Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Challenges Facing School Social Workers in Saudi Arabia

Abdulhadi Sharhan Alotaibi, Mohd Suhaimi Mohamad, Nor Jana Saim, Ezarina Zakaria

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v10-i12/8280

Open access

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), school social workers (SSW) faced challenges that hinder the performance of their required roles: such as administrative restrictions, inadequate level of professional training, unclear roles as well as society norms. Although, the existing literatures focused on the possible benefits associated with SSW, however it ignored their challenges which may influence the performance and the quality of the provided services. Therefore, the study aims to fulfill the existing gap by exploring the challenges of SSW in the KSA. The semi-structed interviews used to collect the data of 16 school social workers across Riyadh. Based on the thematic analysis, the study found major challenges: Administrative constraints, workload and occupational stress, and sociodemographic differences. The study recommends national organizations to overcome these challenges in order to enhance the performance and the quality of the services of SSW at schools in KSA.

Abu Al-Naser, M. M. (2017). Social work in the school field (Ed). Cairo: Arab Group for Training and Publishing.
Ahmadi, N. (2003). Globalisation of consciousness and new challenges for international social work. International Journal of Social Welfare, 12, 14–23.
Al-Ajlan, A. A. (2000). The social work role in the secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. Doctoral dissertation, The University of Hull. Digital Repository.
Alavi, K., Amin, A. S., Subhi, N., & Sarnon, N. (2012). Social work at school: Understanding and dealing with child abuse. e-Bangi, 9 (1), 17 -37.
Albrithen, A., & Briskman, L. (2014). Social work ethics in Saudi Arabia: An exploration. British Journal of Social Work, 45(7), 1–18.
Almaizar, H., & A. Abdelhamed, K. (2018). Research trends in social work in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 6(2), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.15640/jssw.v6n2a4.
Altshuler, S. J., & Webb, J. R. (2009). School social work: Increasing the legitimacy of the profession. Children & Schools, 31(4), 207-218. Retrieved from http://www.naswpress.org/publications/journals/cs.html.
Amin, S. M., Mohamad, M. S., & Ahmad, T. L. T. (2019). The development of social work undergraduate programs in Malaysia public universities: Issues, challenges and opportunities. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 27(SI), 45 -59.
Balobaid, A., Qari, A., & Al-zaidan, H. (2016). Genetic counselors’ scope of practice and challenges in genetic counseling services in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 3(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpam.2015.12.002.
Becker, K. D., Mathis, G., & Mueller, C. W. (2012). Barriers to treatment in an ethnically diverse sample of families enrolled in a community-based domestic violence intervention. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 21(8), 829–850. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2012.708013.
Ben-natan, M. (2014). Screening by healthcare staff for domestic violence against women in Israel - ethical and legal aspects. Journal of Family Violence, 29, 809–813. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-014-9625-2.
Broussard, C. A. (2003). Facilitating home – school partnerships for multiethnic families?: School social workers collaborating for success. Children & Schools, 25(4), 211-217.
Calis, N., & Calis, S. T. (2015). Significance of supportive services in education: School social work as a new horizon in Turkey. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 1043–1047 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.792.
Cherniss, C., Egnatios, E. S., & Wacker, S. (1976). Job stress and career development in new public professionals. Professional Psychology, 7(4), 428–436.
Christensen, J., Onul, D., & Singh, P. (2018). Impact of ethnic civil conflict on migration of skilled labor. Eastern Economic Journal, 44(1), 18–29. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41302-016-0069-7.
Crewell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publication.
Darwish, S., Abdo, H., & AlShuwaiee, W. M. (2018). Opportunities, challenges and risks of transition into renewable energy: the case of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council. International Energy Journal, 18(4).
Dahlgren, L., Emmelin, M., & Winkvist, A. (2007). A qualitative methodology for international public health. Umeå: Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University.
Huxtable, M. (1998). School social work?: An international profession. Social Work in Education, 20(2), 95-107.
Kelly, M. S., Frey, A. J., Alvarez, M., Berzin, S. C., Shaffer, G., & Brien, K. O. (2010). School social work practice and response to intervention. Children & Schools, 32(4), 201–209.
Leyba, E. G. (2009). Tools to reduce overload in the school social worker role. Children & Schools, 31(1), 219–228.
Lopez, V., & Whitehead, D. (2013) Sampling data and data collection in qualitative research. In: Nursing & Midwifery Research: Methods and appraisal for evidence-based practice. 4th ed. (Schneider, Z., Whitehead, D., LoBiondo-Wood, G. & Haber, J.). pp. 123-140.
Paat, Y. (2013). Working with immigrant children and their families: An application of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23, 954–966. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2013.800007.

In-Text Citation: (Alotaibi et al., 2020)
To Cite this Article: Alotaibi, A. S., Mohamad, M. S., Saim, N. J., & Zakaria, E. (2020). Challenges Facing School Social Workers in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(12), 101–115.