Cyberbullying is a developing problem that future social workers may need to to tackle

A new study published in Children & Schools has found that many school social workers feel poorly equipped to deal with the issue of cyberbullying between students. Jonathan Singer, a professor of social work, coauthored the study.

The project surveyed 400 counselors who provide social work services from the elementary to high school level. Each respondent felt cyberbullying can cause significant mental harm to students, and yet almost half felt they did not have the skills to properly handle the issue.

As cyberbullying largely occurs over the Internet, it is often difficult for school staff to monitor.

Singer noted that social workers are central to school mental health services, and "provide more crisis intervention services than any other school staff member – more than counselors, nurses, teachers, or psychologists." As a result, they will be essential to "developing cyberbullying policies that are accurate and effective" in the future.

Such new challenges demand updated solutions. Social workers who feel the need to bolster their skills to address modern problems may consider enrolling in a master's in social work (MSW) degree program.

Many MSW tracks include sociology courses that can educate teachers about developing trends in the field, such as cyberbullying. They can then utilize their knowledge in developing appropriate intervention methods. 

POSTED BY: ec_admin - February 16th, 2011 at 03:53pm ( 0 )