scholarly journals Dismantling White Supremacy in Social Work Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. i-vii
Author(s):  
Charla Yearwood ◽  
Rosemary A. Barbera ◽  
Amy K. Fisher ◽  
Carol Hostetter
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Special Edition ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Work Education

We are excited to share this special edition of Advances in Social Work with you. When we distributed a call for abstracts, we were inundated – in a good way – with proposals. The need for social workers to discuss the role that white supremacy occupies within our history, education, and practice was obvious. Because of the number of abstracts received, we made the decision to publish a double edition so that the important information contained in these articles can be widely shared. The submissions fell into three general themes--historical, instructional, and institutional examinations. Each set of articles offers much for us to reflect and act upon moving forward. There is a reckoning happening and we are thrilled that this special edition is part of that reckoning. In all, we hope that this special issue will help advance our conversations in social work education around white supremacy and how it influences our practice, research, and education. Recognizing that our Code of Ethics calls us to “pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups”, we believe it is important for social work as a profession to consistently evaluate its own institutions for ways we can practice what we preach. As social work educators, we have the ethical and moral responsibility to learn, grow, and challenge ourselves. We can do better. We must do better.

scholarly journals Spring 2021 Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. i-iii
Author(s):  
Margaret E. Adamek
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Indiana University ◽  
School Of Social Work ◽  
Work Education

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!

scholarly journals Decentering Whiteness in Social Work Curriculum

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 801-820
Author(s):  
Stephanie Odera ◽  
M. Alex Wagaman ◽  
Ashley Staton ◽  
Aaron Kemmerer
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Critical Thought ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Racial Identities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Education

The social work profession has historically been dominated by the presence and perspectives of whiteness. The centering of whiteness in social work education is reflected in course offerings, course content, assignment construction, and inherent racialized assumptions about who clients and social workers will be in practice spaces. Critical race theory (CRT) and liberation theory provide a framework for considering how to make visible the ways in which white supremacy is embedded in social work education, and to identify strategies for disrupting its presence by decentering whiteness. The purpose of this project is to foster critical thought about ways to dismantle racism and white supremacy in social work educational spaces. Using the reflexive methodology of collaborative autoethnography, the four authors - two course instructors and two students - with varying racial identities and positionalities, reflected on the experiences of coming to, being in, and transitioning out of the course. Areas of convergence and divergence in the autoethnographic reflections revealed strategies such as embracing vulnerability, promoting authentic relationships, and normalizing emotional as well as cognitive engagement for decentering whiteness in social work education. Implications and recommendations for social work educators and students committed to engaging in anti-racist practice are also discussed

Critical Pedagogy in Online Social Work Education: Changing Conceptions of Time in the Neoliberal University

Somatechnics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Kristin Smith ◽  
Donna Jeffery ◽  
Kim Collins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
Work Education

Neoliberal universities embrace the logic of acceleration where the quickening of daily life for both educators and students is driven by desires for efficient forms of productivity and measurable outcomes of work. From this perspective, time is governed by expanding capacities of the digital world that speed up the pace of work while blurring the boundaries between workplace, home, and leisure. In this article, we draw from findings from qualitative interviews conducted with Canadian social work educators who teach using online-based critical pedagogy as well as recent graduates who completed their social work education in online learning programs to explore the effects of acceleration within these digitalised spaces of higher education. We view these findings alongside French philosopher Henri Bergson's concepts of duration and intuition, forms of temporality that manage to resist fixed, mechanised standards of time. We argue that the digitalisation of time produced through online education technologies can be seen as a thinning of possibilities for deeper and more critically self-reflexive knowledge production and a reduction in opportunities to build on social justice-based practices.

