Betty Surbeck, PhD
Adjunct Professor
BSurbeck@wcupa.edu
I have a Ph.D. in social work from Rutgers University (2000) and Master degrees in Social Services and Law and Social Policy from the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research of Bryn Mawr College. I have 30 years of work experience in public and nonprofit social services agencies in direct social services, and in the development and management of programs concerning the welfare of children and families.
I have done research in various areas of the social service field which include racial partiality in child assessment, ethical dilemmas in field education, program evaluation of older students in higher education, social justice and disabilities, micro-aggressions in education, coping strategies of children in substitute care, effects of budget cuts on child welfare services, a study on the motivations and experiences of older students, collaboration in child welfare visitation, functioning of children in kinship and non-kinship care from an ecological framework, using attachment and social support theories, and developed a model using process education to increase the ability of faculty members to implement accommodations with sensitivity.
Additionally I am actively involved in community groups supporting efforts to eradicate hunger, insecure housing, inequality in education, racism and discrimination, and inequality in education.
Most recently I presented a paper at the International Consortium for Social Development in Zabreb, Croatia on a learning model for the implementation educational equity, inclusion, and accommodations in higher education. I have extensive experience teaching graduate social work students both in classes and in the field. I have published in peer reviewed professionals journals and I presented at many peer reviewed conferences.