Research
Our mission is to conduct research that contributes to knowledge, promotes wellbeing for all citizens, and furthers the common good. Our school includes a diverse group of scholars with wide-ranging applied research interests united by an underlying commitment to social justice.
We are especially proud of our contributions to the local community, nation, and the world. Our faculty, doctoral students, and alumni are an active group of professional practitioners and scholars, many who are recognized nationally and internationally for their research. See "Spotlight on SSW Research" below for a sample of recent research.
Spotlight on SSW Research
Wendy Haight, Bailey Jader
"Parent Mentoring Relationships As a Vehicle for Reducing Racial Disparities: Experiences of Child-Welfare-Involved Parents, Mentors and Professionals"
Authors: Ruth Soffer-Elnekave, Wendy Haight, and Bailey Jader
The Gamble-Skogmo Research Group, chaired by Professor Wendy Haight, was invited to participate on a project with Parent Mentor Program of Minnesota. Ruth Soffer-Elnekave, a current PhD student, received her BSW and MSW from The Ben-Gurion University in Be’er Sheva, Israel. Bailey Jader just graduated from our MSW program.
Participants argued that by positioning their program outside of the formal child welfare system, they were better able to build trust and engage parents from African American and Indigenous communities, more flexibly address parent needs, and include parent mentors with a wide variety of life experiences.
Soffer-Elnekave, R., Haight, W., Jader, B. (2020). Parent mentoring relationships as a vehicle for reducing racial disparities: Experiences of child-welfare-involved parents, mentors and professionals. Children and Youth Services Review, 109 doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104682.