A Glimpse of the Truth: Evaluating ‘Debate’ and ‘Role Play’ as Pedagogical Tools for Learning about Sexuality Issues on a Law and Ethics Module

Social work education is familiar with concepts such as social exclusion, marginalisation, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice. This familiarisation implies that students are adequately prepared to embrace equality and diversity, become ‘culturally competent’ and subscribe to moral and ethical standards including the rights of service users to respect and support regardless of sexual orientation. The ability of social work students to articulate and develop their own theories for practice and to handle personal issues when these conflict with ‘theories’ on equality and diversity are important aspects of learning. Educators teaching about sexual orientation issues however currently have fewer texts or support networks to draw on when addressing these. This paper looks at the effectiveness of ‘debate’ and ‘role play’ as pedagogical strategies and tools when teaching complex ethical issues on a law and ethics module. Dramatic and creative participative methods were used through the tools of debate and role play. These were used with students to explore a specific topic around gay adoption in the context of learning about anti-discriminatory law. The paper seeks to evaluate the outcomes of this approach by drawing on the students' post learning reflection.     

Social work education in Australia and the USA: comparative perspectives and contemporary issues

The article discusses similarities and differences in social work education and profession in Australia and the USA, reflects on contemporary issues and challenges that affect social work education and practice in both countries, and identifies mutual areas of learning and exchange. Drawing on secondary data, it comparatively analyses important variables such as the growth of social work education, curricula and curricular models, accreditation standards, code of ethics and professional licensure. The analysis shows significant similarities and differences in these variables, and brings out unaddressed issues and challenges. It argues that the profession in general has not adequately been successful in translating its value-based ideals into social work education and practice in both countries, particularly in the context of the free market economies. Experiences of both countries provide scope for mutual sharing and learning.     

Exploring U.S. Social Work Students’ Sexual Attitudes and Abortion Viewpoints

Social workers frequently engage with sexual and reproductive health topics, yet a notable paucity of social work research exists regarding abortion. Informed by overlapping theoretical frameworks of human rights and reproductive justice, this study examined a large, nationwide survey of social work students in the United States (N = 504). Linear regressions indicated that students’ endorsements of permissive sexual attitudes and support for birth control are inversely associated with holding anti-choice abortion views. Moreover, distinct relationships were found among sociodemographic characteristics and abortion attitudes and knowledge, suggesting that social work education efforts regarding contentious reproductive and sexual health topics should also focus on nuances of cultural competence and diversity, as well as general human rights principles and professional ethics.     

‘Never mind the mechanics,what about the (sexual) ethics?’ Sex,sexuality and social work education in sexual violence prevention

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the efficacy of sexual violence prevention education (SVPE) in the USA and Australasia: areas, which have some of the worst rates for sexual violence prevalence, globally. Paradoxically, they are also at the forefront of innovations in sexual violence prevention, compared to some European countries where SVPE is virtually non-existent or at the embryonic stage, such as the UK. Drawing upon the Authors’ previous research on the delivery of SVPE in New Zealand secondary schools, and literature reviews into these innovations, the authors argue that social work education is ideally placed to develop SVPE, due to the ways that some of these innovations, coalesce with social work theory, critical andragogy, and social work values. These synergies have the potential for transnational application through the ways that they can inform SVPE in those countries where it is delivered by social workers in schools, and via the ways it can enhance the social work curriculum to improve post-qualifying practice in addressing sexual violence (SV).     

‘Even if Martians exist,they’re far from our everyday life’: faculty perspectives regarding gay and lesbian students in social work education

Following a study on gay and lesbian students’ experiences in a Social Work Department in Greece, this qualitative study explores faculty perspectives regarding lesbian and gay students in social work education. Perceptions of gay and lesbian students’ invisibility and low level of comfort were held in common by participants, although some faculty members referred to the more inclusive and accepting climate of the Social Work Department compared to other higher education Departments and Greek society in general. Most participants reported that same-sex sexuality issues are inadequately covered in the curriculum. Displays of heterosexist behaviour by students were reported by most participants and so were conflicts among students when same-sex sexuality issues were discussed in class. The lack of official anti-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation was highlighted. In the absence of a common strategy regarding the teaching of same-sex sexuality content, faculty determined on an individual level how and to what extent to discuss such issues in the classroom. At times the faculty appeared willing but not adequately prepared to approach gay and lesbian issues. Implications for social work education are discussed.     

Yet another minority issue or good news for all? Approaching LGBT issues in European social work education

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the questions of why to include and how to approach LGBT issues in the context of European social work education. Referring to social work’s commitment to LGBT people, the article points out its ongoing relevance as questions of marginalisation and discrimination point far beyond formal equality in legislation and normalisation of homosexuality within existing societal institutions. Furthermore, new questions and dynamics in rapidly changing and highly diverse societal contexts bring about new challenges in addressing LGBT issues. Against this background, the article discusses problems of representation and knowledge and underlines the potential of a queer approach. A queer perspective questions taken-for-granted assumptions about sexual orientation, gender identity and intimate relationships. It challenges normalising categories of sex, gender and desire and brings out possibilities existing beyond the heteronormative order. This way, it offers social work education a powerful theoretical lens to address issues on sexual orientation and gender identity not only as yet another minority issue, but as transversal matter and as good news for all. In this article, we use the acronym LGBT to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. LGBT is meant to include and at the same time emphasise the differences between people who do not (exclusively) define themselves as heterosexual and who cannot or do not want to match or identify with binarities of sex, gender and desire. We do not use the acronym LGBTI because we find it problematic to include intersex people without taking explicitly into account their specific situations and needs. Making a plea for a queer approach, we share – of course – a critical view on categorisations and identity labels.     

