SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK SECTION: Casework with Parents in the School Setting

Author(s): ESTHER SCHOUR

Source: Social Work, Vol. 3, No. 1 (JANUARY 1958), pp. 68-75
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23707285
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 [

BY ESTHER SCHOUR

Casework with Parents in the School Setting

"Parenthood," wrote therese benedek, authority to social work practiced within
"does not mean the fulfillment of a bio it. To come to school for help with a
logical function only, that of begetting and problems does not carry the stigma
child's
bearing children; it also implies thewhich
prin still attaches to coming to a social
cipal social function of the adult agency
indi or clinic. Moreover, there is strong
vidual." She points out further that "In
motivation in most parents to have their
developing towards sexual maturity children
the achieve in school and, therefore,
individual incorporates within hisa own
greater readiness to use services toward
emotional life the ideals and conflicts this end.
which are associated with parenthood in
Furthermore, the social worker is part
general as well as those which have of been
the school—a setting in which the ad
transmitted to him through his interper
ministrative policy recognizes the impor
sonal relationship with his parents— tance of the role of parents, their responsi
Although this learning occurs uncon bilities and their rights. In this policy the
sciously, nowadays many young men andschool reflects within its own scope the
women are working arduously at becomingsame social principles and values which are
"adequate parents." 1 With this consciousaccepted by our society.
striving for adequacy and satisfaction as The Midcentury White House Confer
parents, school social workers should beence on Children and Youth in 1950 recog
come staunch allies. In cultivating parennized fully the importance of the family
tal strengths, they enrich the soil for the and parents in our society.2 It pointed
child's emotional growth and optimum out that the school carries substantial re
utilization of his school experience. sponsibility for a child during his school
School social work is in a strategic posiyears and that with other agencies and
tion for work with parents of school chilinstitutions, it contributes significantly to
dren. Because the school is a socially ac the child's development.
cepted institution, it lends its prestige and While each institution is directed toward
aiding the child in specific aspects of his
ESTHER SCHOUR, M.S.S., is administrative director
of the Child Care Program at the Chicago Institute 1 Therese Benedek, M.D., "The Meaning of
Fatherhood," in A. M. Krich, ed., Men (New York:
for Psychoanalysis. This paper was presented at
Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1953), Ch. 7.
a meeting sponsored by the School Social Work 2 James L. Hymes, Jr., A Healthy Personality for
Section of NASW at the 1957 National Conference Your Child (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Children's
on Social Welfare in Philadelphia in May. Bureau, 1951).

68 Social Work

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Casework with Parents

family agencies is pertinent to social work

life, aspects so important that they influ
ence all the child is and does, it is only
in the school setting.3 In extreme cases in
the family that carries total responsibility
which there is neglect, cruelty, and indif
for the child's welfare until adulthood. ference, the caseworker must interpret to
Out of these mighty parental responsithe parents that their unwillingness to
bilities grow equally impressive parentalwork with their problem makes it neces
rights. The school recognizes that parents sary for the school to refer the situation to
have a right to know that their child pre a protective agency or court.
sents a problem in school; to know that It is not school policy alone which is
the basis for casework with parents. Our
there are specific services within the school,
one of which is school social work; to un professional knowledge of the importance
derstand the primary objective of school of parent-child relationships in the devel
social work; and to understand the means opment of the child and in his current
by which it can help a child who is in dif problems in school and our experience in
ficulty to use his school experience in acasework with children make work with
way that will be of maximum benefit toparents imperative. Direct work with chil
him. The school also recognizes that pardren of school age rests on our experience
ents have a right to participate in any that children over six are best helped to
planning for their child and the social deal with their problems when they partici
worker must guard against ignoring or pate in modifying their own behavior.
excluding them. This is because their patterns of behavior
In general, caseworkers find it relatively are their own, part of their personality, not
easy to be receptive to those parents whoonly reactive to outside influence. A child's
come to school, who show concern about school problems must be understood in
their child's school problem, and who have terms of the school setting; his relationship
some awareness that their own handling to his parents and family setting; his age
may have contributed to it, or are readyand stage of development and his earlier
to look at this possibility. On the otherlife experience. We have to evaluate not
hand, there are parents who show limited only the nature of the problem but the
interest in the caseworker's efforts with
child's own strength and the strengths of
their child and who do not want help his
forparents to help him. While casework
themselves in relation to the child's treatment
prob of a child alone may in some
lem. Usually they know little about the
instances yield good results, ongoing treat
service and are fearful and distrustful of
ment of children of six years to adoles
the school and the social worker. They
cence is usually most effective if directed
to both parents and children. Until ado
may not respond to an invitation to come
in, or come in once and not return. lescence the child is emotionally and so
While we accept that parents are free
cially dependent on his parents. They are
to use or refuse casework service, I believe his primary source of security. The social
that the social worker, out of her convic worker's responsibility is to strengthen the
tion of the necessity of parental co-opera security which parents and children need
in each other. We have to help the child
tion both in relationship to the child's
in ways that are in harmony with the
current school problem and in preventing
further breakdown in parent-childstandards
rela and values of the parents, or are
acceptable to them in some degree, lest we
tionships, should reach out to the parents
add to the child-parent conflict. At this
with patience, persistence, and flexibility
in techniques. What Lane has referred to
3 Lionel C. Lane, " 'Aggressive' Approach in Pre
as an aggressive approach in preventive
ventive Casework with Children's Problems," Social
casework with children's problems in Vol. 32, No. 2 (February 1952), pp. 61-66.
Casework,

