Joelle Powers | Boise State University (original) (raw)
Papers by Joelle Powers
Children & Schools, Oct 1, 2007
In the context of current efforts to increase student performance and to close the significant ga... more In the context of current efforts to increase student performance and to close the significant gaps in performance among student subgroups, school researchers and practitioners are paying increasing attention to schools as learning organizations. Unfortunately, the concept of the learning organization is generally vague, and school personnel have few tools available to support its assessment and to inform intervention strategies. Using data from the population of employees in 11 middle schools in North ...
The School Success Profile Learning Organization (SSP-LO) is an assessment tool developed in the ... more The School Success Profile Learning Organization (SSP-LO) is an assessment tool developed in the United States to measure the capacity of school employees to learn and effectively adopt new practices. This article examines the SSP-LO psychometric properties and evaluates its relevance in Israel. This instrument was administered to 96 employees, consisting of homeroom teachers, teachers, assistants and professionals from three junior high and high schools. The results support the cross-national relevance of the SSP-LO for assessing the capacity of schools to function as learning organizations in Israel. The correlations maintain the internal consistency of items comprising the two learning organization components (that is, actions and sentiments) as well as the four school leadership components (direction, support, learning, and humility). Results from validity analysis show a consistent pattern of positive interrelationships between the scores for learning organization and personal and school outcome components. School leadership components were also significantly correlated with learning organization components. Using SSP-LO results, school social workers are better able to understand and target the school organization as a client system and guide the development of data-informed interventions to create a learning climate that supports evidence-based practice and school improvement.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15433714 2010 494971, Jun 6, 2012
Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of al... more Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of all students, including those with mental health problems. A critical obstacle impeding the ability of schools to effectively support students is the lack of access to quick, pre-screened, and organized information about scientifically-supported interventions that effectively address youth mental health problems. A new mental health best practices database was developed and made available online that provides access to free and user-friendly information about evidence-based interventions for use in schools. School staff will be better able to meet accountability demands of legislation and to effectively respond to student mental health problems.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15433714 2010 509216, Oct 1, 2010
Multidisciplinary school practitioners are clearly being called to use evidence-based practices f... more Multidisciplinary school practitioners are clearly being called to use evidence-based practices from reputable sources such as their own professional organizations and federal agencies. In spite of this encouragement, most schools are not regularly employing empirically supported interventions. This paper further promotes the use of this approach by describing the theoretical support for evidence-based practice in schools. The ecological risk and resilience theoretical framework presented fills a gap in the literature and advocates for evidence-based practice in schools by illustrating how it can assist practitioners such as school social workers to better address problems associated with school failure.
Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 2010
Multidisciplinary school practitioners are clearly being called to use evidence-based practices f... more Multidisciplinary school practitioners are clearly being called to use evidence-based practices from reputable sources such as their own professional organizations and federal agencies. In spite of this encouragement, most schools are not regularly employing empirically supported interventions. This paper further promotes the use of this approach by describing the theoretical support for evidence-based practice in schools. The ecological risk and resilience theoretical framework presented fills a gap in the literature and advocates for evidence-based practice in schools by illustrating how it can assist practitioners such as school social workers to better address problems associated with school failure.
Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 2012
Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of al... more Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of all students, including those with mental health problems. A critical obstacle impeding the ability of schools to effectively support students is the lack of access to quick, pre-screened, and organized information about scientifically-supported interventions that effectively address youth mental health problems. A new mental health best practices database was developed and made available online that provides access to free and user-friendly information about evidence-based interventions for use in schools. School staff will be better able to meet accountability demands of legislation and to effectively respond to student mental health problems.
Children & Schools, 2011
Abstract: In spite of multidisciplinary recommendations to use evidence-based interventions in sc... more Abstract: In spite of multidisciplinary recommendations to use evidence-based interventions in schools and a growing knowledge base of such practices, most schools are not using empirically supported interventions. On the basis of a careful analysis of barriers to the ...
