Teaching Anti-Racism in an Aging Services Course: Lessons Developed and Lessons Learned

Despite high levels of racial disparities in health and well-being among older adults, curricula addressing how aging services systems contribute to or work to ameliorate these disparities are scarce. This paper introduces a module on inequalities and anti-racism in aging developed for an online course on aging services within a Master of Social Work program. First, materials that help students identify and understand racial inequalities in aging and in the programs that serve older adults are presented. Next, students are introduced to the applied context of how COVID-19 has exacerbated these inequalities. Finally, students critically engage in reflections and assessments of the available resources within aging services and advocacy organizations, providing recommendations for how these systems may better incorporate anti-racist practices. Challenges and opportunities will be discussed, including piloting this module in a virtual, asynchronous environment.

The Art of Becoming Indispensable

Despite their academic preparation and lived experiences, new school social workers face a learning curve when moving from entry-level practice to proficiency. The Art of Being Indispensable: What School Social Workers Need to Know in Their First Three Years of Practice is the first book focusing specifically on the needs of new school social workers as they transition to this complex role. Each of the book’s 20 chapters features an academic scholar and at least one school social work practitioner; overall, there are 18 academics and 42 practitioners from 28 different states. The diversity of the authors’ experiences, representing all variations of schools and districts, ensures that the content is applicable to a variety of practice contexts. Each chapter addresses the challenges of a public health pandemic and the impact of racial injustice. There is a timeless quality to this text since every year, new school social workers are being hired, whether from master of social work and bachelor of social work programs or from the ranks of professional social workers changing fields and becoming school social workers. This indispensable guide will help new school social workers to effectively execute their roles and responsibilities.

Yearning For Tawhid: Three Muslims’ Journeys In Justice Work In The Settler Colonial Context Of Toronto

This critical narrative study seeks to explore two central research questions: 1) How do Muslim peoples understand, approach and engage in social justice work in and around Toronto and what are their experiences, and 2) What are the ways in which Islam and spirituality influence, impact and shape their social justice work? Using a lens that involves critical race theory, anti-colonialism and Islam, I delve deep into my own experiences and perspectives on Islam, spirituality and social justice work, as well as those of two other Muslim social justice advocates involved in Indigenous sovereignty, Black liberation and anti-Islamophobia movements. The findings of this study offer deep critical insights on the state of anti-oppressive and transformative social work and social justice spaces in the settler colonial context of Toronto. Central concepts explored in this work include dynamics of anger, significant relationships and Islamic concepts such as tawhid. It has been completed as partial completion of the Master of Social Work Program at Ryerson University.

Yearning For Tawhid: Three Muslims’ Journeys In Justice Work In The Settler Colonial Context Of Toronto

This critical narrative study seeks to explore two central research questions: 1) How do Muslim peoples understand, approach and engage in social justice work in and around Toronto and what are their experiences, and 2) What are the ways in which Islam and spirituality influence, impact and shape their social justice work? Using a lens that involves critical race theory, anti-colonialism and Islam, I delve deep into my own experiences and perspectives on Islam, spirituality and social justice work, as well as those of two other Muslim social justice advocates involved in Indigenous sovereignty, Black liberation and anti-Islamophobia movements. The findings of this study offer deep critical insights on the state of anti-oppressive and transformative social work and social justice spaces in the settler colonial context of Toronto. Central concepts explored in this work include dynamics of anger, significant relationships and Islamic concepts such as tawhid. It has been completed as partial completion of the Master of Social Work Program at Ryerson University.

Sensory Arts-Based Storytelling as Critical Reflection: Tales From an Online Graduate Social Work Classroom

Drawing upon Heron and Reason’s (1997) participatory inquiry paradigm and extended epistemology, this article explores how six Master of Social Work (MSW) students engaged in sensory arts-based critical reflection concerning their social location, identities, social justice, and social policy. We share our process for creating sensory arts-based stories, the stories themselves, and pedagogical reflections. We elucidate how sensory arts-based storytelling allows learners to draw upon their strengths, unique perspectives, and experiences in the world, generating transformative understandings of social justice. Sensory arts-based storytelling holds potential as an interdisciplinary mode of critical reflection, generating inclusive learning environments oriented towards social change.

