scholarly journals Stories We Tell

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 481-499
Author(s):  
Danté Bryant ◽  
Karen M. Kolivoski
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Social Work ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Underrepresented Populations ◽  
Quantitative Survey ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Faculty And Administrators ◽  
Survey Responses

Although there is a growing body of literature denoting social work’s efforts to engage many of the internal racial challenges it faces, there remains a paucity of research exploring the impacts of normative-whiteness and White supremacy within the profession. In an effort to address this gap in the literature, this investigation uses quantitative survey responses from 167 non-racially specific, currently active, social work faculty and administrators, and 12 qualitative interviews with African American, currently active, social work faculty and administrators to gain a more lucid understanding of how they view the roles and impacts of whiteness and White supremacy within Social Work. Thematic findings from this investigation include narratological-deception, epistemological-omission, and a divided-profession. Implications for social work suggest the need to equitably incorporate the contributions of racially underrepresented populations, while critically engaging and responding to the “why,” “how,” and “impacts” of their historical omission.

African American Social Work Faculty

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junior Lloyd Allen ◽  
Kimberly Y. Huggins-Hoyt ◽  
Michael J. Holosko ◽  
Harold E. Briggs
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
Great Utility ◽  
African American Faculty ◽  
Student Researchers ◽  
Schools Of Social Work

Purpose: This study explored the scholarship experiences of top-ranked African American faculty in schools of social work. Method: Qualitative interviews were conducted with N = 10 top-ranked African American faculty identified as achieving considerable productivity and impact of scholarship. Findings: Four major themes were identified, each of which had 2–3 subcategories. These included (1) mentorship, (2) collaboration, (3) time, and (4) strategic planning. The data revealed that of these identified themes, mentorship was the most prominent, and collaboration, although important, was the least. Implications: The noted experiences and strategies highlighted in this study could be of great utility for those seeking to enhance their scholarly productivity and impact, particularly for (a) junior faculty, (b) African American faculty, and (c) doctoral student researchers and candidates.

Reframing White Privilege

2017 ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Carla Mueller ◽  
M. Denise King ◽  
Dana Klar
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Cultural Competency ◽  
Social Action ◽  
White Students ◽  
White Privilege ◽  
Diversity Education ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
Open Discussion

Three undergraduate social work faculty began discussions about diversity education and experiences in the classroom. Being from diverse races—African American, indigenous, and white, brought a uniqueness of perspectives about teaching primarily white students about human diversity. One stumbling block, white privilege, appeared to be a concept where open discussion was stilted or absent, students began to disengage, and the authors, as instructors, became frustrated. Research on diversity education revealed these reactions to be a common barrier in teaching cultural competency. This chapter addresses the challenges of defining, creating awareness, reframing, and calling for social action to work toward equality. The experiences, teaching techniques, and the cultural lenses of the authors are shared.

A Case for the Inclusion of Qualitative Methodology into Research Course Content

1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer J. Zeiger
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Family System ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Dual Purpose ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
The Social ◽  
Faculty And Administrators ◽  
Oriented Research

This article is addressed to social work faculty and administrators who are concerned with the content of research courses. The author advocates for an increase in content on qualitative methodology, noting that it is well-suited to the needs of social work students and practitioners. As a means toward accomplishing this shift, a process-oriented research assignment is introduced. This assignment provides students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge and understanding of qualitative interviewing and data analysis. Students are required to interview either a family with a cultural heritage other than their own, a non-traditional family system, or a family with special needs. The interview serves a dual purpose by also serving as the basis for a product-oriented assignment in a required Human Behavior and the Social Environment course.

Fostering the Sociopolitical Development of African American and Latinx Adolescents to Analyze and Challenge Racial and Economic Inequality

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 756-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Seider ◽  
Lauren Kelly ◽  
Shelby Clark ◽  
Pauline Jennett ◽  
Aaliyah El-Amin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
Sociopolitical Development ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Latinx Adolescents ◽  
Insight Into

Sociopolitical development refers to the processes by which an individual acquires the knowledge, skills, and commitment to analyze and challenge oppressive social forces. A growing body of scholarship reports that high levels of sociopolitical development are predictive in adolescents of a number of key outcomes including resilience and civic engagement. The present study explored the role that urban secondary schools can play in fostering adolescents’ sociopolitical development through a longitudinal, mixed-methods investigation of more than 400 adolescents attending “progressive” and “no-excuses” high schools. Analyses revealed that, on average, students attending progressive high schools demonstrated meaningful growth in their ability to critically analyze racial and economic inequality, while students attending no-excuses high schools demonstrated meaningful growth in their motivation to challenge these inequities through activism. Qualitative interviews offered insight into youth’s perceptions of the programming and practices at their respective schools that contributed to their sociopolitical development.

