A Journey Through the Prism of Race: An Evolution of Generational Consciousness

SUMMARY

Race consciousness is examined over the life course of three social work professors of color during different generations. This narrative method illustrates their journey through self-affirming families and communities that served as protective factors against hostile individual, community, and institutional forces that attempted to marginalize, subjugate, and oppress their will. Each experienced similar bouts with racism, albeit in less blatant forms, while all benefited from earlier leaders who served as ladders. Implications for diversity, social justice, and social work education are discussed.     

Changing Contexts of Practice: Challenges for Social Work and Community Development

ABSTRACT

In a rapidly changing global environment, there have been renewed calls to position community development more centrally in social work, particularly in the face of contemporary practice challenges. This paper analyses the broad policy contexts of neoliberalism, globalisation, and governance change and discusses how these forces interact with social work and community development, drawing on examples from Australia and Ireland. The paper argues that sociopolitical forces both restrict and present opportunities for social work and community development practice and we seek to reactivate debate about the position of community development within changing and challenging contexts.

IMPLICATIONS

• Contextualises community development practice, policy, and research within contemporary environments of neoliberalism, globalisation, and governance change.

• Critically evaluates implications and new opportunities for social work and community development, drawing on examples from Australia and Ireland.

• Reactivates debate and analysis on the position of community development in contemporary social work as we move forward into the new decade, and the next global agenda for social work and social development.

     

Nationalities,pedagogies and media

ABSTRACT

This article examines the implications of the language of ‘cultural diversity’ and ‘difference’ for syllabi, curricula and educators in academic institutions. The author suggests an intellectual orientation which moves away from the social vocabulary of ‘inclusion’ to that of ‘multivocality’. Such an approach requires an interdisciplinary model whose departure point anticipates the need to teach students the skills of interrogating the relationship between power and knowledge and the political implications of this link.

It is argued that such a perspective would encourage a more careful consideration of bibliography and presentations which take into account the complex diversity in the backgrounds of students — the target audience. This would simultaneously diffuse the tendency to depoliticize and domesticate race relations under the labels of ‘culture’ and ‘multiculturalism’ and require educators to assume that more than a few have family histories which mirror heterogeneity and pluralism. The embodiment of difference, however, may not always be visible. As a pedagogical strategy, thinking explicitly about the assumptions behind who, what and how one teaches will further the epistemological and political objective of educating students to develop informed opinions as well as help to cultivate a heightened sense of personal accountability to their responsibilities in the multiple communities to which they belong.     

Towards a Comprehensive Framework for Understanding the Social Environment

SUMMARY

This paper presents a conceptual framework for selecting and organizing concepts of the social environment. It expands upon the traditional Human Behavior and the Social Environment perspectives used in social work curricula in the United States by identifying how a macro-systemconsisting of the intersection of four societal forces (social justice, social problems, social policy, and the political economy) works to influence a micro-systemof community, organizational, and group dynamics. In this framework, the impact of the macrosystem is mediated by collective responses of partnerships, alliances, and networks convened to address these forces. The framework is useful for understanding the complexity and uncertainty of the social environment in modern society with specific reference to: (1) how macro-system forces work to shape a constellation of community and organizational concerns, (2) how collective responses that seek solutions can be understood as instruments for achieving meaningful social change, and (3) how micro-systems concepts of structure (stages of development, systems of exchange, and diversity) and process (power and leadership, conflict and change, and integrating mechanisms) can inform practice.     

Supply and demand: A study of labour market trends and the employment of new social work graduates in victoria

Abstract

At a time of significant restructuring in the community services labour market, it is particularly pertinent to analyse the current labour market opportunities available to new social work graduates. In 1995, using a small RMIT-funded (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) research grant, five schools of social work in Victoria collaborated to pilot a survey of the employment paths of the previous year's social work graduates. The survey was repeated in 1996. A complementary project which analysed the job advertisements for social work and social work-related positions during six months in both 1995 and 1996 provided further insight into the employment opportunities being advertised. Survey results showed a high rate of employment among new graduates with a decreasing number of graduates being employed in designated “social work” positions. This trend was reflected in the requirements for the positions advertised. The implications of this diversity of jobs and the decrease in designated “social work” positions are discussed, particularly in terms of broader changes in the world of work.     

