Increasing Self-Efficacy With Legislative Advocacy Among Social Work Students

ABSTRACT

Legislative advocacy is an integral part of social work practice and is one way students can engage in activities toward a more just society. Rigorous, comprehensive, and experiential training in legislative advocacy builds competency in policy practice. The purpose of this study was to measure changes in social work students’ attitudes and perceived self-efficacy with legislative advocacy. Students completed a quantitative and qualitative survey before and after participation in the National Association of Social Workers’ Legislative Education and Advocacy Day activities. Findings revealed that students were able to make significant gains in self-efficacy with legislative advocacy through this experience. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive training and experiential practice with legislative advocacy among BSW and MSW students.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eva Nowakowski-Sims

Eva Nowakowski-Sims is associate professor and Jo Kumar is MSW graduate at Barry University.