Discussions

TABLE 1. Correlations at Entry and Exit of Independent and Dependent Variables (N=52)TABLE 2. Results of Paired Difference Test of Entry and Exit Scores and Effect Size on Social Worker Empowerment and Commitment to Client Empowerment Through Social Justice Advocacy and Cohen's U3 Effect Size (N=52)

Data for the five Social Justice Advocacy subscales are also provided in Table 2 showing the respondents' commitment to social justice advocacy for women, African Americans, other racial and ethnic minorities, gay men and lesbians, and persons with disabilities. The f test for the subscales found the only statistically significant gain was in the commitment to advocacy for gay men and lesbians. It is also noted that among the five subscales, the respondents' strongest commitment to social justice advocacy was for women, and this difference was statistically significant.

To determine the size of the effect of the changes in the respondents' beliefs about their empowerment as social workers and their commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy, the amount of change for the SWES scores and SJAS total and subscale scores was converted to the effect size, U^sub 3^ (Cohen, 1988; Holden et al., 2002). Cohen's U^sub 3^ indicates the percentage of scores at entry that were below the median score at exit. Cohen's U^sub 3^ can range in value from 0-100 and the closer U^sub 3^ is to 100, the larger the amount of positive change that occurred between MSW entry and graduation. As presented in Table 2, the U^sub 3^ effect size for social worker empowerment shows that 69% (n=52) of the respondents' entry scores were below the median exit score. According to Cohen (1988), this indicates a moderate amount of positive change. The U^sub 3^ effect size for commitment to social justice advocacy was 60, which according to Cohen (1988) shows a small positive effect.

TABLE 3. Mean Scores at Entry and Exit for Worker and Client Empowerment by Gender, Color, and Parents' Social Class (N=52)

Table 3 shows the mean scores at entry and exit by gender, color, and parents' social class for both worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy. For both worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy, the mean for all groups increased from entry to exit except the mean on commitment to social justice advocacy for male respondents, which decreased. However, none of these changes were statistically significant.

The hypothesis that worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy are positively associated was supported (at entry, r=.41, p<.01; at exit, r=.28, p<.05), although the correlations did decrease over time. As shown in Table 1, the hypothesis that an internal locus of control is positively associated with social worker empowerment was supported as shown by the significant association between these two variables when the students entered the MSW program (r=-.56; pc.001) and when they graduated (r=-.40,p<.01). Likewise, an internal locus of control was found to be positively associated with the respondents' commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy at exit (r=-.37, p<.01), although at entry the association was not significant (r=-.17, p<.225). The hypothesis that worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment are negatively associated with belief in a just world was not supported at either entry or exit. Instead, worker empowerment and belief in a just world were positively associated at exit (r=.29, p<.05).

Further analysis of the influence of independent variables on both dependent variables was done through ordinary least squares (OLS) regression testing. The variables selected for inclusion in the ordinary least squares regression testing were those that had shown statistically significant correlations. The variables were entered in the regression equations simultaneously because the literature does not provide clear direction about the importance of the variables and thus no hierarchal order could be used in entering the variables. Significance was determined through one-tailed testing because the research hypotheses predicted that student scores on the dependent variables would rise.

TABLE 4. OLS Regression Analysis for Variables Predicting Worker Empowerment and Commitment to Client Empowerment Through Social Justice Advocacy Among MSW Graduates (N=52)

Table 4 shows that the entry score for social worker empowerment and the exit score for belief in a just world had a significant and positive effect on worker empowerment (F=19.19, p<.001) and explained 44% of the variance in students' worker empowerment scores at exit. While OLS regression testing showed that the perceptions of worker empowerment for students at exit had been affected by these two variables, the entry score for social worker empowerment had a more significant impact (.60) than the variable of belief in a just world (.25) using standardized coefficients. These findings suggest that social work education helps students improve their sense of empowerment as social workers, and those entering with higher worker empowerment scores tend to graduate with even higher scores.