Nostalgia critique

Abstract

Nostalgia is a widespread structure of feeling in Western modernity. While critique of nostalgia has tended to be hostile and dismissive, associating the phenomenon with dominant and conservative forces in society, this paper argues that nostalgia is a valuable way of approaching the past, important to all social groups. Acknowledging the diversity of personal needs and political desires to which nostalgia is a response, the critique offered here focusses on the limitations that the nostalgic structure of rhetoric may place on effective historical interpretation and action.     

Polanyi’s two transformations revisited: a ‘bottom up’ perspective

ABSTRACT

In The Great Transformation, Karl Polanyi offers a ‘top-down’ analysis of the rise and demise of Europe’s unregulated market system. He assumes that changes in the organization of the international economy provide particular kinds of opportunities for states to act which, in turn, shapes the extent to which social forces will be able to influence state policy. Consequently, his analysis focuses, first, on the international institutions created by the self-regulating market system; then on the ‘liberal state’ which these made possible; and finally on how the system impacts ‘society as a whole’. The account which this analysis produces systematically underplays the social struggles which propelled and emerged from the rise of Europe’s nineteenth century system and which ultimately led to its demise. In revisiting the two periods that are the focus of Polanyi’s analysis, this article assumes that states and interstate systems reflect the interests of powerful social forces. Thus, working from the ‘bottom up’, it focuses on the class interests that produced Europe’s market system, the state and international structures which reflected and supported them, and the social struggles that ultimately brought about the collapse of the system. What this ‘bottom up’ account reveals is the centrality of a ‘double movement’, not of market expansion and a protective countermove on the part of ‘society as a whole’, but of dominant classes monopolizing economic opportunities from global expansion, and a rising ‘red tide’ of disaffected workers. This double movement, it argues, better explains the demise of the system and the changes that ensued from it.     

Challenges and opportunities to eLearning in social work education: perspectives from Spain and the United States

ABSTRACT

eLearning has become an academic tool used to provide access to education for multiple segments of the population, which otherwise would have little to no access to it. While other academic disciplines integrated it into their curricula early in the digital revolution, in many countries, social work education is just beginning to address the opportunities and challenges web-based learning may bring to these programmes [Blackmon, 2013. Social work and online education with all deliberate speed. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 10(5), 509–521. doi:10.1080/15433714.2012.663672; Phelan, 2015. The use of eLearning in social work education. Social Work, 60(3), 257–264. doi:10.1093/sw/swv010]. This international collaborative research study seeks to better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by social work educators teaching at universities who are already using some form of eLearning in the United States and in Spain. A quantitative, non-experimental research design was employed. Results show that there are similarities as well as differences in the ways the two subsamples perceive the challenges and opportunities of eLearning. Findings reveal that there are some significant differences between the way the two subsample respondents perceived challenges and opportunities to eLearning. Recommendations for online social work educators and administrators are provided regarding overcoming challenges and capitalizing on opportunities applicable to the US, Spain, and the larger European and global contexts. Recommendations for further research and practice are also included.     

A National Survey of Australian Social Work Field Education Programs: Innovation with Limited Capacity

Social work field education programs globally are struggling to meet the demands of providing suitable placements for students and need to consider new and innovative placement models to both meet professional accreditation requirements and deliver high quality field education opportunities for social work students. This article reports on the qualitative responses of a national survey of Australian social work field education programs, which explored current challenges, innovative responses, and recommendations for the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) review, as well as hopes for the future of field education, and their capacity to undertake research into this area. Findings suggested that field education programs have been using incremental innovation in field education, including collaboration, partnerships, and new ways of responding to the changing student body. However, it is argued that radical structural change and additional resources will be needed for innovation to be more than merely incremental.

IMPLICATIONS

• Social work field education as a distinct pedagogy needs to be supported through evidence-based research in order to respond to current pressures.

• Collaboration in field education practice and research is valuable, but may be challenged by program competition.

• Structural innovation and accepting diversity in models could offer opportunities for social work education.

