Building the Confident MSW Student: The Role of BSW Educators

Background: This study compares the BSW graduates with graduates experiencing a standardized curriculum. Evidence of self-reported ‘preparedness’ for the rigor of MSW studies will be gleaned through a survey method. Based on the literature we expect to find BSW graduates reporting less confidence than other disciplines in areas of graduate course work, such as research methods and statistics. Conversely, we expected the BSW graduates to self-report greater confidence in areas such as: case management, policy analysis, cultural competencies and ethics.

Methods: A purposive sampling of six regional MSW programs was utilized. Of these six programs, four agreed to participate in this process. An electronic survey was developed and sent to each participating MSW program. Surveys were electronically distributed by the department the MSW student was currently a part of. These surveys were intentionally released past the midpoint of the spring semester to ensure students receiving the survey had experience in their Master’s level course work. MSW students were surveyed via this instrument to determine how well they believed their specific bachelors program prepared them to succeed in their MSW education.

Results: Utilizing the dichotomous independent variable, BSW or Non-BSW, we find a statistically significant difference between the summated measure for BSW’s and Non-BSWs (t(102)=4.252, p=.000; equal variances assumed). This would indicate BSW alumni identified themselves as feeling more prepared for completion of the MSW program than those from other Bachelors programs. When utilizing the four categories of Bachelor’s degrees, we find a significant difference between groups (F(3,100)=6.361, p<.001). Post-hoc test (LSD) indicates  a significant difference between BSW and all categories, but no statistically significant differences between the Psychology, Human Services, or Non-Human Services categories for the summated scale (p>.05). However, those students identifying they did complete a Psychology degree were examined using the summated total representing the overall feelings of ‘preparedness’, with those identifying they completed a BSW. A statistically significant relationship did exist between these two group of MSW students (t(61)=3.589, p≤.01). Findings indicate those identifying themselves as receiving a BSW reported feeling more prepared when combining all categories, with the exception of those from the Psychology major. To extrapolate the source of MSW students preparedness, multivariate regression (OLS) was used. Results of the OLS model indicate students earning a BSW were significantly more likely to identify being well prepared with exception of research experiential learning. The variable representing ‘presented at an academic conference’ was found to be a significant predictor of overall research preparedness. Results indicated Psychology students were significantly more likely to present at conferences (44%) than all other categories, including BSW.

Implications: The findings suggest that developing faculty student collaborations designed to culminate in academic or professional presentations has been shown in this study to result in a more confident graduate student  (statistically significant). In addition, conferences in many disciplines provide student only, or student-faculty opportunities for presentations. Our data support directed projects that culminate in conference presentation as having a significant impact on feelings of overall preparedness for success in their MSW course work.