, outcome-driven work environments.
High-stakes accountability in which student ac
hievement and other performance measures are
directly linked to school funding and accreditation
is becoming standard practice (Franklin, 2005). As
legislation and current trends move toward these
performance measures, Louisiana school social work
ers have an opportunity to advance their standing in
the field and estabhsh a name for themselves while
reducing role ambiguity. E3
REFERENCES

Agresta, J. (2004). Professional role perceptions of school

social workers, psychologists, and counselors. Children
& Schools, 26, 151-163.
Agresta, J. (2006). Job satisfaction among school social
workers: The role of interprofessional relationships and
professional role discrepancy. Journal of Social Service
Research, 33(1), 4752.
Allen-Meares, P. (1994). Social work services in schools:
A national study of entry-level tasks. Social Work, 39,
560-565.
Alleri-Meares, P. (2006). One hundred years: A historical
analysis of social work services in schools [Special Issue],
School Social WorkJournal, Summer, 24-43.
Allen-Meares, P. (2010). Social work services in schools (pp. 48
87 & 191221). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Altshuler, S. J., & Reid Webb, J. (2009). School social work:
Increasing the legitimacy o f the profession. Children &
Schools, 31, 207-218.
American School Counselor Association. (2008). ASCA
national model. Retrieved from http://www.asca
nationalmodel.org
Anand, M. (2010). Practising social work in schools:
Reflections from Delhi. Practice: Social Work in Action,
22(4), 233-244.
Association for Career and Technical Education. (2009).
Background: IDEA. Retrieved from http://www
.acteonline.org/content. aspx?id= 1702
Beauchemin, P., & Kelly, M. S. (2009). Adopting a social
marketing mind-set in school social work practice.
School Social WorkJournal, 34(1), 61-73.
Bebetsos, E., Theodorakis, N. D., &Tsigillis, N. (2008).
Relations between role ambiguity and athletes satis
faction among team handball players. SportJournal,
10(4). Retrieved from http://thesponJoumal.org/
article/relations-between-role-ambiguity-andathletes-satisfaction-among-team-handball-players/

Richard

and

Bedeian, A. G., & Armenakis, A. A. (1981). A path-analytic

study of the consequences o f role conflict and ambi
guity. Academy of ManagementJournal, 24(2), 417-424.
Constable, R. (2009). The role of the school social worker.
In C. R . Massat, R. Constable, S. McDonald, &
J. P. Flynn (Eds.), School social work: Practice, policy, and
research (7th ed., pp. 329). Chicago: Lyceum Books.
Corbin, J. N. (2005). increasing opportunities for school
social work practice resulting from comprehensive
school refonn. Children & Schools, 17, 239-246.
Davis, L. V. (1996). Role theory and social work treatment.
In F. J. Turner (Ed.), Social work treatment (4th ed., pp.
581600). New York: Free Press.
Dibble, N. (2008). Longitudinal analysis of school social
work practice in Wisconsin: Wisconsin school social worker
survey. Madison: Wisconsin Department o f Public
Instruction.
Diehl, D., & Frey, A. (2008). Evaluating a communityschool model o f social work practice. School Social Work
Journal, 32(2), 1-20.
Dupper, D. R., & Evans, S. (1996). From Band-Aids and
putting out fires to prevention: School social work
practice approaches for the new century. Social Work in
Education, 18, 187-192.
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, P.L.
94-142, 20 U.S.C. 1401 (1975).
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, P.L.
89-10, 20 U.S.C. 6301 (1965).
Eys, M. A., & Carron, A. V. (2001). Role ambiguity, task
cohesion, and task self-efficacy. Small Group Research,
32, 356-373.
Forte, J. A. (1998). Power and role taking: A review of
theory, research, and practice. Journal of Human Behavior
in the Social Environment, 1(4), 27-57.
Franklin, C. (2005). The future of school social work prac
tice: Current trends and opportunities. Advances in
School Social Work, 6(1), 167-181.
Frey, A. J., Alvarez, M. E., Dupper, D. R., Sabatino, C. A.,
Lindsey, B. C., Raines, J. C., etal. (2013). School social
work practice model. School Social Work Association of
America. Retrieved from http://sswaa.org/display
common. cfm?an= 1&subarticlenbr=459
Frey, A. J., & Dupper, D. R. (2005). A broader conceptual
approach to clinical practice for the 21st century.
Children & Schools, 21, 33-44.
Humes, C. W & Hohenshil, T. H. (1987). Elementary
counselors, school psychologists, school social workers:
W ho does what? Elementary School Guidance and
Counseling, 10, 37-46.
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., & Snoek, J. D.
(1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and
ambiguity. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Kelly, M. S. (2007). Illinois school social workers use of
practice interventions: Resultsfrom a statewide survey
(Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Illi
nois at Chicago.
Kelly, M. S. (2008). The domains and demands of school social
work practice: A guide to working effectively with students,
families, and schools. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Kelly, M. S., Berzin, S. C., Frey, A., Alvarez, M., Shaffer, G.,
& O Brien, K. (2010). The state of school social work
2008: Findings from the National School Social Work
Survey. School Mental Health, 2(3), 132-141.
Kelly, M. S., Raines, J. C., Stone, S., & Frey, A. (2010).
School social work: An evidence-informedframework for
practice (pp. 3-22). New York: Oxford University
Press.
Kelly, M. S., & Stone, S. (2009). An analysis of factors
shaping interventions used by school social workers.
Children & Schools, 31, 163176.

