Suchergebnisse

To be effective, providers of human services must be knowledgeable about immigration policy. This study aims to (a) assess the accuracy of human service administrators' knowledge about state immigration policy and (b) identify individual and organizational characteristics associated with immigration policy knowledge. The study focuses on Alabama, which implemented a highly restrictive state immigration law in 2011. A survey of a probability sample of human service administrators found that many administrators thought that state immigration policy was even more restrictive—of both immigrants and those who help them—than it actually was. Consistent with theory, administrators with more favorable attitudes toward immigrants and stronger perceptions of community support for immigrant services were more knowledgeable about the law's specific restrictions.

The future of social work research relies on the intellect and competence of current doctoral students. These future scholars who receive doctoral education that values qualitative inquiry will create a system where qualitative research traditions receive the same privilege as quantitative research traditions. Project-based learning provides learning opportunities that can challenge assumptions about what academia considers "real" research. This descriptive qualitative study explored key attributes of using project-based learning within two consecutive social work doctoral courses to encourage qualitative research skill development. Students and instructors participated in ideawriting and focus groups to assess the usefulness of PBL within these courses. The findings suggested that PBL may be useful for deepening knowledge about qualitative inquiry and reducing epistemological unconsciousness.