FACTORS AFFECTING THE INTEREST OF ISRAELI SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS IN WORKING WITH DIFFERENT CLIENT GROUPS

Abstract

Employing a large-scale sample of 521 BSW students from 4 Israeli schools of social work, this research examines the factors affecting social work students' interest in working with a wide range of client groups. The results suggest that student interest in working with specific client groups is affected by factors related to desire for professional status, a reflection of social values, social work education, and work rewards and conditions. The greatest motivators in student interest in working with all the client groups examined were found to be (1) student perception of such work as contributing to one's professional growth and (2) aversion toward a client group. The limitations of the study and its implications for social work education are discussed.