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.     

Relationships Between the Great Recession and Widening Maternal and Child Health Disparities: Findings from Washington and Florida

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A Social Cognitive Framework for Career Choice Counseling

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Developmentally disabled children can be adopted

People have often thought that developmentally disabled children were hard to place and poor risks in adoption. However, this research shows that a large number of children of all ages and disabilities were placed for adoption with few disruptions. In light of these findings, agencies may well put more effort into identifying developmentally disabled children as suitable candidates for adoption services.     

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Building on a detailed study of the Woburn, Massachusetts, childhood leukemia cluster, this paper examines lay and professional ways of knowing about environmental health risks. Of particular interest are differences between lay and professional groups' definitions of data quality, methods of analysis, traditionally accepted levels of measurement and statistical significance, and relations between scientific method and public policy. This paper conceptualizes the hazard-detection and solution-seeking activities of Love Canal, Woburn, and other communities as popular epidemiology: the process by which lay persons gather data and direct and marshal the knowledge and resources of experts in order to understand the epidemiology of disease, treat existing and prevent future disease, and remove the responsible environmental contaminants. Based on different needs, goals, and methods, laypeople and professionals have conflicting perspectives on how to investigate and interpret environmental health data.     

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The success of the experimental physical sciences in mid-Victorian Britain brought to prominence the question whether artificial social experiments—as distinct from those offered by the ordinary course of social life—were feasible. Influenced in part by Comte's writings, such authoritative figures as J.S. Mill and C.G. Lewis argued that social issues were not subject to experimental investigation. Their arguments are examined here in order to raise, for further discussion, the problem why social experimentation in general was so often firmly resisted during the period.     

Social Cognitive Approach to Career Development: An Overview

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