scholarly journals Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 920-933
Author(s):  
Rocío Calvo ◽  
Samuel Bradley

For the last several years, the Boston College School of Social Work (BCSSW) has worked to deconstruct the hidden nature of whiteness rooted in theories, methods, and practices of education. To that end, the BCSSW created two strategies designed to foster systemic change: the Latinx Leadership Initiative and the Equity, Justice, and Inclusion Initiative. This study uses narrative analysis to examine these initiatives as catalysts of sustainable change. We dive deep into: (1) strategies designed to disrupt a White supremacy approach to the explicit and implicit curriculums; (2) activities to engage stakeholders on dismantling institutional racism. Our ultimate goal is to draw lessons that may be useful to the profession. To that end, we discuss knowledge gained concerning academic innovation, shared governance, and alternatives to an Eurocentric epistemological approach to social work. We also include implications for the profession concerning the incorporation and validation of non-White ways to understand human development, health, disease, diagnostics, and interventions; and present some of the strategies we developed to de-center whiteness and support BIPOC students in a White-majority institution of higher education.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 876-897
Author(s):  
Saanà A. Polk ◽  
Nicole Vazquez ◽  
Mimi E. Kim ◽  
Yolanda R. Green

The continued presence of racism and white supremacy has risen to a crisis level as today’s global pandemic, police abuse targeting Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) communities, and mass urban uprisings rock the nation. This article presents a case study of a West Coast school of social work that has carried out a five-year systematic campaign to move all levels of the program beyond a multicultural orientation towards critical race theory. This study reveals the results of a self-organized cross-racial committee within a school of social work, motivated by an ambitious goal to implement a racial justice orientation throughout the school’s personnel, practices, policies, and curricula. The committee has been further characterized by its commitment to engage across the power-laden divisions of field faculty, tenure track faculty, and administrative staff. The article offers documented stages of development, narratives from across differences of identity and professional role, and thick descriptions of strategies that led to the adoption and infusion of an intersectional critical race analysis throughout the school’s curricula. The organic development of the campaign and the leveraging of opportunities throughout the campus and across campuses offer important lessons for other schools of social work undergoing transformational change.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. i-iii
Author(s):  
Margaret E. Adamek

Given our commitment to highlighting current issues, challenges, and responses within social work practice and education globally, the Spring 2021 issue of Advances in Social Work is pleased to present 11 full-length papers written by 40 authors from across the U.S. and Canada. We begin with four papers calling for greater involvement of social work educators and practitioners in arenas including information literacy, dyslexia, digital equity, and independent living. These papers are followed by reports on seven empirical studies in areas of practice as diverse as kinship care, legal representation, collaboration in a dental clinic, and dance and mindfulness. We hope you find these selections on emerging areas of social work practice and education to be informative and inspiring. Each contribution to this issue is introduced below. Sprecial Issue Alert: Just a heads up that our next special issue, Dismantling White Supremacy in Social Work Education, will be released in late summer 2021. With over 100 abstracts submitted, this special issue has garnered incredible interest. We are looking forward to bringing you 34+ original papers (our largest issue to date!) addressing ways that social work education can move forward positively and intentionally in ways that acknowledge the damage wrought by white privilege, promote racial justice and anti-racist practice, and embrace new ways of knowing, teaching, and learning. The Indiana University School of Social Work, through publishing Advances in Social Work as an open access scholarly journal, is grateful to play a role in knowledge production and dissemination in social work. We are continually amazed at the dedication and hard work of our social work colleagues globally who work tirelessly to advance social and economic justice. Marshall on, colleagues! Tribute to Retiring Board Members: Before closing, I would like to take this opportunity to express sincere appreciation to three outgoing AISW Board members who recently retired from the Indiana University School of Social Work: Dr. Karen Allen, Dr. Larry Bennett, and Dr. Bob Vernon. Your contributions to not only Advances in Social Work but to the IU School of Social Work and to the social work profession at large are very much appreciated. Special accolades to Dr. Vernon who has served on the AISW Editorial Board since its inception in 1999. Best wishes to each of you in your next adventures!


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 934-953
Author(s):  
Travis Albritton ◽  
Charity S. Watkins ◽  
Allison De Marco ◽  
JP Przewoznik ◽  
Andrew Heil

Driven by our code of ethics and our call to reckon with our embeddedness within a white supremacist institution in the US South, the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work re-visioned our approach to the MSW curriculum. Using case study methods, we trace our history and on-going work through interviews, document review, and community conversations, centering student voices. Students interviewed spoke about activism prompted by racist events on campus and nationally, and the inadequate response from the administration. Their efforts led to school-wide initiatives including curriculum shifts and accountability and action. The first-year generalist course, Confronting Oppression and Institutional Discrimination was restructured and resituated. Critical Race Theory was infused across the coursework. Two new working groups were created: The Anti-Racism Task Force and Reconciliation Standing Committee. Efforts to address racism and white supremacy in academic spaces require sustained activism to expose how racism is embedded within our institutions. While much work remains in the practice of becoming an antiracist institution, this model can serve as a prototype for others as they work to create programs that are site-specific and universally reflective of the institutional changes we need.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 884-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alissa Anne Marchant ◽  
Katherine Germak ◽  
Stephanie Berzin

International experiences in social work education have become more common in the last few decades. The literature has shown these experiences to improve students’ cultural competency, intercultural communication, and work habits. The literature focuses on diffused learning experiences, where students visit and hear from local agencies. This article offers a consulting model as an alternative experiential learning method. Master’s level students at the Boston College School of Social Work report improved cultural competence and also the development of hard skills, such as collaboration, that will transfer to future social work employment.


Affilia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-398
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Beck

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 2172-2190
Author(s):  
Margareta Hydén ◽  
David Gadd ◽  
Thomas Grund

Abstract Combining narrative analysis with social network analysis, this article analyses the case of a young Swedish female who had been physically and sexually abused. We show how she became trapped in an abusive relationship at the age of fourteen years following social work intervention in her family home, and how she ultimately escaped from this abuse aged nineteen years. The analysis illustrates the significance of responses to interpersonal violence from the social networks that surround young people; responses that can both entrap them in abusive relationships by blaming them for their problems and enable them to escape abuse by recognising their strengths and facilitating their choices. The article argues that the case for social work approaches that envision young people’s social networks after protective interventions have been implemented. The article explains that such an approach has the potential to reconcile the competing challenges of being responsive to young people’s needs while anticipating the heightened risk of being exposed to sexual abuse young people face when estranged from their families or after their trust in professionals has been eroded.


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-82
Author(s):  
Shirley Simon ◽  
Edward Gumz ◽  
Susan Grossman ◽  
James Marley ◽  
Yolanda Golden

This article describes and analyzes the development and implementation of a 5-year BSW–MSW program at a Midwestern school of social work. Key pedagogical and programmatic considerations in the development of such programs are identified. Specific information about the admission process and curricular pathway is provided. Five-year and traditional MSW students are compared on their performance in foundation-level MSW courses. The results of evaluative surveys of faculty members and 5-year students are also presented. The potential role of 5-year programs in social work education is discussed.


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