Lessons Learned: A Qualitative Study of School Social Workers’ Experiences Providing Crisis Response and Recovery After Targeted Gun Violence
type: CreativeWork
description: Objective: Targeted gun violence in schools, once uncommon tragedies, are now regular occurrences in the United States. Since 2018, there have been 533 incidents of gun violence in schools that resulted in death or injuries (Everytown for Gun Safety, 2022). Crisis response and recovery for these school communities are lengthy. Community crisis response teams often assist school districts in the immediate response; however, responsibility for immediate and ongoing interventions often falls onto the school-based mental health professionals, particularly social workers. Minimal empirical data is available regarding the experiences of “emotional first responders,” and no studies address school social workers specifically, who are personally and professional impacted by these events. This qualitative study examined the lessons learned from school social workers providing crisis response and recovery to school communities impacted by mass targeted gun violence. Specifically, this study sought to understand how school social workers navigate providing support that is often beyond their explicit roles in the school while experiencing and managing the impacts of trauma for themselves and in their communities. Method: The researcher used grounded theory methodology to learn from the experiences of 12 MSW-prepared school social workers employed by an impacted school district at the time of mass targeted gun violence or contracted in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Multiple participants from three school districts were recruited to prevent one single point of view. Each participant completed two semi-structured interviews at two- to four-week intervals to examine their personal and professional experiences during the crisis response and recovery. The researcher used semi-structured interview guides designed to elicit experience and meaning making around additional responsibilities, crisis response preparation, and the ability to manage personal and professional impact …
abstract: Objective: Targeted gun violence in schools, once uncommon tragedies, are now regular occurrences in the United States. Since 2018, there have been 533 incidents of gun violence in schools that resulted in death or injuries (Everytown for Gun Safety, 2022). Crisis response and recovery for these school communities are lengthy. Community crisis response teams often assist school districts in the immediate response; however, responsibility for immediate and ongoing interventions often falls onto the school-based mental health professionals, particularly social workers. Minimal empirical data is available regarding the experiences of “emotional first responders,” and no studies address school social workers specifically, who are personally and professional impacted by these events. This qualitative study examined the lessons learned from school social workers providing crisis response and recovery to school communities impacted by mass targeted gun violence. Specifically, this study sought to understand how school social workers navigate providing support that is often beyond their explicit roles in the school while experiencing and managing the impacts of trauma for themselves and in their communities. Method: The researcher used grounded theory methodology to learn from the experiences of 12 MSW-prepared school social workers employed by an impacted school district at the time of mass targeted gun violence or contracted in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Multiple participants from three school districts were recruited to prevent one single point of view. Each participant completed two semi-structured interviews at two- to four-week intervals to examine their personal and professional experiences during the crisis response and recovery. The researcher used semi-structured interview guides designed to elicit experience and meaning making around additional responsibilities, crisis response preparation, and the ability to manage personal and professional impact …
author: Doyle, Kerry L
date published: 2022-05-14
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:46:32Z
provider: University of Pennsylvania
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Pennsylvania