Faculty-Student Collaboration: Issues and Recommendations

Abstract

This exploratory qualitative study of 11 social work faculty identified the benefits and risks of faculty-student collaboration. Benefits articulated include helping students learn to write for publication, learning the publication process, getting innovative student material published, and enriching the project through shared problem-solving. The benefits, however, must be weighed against the risks of exploitation of the student collaborator. Successful faculty-student collaboration in this dual relationship demands that faculty take responsibility for safeguarding boundaries, following the NASW Code of Ethics, and openly negotiating roles, tasks, workload, and order of authorship with the student.