Recent doctoral program alumna Dr. Leah Cheatham, along with FSU College of Social Work Professor Neil Abell, and fellow doctoral program alumna Hyejin Kim will be honored at the Council on Social Work Education’s 2016 Annual Program Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Drs. Cheatham, Abell and Kim’s article, “Development and Validation of the Social Workers’ Attitude Toward Disability Scale,” appearing in Volume 51, Issue 2 of the Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE) received an Honorable Mention, being recognized among the best Journal of Social Work Educationquantitative articles of Volume 51.

“We developed the Social Workers’ Attitudes Toward Disability Scale to assess how social workers view their roles related to promoting the interests of people with disabilities,” Dr. Leah Cheatham, assistant professor at The University of Alabama’s School of Social Work explained. “At a time when social work programs are examining the adequacy of disability content within their curricula, this scale may prove to be a practical tool for assessing the impact of disability-related materials on students’ attitude toward disability.”

The article was chosen among all articles published in the Journal of Social Work Education in 2015. The JSWE Editorial Board selected the top articles based on originality of thought, sound or innovative conceptualization of the topic, and conclusions and/or recommendations from the article that add significantly to the professional knowledge base and to social work education.

It is Dr. Cheatham’s hope that the article advances further dialogue around disability issues within the field of social work. “This paper arose from the recognition that social workers have a professional responsibility to not only provide services to people with disabilities, but also to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. The scale, itself, can be a tool for facilitating dialogue around these important issues within the classroom and workplace.”