V illarreal Sosa / School Social Work in Louisiana: A M odel o f Practice

219

Louisiana D epartm ent o f Education. (2010). Programs and

services fo r special needs children. Retrieved from http://
www.louisianaschools.net/divisions/specialp/school_
social_work.html
Mandalawitz, M . R . (2000, March). Government relations
report. School Social W ork Association o f Am erica M in i
Bell, 1-4.
Miles, R. H. (1975). An empirical test o f causal inference
between role perceptions o f conflict and ambiguity and
various personal o u tc o m e s . Journal o f A p p lied Psychology,
60, 334-339.
National Association o f School Psychologists. (2010). M odel
fo r comprehensive and integrated school psychological services.

Retrieved from http://www.nasponiine.org/standards/

practice-model/
National Association o f Social Workers. (2002). N A S W
standards fo r school social work services. Washington, DC:
Author.
National Association o f Social Workers. (2012). N A S W
standards fo r school social work services. Washington, DC:
Author.
N o Child Left Behind Act o f 2001, P.L. 107-110,20 U.S.C.
6301 (2002).
Richard, L. (2012). School social workers: Effectiveness measures,
year 2. Unpublished report submitted to Louisiana
Departm ent o f Education.
Richard, L. (2013). Predictors and practice approaches o f Louisiana
school social workers: Toward a model o f practice (Unpub
lished doctoral dissertation). Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge.
Row en, R . B. (1967). Impact o f federal legislation on
school social work. Social Work, 12, 109-115.
R ubin, A., & Babbie, E. R . (2011). Research methods fo r social
work. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Stone, S. (2009). Education and social policy. In J. Midgley
& M . Livermore (Eds.), The handbook o f social policy
(pp. 507523). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
Tower, K. (2000). Image crisis: A study o f attitudes about
school social workers. Social Work in Education, 22,
83-94.
Villarreal Sosa, L. (2011). M exican origin students in the bor
derlands: The construction o f social identity in the school
context (Doctoral dissertation, University o f Chicago).

Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses

database (UM I N o. 3472970).
Villarreal Sosa, L., & McGrath, B. (2013). Collaboration
from the ground up: Creating effective teams. School
Social W ork Journal.

Weiner, S. (2005). Role conflict, role ambiguity, and self-effcacy

among school social workers (Unpublished doctoral dis
sertation). Adelphi University, Long Island, NY.
Retrieved from http://w w w .proquest.com /en-U S/
(UM I number: 3195886).
Whittlesey-Jerome, W. (2010). Selling the need for
school social w ork services to the legislature: A call
for advocacy. School Social W ork Journal, 3 6 (2 ),
44-55.

Laura A . Richard, P hD , L C S W , is assistant professor,

School o f Social W o rk , U n iversity o f S o u th e rn M ississip p i,
118

C ollege D rive,

H a ttiesb u rg ,

la u ra .ric h a rd @ u sm .ed u .

MS

39406;

e-m ail:

Leticia Villarreal Sosa, P hD ,

L C S W , is associate professor, G ra d u a te School o f Social

W ork, D o m in ica n U niversity, R ive r Forest, IL .
O riginal manuscript received A u gust 28, 2012
Final revision received A p ril 15, 2013
Accepted May 24, 2013
Advance Access Publication August 5, 2014

220

Children & Schools

Volume 36, N umber 4

O ctober 2014

Copyright of Children & Schools is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its
content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the
copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email
articles for individual use.