Social Worker-Teacher Collaboration in the Classroom: Help for Elementary Students at Risk of Failure

Abstract

Objective: Social worker-teacher classroom collaboration (SWTCC) is an innovative model of intervention for at-risk elementary school children in which a social worker and a teacher work together in the same classroom. The model was evaluated to determine whether or not the intervention improved attendance, classroom behavior, and grades. Method: SWTCC was implemented using social work interns in two classrooms in an urban elementary school in Albany, New York. The classrooms were chosen because they had high proportions of children displaying attendance, behavioral, and academic difficulties. The model was evaluated through a quasi-experimental design in which two classrooms receiving the intervention were compared with two similar classrooms that did not receive it. Results: A repeated measures ANOVA indicated that the intervention classrooms surpassed the comparisons classrooms in respect to attendance and a number of behavioral variables. There were no significant differences in grades. Social worker, teacher, pupil, and parent questionnaires revealed that the intervention was perceived positively. Conclusions: SWTCC shows sufficient promise to warrant further development and testing. It may be particularly suited for use in conjunction with social work field education. The use of social work students as collaborators may make the model feasible from a cost perspective. Moreover, SWTCC should provide students with a rich hands-on experience in collaborative work.