Empowerment Practice in Canada and the United States

Abstract

This article discusses the legacy of colonialism and racism in Canada and the United States. It shows how this legacy, combined with a market-oriented philosophy to social and economic issues and policies, has resulted in major, persistent social problems in both countries. It goes on to argue that an empowerment-oriented approach, by restoring policy issues, and therefore social justice issues, to the core of social work, can help the profession address these problems more efficiently. The article concludes by examining three particular challenges related to empowerment-oriented practice: creating partnerships; working with and in communities, and finding optimal ways of integrating all levels of social work practice.     

Suitability for Professional Practice: Assessing and Developing Moral Character in Social Work Education

This article considers the importance of an explicit focus upon the ‘character’ of social work applicants and students in debates regarding suitability for professional education and practice. Drawing upon the growing body of literature concerning gate-keeping decisions and the literature exploring the relevance of virtue ethics for social work, this article examines the benefits of an approach that foregrounds the assessment and development of moral character. The discussion is located within the context of the most recent reforms to social work education within England, whilst recognising the international relevance of these debates. It is argued that incorporating an approach informed by virtue ethics has the potential to bridge traditional fault-lines within selection debates that have focused upon the tensions between a widening access perspective and a focus upon academic ability. Crucially, this article examines the curriculum and pedagogic issues arising from a commitment to provide opportunities to develop moral character and virtue. The article argues that a dual focus upon selection and pedagogic issues, with an explicit focus upon character throughout, is critical to the development of wise, effective and virtuous social workers who are able to exercise sound judgment and wisdom across a range of practice contexts.     

Race,Marginalization, and Perceptions of Stress Among Workers Worldwide Post-2020

Research shows that stressful workplace changes in 2020 disproportionately impacted historically marginalized workers. However, we need more information on enduring inequalities of stress post-2020. Thus, drawing from surveys with employees working in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and India (N = 5,242), we use logistic regression to explore how worker identities (race/ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, and social class) might matter for stress as measured through respondents' self-assessments of their own feelings of stress (“helplessness”) and states counter to stress (“self-efficacy”). Taking a sociological approach to analyze worker responses to the perceived stress scale (PSS-10), we found that historically marginalized workers (in terms of race, gender, sexual identity, and social class) reported greater feelings of stress (helplessness). However, we also found that employees identifying as racially minoritized at work and employees in India reported high self-efficacy scores on the PSS-10—a surprising relationship given that feelings of self-efficacy have been previously theorized to have an inverse relationship with stress (helplessness). Though based on a convenience sample, our research suggests that historically marginalized workers worldwide are feeling more significant amounts of stress. In addition, our findings may have implications regarding how researchers use the PSS-10 to measure stress across diverse worker groups and international contexts.     

Reframing Black Perspectives in Social Work: New Directions?

This paper aims to focus on the politics of exclusion by opening up a debate about black perspectives in social work and articulates a comparative assessment between the UK and USA which includes contributions from social and political theory, particularly the ‘politics of recognition’. The paper begins by mapping the territory denoted in the growth of ‘studies’ in sociology and academia. Following these discussions, I review criticisms and possibilities of anti‐racist social work and black perspectives to argue that in the British context, the dilution of anti‐racist social work into a discriminatory practice framework undermined the place of black perspectives in social work education. In the next section, a reframing of black perspectives is envisaged with implications for social work learning and practice. By attending to these issues, social work learning and practice can support a more inclusive approach to professional knowledge which recognizes changing patterns of social life, complexity and multiple perspectives.     

Social‐developmental factors affecting lesbian and gay youth: a review of cross‐national research findings

Lesbian and gay youth face a great many challenges as they grow up. In this article, research focusing upon the social‐developmental factors that affect the positive development of a lesbian or gay identity are reviewed, comparing and contrasting data from the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK). Consideration is also given to the efficacy of behaviours utilised by young lesbians and gay men to avoid harassment and discrimination. It is suggested that lesbian and gay youth represent a particularly vulnerable group of young people who engage in a number of health risk behaviours that are associated not only with sexual orientation, but also fears for personal safety. Finally the authors discuss whether or not strategies to conceal sexual orientation hold benefits for lesbian and gay youth in terms of their physical safety and mental health. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why Has the Ethics of Care Become an Issue of Global Concern?