"Do not Worry Your Head": The Impossibility of Indigenising Social Work Education and Practice in Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwaku Osei-Hwedie ◽  
Doris Akyere Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
North American ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
The People ◽  
African Context ◽  
Drawing Board ◽  
Work Education

As the discussions and debates rage on about the content and direction of social work in Africa, the challenges associated with weaning the profession off its Western and North American roots become apparent. The desire to indigenise or make the profession culturally relevant is well articulated in the literature. Some efforts have been undertaken toward achieving this desire. However, it is evident that despite the numerous discussions and publications, it appears that efforts at indigenising, localising, or making social work culturally relevant have not made much progress. While what must be achieved is somewhat clear; how to achieve it and by what process remain a conundrum. The article, therefore, revisits the issue of making social work culturally relevant in Africa and its associated challenges. Despite the indictment of current social work education and practice in Africa, it appears that many academics and professionals have accepted that what is Western is global, fashionable, and functional, if not perfect. Given this, perhaps, “we should not worry our heads” about changing it. Instead, social work educators and practitioners in Africa should go back to the drawing board to determine how current social work education and practice can be blended with a traditional African knowledge base, approaches and models to reflect and align with the critical principles and ideals within the African context. This is with the hope of making the profession more relevant to the needs of the people of Africa.

The Feminist Perspective and Social Work Education

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Isabel Rose ◽  
Daria Hanssen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Feminist Perspective ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
History Of ◽  
Work Education ◽  
History Of Social Work

Although the feminist perspective has been significant throughout the history of social work, its presence in the contemporary profession seems less prominent. This qualitative pilot study explores the views of social work educators (N=56) on the role of the feminist perspective in social work education and their experience with student responses regarding the tenets of feminism as applied to social work education and practice. Although a majority of respondents expressed support for integrating feminism into the curriculum, some sought guidance on the presentation of the feminist perspective in social work education and practice. In addition, an analysis of social work scholarly periodicals for feminist topics and perspectives revealed an apparent fading of feminism in the literature.

The Future of Social Work Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-88
Author(s):  
Spencer James Zeiger
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Faculty ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
The Future ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Study Participants

Former social work educators, and social work educators standing on the threshold of The Next Chapter, have wisdom to share regarding the future of social work education. We must pay attention to their ideas; our profession is at stake. Topics covered in this chapter include doctoral preparation (with the growth of social work education programs in the United States and a large wave of social work educators retiring, attracting well-prepared new faculty has never been greater); online concerns (most study participants were reluctant to give online programs a ringing endorsement); and the need for increased content on aging (as baby boomers progress through their lifespan, and as life expectancy increases with medical advances, the number of older adults requiring social services will continue to rise).

Federico, Ronald Charles

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Program Administrator ◽  
Work Education

Ronald Federico (1941–1992) was a teacher, program administrator, and scholar. He was a leader in the development of undergraduate social work education. He provided curriculum consultation to countless social work education programs and was a mentor to many undergraduate social work educators.

scholarly journals Applying anti-oppressive approach to social work practice in Africa: reflections of Nigerian BSW students

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Amadasun ◽  
Tracy Beauty Evbayiro Omorogiuwa
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose As the next generation of social workers in a continent bedecked by oppressive customs, it is cardinal that the voices of social work students be heard. This study aims to share the reflections of Nigerian BSW students about anti-oppressive approach to professional practice. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted among fourth-year social work students at one of the elite universities in the southern region of Nigeria. Findings Results reveal that, although willing to challenge oppressive practices, social work students are ill-equipped to apply anti-oppressive approach to social work practice in Nigeria. Research limitations/implications This study makes an important contribution to the field and to the existing literature because the findings have broader implications for social work education in Nigeria. Practical implications In enforcing the suggestions of this study, it is expected that social work education will become able to produce competently trained students who are only knowledgeable about anti-oppressive social work but are equally prepared to address Nigeria’s myriad oppressive practices that have long undermined the nation’s quest for social development. Social implications The application of the anti-oppressive approach to social work practice is integral to ridding society of all forms of overt social injustice and other forms of latent oppressive policies. Originality/value Suggestions are offered to Nigerian social work educators toward ensuring that students are not only well equipped in the understanding of anti-oppressive social work but also ready to apply this model to professional social work practice following their graduation.

Implementing Mastery Learning in the Social Work Classroom

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-140
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Aviles
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Mastery Learning ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Education

This article describes how the essential elements of the teaching method called mastery learning can be structured in the social work classroom. Mastery learning is a behavioral teaching method successfully used in social work education. Research studies on teaching rarely describe teaching methods in enough detail for instructors to discern how the teaching methods were implemented or how they may have been implemented differently. This can give social work educators a limited picture of what a teaching method could look like in their classrooms. The essential elements of mastery learning can be implemented in whole or part and can be structured in either simple or complex ways. Ways in which social work educators can implement mastery learning to better fit their classrooms are presented in this article.

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