Children & Schools, 2005
Page 1. 177 Powers, Bowen, and Rose / Using Social Environment Assets to Identify Strategies for ... more Page 1. 177 Powers, Bowen, and Rose / Using Social Environment Assets to Identify Strategies for Promoting School Success CCC Code: 1532-8759/05 $3.00 ©2005 National Association of Social Workers Using Social Environment Assets to Identify Intervention Strategies for ...
Journal of Social Work Education, 2011
ABSTRACT This study presents pilot data using an instrument called the Implicit Factors Survey (I... more ABSTRACT This study presents pilot data using an instrument called the Implicit Factors Survey (IFS) that is designed to measure factors within the implicit curriculum, or the educational environment in which the explicit curriculum is delivered. The implicit factors explored included community, diversity, faculty advising, and support services. Also included in the IFS were field and academic experiences. Sixty-four graduating MSW students completed the survey, and descriptive data and qualitative data were collected for each of the measured areas. Several important findings emerged from the data, including the variability in the quality of classroom instruction that students received and the comfort level that students felt in expressing their political or religious views. Implications for social work education and research are discussed.
School Social Work Journal, Sep 1, 2012
Academic Leadership Journal in Student Research, 2014
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15433710903256807, Jul 1, 2010
In spite of multi-disciplinary calls for the use of evidence-based practice in schools, empirical... more In spite of multi-disciplinary calls for the use of evidence-based practice in schools, empirically supported interventions are not being implemented in most schools. To increase the use of evidence-based programs in schools, it may be necessary first to identify characteristics of those programs and other factors that represent barriers to their use. This study examined implementation requirements and the availability of program information of 51 school-based intervention programs. Analyses revealed implementation obstacles such as high start-up costs, challenging training and staffing requirements, and a lack of easily accessible information about programs. Research and practice implications of these findings are presented.
ABSTRACT Background and Purpose : Learning teams and communities of practice are an increasing fo... more ABSTRACT Background and Purpose : Learning teams and communities of practice are an increasing focus of attention in school social work practice. The development of learning teams has extended beyond traditional organizations and social service agencies into the public school systems, and school social workers are being asked to identify and implement strategies to improve the working relationships among school employees. The planning and implementation of school reform efforts to increase student performance depend upon effective learning cultures and communities of practice. Anchored in general systems and social exchange theories, the School Success Profile Learning Organization (LO) is an assessment tool developed in the US to measure the capacity of school employees to learn and effectively adopt new practices (Bowen et al., 2007). A critical test for assessment tools developed with US samples is to examine their relevance and psychometric properties when they are used in diverse environments, including cross-cultural settings. Methods : The LO was administered to a convenient sample of 135 school employees (91.0% teachers) in three junior high and high schools in Tel Aviv, Israel. The LO contains a learning organization measure (36 items across two dimensions of actions and sentiments) and a school leadership component (20 items across four dimensions of direction, support, learning and humility). In addition, the LO includes four outcome items that assess employees' perceptions of job satisfaction, personal self-efficacy, and school performance and potential performance. Cronbach's alpha was used to examine the internal consistency for the two learning organization component measures and the four school leadership measures. The validity of the action and sentiment components was examined through zero-order correlations between the two component measures and four personal/school outcome items. In addition, zero-order correlations were run between the two components and the four school leadership components. Results : The results were consistent with both the measurement model and the logic model that informed the development of the LO. Internal consistencies of all scales were high and ranged between .825 to .956. Results offered overall support for the construct validity of the two learning organizational factors--the higher the scores on the action and sentiment components, the more positive the reported personal and school outcomes. Additionally, the higher the scores for the four school leadership components, the higher the scores for the action and sentiment components. Conclusions and Implications : The results support the psychometric properties of the SSP-LO for assessing the capacity of schools to function as learning organizations in Israel, and indicate strongly that this measure can be effectively transported across these cultural and national contexts. With their multisystem intervention repertoire and with the help of this assessment tool, school social workers are able to appreciate and target the school organization as a client system and guide the development of data-informed, meso-level intervention planning to create a learning climate that supports evidence based practice and school improvement.
