Student Attitudes Towards Poverty in a Social Welfare Policy Course

Online versus Face to Face

Leah Hamilton, MSW, PhDAppalachian State University

Full Presentation at www.socialworkeducator.com

ONLINE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION: SHOULD WE?

Is it ethical to teach a human based profession online?

• Yes: better serve non traditional students

• Yes: better serve remote students and communities

• Yes: Prepares social work students for future of practice, including teletherapy

ONLINE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION: CAN WE?

•Online social work students have similar outcomes to face to face students

• Social work knowledge/skills • Grades/test scores

• Satisfaction/perception

•Similarities consistent across the social work curriculum• Research

• HBSE • Intro to SW• Practice • Social Welfare/Policy • Diversity

TEACHING SOCIAL JUSTICE• EPAS 2.1.5

• “understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination;

• advocate for human rights and social and economic justice; and

• engage in practices that advance social and economic justice.”

• College students more negative towards poor than middle class

• More likely to blame poor for their situation than another cause

• Graduating SW students less likely to blame the poor than new students

• The American Social Welfare System• 200 level course• Majors and non-majors• Intro policy course for social work majors• Covers social welfare policy history, inequality and poverty• Online section developed Spring, 2014• Textbook: Jansen’s The Reluctant Welfare State

• Research Questions• 1. Are there differences in student attitudes towards poverty before and after the social

welfare course?• 2. Are there differences between online and face to face students?

CURRENT STUDY

METHODS

• Pre-post agreement on a 5 point Likert Scale• “Poverty is usually caused by societal actions.”• “Poverty is usually caused by individual actions.”

• Sample• 3 online sections (n=78 @ pretest, n=70 @ post test)• 2 face to face sections (n=68 @ pretest, n=60 @ post test)• ASU students mostly White (85%), Female (55%), middle class, traditional aged (Average:

20.93 years)

• Analysis• Anonymous (No way to track individual student change)• RQ1 (pre-post changes): Related Samples Wilcoxon Signed Ranked Test• RQ2 (F2F v Web): Individual Sample Mann-Whitney U Test

RESULTS: RQ1 (Pre-Post)1 Strongly

Agree

2 Agree

3 Neutral

4 Disagree

5 Strongly Disagree

“Poverty is usually caused by an individuals own actions.”Slight increase in likelihood to blame own actions, not significant

(p=.505)

RESULTS: RQ1 (Pre-Post)1 Strongly

Agree

2 Agree

3 Neutral

4 Disagree

5 Strongly Disagree

“Poverty is usually caused by societal actions.”Slight increase in likelihood to blame societal actions, not significant

(p=.480)

Results: RQ2 (F2F vs Web)

1 Strongly Agree

2 Agree

3 Neutral

4 Disagree

5 Strongly Disagree

● Pre test: Web students more likely to blame society at pretest (p=.035).

● Post test: No significant differences between Web and F2F.

Results: RQ2 (F2F vs Web)

Mean (p Measured via Related Samples Wilcoxon Signed Ranked Test)

Society: Pre→Post Change Individual: Pre→Post Change

Face to Face 2.62→2.45 ↓0.17 (p=.819)

3.82→3.65 ↓0.17 (p=.841)

Web 2.38→2.19 ↓0.19 (p=.166)

3.83→3.77 ↓0.06 (p=.132)

● Both groups increased their mean agreement with both statements.● Similar increase in response to “Poverty is usually caused by societal actions.”● Greater increase in response to “Poverty is usually caused by an individuals own actions” for face to

face students.

Disagreement

Agreement

DISCUSSION

• All students gained a more complex attitude towards poverty?

• Possible groupthink interaction for face to face students?• Discussion based class• In the US South East, politically Conservative

students can often be outspoken.

Questions? Thoughts?

• Email: hamiltonl@appstate.edu

• Twitter: @hamiltonleah

• Website: www.socialworkeducator.com

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