Results from an OLS regression model for the dependent variable of commitment to client empowermentthroughsocialjusticeadvocacyare also presented in Table 4. The respondent's entry score for commitment to social justice advocacy and having a more internal locus of control at exit had a significant impact on the respondent's exit score for commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy (F=12.39, p<.001) and explained 34%of the variance in commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy. For these two variables, which had a significant effect on the graduating students' commitment to client empowerment, the entry score for commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy had a more significant impact (.47) than the locus of control variable (-.25) using standardized coefficients. These results show that students strengthened their commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy during their graduate education, and those with the strongest advocacy commitment at entry also had the strongest commitment at graduation.

Discussion

The findings from this study show that most entering MSW students in this cohort possessed important beliefs about social worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy. The findings for graduating MSW students show that professional social work education strengthened the assets of the entering students in this cohort by enhancing both the respondents' sense of empowerment as social workers and their commitment to client empowerment. This is encouraging for social work educators, because it appears that MSW education contributes to the students' sense of empowerment as social workers and their commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy.

Relationship of Findings to Prior Research

Research on the development of empowerment. These findings that worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy are present among entering MSW students and increase during their professional education support findings reported by other researchers. For example, research findings concerning California graduate students' preference for helping economically disadvantaged populations suggest that MSW students are committed to client empowerment because working with people who are poor involves helping them build their skills, increase their resources, and remove structural barriers to economic self-sufficiency (Limb & Organista, 2003; Perry, 2003.) Other studies suggest that social worker self-efficacy and empowerment develop as MSW students and social work practitioners build their practice knowledge and skills (Frans, 1993a, 1993b; Frans & Moran, 1993; Holden et al., 2002).

Research on social justice advocacy. This study's findings concerning the increase in student commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy support earlier research, which found that MSW students significantly increased their commitment to social justice advocacy during their graduate education (Van Soest, 1996). Moreover, this study's finding that the only significant increase in the five SJAS subscales was in the respondents' increased commitment to social justice advocacy for lesbians and gay men further supported Van Soest's (1996) research findings. Because the respondents' mean score at entry for the lesbians and gay men subscale was the lowest mean on the five SJAS subscales for both Van Soest's studies and this study, it appears that entering MSW students have the greatest opportunity for growth in commitment to social justice advocacy for gay men and lesbians. Our finding that commitment to advocacy for gay and lesbian people significantly increased during the respondents' professional education suggests that MSW education strengthens the respondents' understanding of injustices experienced by lesbians and gay men and enhances the respondents' commitment to advocacy for social justice for lesbian and gay people.

The finding in this study that the strongest commitment to social justice advocacy is for women was also reported by Van Soest (1996) in her study of graduate social work students. Because this was true in both studies when students entered the MSW programs, it suggests that factors other than the professional education of social workers contribute to the respondents' greater commitment to advocacy for women. Perhaps this finding reflects the preponderance of female students enrolled in graduate social work programs and the interest among them in advocating for women. It might also indicate the increase in societal awareness about the experience of girls and women that has occurred during the last 25 years and may have led to strong commitment to advocate for women.

Research on worker locus of control. Findings in this study for the independent variable of worker locus of control can also be compared with findings from other studies. The average respondent in this study had a stronger internal locus of control than the average intensive case manager in the Koeske and Kirk study (1995). Having an internal locus of control is an important finding because research on locus of control has consistently shown internality to be beneficial (Rotter, 1966). Studies have also found that social workers who believe in their own capacity to affect their future are more likely to be seen as effective counselors and become involved in social change (Deysach, Ross, & Hiers, 1977; Strickland, 1965).

Research on belief in a just world. The finding that the respondents' belief s in a just world were not negatively associated with the respondents' perception of social worker empowerment or commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy was unexpected. Although these findings about belief in a just world were unexpected, they appea r to support earlier research findings reported by Rubin and Peplau (1973) concerning the relationship between locus of control and belief in a just world. This study, like Rubin and Peplau's research (1973), found a correlation between an internal locus of control and a belief in a just world (r=-.30, p< .05). Research done by Collins (1974) provided a possible explanation of the correlation of these two variables. Based on the results of a factor analysis, Collins suggested that belief in a just world is one of four dimensions of an internal locus of control. Rubin and Peplau (1975) concluded that "the belief in a just world seems necessary if one's sense of personal efficacy is to be maintained" (p. 79). Thus, the findings from this study and those reported by Rubin and Peplau (1973) and Collins (1974) suggest that believing in a just world contributes to an internal locus of control and strengthens the respondents'belief in their efficacy as social workers. This could also help explain why findings from this study and from Van Soest's research (1996) suggest that belief in a just world is positively associated with worker empowerment and is not negatively associated with commitment to social justice advocacy as had been hypothesized.