Journal of Social Work Education, 2012
ABSTRACT
Social Work in Mental Health, 2015
Children & Schools, Oct 1, 2007
In the context of current efforts to increase student performance and to close the significant ga... more In the context of current efforts to increase student performance and to close the significant gaps in performance among student subgroups, school researchers and practitioners are paying increasing attention to schools as learning organizations. Unfortunately, the concept of the learning organization is generally vague, and school personnel have few tools available to support its assessment and to inform intervention strategies. Using data from the population of employees in 11 middle schools in North ...
The School Success Profile Learning Organization (SSP-LO) is an assessment tool developed in the ... more The School Success Profile Learning Organization (SSP-LO) is an assessment tool developed in the United States to measure the capacity of school employees to learn and effectively adopt new practices. This article examines the SSP-LO psychometric properties and evaluates its relevance in Israel. This instrument was administered to 96 employees, consisting of homeroom teachers, teachers, assistants and professionals from three junior high and high schools. The results support the cross-national relevance of the SSP-LO for assessing the capacity of schools to function as learning organizations in Israel. The correlations maintain the internal consistency of items comprising the two learning organization components (that is, actions and sentiments) as well as the four school leadership components (direction, support, learning, and humility). Results from validity analysis show a consistent pattern of positive interrelationships between the scores for learning organization and personal and school outcome components. School leadership components were also significantly correlated with learning organization components. Using SSP-LO results, school social workers are better able to understand and target the school organization as a client system and guide the development of data-informed interventions to create a learning climate that supports evidence-based practice and school improvement.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15433714 2010 494971, Jun 6, 2012
Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of al... more Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of all students, including those with mental health problems. A critical obstacle impeding the ability of schools to effectively support students is the lack of access to quick, pre-screened, and organized information about scientifically-supported interventions that effectively address youth mental health problems. A new mental health best practices database was developed and made available online that provides access to free and user-friendly information about evidence-based interventions for use in schools. School staff will be better able to meet accountability demands of legislation and to effectively respond to student mental health problems.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15433714 2010 509216, Oct 1, 2010
Multidisciplinary school practitioners are clearly being called to use evidence-based practices f... more Multidisciplinary school practitioners are clearly being called to use evidence-based practices from reputable sources such as their own professional organizations and federal agencies. In spite of this encouragement, most schools are not regularly employing empirically supported interventions. This paper further promotes the use of this approach by describing the theoretical support for evidence-based practice in schools. The ecological risk and resilience theoretical framework presented fills a gap in the literature and advocates for evidence-based practice in schools by illustrating how it can assist practitioners such as school social workers to better address problems associated with school failure.
Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 2010
Multidisciplinary school practitioners are clearly being called to use evidence-based practices f... more Multidisciplinary school practitioners are clearly being called to use evidence-based practices from reputable sources such as their own professional organizations and federal agencies. In spite of this encouragement, most schools are not regularly employing empirically supported interventions. This paper further promotes the use of this approach by describing the theoretical support for evidence-based practice in schools. The ecological risk and resilience theoretical framework presented fills a gap in the literature and advocates for evidence-based practice in schools by illustrating how it can assist practitioners such as school social workers to better address problems associated with school failure.
Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 2012
Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of al... more Legislation has been passed that holds schools increasingly accountable for the proficiency of all students, including those with mental health problems. A critical obstacle impeding the ability of schools to effectively support students is the lack of access to quick, pre-screened, and organized information about scientifically-supported interventions that effectively address youth mental health problems. A new mental health best practices database was developed and made available online that provides access to free and user-friendly information about evidence-based interventions for use in schools. School staff will be better able to meet accountability demands of legislation and to effectively respond to student mental health problems.
Children & Schools, 2011
Abstract: In spite of multidisciplinary recommendations to use evidence-based interventions in sc... more Abstract: In spite of multidisciplinary recommendations to use evidence-based interventions in schools and a growing knowledge base of such practices, most schools are not using empirically supported interventions. On the basis of a careful analysis of barriers to the ...