JANUARY 1958 69

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 SCHOUR:

stage in his development the child needs worker in a unique position to

parental approval and support of his treat- parents, then what are the o
ment. We know, too, that what happens Pressures of work are a reality a
to the child in treatment upsets the bal- in school social work are numero
ance in the parent-child relationship and children are referred; one socia
may complicate the problem for both until serves large numbers of childr
a new balance is achieved. These factors at different schools. Because
require the involvement of parents of ele- accessible, because it is easy to
mentary school children both in diagnosis contact with them, because th
and treatment. With some early school- usually unhappy about his schoo
age children in kindergarten and first and and wants to come, because o
second grades, treatment of parents alone schedule of interviews with child
may be sufficient when the child's problem is a tendency not to be as tho
is predominantly reactive to parental atti- we should be in determining w
tudes and handling. In other cases it may need to work with parents,
be necessary to see the child periodically, There are other realistic diffic
and the parents with greater frequency. work with parents. Some parents
In work with adolescents, too, there is rejecting, cruel, and neglectful
need for involving parents in the diag- to take. Aggressive and attacking
nostic process. There are adolescents who worker and limited in their ca
do not want the caseworker to see the give to the child, they seem
parents. If the caseworker has conviction, Should the caseworker spend her
she will deal with this unwillingness in them? Others—insecure, fearful
the adolescent. We cannot be helpful if with a sense of failure—need mu
we identify with the adolescent's defiance ing out. This requires interest a
and rebellion. Actually, we can try to Moreover, work with children and
help him see that in the act of letting his reawakens emotional conflicts t
parents know that he is seeking help, he rived from childhood relationshi
takes one important step in emancipation, own parents. Some of these fee
In the school, as in social agencies and carry over into our work. A work
clinics, continued treatment of an adoles- hostility may interfere with he
cent without parental knowledge is not feelings to parents. Her competi
sound. Whether the parents of adolescents may play a part in her trying t
should have continued treatment must be child from the parent or in he
determined on an individual basis, ft is to be a better parent. She ma
often an aid in easing the tension between overidentify with the child a
the parents and the adolescent and in facili- parent. Self-scrutiny and an aw
tating the adolescent's more effective use these feelings can permit some
of school. Moreover, parents of adoles- control and make for greater objec
cents may be very troubled. They deserve work with parents,
some support. On the other hand, when
the parents of an adolescent do not wish or CASEWORK WITH PARENTS
cannot use help, treatment of the adoles
cent alone can yield good results because When there is agreement by sch
of the adolescent's stage of development sonnel and the social worker that
and his strivings for independence and self- is to be accepted for direct service
identity. social worker, we are faced with the ques
If both her setting and her professional tion as to who—the child or his parents—
knowledge and skill place the school social should be seen first, and when and to wh

