Faculty, Practitioner, and Student Attitudes toward Research

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a study that examined Israeli faculty, practitioner, and student attitudes toward research, their perceptions of the attitudes of social work students to research, and the extent to which social work faculty incorporate methodological issues into their nonresearch classes. Overall, the orientation of the three groups to research is positive. Faculty and practitioners, however, perceive students as less favorably disposed to the incorporation of research than do the students themselves. Because of their low evaluation of student attitudes, faculty and practitioners who instruct students in the field may feel constrained to limit research content. Thus, they may convey a negative message to students about the importance of research in social work practice.