Children & Schools, 2005
Page 1. 177 Powers, Bowen, and Rose / Using Social Environment Assets to Identify Strategies for ... more Page 1. 177 Powers, Bowen, and Rose / Using Social Environment Assets to Identify Strategies for Promoting School Success CCC Code: 1532-8759/05 $3.00 ©2005 National Association of Social Workers Using Social Environment Assets to Identify Intervention Strategies for ...
Journal of Social Work Education, 2011
ABSTRACT This study presents pilot data using an instrument called the Implicit Factors Survey (I... more ABSTRACT This study presents pilot data using an instrument called the Implicit Factors Survey (IFS) that is designed to measure factors within the implicit curriculum, or the educational environment in which the explicit curriculum is delivered. The implicit factors explored included community, diversity, faculty advising, and support services. Also included in the IFS were field and academic experiences. Sixty-four graduating MSW students completed the survey, and descriptive data and qualitative data were collected for each of the measured areas. Several important findings emerged from the data, including the variability in the quality of classroom instruction that students received and the comfort level that students felt in expressing their political or religious views. Implications for social work education and research are discussed.
School Social Work Journal, Sep 1, 2012
Academic Leadership Journal in Student Research, 2014
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15433710903256807, Jul 1, 2010
In spite of multi-disciplinary calls for the use of evidence-based practice in schools, empirical... more In spite of multi-disciplinary calls for the use of evidence-based practice in schools, empirically supported interventions are not being implemented in most schools. To increase the use of evidence-based programs in schools, it may be necessary first to identify characteristics of those programs and other factors that represent barriers to their use. This study examined implementation requirements and the availability of program information of 51 school-based intervention programs. Analyses revealed implementation obstacles such as high start-up costs, challenging training and staffing requirements, and a lack of easily accessible information about programs. Research and practice implications of these findings are presented.
ABSTRACT Background and Purpose : Learning teams and communities of practice are an increasing fo... more ABSTRACT Background and Purpose : Learning teams and communities of practice are an increasing focus of attention in school social work practice. The development of learning teams has extended beyond traditional organizations and social service agencies into the public school systems, and school social workers are being asked to identify and implement strategies to improve the working relationships among school employees. The planning and implementation of school reform efforts to increase student performance depend upon effective learning cultures and communities of practice. Anchored in general systems and social exchange theories, the School Success Profile Learning Organization (LO) is an assessment tool developed in the US to measure the capacity of school employees to learn and effectively adopt new practices (Bowen et al., 2007). A critical test for assessment tools developed with US samples is to examine their relevance and psychometric properties when they are used in diverse environments, including cross-cultural settings. Methods : The LO was administered to a convenient sample of 135 school employees (91.0% teachers) in three junior high and high schools in Tel Aviv, Israel. The LO contains a learning organization measure (36 items across two dimensions of actions and sentiments) and a school leadership component (20 items across four dimensions of direction, support, learning and humility). In addition, the LO includes four outcome items that assess employees' perceptions of job satisfaction, personal self-efficacy, and school performance and potential performance. Cronbach's alpha was used to examine the internal consistency for the two learning organization component measures and the four school leadership measures. The validity of the action and sentiment components was examined through zero-order correlations between the two component measures and four personal/school outcome items. In addition, zero-order correlations were run between the two components and the four school leadership components. Results : The results were consistent with both the measurement model and the logic model that informed the development of the LO. Internal consistencies of all scales were high and ranged between .825 to .956. Results offered overall support for the construct validity of the two learning organizational factors--the higher the scores on the action and sentiment components, the more positive the reported personal and school outcomes. Additionally, the higher the scores for the four school leadership components, the higher the scores for the action and sentiment components. Conclusions and Implications : The results support the psychometric properties of the SSP-LO for assessing the capacity of schools to function as learning organizations in Israel, and indicate strongly that this measure can be effectively transported across these cultural and national contexts. With their multisystem intervention repertoire and with the help of this assessment tool, school social workers are able to appreciate and target the school organization as a client system and guide the development of data-informed, meso-level intervention planning to create a learning climate that supports evidence based practice and school improvement.
Journal of Social Work Education, 2012
ABSTRACT
Social Work in Mental Health, 2015