Association Between Addition of Learning Support Professionals and School Performance: An Exploratory Study

• Published in: Research on social work practice 2013-01, Vol.23 (1), p.66-72
• Main Authors: Stone, Susan, Shields, John P., Hilinski, Andrea, Sanford, Vida
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Associations; California; Educational social workers; Elementary Schools; Learning; Learning support; Mathematics; Methodology; School districts; School Social Work; School social workers; Social Function; Social services; Social work; Social Workers; Students; Time series; Urban areas; Urban schools
• ISSN: 1049-7315; 1552-7581
• DOI: 10.1177/1049731512464581

This study capitalizes on the gradual introduction of learning support professionals (LSPs; e.g., school social workers) into an urban school district’s elementary schools (n = 71) between 2001–2002 and 2008–2009. The time series allowed for a school-level investigation of associations between the presence of LSPs and aggregate school achievement utilizing fixed-effects methodology. Schools with an LSP in a given year, as well as the cumulative years in which a school had an LSP, were both positively associated with the percentage of students who scored at or above proficient in reading achievement on the California Standards Test and were negatively associated with the cumulative number of years a school was in program improvement status, but not associated with mathematics achievement. Findings suggest that school social workers function as a school resource and indicate the utility of fixed-effects methodology in assessing the impact of social work services in schools.