Improvement of Professional Identity and Empathy through a Joint-course Social Group Work among Social Work Students

Last registered on October 13, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Improvement of Professional Identity and Empathy through a Joint-course Social Group Work among Social Work Students
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0006583
Initial registration date
October 12, 2020

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 13, 2020, 9:12 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Xinshan Cindy Jia
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-10-19
End date
2020-12-30
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Social group work, empathy, mindfulness meditation
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
As empathy is the core value in social work and determines ones’ communication skills, the current study aims to use a controlled experimental method to test the effectiveness of social group work intervention of empathy and social skills among college students. In the study, year 3 students who have already learned psychology, social psychology, and group work method courses were asked to lead groups of fresh college students on the topics of empathy, communication skills, and mindfulness meditation. They will conduct group work intervention on 60 students (N1) first, and the rest of 90 students (N2) serve as a controlled group. Then, 90 students will receive group work intervention. Assessments at three timepoints: baseline, after intervention on N1 and before on N2, after intervention on N2 will be conducted to compare the intervention effect. The current intervention will benefit both year 1 and year 3 social work students in their social skills and professional competence.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jia, Xinshan Cindy. 2020. "Improvement of Professional Identity and Empathy through a Joint-course Social Group Work among Social Work Students." AEA RCT Registry. October 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6583-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
To improve empathy and communication skills for year 1 students, interventions of group work through 6 sections with warm-up, instruction of basic theory and knowledge, role play and practices will be conducted.
Intervention Start Date
2020-10-26
Intervention End Date
2020-12-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
For year 1 student: social skills including empathy and communication skills. For year 3 students: professional identity and social work competence.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Empathy is measured by Basic Empathy Scale (Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006) and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983). Communication skill is measured by Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale (ICCS-sf, Rubin et al., 2010). Professional Identity is measured by self-constructed inventory and social work competence is measured by the Perceived Social Work Competence Scale (Wang & Chui, 2007).

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In the study, year 3 students who have already learned psychology, social psychology, and group work method courses were asked to lead groups of fresh college students on the topics of empathy, communication skills, and mindfulness meditation. They will conduct group work intervention on year 1 students.Assessments will be conducted to compare the intervention effect.
Experimental Design Details
In the study, year 3 students who have already learned psychology, social psychology, and group work method courses were asked to lead groups of fresh college students on the topics of empathy, communication skills, and mindfulness meditation. They will conduct group work intervention on 60 students (N1) first, and the rest of 90 students (N2) serve as a controlled group. Then, 90 students will receive group work intervention. Assessments at three timepoints (i.e., t1: baseline; t2: after intervention on N1 and before intervention on N2; t3: after intervention on N2) will be conducted to compare the intervention effect.
Randomization Method
Randomization will be conducted by computer.
Randomization Unit
The unit is class to avoid spillover effect.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
5 classes of year 1 students and 2 class of year 3 students.
Sample size: planned number of observations
150 year 1 students and 60 year 3 students.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
For year 1 students, 60 received intervention and 90 remains in controlled condition.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials