Jennifer Spaulding-Givens

Teaching Clinical Social Work Skills Entirely Online: A Case Example

While numerous disciplines have eagerly embraced innovative educational technology, many social work educators have not been among early adopters. Social works focus on the human connection and hands‐on practice skills can seem antithetical to technology‐mediated education. Nevertheless, social work programs are implementing distance learning and Internet‐mediated courses, and some schools are offering entire social work courses online. Leading the way in this regard is the Florida State University College of Social Work, which has developed and implemented the first CSWE‐accredited, entirely online Master of Social Work program. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, design, and implementation of one skills‐based clinical course in this program, with the goal of sharing information in a way that will further the discussion of the risks and benefits of online education as well as provide guidance for educators who may be interested in developing a skills‐based online course in the future.

Measurement in abstinence education. Critique and recommendations.

The purpose of this article is to identify, assess, and offer solutions to common measurement errors found in sexual abstinence education evaluation. A critical review of the methodology of adolescent sexuality research was performed. “Gold standards” of their measurement strategy were derived and applied against 14 selected studies. Many of the articles reviewed had substantial limitations in their measurement strategies. However, several articles demonstrated excellence and serve as models for future efforts. Sexual abstinence education evaluation is plagued by the inherent weaknesses of self-report and health outcome measures. However, with careful adherence to the gold standards proposed, it is possible to limit the threat from these weaknesses, maximizing the benefit of self-report surveys and county-level health indicators.

Mental Illness Beliefs Inventory: A Preliminary Validation of a Measure of the Level of Belief in the Medical Model of Mental Illness

The Mental Illness Beliefs Inventory (MIBI) measures the extent to which an individual subscribes to the medical model of mental illness. This article reports the results of two preliminary validation studies. The first study establishes the initial psychometric properties for the MIBI, based on a sample of 222 students in the helping professions; the second study tests the model established in the first study with an additional 270 students. The MIBI performs well as a composite instrument measuring belief in the medical model of mental illness. This instrument shows promise for examining the extent to which individual beliefs affect mental health practice.