Perceived Preparedness and Knowledge of Substance Abuse Among Recent MSW Graduates: Advanced Standing Revisited

Abstract

The granting of advanced standing status to bachelor of social work (BSW) students, exempting them from foundation study in master of social work (MSW) programs, has been controversial. The authors examined differences between recent MSW graduates who had received (n = 87) and not received (n = 124) advanced standing status regarding their perceived preparedness and perceived knowledge to work with substance abuse issues. No statistically significant differences in mean scores were found. However, mean scores for both groups were moderate to low. Implications for substance abuse education and advanced standing in social work education are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• advanced standing
• knowledge of substance abuse
• MSW graduates
• social work education
• substance abuse education

This study was done as part of a doctoral practicum. The authors would like to thank Dr. Donna Harrington, Dr. Geoffrey Grief, and Dr. Llewellyn Cornelius for their support on this article, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work for helping to fund this work.