Project Title: School Social Work, Race and Racism: National Survey of School Social Workers

Researchers: Kate Phillippo, Jandel Crutchfield, Jennifer Murphy

Introduction: 

You are being invited to take part in this research study conducted by Dr. Kate Phillippo, a professor in Loyola University Chicago’s School of Social Work, Jandel Crutchfield, a professor in University of Texas-Arlington's School of Social Work, and Jennifer Murphy, a professor in University of Texas-Arlington's School of Social Work. You are being invited to participate because you are an actively practicing PK-12 School Social Worker in the U.S.  

Please read this form carefully and ask any questions you may have before deciding whether to participate in the study.  

Purpose: 

School social work is a vital resource for PK-12 schools as they grapple with how to navigate race and racism in American society. As school social workers face pressure to identify and respond to issues of race and racism, it is essential to understand school social workers’ current situation and concerns in this sphere. With this understanding, school social work educators and researchers will be better able to develop intervention tools and professional learning experiences that truly support practitioners. For this reason, we are distributing a national school social worker survey that centers on issues related to race and racism that they encounter within their places of employment.  

For the present study, we are seeking actively practicing school social workers in the US to complete this survey to share their contemporary experiences in their employing schools. Therefore, we are inviting current, employed PK-12 school social workers in the United States to participate in this survey (18 years or older). This information will inform future school social work practice, teaching, and education.

Procedures: 

If you agree to participate in the study, we will ask you to complete a secure online survey that provides us with your perspective on race and racism as experienced in your social work practice. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You can save your survey responses and return later to complete them. 

Risks/Benefits: 

There are no foreseeable risks involved in participating in this research beyond those experienced in everyday life. As in everyday life, you may find some topics uncomfortable or distressing. You will not receive any direct benefit from being in this research study; however, we hope to gather information that will help us to inform school social work practice as it relates to race and racism. 

Compensation:

Participants who submit a completed survey are eligible to receive a $20 gift card from Amazon. Only eligible individuals will receive the $20 gift cards. Duplicate or bot entries will not receive any chance for payment. IP address is being collected to detect duplicates and bots.

  

Confidentiality:

The information you share in the survey will be kept confidential. The data in this study will be confidential and we will not share information that could identify individual participants. We ask for your name and preferred email at the end of the survey so that we can send you an e-gift card for participation, and you may opt not to provide this information. You are not asked to name your employing school. To ensure those completing the survey are from the US, one of our eligibility criteria, our survey software, QuestionPro, can identify if you are completing the survey from the US. We will keep the database that ties contact information to survey responses separate from the database that we use to analyze survey responses. 

Voluntary Participation: 

Participation in this study is voluntary. If you do not want to be in this study, you do not have to participate.  Even if you decide to participate, you are free not to answer any question or to withdraw from participation at any time without penalty.  

Contacts and questions: 

The researchers conducting this study are Kate Phillippo at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Social Work, Jandel Crutchfield, a professor in University of Texas-Arlington's School of Social Work, and Jennifer Murphy, a professor in University of Texas-Arlington's School of Social Work. If you have questions about this research study, please feel free to contact Kate Phillippo at (312) 915-6910 or kphillippo@luc.edu.  If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the Loyola University Office of Research Services at (773) 508-2689. 

Statement of Consent: 

By advancing, you indicate that you have read the information provided above, have had an opportunity to ask questions, and agree to participate in this research study. You may save or print a copy of this form to keep for your records. Should you have any questions, please contact the study’s director (Dr. Kate Phillippo) before consenting to participate. 

QuestionPro survey software will record the date on which the consent was completed. Once the eligibility items below are answered, the survey will begin.