70 Social Work

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Casework with Parents

end to work with the parents. Such factors home visit. In offering this she is meeting
as the age of the child, the nature of his the needs of parents who are not able to
problem, the experience of the teacher in come because of realistic factors and reac
previous contacts with the parents, and the ing out to those who for emotional or cul
appraisal of parental feelings toward the tural reasons may be resistant either to t
school should be the basis on which we school or to social work. A home visit,
make our decision. These should be the early in contact, is useful also to the
real considerations, not the pressures of worker's understanding of the emotional
doing something with the child to relieve climate and physical setting in which the
the teacher or our own overevaluation of family lives.
work with the child and underevaluation Essential to work with parents is the
and feeling of futility about the possibility establishment of a casework relationship
of working with parents. Parents who in that makes possible joint exploration by
their previous contact with the teacher parent and worker of the child's school
have not been responsive, and parents who problems—one that will permit her to
too eagerly turned over the child to the arrive at a diagnosis of the nature of a
school should have a second chance. In child's difficulties, the factors that are
general, I believe the school social worker creating them, and the role of pare
should have contact with the parent before attitudes in the child's problems. In
interviewing the child. Her failure to do exploration the social worker engages
this, her taking on the child, may com- ents in considering with her their id
plicate her future relationships with the about the child's school problem, its cau
parent and may reinforce a tendency to their ways of handling it, their react
by-pass parents. It may also involve the to it. She encourages them to express t
caseworker in treatment of the child with feelings to the child and to the school. Sh
inadequate diagnostic understanding of helps them share with her their un
the parent-child relationship and without standing of their child, of critical eve
knowledge of what support parents can in his life. They are the best source o
provide. information about the child's develop
Initial contact with parents begins with ment. She does no
the caseworker's discussing frankly the getting a detailed d
child's school problems, the school's con- but in sensitively e
cern, and the reason for referral to the move from the pr
social worker. She must share with parents development in the p
her awareness of their distress and offer of it, she can get h
them her help. It is important that she cally related to the
give them an opportunity to bring out which gives her bet
their point of view about casework service the child, the parent
and their use of it. The time and place and the climate in w
of initial interviews should be planned in She helps the paren
advance and the parents should be in- is interested in know
volved in this. There is value in asking its problems and its
them to come to the school. In coming these may relate to
they take the first step in involving them- in school.
selves in working on the problem. Also The sympathetic no
the likelihood for more privacy is greater tive attitude of th
in the school setting. But if the parent some relief from an
cannot come, it is important that the social free them to deal w
worker indicate her readiness to make a tive feelings about
JANUARY 1958 71

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 SCHOUR:

Parents are often enabled to understand The worker may gain some idea of the
the child and their own feelings better.warmth and affection, hostility and indif
Thus, the initial joint exploration hasference, or overprotection and domination
treatment value for them. Active par in the parental relationship. She may be
ticipation in examining the problem canable to see the extent of agreement or dis
provide them with a pattern of what willagreement between the parents about deal
be expected of them in treatment. ing with the child, how they handle their
This joint exploration may take one or disagreement, and which parent is more
more interviews with one or both parents. involved in the child's problem. This
On the basis of what the parents tell her,helps her evaluate who should be treated.
how they relate to her, what she knows
about a child from the school and of her TREATMENT
direct interview with the child, the worker
can formulate a tentative diagnosis and Treatment should be a mutually agreed-on
evaluate who should be treated and the process with both parents, or with the par
ent who is either predominantly involved
kind of help that the child and parents
in not
can use. This tentative diagnosis is the child's school problem or who is
reacting to it in such a way as to influence
fixed. The diagnostic process is ongoing
the problem.
and the diagnosis may be changed as treat
ment progresses. The over-all goal of treatment of parents
in the school is to modify parental rela
I have talked about involving parents
tionships
in diagnosis, but all of us know we have and behavior that interfere with
usually involved the mother. Thisthe child's educational and emotional ad
may
be because mothers generally come tojustment
the to school. However, this does not
school about their children's problems.
alter the fact that parents must be treated
Also we have a tendency to feel thatas individuals
a in their own right. They
are not
child's problem is probably due to disturb just adjuncts or collaterals from
ance in the mother-child relationship.
whom we get information or to whom we
report back and we must not treat them
This is not necessarily true. Our efforts
as such.
should be to engage both parents in exami
The focus
nation of this child's school problem. in treatment interviews is not
on or
Whether they should be seen separately the child but on the parents' feelings
together cannot be generalized. in relation to the child's school problem
However, it seems to me that thereandis a their disappointment, inadequacy,
anger, and guilt; and on their attitudes,
place for experimentation in seeing parents
expectations, and behavior which contrib
together and on the basis of this determin
ing who needs to be seen further. Suchute toathe child's school problems. Gordon
"joint-parent focused interview," as Hamilton
it has has pointed out that "The case
been named by Chapman and Meltzer, worker
can is not able to treat successfully in
provide an opportunity for observing thethe
specific areas of the parents' handling
of the
nature and quality of the relationship be child unless he understands the
tween the parents, the relationship ofparents'
each character structure and ideals fo
to the child, and the ways in whichthemselves.
these The parent intuitively rec
have contributed to the child's school nizes whether he is understood or whether
problem.4 he is regarded merely as environment for
the child." «
*A. H. Chapman and Donald Meltzer, "Observa
tions of Parental Interactions in Child Guidance 5 Gordon Hamilton, Psychotherapy in Child
Guidance (New York: Columbia University Press,
Methodology," Psychiatry, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Novem
ber 1954). 1947).