Limitations

Several limitations apply to the generalizability of these findings. These resultsare based on a relatively small sample of social work students from a single school. Attrition during the period of this study potentially threatens the internal validity. The instrument was completed at graduation by 52 of the 89 students who completed the survey at entry into the program. This represented 61% of the 85 students who completed the survey when they entered the MSW program. Thus, it is recognized that those completing the instrument at both entry and exit from the MSW program may differ in some way from those who only completed the instrument when they entered the MSW program. However, bias would occur only if the reason for this attrition was related to the dependent variables of social worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy.

Another potential limitation of these results is that they are based on self-report responses and therefore could be affected by respondents giving socially desirable responses. While the effect of giving socially desirable responses on this study's findings is unknown, to reduce the pressure on students to give socially desirable responses, complete anonymity of their identities was provided. Another limitation of self-report measures in a pretest-posttest intervention study which could affect the results from this study is the likelihood that response shift bias occurred. Response shift bias in this study would have occurred if respondents changed their understanding of social worker empowerment or social justice advocacy during the time of the research study. For example, entering MSW students may have felt confident about their abilities and given responses on the SWES, which indicated that they entered with a moderate level of social worker empowerment. During their MSW education, they may have become more aware of challenges faced by social workers and the complexity of social work than they had recognized when they entered, while also gaining skills and confidence in their ability to perform as social workers. Thus, the positive impact of their graduate education might not be adequately reflected in the results from this study if their exit responses on the SWES still show only a moderate level of social worker empowerment. As discussed by Holden et al. (2002), when response shift bias occurs, researchers are "less likely to find significant pre-post differences" (p. 128).

The lack of a comprehensive instrument to measure commitment to empowerment practice and use of empowering interventions was a limitation for this study. This study assessed the respondent's commitment to client empowerment through a scale that measures commitment to social justice advocacy. This narrows the definition of empowerment to only one domain and potentially may not measure commitment to client empowerment, if the advocacy does not involve partnering with the client to seek justice. Furthermore, the findings from this study do not provide evidence about the outcomes for clients of the use of social justice advocacy by practitioners.

A final limitation to this study is its inability to go beyond presenting data concerning changes in social worker empowerment and commitment to social justice advocacy by a cohort of MSW students. The data from this study cannot explain what aspects of the graduate educational experience led to changes in social worker empowerment and commitment to social justice advocacy.

Implications

This research relied on a respondent pool from a single setting. Therefore, additional research with graduate students from other programs is needed before broader generalizations about the impact of MSW education on worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy can be made. Future research could also examine the linkage of believing in a just world, perceiving oneself to be empowered as a social worker, and being committed to client empowerment through social justice advocacy. Because Van Soest's (1996) research did not include the variable of locus of control, future research should include this factor to see whether the link between just world beliefs and an internal locus of control, which was found in this study and had been reported by Rubin and Peplau (1973) and analyzed by Collins (1974), may help explain how social workers who believe in a just world can also have a sense of empowerment as social workers and be committed to client empowerment through social justice advocacy.

A potential implication for social work educators of the findings that entering MSW students tended to perceive themselves as empowered and be committed to client empowerment through social justice advocacy is that the curriculum should be designed to build on the beliefs that entering students have. Thus, time that may have been devoted to seeking to persuade students about the importance of client empowerment and social justice advocacy could be re-directed to provide students with the means to carry out their beliefs about empowerment. Our findings suggest that instruction can focus from the outset on building the knowledge and skills that will permit students to put their beliefs and commitment into action as social workers who embody the empowerment approach.