scholarly journals How Racism Against BIPOC Women Faculty Operates in Social Work Academia

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 396-420
Author(s):  
Sameena Azhar ◽  
Kendra P. DeLoach McCutcheon
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
The United States ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Social Work Faculty

In this article, we seek to highlight the ways in which we, as two female social work faculty members whose racial/ethnic identities fall into the categories of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), have experienced racism and White supremacy within predominantly White institutions in the United States. We seek to clarify that these experiences are not unique to any particular institution or university, but rather reflect systemic racism and the upholding of White supremacy in higher education in social work throughout the United States. We highlight the differential vulnerability faced by BIPOC women in academia, which are often unaddressed in the pursuit of what is seen to be an egalitarian or colorblind merit review. Bearing in mind our reflexivity on our positionalities, we share personal narratives regarding our own marginalization within White spaces and the emotional labor that we are often asked to carry for the institutions within which we work. We will elucidate experiences of tokenization or assumed intellectual inferiority by our peers. Given the current sociopolitical moment and the heightened awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within universities, we also reflect on how institutions of higher education, and particularly schools of social work, can move beyond simply hiring more people of color or conducting diversity trainings to ensuring that BIPOC women are more fully included in their roles within universities as faculty, administrators, staff and students.

scholarly journals Dismantling Privilege and White Supremacy in Social Work Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 374-395
Author(s):  
Taniko King-Jordan ◽  
Karina Gil
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mainstream Society ◽  
Work Education

The primary aim of social work is eliminating social inequalities by advocating for racial, social, and economic justice for individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. This commitment and promise starts in the classroom by providing opportunities for students and faculty to interact with each other and promote the core tenets of the profession. As the social work practices are shaped by the values promoted by the mainstream society, many argue that the profession is biased and does not meet the needs of Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). This issue is explored in the present study by interviewing six Black female social work faculty, aiming to elucidate their experiences in academia and the social work educational environment when interacting with their White counterparts, their students, and the administration. The findings yielded by this investigation have implications for academia, as well as social work education programs and their leadership.

Developing the Child Protection Workforce: Collaborative Development of Somalia’s Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor Degrees in Social Work

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lacey Sloan ◽  
Brendan Ross ◽  
Karen S Rotabi ◽  
Abdullahi Barise
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Curriculum Development ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
One Year ◽  
Faculty And Administrators

Abstract Due to decades of conflict and instability, mechanisms for child protection in Somalia are limited. One key activity of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund’s (UNICEF) strategy to address structural gaps in capacity to implement an effective child protection system is to establish a network of social work schools throughout Somalia. To this end, UNICEF brought together experts in social work curriculum development in Islamic countries, social work faculty and administrators from six Somali universities, government social work staff and ministers, and staff from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs). To identify the knowledge, values and skills needed for the local context, interviews and focus groups were conducted in Hargeisa and Mogadishu with many of the stakeholders noted above. These stakeholders also came together for two, four-day gatherings to design and approve the curricula developed by two social work curriculum development experts. The final result was a one-year certificate in social work, a two-year diploma in social work and a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree. This article describes the highly participatory and collaborative process used to create social work curricula that would meet workforce development needs for child protection in Somalia.

scholarly journals Social Work Educators as White Allies?

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 522-544
Author(s):  
Michael Massey ◽  
Kynai Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
White Allies

White educators represent the majority of social work faculty. Current research suggests that many White social work educators are not prepared to address racism in classroom discussions and model antiracist behavior. An integrative literature review was conducted by the co-authors—a White man and Black woman, both social work educators—to examine how recent literature characterizes the “White ally” educator and explore concepts designed to prepare White faculty for purposive action to dismantle White Supremacy. Integrative review is a methodology used to summarize empirical/theoretical literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of a phenomenon. Twenty-two articles met inclusion criteria for this review. The analysis involved two steps: First, a synthesis and integrative model of the literature on educators as White allies. Second, an application of the critical race theory concepts interest convergence and anti-essentialism. The integrative model of the White ally educator suggests a White identity process; necessitating critical self-reflection and multi-level, antiracist action. Critical examination of the literature troubles the concept of “White ally,” pointing to the potential re-centering of Whiteness. Further research is needed to help social work educators recognize racism in their work and prepare future social workers to engage in antiracist social work practice.

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