72 Social Work

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Casework with Parents

For effective treatment, the worker must ture, inadequate mother, depleted by
therefore be clear that her responsibility serious social problems, with little reserves
is to help parents with their attitudes and because of her own deprived childhood,
feelings toward the child, and not merely gather new strength from a caseworker and
to treat them secondarily, for the welfare become more secure in her role as a mother.
of the child. The caseworker must share As she discovers someone who accepts her,
with parents the areas in which theysupports will her efforts to meet her problems,
work and together they must periodically and meets some of her emotional needs,
appraise their progress. she builds up a store of satisfactions which
In our consideration of specific treat
she gradually can share with her school
ment goals and techniques for school child. socialAs her fear of criticism diminishes,
work, the report on scope and methods shefor
accepts increasingly the guidance that
family casework is helpful.® It identifies the caseworker offers and is better able to
two treatment goals: (1) treatment learn aimed new ways of handling her child with
at maintaining clients' adaptive patterns, out basic changes in her attitudes or greater
and (2) treatment aimed at modification awareness
of of her own role in the child's
adaptive patterns. I believe with Berko problem.
witz that all casework treatment has one Through such ego-supportive treatment,
goal: namely, the modification of adaptive we can help a parent to mobilize what
patterns, and that the difference from strengths
one he has and to increase his ca
case to another is a matter of degree pacity
and to deal with his problems as a
not of kind.7 The degree of change which parent. We help him to pull himself to
can be effected and the means of treatment gether and to use his energies in working
must be based on the parents' own needs, with us to be better able to handle his
capacities, and motivation. child as the child progresses in his own
Two major methods of treatment identi treatment. We may offer suggestions, ad
fied in the report on scope and methodsvice, and direction about dealing more
are applicable to work with parents in theconstructively and realistically with the
school: (1) treatment by ego-supportivechild and the school and encourage par
techniques and (2) treatment by clarificaents' positive response. We use our in
tion of parental attitudes. While we may fluence to support parents in seeking and
know that clarification of parental attiutilizing other services to alleviate the
tudes is the more effective means for modi many social problems which they bring to
fying parental functioning in relation to the school social worker. These problems
the child's school problems, unless parentsvery often weigh heavily on them. They
are ready to use this kind of help we can may be their primary concern and second
not achieve it. This is frustrating but it arily affect their relationship with the
should not obscure our recognition thatchild. However, they require treatment
there are many parents who can work withoutside the scope of the worker.
us toward more partial and modest change For instance, economic problems, inade
through ego-supportive techniques. As quate income, poor housing may be the
caseworkers we have seen many an imma parents' Erst concern. Until these pressures
« Family Service Association of America, Com
are reduced, they may be unable to work
on their attitudes to the child's school
mittee on Methods and Scope, Scope and Methods
of the Family Service Agency (New York: Family problem. If they are concerned with phy
Service Association of America, 1953). cal or mental illness in the family, or
7 Sidney Berkowitz, "Some Specific Techniques in
Psychological Social Diagnosis and Treatment in
mersed in disruptive marital conflicts
Family Case Work," Case Work Papers 1954 (New their individual personality problems, the
may need help with these before they ca
York: Family Service Association of America, 1955).

JANUARY 1958 73

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 SCHOUR:

have sufficient energy to become interested behavior as parents. Neverthe

in the child's school problem and their the support of the social worker
own role in it. In some instances, the easing of their tensions, many are
school social worker must not only offer make small changes in their
direct support to parents to enable them toward the child which further
to use services to meet these problems but growth and support his treat
must actively intervene with social agen- supportive techniques are also u
cies on parents' behalf to support their a preliminary step to further tr
treatment. Improvement of the social situ- through clarification of parental at
ation may in itself favorably influence the There are some parents who,
parent-child relationship. It may also make ginning, have ability to sense an
the parent more receptive to considering ledge their role in the parent-c
his attitudes to the child. tionship which contributes to the child's
When another agency accepts a school problem, and there are other parents w
family for treatment, it is important that can be helped to move from their in
the agency and school social worker clarify denial, projection, or displacement o
their individual responsibilities with par- the child, the teacher, and other exter
ents and with each other. As long as there factors to an examination of their own att
is a school problem the school social worker tudes. Such parents can be enabled
may have to work with the parent, but increase their understanding of the ch
there needs to be careful joint planning problem and their own relationship to
so efforts are co-ordinated in the interests to gain awareness of some of their c
of parents and child. acteristic patterns of behavior to the child;
The casework relationship in ego-sup- and to see how these are operative in t
portive treatment is warm, accepting, and child's school problem,
strengthening. It provides a parent with The predominant technique in this tr
a new emotional experience through which ment is clarification, supported by rea
he can gain a sense of his own worth, ance and educational techniques. As p
Through the support he gains there is a ents discuss their feelings and behavio
reduction of his tensions and an increase the child, the worker helps them ident
in self-confidence as a parent. The experi- some selected damaging patterns of
ence of handling problems constructively ing with the child. As a pattern beco
with the worker, the improvement in his clear to parents, we help them to exam
social situation may enable him to handle its inappropriateness in their present s
better his relationship to the child. While tion and to clarify its relationship to t
this treatment does not aim to increase past life experiences. In this way, they c
his own self-understanding, this may occur begin to differentiate between subjec
to some degree spontaneously. and objective elements in their relation
Such supportive techniques are used pre- ship to the child and to become mor
dominantly in work with parents who are aware of the distortions that lead to
too weak and too threatened to engage in turbances in the way they handle their
self-examination. These are parents who, as parents.
because of neglect, deprivation, and frus- This type of treatment is appropriat
tration in their own early life which are with parents who have good ego streng
not corrected by subsequent positive re- and flexibility to engage in and constr
warding relationships, have too little ego tively use the process of examination
strength to examine their own role in the some of their feelings and behavior t
parent-child relationship and to work child in order to modify them. The c
toward modification of their attitudes and work relationship which develops in
74 Social Work

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Casework with Parents

work, because the focus is on the parent

process of working with parents' attitudes
provides them with a corrective emotional
child relationship, in general it is possible
to have
experience. Through their relationship the same worker for both. This
may place an extra burden on some
with the caseworker, parents may take over
new attitudes, standards, and ideals which
workers. If the worker is basically accept
enable them to respond differently to theing of parents, has positive feelings for
child. The worker may make some use them, appreciation of their difficulties, ca
of interpretation of the dynamic factors pacity for identification with parents and
child, and is sensitive to the meaning to
underlying parental attitudes as she gauges
the parents' readiness for this and encour
each of her relationship with both, there
ages them to experiment with more posi are advantages in the unifying aspect of
one worker's treating parent and child
tive ways of dealing with their child. The
toward a common goal. When ongoing
quality of the parents' relationship to the
worker and the new understanding which treatment is necessary for parents of ado
they gain through clarification leads to lescents,
a casework with both by one worker
is possible in some cases, but the nature of
greater capacity for more realistic response
to the child and to change in parental the conflict and the degree of disturbance
attitudes and behavior. in parent-child relationship may make
work by separate workers more effective.
We are, to be sure, faced with the prob
lem of time. How often should parents be I fully appreciate the difficult challenge
seen? The frequency will vary. They may that confronts the school social worker in
treatment of both parents and children.
not be seen as frequently as the child. For
She should, therefore, have available ade
instance, when a child's behavior is disrup
tive in the classroom, the caseworker may
quate professional guidance through super
see him frequently to relieve the teacher's
vision and psychiatric consultation, similar
to that
tensions and the pressures on the child, which is available to caseworkers in
while the parent is seen less often. other settings. Several years ago I had the
But if, diagnostically, it is clear that
occasion to make a plea against the tend
parental attitudes and behavior play a to oversupervision in social agencies
ency
contributing part in the child's schoolbecause it contributed to the stresses of
the worker.8 Today I am concerned that
problems, and if parents as well as children
are our clients, we shall have to see them the stresses in school social work are de
according to the needs of each case. It rived in part from insufficient supervision.
may well be that regular interviews, set in School social work holds promise of early
advance and agreed on, are indicated for identification of problems in the school
some parents. This would require readchild and of enlisting child and parent in
justment in the size of the worker's case treatment. Effective school social work
load to make time and room for treatment calls for treatment of both child and paren
of parents. which is based on psychosocial diagnosi
There is no rule of thumb as to whether focused on the parent-child relationship
the same worker can see both child and in reference to the school problem, and
parent. But there is a danger that we fall
supported by adequate supervision and
into a stereotype—that one worker can
psychiatric consultation. Such treatment
never see child and parent or that, can further growth in child and parent
in the
school setting, one worker must always seebe a source of deep professional
and can
both. Cases in which the conflict between satisfaction.
parent and child are very great or in which
s Esther Sch
emotional separation is the chief aim may
Work Stresses," Social Casework, Vol. 34, No. 10
need separate workers. In school social
(December 1953), pp. 423-428.

JANUARY 1958 75

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