Why schools critically need social workers

Students of St. Cecilia Girls' High School Mautuma, in Kakamega County during a past function in the school overseen by their teachers. PHOTO/Hon Nabii Nabwera.
  • Social workers have the skills to address students’ needs, challenges, and problems. They are trained in human behaviour development, empathy and compassion, communication, and interpersonal skills.
  • About economic factors, the social worker will look into the funding of education, allocation of resources to schools, payment of teachers, construction of libraries, and management of infrastructure.
  • Social workers can also advocate for students, especially during curriculum changes, because they interact regularly with students and teachers.

The crises in our schools, deaths, fires, strikes, and suicides call for the need for social workers in our schools.

Teachers who used to play this role are overworked, and social work goes beyond their mandate. Social workers are trained professionals who help individuals deal with challenges and difficulties in their everyday lives.

These challenges could be the loss of a loved one, lack of finances, abuse, difficulties in learning, child labour, exposure to domestic violence, loss of job, war, and conflict. They help individuals improve their well-being and quality of life by offering skills and access to resources and services.

They also engage in the promotion of social justice and equity advocacy for their clients. A code of ethics and principles guides social workers. Social workers should commit to service and prioritize their clients’ well-being and interests.

They also have values of social justice, which requires them to promote human rights, dignity, and equality. They are also supposed to promote the dignity and worth of the person and respect their client’s autonomy, human relationships, integrity, and professionalism.

Social workers are supposed to work with informed consent and maintain confidentiality and boundaries in relationships. They are also considered to maintain privacy and confidentiality. All client transactions must also be documented, and proper records must be kept.

Social workers have the skills to address students’ needs, challenges, and problems. They are trained in human behaviour development, empathy and compassion, communication, and interpersonal skills.

They also have critical thinking, problem-solving, cultural competence, advocacy, social justice commitment, organization, emotional resilience, and self-care skills.

These skills are relevant to imparting to students over time. They can detect red flags on pointers of problems in a student or groups of students. They will be able to link students to professionals and make recommendations on their treatment.

Social workers operate at three levels: The Micro or Individual level, the Mezzo level, and the Macro level of society.

At the Micro level, the social worker deals with individuals, while at the Mezzo level, the social worker deals with the family or community. At the Macro level, the social worker addresses society and the state.

Stressed Students

The social worker also addresses the interaction of these levels on the impact of the school-going children. The social worker addresses the social and behavioural problems affecting the student at the micro level. Does the student have hidden health problems such as Autism, (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, anxiety, or depression?

The social worker should also be able to identify whether the student has been exposed to domestic violence. Is he or she malnourished or affected by family poverty? Is the student neglected or subjected to physical and sexual abuse?

The Mezzo level affects the welfare of students and teachers by impacting on the school culture and climate.

A school that only focuses on academic achievement without supportive extracurricular activities will produce stressed students. Schools with authoritarian and undemocratic rules will also affect students’ stress and performance levels.

A school that does not emphasise cultural competence and diversity will have a bearing on students’ performance and stress levels. Thus, a school social worker can advise on the institutional characteristics that impact students’ stress levels and performance.

The availability of resources and funding to the school also affects the school’s culture and climate.

Schools that are least endowed with resources put stress on students. The social worker will also be able to gauge teacher-student relationships and how inclusive the classrooms are. Schools that support their teachers perform well because the teachers are well-motivated. The social worker is equipped with skills to measure the strength of mezzo-level factors and advise on how they affect the students.

At the Macro level, the social worker addresses the economic, social, and cultural factors affecting the students.

About economic factors, the social worker will look into the funding of education, allocation of resources to schools, payment of teachers, construction of libraries, and management of infrastructure.

The social worker will also investigate how economic inequality and disparities in wealth and income impact access to quality education. The social worker will help identify the regional variation in the distribution of education, like rural versus urban. The social worker will also tell the effects of employment opportunities in determining career prospects and job demands. Students who are not assured of their career prospects will be demotivated to work hard in class.

Consequently, the social worker will also assess the impact of socio-cultural factors on the students, including the role of cultural factors, norms, values, and society’s expectations.

Samburu West MP Naisula Lessuda joins a dance with students from a school in her constituency during an inspiration and motivation event. PHOTO/Hon Naisula Lesuuda.

Motivational Speakers

For example, the school should consider religious requirements, rules, and regulations in the design of school uniforms or bathrooms. The social worker should also assess family dynamics and the way they affect the children, such as substance abuse, domestic violence, loss of job, or desertion, which may affect the student’s behaviour.

They should also be able to assess how much time the student spends on technology, such as on the phone, TV, tablet, radio, or betting.

Other things the social worker can assess are the time the student spends on farm work, doing household chores, fishing, grazing, or mining, which have a bearing on schoolwork. Social workers should also be able to tell whether the student is getting enough sleep and nutrition.

Pressure is put on students’ performance, and motivational speakers are called up to speak to them so they can aim high and achieve high standards.

However, motivational speakers set unrealistic objectives and goals and do not teach life coping strategies and skills.

Using their case management skills, social workers can help students set realistic goals in the following ways:

They first asses the student’s strengths, challenges, and needs and help them set realistic goals based on their strengths. The second step will involve developing a plan of action to realise these goals and objectives. The social worker can also point to resources to help the students learn the goals and objectives.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Extraction and exploitation: Why Small-scale farmers need social workers’ support to free them

The social worker can also make recommendations to other professionals based on student needs. If a student has anxiety, he or she can be referred to a psychologist in psychiatry. Social workers can also advocate for students, especially during curriculum changes, because they interact regularly with students and teachers.

They can also engage in policy analysis and its effects on students instead of setting up ad-hoc committees to review policy changes like the student university funding or CBC. Social workers could monitor and analyse policies as they affect students every day.

Finally, social workers could provide teachers, policymakers, unions, and faith-based organisations with evidence-based research.

Previous articleBOOK REVIEW: Lusaka Confidential
Next articleUniversity Education Expansion in Kenya: Pros, Cons, and the Road Ahead
Mary Njeri Kinyanjui, PhD, is an Independent Scholar based in the United States. Her contact: marykinyanjui@yahoo.com

1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.