The Impact of Social Work Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Social Work on Undergraduate Students' Interest in the Social Work Major
Social workers draw on their knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems" (2008). In order to fulfill these expectations, new social workers must be prepared and passionate. New social workers are placed in a variety of situations in which extensive knowledge and interest are required in order to fully meet clients' needs. This study examines the attitudes and knowledge of undergraduate students toward the social work field and explores the effects that characteristics such as personal experience with social work and attitudes toward poverty have on future social work interest. In addition, the study analyzes the impact of the introductory social work course on undergraduate students' interest in the field.
Methods
This study employed non-probability purposive sampling and a single group design. One hundred and seventy undergraduate students were asked to complete a questionnaire during their introductory social work course during the years of 2010 and 2011 at a state university in Ohio. As data were collected at one time, this study serves as an example of a cross-sectional research design. The questionnaire includes knowledge about social work, attitudes toward social work, attitudes toward public assistance, personal experience with social work and personal characteristics.
Results
The students were predominantly female (81.6%), non-social work majors (86.6%) and did not have prior contact with a social worker (67.5%). Age ranged from 17 years to 41 years with an average age of 20.1 years (SD = 2.29). The majority of students had the highest interest in taking other social work classes (M = 2.78, SD = 1.47). However, they are not interested in applying to social work major (M = 2.01, SD = 1.32). Students most strongly agreed with the ideas that social workers believe in equality (M = 4.56, SD = .64), social workers believe in justice (M = 4.55, SD = .62) and social workers believe in fairness (M = 4.53, SD = .65).
The Pearson's correlation indicated a significant relationship between knowledge about social work and future interest in social work (r=.301, p<.01). Students who reported more positive perceptions of social work roles also had higher levels of future interest in the social work field (r=.283, p<.01). Additionally, student’s personal characteristics had significant relationship with future interest in social work. However, the most interesting finding is student’s enjoyment of the SW 102 course was most strongly linked to future interest in social work (r=.424, p<.001).
Implications for social work education
This study found significant relationships among knowledge about the field, enjoyment of the introductory course and perceptions of salary on social work interest. Particularly, the importance of introductory social work course has been less frequently discussed in the literature. However, this study identified introductory social work course is the most important factor to recruit new social workers.