Students’ Experiences of Participating in a Dual-Language English–Spanish MSW Program Component: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

There are a small number of MSW and BSW programs in the U.S. that have specialized tracks to train social workers to work with Spanish-speaking clients. This qualitative focus group study reports on the experiences of 25 students who participated in a new English-Spanish dual-language component in the final year of an MSW program in a Northeastern U.S. city. Themes that emerged include how the interactive dual-language nature of the class increased students’ effectiveness and confidence to work with Spanish-speaking clients, and how the class empowered Latinx students and served as a support system for them. Challenges identified include difficulties integrating the dual-language classes with the students’ field experiences and problems engendered by varying Spanish-language proficiency levels of the students.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Evan Senreich

Evan Senreich, PhD, LCSW, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at Lehman College, City University of New York. Nicole M. Saint-Louis, DSW, LCSW, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at Lehman College, City University of New York.