Although instructors express concerns about social work students’ writing skills, little research has been conducted. One remedy is a social work-focused writing course. This study assessed a required writing course with a sample of 49 baccalaureate students. From online pre- and post-test surveys, two student outcomes improved significantly: self-reported scores for writing self-efficacy and competence in course objectives. On-demand writing samples improved significantly based on anonymous rating by the course instructors; however, blind ratings found gains but not at a significant level. Improved outcomes were not associated with demographic or background characteristics. We discuss limitations of the study and implications for social work education.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeanette-harder/11/
https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2014.917895