     

Social Work Textbooks on Human Behavior and the Social Environment

SUMMARY

This analysis of fourteen foundation frequently used Human Behavior and Social Environment (HB&SE) textbooks is based on the Council on Social Work Education's (2001) guidelines for HB&SE and a framework for integrating content related to the social environment. Specific criteria for assessment included how well the textbook reflected the reciprocal nature of human behavior and the social environment, presented a strengths perspective, incorporated diversity content, and covered material related to families, groups, organizations, communities and political economy. Three types of HB&SE textbooks were identified (life cycle, systems, and theory), and results are presented by textbook type. The findings suggest that increased attention to content related to the macro social environment and to the inter-relationships of macro, meso, and micro forces would strengthen HB&SE texts.     

Racial microaggressions and black social work students: a call to social work educators for proactive models informed by social justice

ABSTRACT

With efforts to create and sustain racial diversity and inclusive practices at institutions of higher education, a corollary emphasis on proactive implementations to support students of color in these environments is essential. Informed by a commitment to social justice, there are rich opportunities for social work to take leadership in strategizing new ways of approaching and prioritizing the wellness and success of students of color. This paper serves to explore the impact of racism specific to Black students by applying the theoretical lens of Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) to challenge social work education in confronting racialized experiences within their programs. A modified, context-specific framework is proposed that (1) defines microaggressions in social work education programs, 2) prompts critically informed dialogue to enhance how social work as a profession understands the prevalence and role of microaggressions in social work educational contexts, and (3) explores considerations for the unique needs and challenges of Black social work students in an effort to inform strategies to most effectively recruit, retain, support and empower.     

Parents’ perspectives of social support and social cohesion in urban contexts of diversity

Although provisions for young children are increasingly considered as ideal places to foster an inclusive and socially just society by embracing issues of social support and social cohesion, there is no in-depth understanding of the role these provisions can play in enabling supportive and cohesive encounters in contexts of diversity. Even more striking is the absence of parents’ voices in this discussion. Based on an analysis of qualitative interviews with 18 parents who use childcare services in urban contexts of diversity, our findings show the relevance of ephemeral contacts with diverse people that could offer bridging opportunities in terms of social connectedness to familiarise within diversity while decoding the other in urban contexts of diversity. However, neither bonding nor bridging contacts appear as self-evident. Our research shows that the role of childcare services might be vital in creating light and temporal communities as the prerequisite for social cohesion to flourish, in both individual as well as collective dimensions.     

Teaching Students the Task Force Approach: A Policy-Practice Course

Abstract

In contemporary society, task forces are commonly used to deal with community-based social problems. Task forces develop, change, and implement policies at all levels of government, and within all types of organizations, including the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Unfortunately, social work educators have not been involved in teaching the policy-practice skills of working on a task force. This article discusses existing literature on task forces. Gersick's (1988) model of task group development is used to structure the teaching of the task force approach. An advanced policy course on homelessness is used as an illustration, and a recommendation is made for adjusting educational requirements to cross-reference courses in the social work curriculum that teach substantive topics and, at the same time, use innovative methods to teach group skills.     

A Syncretic Construct to a Multicultural Program

ABSTRACT

Problems of social Inequality and social inequity due to gender, race and ethnicity have become critical areas of study in social work education and practice. A number of competing paradigms have emerged. A syncretic construct was introduced as a means to unravel the complex nature of value conflicts and value dilemmas that are inadvertently produced by isolated and fragmented paradigms of cultural diversity and cultural plurality. The integration of humanism and a syncretic construct served as the organizing principle for advancing cultural inclusiveness. This was viewed as a fundamental policy goal for multicultural social work education and practice. A multidimensional model is designed to embrace a syncretic construct with humanism in a social work multicultural perspective.     

Problem drinking among at-risk college students: The examination of Greek involvement,freshman status,and history of mental health problems

ABSTRACT

Objective: Scarce research has examined the combined effect of mental health difficulties and demographic risk factors such as freshman status and Greek affiliation in understanding college problem drinking. The current study is interested in looking at the interaction among freshman status, Greek affiliation, and mental health difficulties. Participants and Methods: Undergraduate students (N = 413) from a private and public Midwestern university completed a large online survey battery between January 2009 and April 2013. Data from both schools were aggregated for the analyses. Results: After accounting for gender, age, and school type, the three-way interaction indicated that the highest drinking levels were reported in freshman students who reported a history of mental health problems although were not involved in Greek life. Conclusions: Findings are discussed in the context of perceived social norms, as well as alcohol-related screenings and intervention opportunities on college campuses.     

