It is imperative that social work programs facilitate discussions pertaining to social justice in the classroom. This gives students the space to navigate barriers to changing policy and oppressive systems. However, there are multiple barriers to having critical discussions of challenges in advocating for marginalized and oppressed groups. One way…

Conscientization is the process of learning to perceive sociocultural, economic, and political oppression to such extent one is moved to act against it. This transformative and liberatory pedagogy has momentous implications for social work education; as its outcome is an increased critical consciousness for both students and faculty. However, the…

It is imperative to consider the significance of intersectionality in social work practice and education because of its purpose of understanding and addressing multiple forms of oppression. This article proposes a tool, the Intersectionality Analysis Cluster, which could be used across the social work curriculum and various academic degree levels…

Using an anti-oppressive lens, this Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program intentionally introduced power sharing between students and faculty during the first semester of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study qualitatively examined the students' response to this interpersonal intervention and found: (1) This experience helped all participants…

Social justice is a hallmark of social work practice. The call to end oppression and discrimination are voiced in the Grand Challenge, Achieve Equal Opportunity and Justice, the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics preamble, and the Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. However, none of…

In this article, we argue that those in social work education should refocus how they conceptualize and teach intersectionality to produce more effective social work practitioners. We emphasize that social work should shift from educating students to evaluate diverse clients as the accumulation of individual identities operating in isolation…

A capstone experience is a final opportunity for master's of social work students to practice competencies they will apply in the field. To support the transition, we designed and evaluated a capstone course using ethically challenging cases in the Decision Case Method approach, as well as integrating active, embodied participation through Theatre…

Social work is language work, and yet the profession has operated without a fully critical theory of language difference. Rather, a model of language as merely a neutral conduit of communication has prevailed, with the result that language issues have been addressed mostly as problems of translation. But a more rigorous approach to language as an…

Creation of a classroom environment safe enough for students to expess their perspectives, hear classmates views and engage in classroom dialogue remains a major challenge in social work teaching. Intergroup dialogue and Theatre of the Oppressed are two approaches that effectively meet these challenges. Intergroup dialogue offers a systematic…

This article provides guidance in facilitating the development of culturally sensitive skills for working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations that take into account power and privilege. Social work faculty and students have an ethical obligation to be competent and aware of privilege. When working with LGBTQ…

This article introduces an innovative model of social work course development, teaching, and implementation. Using the principles of antioppressive education and community-engaged learning, the authors (a former student and faculty member) codeveloped and subsequently taught a course that explored writing, voice, social justice, and the…

This study expands the literature of online human diversity courses in social work by comparing the effectiveness of these courses to face-to-face instruction. To measure effectiveness, pre- and posttests were completed by 117 students. The instrument used measured awareness of and ability to recognize cultural diversity and oppression and the…

The Council on Social Work Education requires schools of social work to meet diversity and social justice competencies. Many MSW programs meet these standards by having either a dedicated diversity and social justice course, or by using some form of diversity and social justice curricular infusion. The current study explored which of these…

The authors discuss 2 macro-level community practice courses, examining how each applies the concepts of situated learning to foster the development of communities of practice through use of a unique model for antioppressive practice. The theoretical underpinnings and a discussion of the implementation of each stage of the model is provided. The…

In light of the assertion that field education is the signature pedagogy of social work education, this Internet-based study explores field director demographics and questions the fulfillment of this potential, examining BSW and MSW field education through the lens of the field director position. Field directors (159) and deans/directors (150)…