Master of Social Work News
Social Work Faculty Wins a Dissertation Award
Dr. Gordon Capp, Assistant Professor of Social Work, was awarded the
2019 Outstanding Dissertation in the Field of School Climate
award by the School Community, Climate and Culture (SC3) which is a Special Interest Group (SIG) within the American Education Research Association (AERA). The purpose of the SIG is to disseminate research on school community, climate, and culture and to provide a venue for research collaboration of its members.
Dr. Capp used a statewide database of 54,000 school staff (teachers, principals, PPS workers, secretaries, bus drivers, playground monitors etc.) in public schools in California and created a staff level school climate construct that mirrored student climate theoretical models. His study also included issues of organization, support, staff contentedness, and student/staff relationships that were specific to school staff. He created a theoretical model, and then tested it empirically. He then went into school districts and created case studies based on his statewide and theoretical models.