Posttraumatic stress and growth in student service members and veterans: The role of personal growth initiative

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study explored the extent to which personal growth initiative (PGI) may predict posttraumatic stress and growth in student service members/veterans (SSM/V). Participants: Participants were 136 SSM/V (79% men) representing multiple branches of the armed forces. Forty-four percent of participants reported having combat experience. Methods: Data collection occurred from October 2013 to February 2014. Data were collected via a Web-based survey that included demographics and measures of personal growth initiative, posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and perceived social support. Results: Results indicated that PGI is not a unique predictor of posttraumatic stress but is a unique predictor of higher levels of posttraumatic growth. PGI appears to be at least as important as perceived social support in facilitating growth in SSM/V. Conclusions: This study provides further evidence for PGI's potential to facilitate growth after a traumatic event.     

Navigating Ethical Challenges in Social Media: Social Work Student and Practitioner Perspectives

ABSTRACT

The portable, accessible nature of technology affords social workers opportunities to venture outside traditional service contexts by engaging in the virtual realm. This qualitative article uses two small-scale exploratory case studies to investigate the concept of ethical challenges in online peer networking and blogging by a social work student and social work practitioner. The article seeks to address the opportunities for and complexities of navigating technology and social media, while also emphasising the need for social workers to acquire a range of skills and competencies, and use well-established frameworks to engage in ethical online practice.     

Reconceptualising refugee education: exploring the diverse learning contexts of unaccompanied young refugees upon resettlement

Abstract

This article explores unaccompanied young refugees’ participation in various learning contexts beyond school. Drawing from a qualitative study based on interviews with unaccompanied young refugees, educators and social workers in Norway, the findings emphasise the need for a holistic approach to refugee education in and across contexts of learning. The refugees originate from countries where access to formal schooling was difficult or disrupted. Many of them have been exposed to traumatic events prior to arrival. As the educational and psychosocial needs of resettled refugees are diverse and complex, it is unlikely that schools are able to meet them all. Participation in diverse settings, activities and practices beyond school may expand young refugees’ opportunities for meaningful learning as well as promote their social inclusion. Facilitating access to adequate learning contexts, along with supporting their own commitment to succeed, is decisive for young refugees’ educational achievement, psychosocial adjustment and inclusion in society. The paper emphasises the need for reconceptualising refugee education as inclusive of diverse learning contexts in and outside of school. Enhanced collaboration between schools, local community organisations and wider society will facilitate and support resettling young refugees’ opportunities to achieve their fullest potential.     

A Feminist Approach to Exploring the Intersections of Individuals,Families, and Communities

Abstract

It is important for social workers to use contextual understandings to guide their work with client systems, particularly those whose life experiences fall under the umbrella of diversity. Thus, integrating women's perspectives/voices directly into the study of their lives is one way to more accurately understand lesbians, whose experiences as women, as partners, and as mothers may be misinterpreted without their own perspectives to guide understanding. This paper presents a model for research that utilizes an eco-systemic perspective, including eco maps and genograms, to collect and organize data. This model is a natural extension of social work interview and assessment techniques, and can illuminate respondents' diverse experiences as well as the socio-cultural environments in which these experiences are embedded.     

Belonging to the library: humanising the space for social work education

Abstract

This article describes the running of four Living Libraries on a UK postgraduate social work course. A Living Library is a metaphoric remodelling of a conventional library where people, as authors of their experiences, provide specialist knowledge based on authorial areas of expertise. In the Living Libraries discussed here, ‘Living Books’ carried stories of social work—their narratives were of lived experiences as people using social care services; as carers in personal relationships with others who use social care services; or, as social work practitioners. The focus of this article is on those Living Libraries involving the participation of the first two of these groups. Drawing on social psychology, phenomenology and human geography, we propose that a Living Library can act as a connective space within social work education by engendering a discursive forum where all participants—people with experiences of services, students, practitioners and social work educators—are given both the freedom and obligation to talk openly about their differential experiences, fears and hopes for social work. Through this process, opportunities are created to consider how improvements that meet all stakeholders’ interests may be achieved.