Since Carol Gilligan published her masterpiece, In a Different Voice, many scholars, especially feminist scholars in various fields, including moral theory, philosophy, and political and legal theory, have been inspired to establish a more inclusive approach to social injustice as well as sexual inequality. The purpose of this article is to explore the depth and expanse of the ethics of care for its potential as a political philosophy. To pursue this end, the article analyzes first the main claims of care ethics by responding to its typical counterarguments, which criticize the ethics of care as being too dependent on gender differences, particularism, and essentialism. The second section examines three challenges that care ethics poses to the male-oriented mainstream of political philosophy, especially the theory of justice. The ethics of care provides us with a new approach to moral and political issues because it focuses responsively on social injustice, proposes a new idea of relational self and takes the social connection model to justice. With these three perspectives proposed by the ethics of care in mind, the article turns its eyes to global implications of care ethics by referring to the issue of the “comfort women” of Japanese troops during the Second World War.     

Personal construct psychology methods for qualitative research

In this paper we discuss the unique influences of ethics assessment procedures on comparative qualitative research. These influences are particularly pronounced when researchers are from different disciplines and in different countries. Focusing on our experience conducting a study on the perceptions of young people regarding HIV/AIDS in two countries (Italy and Canada), we describe the impact of the ethics assessment procedures in our respective countries on recruitment, sampling and comparability of findings. We also raise issues related to differences in ethics assessment processes from a disciplinary perspective. We conclude by suggesting that our theory of technique approach, which focuses on studying how the choices made in research implementation influence the study findings, should be extended to include the impact of ethics assessment procedures.     

Educational Linkages between Undergraduate Education in Social Welfare and Professional Social Work Education

Schools of social work in the United States and in Canada have for many years, supported and encouraged their faculty to accept visiting professorships or research appointments in foreign schools of social work. This program has benefited both faculty and students through enriched course content. However, only in recent years have more than a few faculty from foreign schools of social work joined the faculties of schools of social work in the United States and Canada as visiting professors. There is no question that these faculty members have made a contribution to social work education in the schools where they were resident. This author provides insights on how visiting professors might affectively contribute as members of faculty and questions the emphasis we are presently giving to methodology at the expense of our commitment to the ideological and moral base of social work.     

Outness among LGBTQ Social Work Students in North America: The Contribution of Environmental Supports and Perceptions of Comfort

This study examines various environmental factors that may impact a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) social work student's level of ‘outness’ (disclosure) with regard to their sexual orientation or gender identity. An internet-based survey was conducted, comprised of LGBTQ undergraduate and graduate students from social work programs across North America (n = 1,018). Utilizing Pearson's chi square analysis, significant associations correlated between outness and the following six areas: (1) LGBTQ student perception of other students' overall level of comfort with their sexual orientation or gender identity within the program; (2) the number of faculty that know about their sexual orientation or gender identity; (3) the number of students that know about their sexual orientation or gender identity; (4) how supported they felt with regard to their LGBTQ identity within the program; (5) the percent of faculty that are supportive of LGB and Q issues; and (6) awareness of openly LGBTQ administrators or staff members. Implications for social work education and practice are examined, as are suggestions for continued research.     

An Interdisciplinary Ethics Module for MSW and Nursing Students

The teaching of ethics in social work can be incorporated in the curriculum in multiple ways. This article outlines an interdisciplinary module with nursing and social work students at a small United States Midwestern university as a means of developing awareness of multiple perspectives surrounding ethical dilemmas in healthcare. Background information related to teaching interdisciplinary ethics and use of case studies is presented. Discussion of the interdisciplinary ethics exercise includes a summary of observations relative to the exercise and challenges in its implementation are outlined.     

Preservice Teachers’ Sources of Information on Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse

Teachers in many countries are mandated by law, professional codes, or education authorities to report child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse. However, teachers may not receive adequate preparation for such sensitive interventions, as preservice teacher education degrees provide very few or no compulsory courses on child protection and crucially related, lifelong health and well-being issues. So, where do preservice teachers source their information regarding the mandatory reporting of such abuse? This research examines preservice teachers’ professional university education for their sources of information about mandatory reporting and child sexual abuse. A sample cohort of 56 final 4th-year university bachelor of education (primary school) student teachers in Australia identified the sources they used regarding 10 important aspects of child protection. The results suggest that most did not learn about mandatory reporting or child sexual abuse, and others cited sparse and sporadic public media as their primary information source. These findings, building on previous evidence about inadequate or nonexistent preservice mandatory intervention courses in primary teacher education, may guide the design of appropriate training responses enhancing educational professionals’ knowledge, competencies, skills, and efficacies as mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse.     

Otherness and empathy—implications of Lévinas ethics for social work education

This paper examines the concept of otherness in Lévinas’ ethics and raises related issues regarding the limits of empathy on philosophical grounds. This study also identifies and discusses a number of linguistic, social and cultural barriers that can establish such limits on practical grounds. This paper raises various considerations for social work educators teaching empathy. Such considerations suggest that social work educators could adopt a stance of ‘understanding and not understanding’ and a dialectical approach in using knowledge and skills. Furthermore, this study challenges the common assumption that empathy leads to compassionate action. Apart from empathy, moral commitment is necessary to engage in such action. This article discusses such moral commitment in relation to Lévinas’ notions of face and responsibility that place ethics before knowledge. Hence, the present study brings the attention of social work educators back to the importance of nourishing virtue and the moral character of students.