CAREER COUNSELLING AS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT THAT MAY BE OFFERED AS A SPECILIZATION FOR THE POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS PURSUING PROFESSIONAL COURSES IN SHILLONG, EAST KHASI HILLS DISTRICT, MEGHALAYA, INDIA TO ENHANCE TEACHER EDUCATION

Objective: To find out the need to offer career counselling as a specialization among the postgraduate students pursuing professional courses. Methodology: A descriptive, cross sectional study design, collecting relevant quantitative and qualitative data from the respondents was conducted. Data on retrospective histories and experiences in career counselling was captured to link how career counselling is becoming an important aspect for career development and career decision making. In this study, a total of 100 students were studied. Setting: Postgraduate students from MSc Counselling Psychology and Master of Social Work from Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong. Results: Career counselling has led a student to be familiar with his/her interest and aptitudes, hence paving a way for them to make the right career choice. Career guidance has facilitated students to be focus with their career planning and in choosing relevant programmes during their course of study to help built their expertise. Career Counselling as an area should be enhanced, to create more professionals in the field. Conclusion: There was a strong recommendation that proper career guidance and monitoring is the need of the hour, as students are either over exposed to career information or are not exposed to them at all. (198 words).

Talks with My Ancestors

In this paper, I will present a reflection on my journey of decolonizing my relationship to holding space for healing trauma, and co-creating communities around wellness. I start with the specific way that I was trained in U.S.-based social work mental health practices and end with the insight I gained through the co-creation of a wellness studio for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). My story will begin with what I began to unlearn and the ancestral wisdom and technologies that I tapped into to transform my approach to healing-in-community. As a healer of mixed race (Black-Caribbean; Haitian and white), I explore the depth and breadth of my healing work as I connect to ancestral knowledge through my relationship to my lineage. This occurred after unlearning much of what was taught to me in my master of social work program, so that I could remember ways of co-creating safety, connection, and community that do not reinforce patterns of colonization. I will use my experience co-creating a safe and sacred physical space: a wellness studio in the South End of Albany centered around BIPOC, as a case study illuminating how centering BIPOC in the creation of spaces for BIPOC creates safety, connection, and community.

Increasing Social Work Students’ Participation in Macro Specializations

Much effort has been made to increase the number of social work students in macro practice specializations in graduate school. Despite the development of pedagogical techniques which have shown to increase interest in and appreciation for macro practice, the proportion of macro students has stayed low and stable over time. Using survey data collected from 474 Master of Social Work students and graduates, this exploratory study identified both structural and attitudinal barriers which impede specialization in macro practice. Data reveals that despite exposure to these methods, those whose original motivation to enter the profession was based on a desire to do clinical work are unlikely to concentrate on macro practice. Structural barriers such as the lack of availability of macro programs also prevented increased specialization in macro practice. Social workers who are Black/African American are more likely to concentrate in macro practice, perhaps due to a recognition of the need for systems change in the United States to promote equal opportunities and rights for those who have historically been marginalized. Findings indicate that current efforts to increase the number of graduates with macro specializations may not be effective. Treatment of macro methods as a specialization, rather than integral to social work education, should be revisited if the profession wants to ensure enough graduates are able to make system-level changes to rectify current societal inequities.

Attitude of Student Professionals towards Persons with Disabilities

The research focused on students who are pursuing their final year in three different professional courses- Master of Social Work, Bachelor of Education, and Bachelor of Nursing at three different educational institutions in Puducherry. This study adopted a descriptive research design and used interaction with a disable person (IDP) scale to understand the attitude of student professionals toward persons with disabilities and also to find what influences the attitude of future professionals. The primary aim is to learn more about the way students of three different professions generally view persons with disabilities and feel about interacting with this population. The interaction and attitude will create an impact on their practice of the profession in the future. The findings indicate that the students of three different professions were having a negative attitude towards PWDs but no significant difference was found in gender, locality, and course of study. Results also enlighten the educators, health professionals and non-governmental organizations to plan programs that shall create changes in the attitude of students towards PWDs. This research concludes with reflections on the need to revive the social interaction of student professionals with persons with disabilities. Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 8, Issue-1: 306-311