The finding that belief in a just world is not negatively associated with either the sense of empowerment as a social worker or the commitment to client empowerment through social j ustice advocacy suggests that these factors may not have a linear relationship. A more complex process appears to explain the apparent coexistence of believing in a just world, having a sense of empowerment as a social worker, and being committed to client empowerment through social justice advocacy.The implication of this counterintuitive finding will likely be that many educators will be challenged to consider the potential value of students' believing that the world is just instead of assuming that such beliefs are incompatible with social justice advocacy and an empowerment approach to practice. This further implies that believing that the world is just is not something that needs to be changed during the MSW educational experience. As already discussed, Collins'(1974) research reported that belief in a just world is a core component of an internal locus of control, and research findings on locus of control have consistently shown that an internal locus of control is beneficial (Rotter, 1966). Therefore, we suggest a complex process of association in which believing in a just world contributes to an internal locus of control and a sense of empowerment as a social worker and does not interfere with commitment to social justice advocacy. We suggest a further implication of these findings is the possibility that this set of beliefs may support advocacy for change in unjust conditions and the use of empowering interventions with clients, because the worker believes this is a just world, not a random, chaotic universe in which one's actions have no connection to the outcomes.

An implication of the findings that MSW education enhances both the social workers' own empowerment and their commitment to client empowerment is to encourage social work educators to consciously structure the learning experience-both the content and the process-to help students become more empowered and skilled in the use of the empowerment approach. Therefore, to strengthen students' empowerment as social workers, their education should provide opportunities to build the three components of empowerment identified by Lee (1994, p. 13): positive self-efficacy, critical understanding of social and political realities, and competence to achieve goals.

Positive self-efficacy. This has been shown by Bandura's research to be important for all people. Although social work education more often focuses on client self-efficacy, the importance of self-efficacy for social workers is also reflected in the social work literature and its importance in social work education can be seen in the Social Work Self-Efficacy Scale (Holden et al., 2002) which was developed as an outcome measure to assess the effectiveness of graduate social work education. The findings from their study support the importance of graduate educational experiences that build the student's self-efficacy and sense of empowerment as a social worker.

Critical understanding of social and political realities. Another important application of the findings from this study is to provide learning experiences which build an understanding of social injustice and teach skills that will reduce social injustice and build an environment that supports the functioning of all members of the community. Students must be educated about societal obstacles that clients face and strategies to overcome obstacles so that their belief in their efficacy as social workers can be used to remove these obstacles and create paths for clients to achieve well-being.

Competence to achieve goals. When Lee's (1994) third component of empowerment is applied to social work education, it points to the importance of assisting students in building their knowledge and skills about empowerment practice, so they will have the foundation for achieving their goals as social work practitioners. Thus, to prepare students to carry out their commitment to client empowerment, graduate education must not only increase students' awareness of oppression and injustice, it must also provide opportunities that increase the student's sense of mastery in applying their knowledge and skills about empowerment practice with clients, because "empowerment comes fromdirect action" (Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda, 1998, p. 109). Thus, students need to be engaged in activities which build their experience in successfully seeking changes that empower clients. Through such experiences, they will build competence in their ability to carry out their commitment to client empowerment (Raske & Evens, 2000).

Conclusion

Many social work authors have indicated that social worker empowerment is important because it predicts the practitioner's future accomplishments and career success as well as shapes one's ability to engage clients in the process of empowerment. This study showed that a sense of social worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy were enhanced for this cohort of students through their MSW education. This positions these students to engage clients in developing self-efficacy, building group consciousness, and creating structural change so that clients can achieve desired outcomes.

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AuthorAffiliation

Rebecca Morrison Van Voorhis

Indiana University

Carol Hostetter

Indiana University

AuthorAffiliation

Accepted: 07/05

Rebecca Morrison Van Voorhis is associate professor and Carol Hostetter is assistant professor, Indiana University School of Social Work.

The authors acknowledge Cathy Pike, Beverly Toomey, and Linda Haas for their assistance in critiquing and strengthening the manuscript.

Address correspondence to Rebecca Van Voorhis, School of Social Work, Indiana University, 902 West New York Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5156; e-mail: [email protected].

Copyright Council on Social Work Education, Inc. Winter 2006