Engaging Social Work Students In Community-Engaged Research As a Means to Close the Research-to-Practice Gap

Background and Purpose. Community-engaged research (CEnR) and evaluation is grounded in a social justice framework and represents a powerful approach to help close the research-to-practice gap. However, social work students may experience barriers to, or may be reticent to take advantage of, adequate training in this area in academic settings. The goals of this study are to: investigate best practices for CEnR and training the next generation of social workers; and discuss practical implementation through the development of a new initiative, the School of Social Work Evaluation Lab (SSWEL).

Methods. We conducted a narrative review on best practices for CEnR in social work. Databases included Academic Search Complete, PsychInfo, and Social Work Abstracts. Search terms included community-engaged research OR community-engaged evaluation AND social work AND train* OR educat*. We also ground the literature in a practical example that demonstrates how such best practices can be implemented in academic settings.

Results. The narrative review suggests that CEnR and community-engaged learning is an important tool to promote self-efficacy, meaningful engagement, relationship building, and positive community impact. Despite aligning with social work values, however, the formal integration of CEnR is relatively underutilized in social work programs. While the vast majority of articles focused on the importance of CEnR and the role of social work, very few provided concrete examples of integrating CEnR into the social work curriculum and providing experiential learning opportunities to generalist and macro students. We thus offer the SSWEL as a practical example to implementing best practices for integrating CEnR. The SSWEL is a vertically integrated project that allows social work students across all levels (BSW, MSW, PhD) to engage in CEnR, managing evidence-based practices and client needs in a way that promotes collaboration, empowerment, and shared decision-making. This project design aligns with university priorities while providing ample opportunity for scaffolded learning and mentorship. All research is community-driven; community partners determine the scope and plan for all projects and a research partnership framework is co-written, following best practices from the literature. Partners include field practicum sites across a range of practice areas, allowing SSWEL to grow meaningful mutually beneficial relationships with community agencies. Tailored to partner needs, projects can include survey measure development, Institutional Review Board protocols, literature reviews, grant writing, data analysis, and program evaluation. Social work students in the SSWEL contribute to all aspects of the research and evaluation process as well as planning sessions, client meetings, and dissemination of findings in accessible, non-technical formats. Mentoring sessions help students further develop active listening, relationship-building, and collaborative problem-solving skills.

Conclusions. Results from this study highlight the importance of, and best practices for, integrating CEnR into social work curricula while providing a concrete example of CEnR in practice. Training students to engage in CEnR can yield social workers who are better equipped to conduct research and understand, interpret, and implement research evidence in practice, policies, and programs. The practical example outlined here can serve as a model for other programs.