The Impact Of Field Education Barriers And Supports On The Wellbeing Of Nontraditional Female Msw Students

Abstract

Increasingly, nontraditional female students are enrolling in Masters of Social Work programs. These women bring work and life experiences to the learning environment in addition to familial and fiduciary responsibilities. This study explored the relationship between Field Education Barriers (employment, caregiving, and socio-demographic information) and Supports (work/family conflict, coping mechanisms, perceived stress and satisfaction with life) on the wellbeing of nontraditional female MSW students. An online survey was completed by 113 nontraditional female MSW students in programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The bivariate analyses identified some Field Education Barriers - age, marital status, and employment and caregiving responsibilities - as significant with regards to the physical, communal, and fundamental selves of wellbeing. The Field Education Supports were significant at some level for all of the multiple selves of wellbeing. However, multivariate analyses revealed that of the Field Education Barriers, only an employment variable and two caregiving variables remained significant for wellness. As for the Field Education Supports, multivariate analyses found significance for the physical self, communal self, managing self, and innovative self in the areas of family/school conflict, family/work conflict, coping, emotional support seeking and satisfaction with life.