Factors Associated with Choosing Social Work as a Major and Timely Graduation

Abstract

A student’s major is a serious decision that has the potential to impact them for a lifetime. It is not a decision entered into lightly, taking into account many factors that will have a significant effect on their future successes. It is advantageous for faculty members and administrators to be interested in how students make these decisions, as the students are the key to the success of not only individual degree programs, but institutions at large. Ethically and strategically, those in authority should be addressing the factors related to retention of students from the moment they begin their freshman year. A deeper understanding of how students select their major could lead to better strategies on the part of advisors, departments, and whole institutions (Morgan, Jackson, Reeves, & Reece, 2017). For social work, assessing the mindset of prospective students could lead to better recruitment to strengthen and diversify the field (Bowie & Nashwan, 2018). Unfortunately, these factors are rarely studied in the realm of social work education, despite the clear benefits of doing so.