scholarly journals Revising McPhail’s Feminist Policy Analysis Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Heather Kanenberg ◽  
Roberta Leal ◽  
Stephen "Arch" Erich

In 2003, McPhail published a Feminist Policy Analysis Framework concluding that the many available methods of policy analysis across disciplines, including social work, treated policies as gender-neutral compositions. McPhail (2003) asserted that these methods denied the many ways that institutions and policies of society are organized by the concepts of gender, therefore presenting incomplete products of analysis. This guiding purpose for the development of McPhail’s (2003) Feminist Policy Analysis Framework endures a full fifteen years later. In the years since publication of McPhail’s Framework, advancements have been made in both feminist theory and in policy analysis methods. This conceptual article outlines a much-needed revision moving the framework into a contemporary position with the inclusion of a focus on privilege, oppression, and intersectionality. The revised framework presented herein is a more conceptually comprehensive and practical model for use by all, but particularly social work students and scholars. The revised model represents an update rendering it more effective in today’s polarized political climate as well as with the recently revised social work educational policy (Council on Social Work Education, 2015). A revised framework of Feminist Intersectional Policy Analysis is presented, including guiding questions and conceptual complexities to consider in the work of analysis.

Affilia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 088610992110682
Author(s):  
Heather Witt ◽  
Maha K. Younes ◽  
Erica Goldblatt Hyatt ◽  
Carly Franklin

Despite social work's stated commitment to abortion rights, research on this topic is not prolific within the discipline (Begun et al., 2016). If we are to live up to our ethical principles, this should be changed. The authors posit that increasing students’ exposure to and understanding of abortion is necessary in the preparation of competent social work practitioners. Using Begun et al.’s (2016) Social Workers’ Abortion Attitudes, Knowledge, and Training questionnaire, the authors expanded the survey by creating additional questions about social work curriculum coverage and training experiences, as well as further content on abortion. Findings indicate that most social work students believe abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances, and also that abortion laws should be less restrictive in the United States. Reported religion and political affiliation had significant effects on several of the abortion attitude statements. Only 7.2% of respondents indicated that abortion is regularly discussed in social work classrooms, and only 2.7% of respondents report they have received training on the topic of abortion in their field placement. The results suggest that social work curriculum coverage on reproductive justice is tenuous and inconsistent at best, leaving students to grapple without the necessary professional foundation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Paulette Andrea Henry

<p>The understanding of human rights are important to social work education and practice especially since the global definition of social work highlights the dual role of social work as a practice based profession and academic discipline emphasizing the principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversity. Concomitantly, social work education must ensure that students know and understand human rights laws especially since human rights are inherent to all human beings and are often expressed and guaranteed by international law which Governments are expected to uphold. Social workers have a commitment as duty bearers in supporting governments in the upholding of those agreements pertinent to the wellbeing of the people. Using the University of Guyana as a frame of reference this paper examined students’ knowledge on international agreements prior to leaving the University since these laws not only speak to nation states but to universal practices and many social work issues transcend borders. This paper utilized a mixed method approach to ascertain students’ awareness of international human rights laws and their perceptions on the applicability to practice. The findings show that there is limited knowledge amongst social work students on human rights covenants and conventions. This assessment is instructive to social work educators locally and internationally pointing to the need for integration into the curricula. It is imperative that generalist practitioners leave the University with a clear understanding of these laws as many practice issues are transnational. There will be the need for international social work to be a taught course for undergraduates training to become generalist practitioners.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Bördlein

Behavioral social work is the application of behavior analysis to the field of social work. There are behavioral social work interventions for individuals, groups, and communities. Nevertheless, behavioral social work is far from a widely adopted approach among social work practitioners. A reason for the underuse might be seen in the fact that most interventions in behavioral social work aim at individual clients and groups. Social work could further benefit from the application of methods taken from behavioral community interventions. Behavioral community interventions modify the behavior of a larger group of people (e.g., pedestrians using a crosswalk, cafeteria patrons, students using a university building) with antecedent- and consequence-focused interventions. The article describes a training program for social work students in behavioral community interventions. Results of two projects, undergraduate students designed and performed, are presented. Behavioral community interventions are recommended as a valuable part of the education of social workers.


Author(s):  
Carlo Mari

How do universities engage with local communities? How is a pedagogy of engagement introduced into a graduate professional degree? Are there any new approaches for linking campuses with communities? Is social marketing a useful approach when considering community engagement? The chapter aims to answer these questions by proposing a novel approach based on applying social marketing to the scholarship of teaching. Specifically, it draws on an example of a university graduate course in social marketing within a master's program in social work at an Italian university. The experience shows how a social marketing perspective helps social work students address social issues that face local communities through service-learning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 2130-2147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adi Barak

Abstract This research study explored the perspectives of social work students (n = 118) in the final semester of their studies regarding the implementation of critical social work in their future practices. Using performance ethnographies to collect data, students were asked to share their perspectives about implementing critical social work both in individual interventions and as a way to change the practice of mainstream social work organisations. Research ethnographies were analysed using a descriptive phenomenological approach, in an attempt to describe the shared essential experience of participants. Results demonstrated that students are influenced by several lines of thinking that come into direct conflict with one another: (i) they feel that critical social work is essential for individual interventions while also feeling that critical social work is not a priority for individual interventions and (ii) they feel that critical social work should and could change mainstream social work organisations while also feeling that critical social work should not and could not change mainstream social work organisations. These results contribute to a better understanding of the barriers in implementing critical social work, as well as the dilemmas and questions that should be addressed in social work education. Implications for social work education are outlined.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002087282091231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanela Šadić ◽  
Jane McPherson ◽  
Tatiana Villarreal-Otálora ◽  
Sanela Bašić

This article reports on the development of tools to measure rights-based social work practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously validated scales - Human Rights Exposure in Social Work (1 scale), Human Rights Lens in Social Work (2 scales), and Human Rights Methods in Social Work (8 scales) - were translated and adapted for the Bosnian context. To complete the validation, social work students (N=296) were surveyed, and the resulting data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The results yield 11 valid scales for measuring human rights constructs and promoting human rights goals in social work education, research, and practice in Bosnia and Herzegovina.


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