Anti-oppression is woven throughout the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). The call to action is clear; how to engage can be challenging. How do we bring anti-oppressive practice (AOP) pedagogy alive in the classroom? This article aims to create space in which Social Work educators…

Debates over the nature of social work education are not new. What is new, however, comes from the Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) injection of critical pedagogy into social work education through "anti-racist" and "anti-oppressive" competencies laid out in the 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards…

Few studies examine the use of live actors in simulated training for social work students. This paper offers a programmatic exemplar on the implementation of simulation training in ethical decision-making using professional live actors. It offers original findings on the experiences of Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work students (n…

Textbooks used in MSW Direct Practice courses in Canada were analyzed using Critical Discourse Analysis, with a particular focus on content related to social work relationships. Positive aspects of relationships were discussed in more depth than negative aspects, little information about boundaries and confidentiality was found, and there was a…

Despite the growing importance of teaching about diversity and its connection to intersectionality, privilege, and oppression in social work education, few studies have examined whether teaching interventions could enhance students' knowledge of oppression. Thus, this study assessed the extent to which students assimilated content related to…

In the last decade, various experiences have been organized aimed at helping future social work education professionals reflect on the power relationships that define institutions and social policies. These experiences, based on the participation of users of social services (now known as experts by experience (EBE) and as part of service user…

COVID-19 has revealed and intensified economic and health disparities, prompting a profound national and global examination of racist systems perpetuating such disadvantage. The historic confluence of COVID-19 with movements for social justice offers a window, which COVID fatigue may already be closing, for us to enact true change in the process…

Principles of diversity and difference are and have historically been, essential to social work education. However, preparing students with the knowledge, awareness, and skills of anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices has been less central in social work education until recently. In June 2022, the Council on Social Work Education issued new…

Contemporary events, including the recent Presidential campaign, have demonstrated the symbolic and political significance of language in our society and culture. Language is a primary tool for "naming the world" and defining our desires roles - as subjects and ojects - in the environments we inhabit. Yet, as often as language is a means…

As part of their field education, social work students develop and implement change agent projects to influence positive change. Faculty and students, however, have identified a lack of placement options for Black students to allow them to both learn and feel supported in their racial identity. To ensure that Black students have placement options…

The social work profession is grounded in social justice, and yet, social work education can perpetuate dynamics of oppression and privilege present in the larger society. As a result, students may experience microaggressions during their training. In this national survey of BSW students (N = 795), 24.9% witnessed a microaggression by a social…

This paper discusses the utilization of a cultural humility model to educate social work students in understanding the importance of diversity, power, privilege, oppression, marginalization and social and economic justice in an increasingly diverse society. Social work programs are required to teach students to effectively engage a diversity of…

In today's society, it is of utmost importance to deliver services with compassion, understanding, and cultural competence. Students' awareness of personal cultural backgrounds, issues, and biases is essential to enhance their ability to serve others, particularly marginalized populations. This study demonstrates how students understood the impact…

Despite the centrality of diversity and oppression to the standards of social work, more research is needed to determine the most effective teaching method. The Diversity and Oppression Scale allows researchers to assess students' awareness, responsibility, self-confidence, practitioner and client congruence, and social work responsibilities,…

COVID-19's unprecedented effects on the world emphasize the minimal exigent research on best practices of social work pedagogy during crises. The purpose of this paper is to inform this research and our understanding of social work education's shift at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study draws upon the narratives of four key…