Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Indigegogy: A Transformative Indigenous Educational Process, Gus Hill Phd, Alicia Wilkinson Msw

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

Social work training programs have not been able to keep step with the needs of Indigenous people since the advent of the profession. As former agents of government assimilation, social workers now find themselves in difficult positions where they are unable to help Indigenous people, despite their best intentions. Indigenous Social Work Education has become a necessary response to the growing needs of Indigenous people, and increasing social problems in Canada. Furthermore, Indigenous people who practice Indigenous social work have become vital to the survival of Indigenous people and their communities. The teaching and practice of Indigenized, social work education …

Educational Determinants Of Readiness To Practise With Lgbtq Clients: Social Work Students Speak Out, Shelley L. Craig Phd, Michael P. Dentato Phd, Msw, Lori Messinger, Lauren B. Mcinroy

Michael P. Dentato

Human Sexuality As A Critical Subfield In Social Work, Emily Mccave, Benjamin C. Shepard, Virginia Ramseyer Winter

Publications and Research

Human sexuality is of vital importance to social work practitioners, educators, and scholars. Yet historically, the profession’s leadership around it has waxed and waned, impacting practice. This article discusses the importance of human sexuality as a critical subfield within social work. It suggests that the mechanisms, namely textbooks, journals, and national conferences, for stimulating human sexuality social work scholarship are limited. The authors assert that the taboo of human sexuality limits the advancement of a cohesive professional discourse and contributes to the continued oppression of marginalized populations. Recommendations for providing better support for those who study, teach, and practice in …

Perceived Racial Discrimination By Students Of Color Among Social Work Programs In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Study, Mira Hanna

Masters Theses

Social work is a profession that is based upon principles such as social justice and dignity and worth of the person. As such, social work education ought to reflect those values by ensuring that all students receive an adequate education in an environment characterized by fair and equal treatment of all students, including students of color. There is a lack of research, however, that addresses the experiences of students of color in colleges of social work across the United States. This study addresses this gap in literature by conducting a secondary data analysis of the data gathered using the Bowie-Hancock …

Better Engaging Social Science Graduate Students In Introductory Research Methods Courses: A Class Activity, Lisa D. Zerden, Joelle D. Powers, Christopher J. Wretman

Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper outlines a classroom activity to help students engage in research methods and lessen anxiety and apprehension commonly associated with research methods courses. The described class activity offers students a shared research experience to promote the skills necessary to understand, conduct and translate research into ethical social science practice. The activity was conducted in a graduate social work programme but is applicable across the social sciences. Content covered includes sampling, research design, ethical considerations, brief evaluation and helping students think critically about ways to improve research methods in order to facilitate competencies necessary for evidence-based practice (EBP). An introduction …

A Holistic Aboriginal Framework For Individual Healing, Gus Hill

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

This paper offers up an holistic Indigenous model of individual healing that utilizes medicine wheel teachings to break down the four aspects (spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental) of individual wellness. Teachings about each direction are presented followed by practice techniques for each aspect of the individual self. It is bookended by an introduction to the historical trauma faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada, and a conclusion that draws implications for healing.

Distributive Justice And Equity In Grading: A New Instructor’S Reflections, Molly Malany Sayre

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

The author reflects upon early teaching experiences to identify a conflict between minimal distributive justice, or the distribution of goods that ensures all individuals have an acceptable level of that good (Deutsch, 1985), and grading of students’ assignments. Instead of addressing the unequal distribution of college preparedness among her students, the author’s grading reflected and potentially reinforced educational, racial, and economic inequalities. In agreement with Anastas (2010), an ethic of social justice is recommended for use in social work education. Social work educators can provide greater access to resources (e.g., the instructor’s time) for students experiencing disadvantages that affect their …

Promoting Critical Reflexivity Through Arts-Based Media: A Case Study, Christopher Trevelyan, Rory Crath, Adrienne Chambon

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

As an increasingly central focus of social work pedagogy, critical reflexivity can be distinguished from non-critical forms of reflexivity by its emphasis on the socially constructed, power-laden nature of knowledge and subjectivity, and its embracement of anxiety and other difficult emotions in social work practice. Given the in actu nature of its processes, however, critical reflexivity poses particular challenges as a teaching objective for social work educators. In order to assess the potential of arts-based media to engender critical forms of reflexivity in social work audiences, qualitative inquiry was conducted on social workers' experience of an arts-based video installation on …

Learning Communities: Through The Lens Of A Groupworker, Shirley Simon, Sarah Hessenauer

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Learning communities are becoming increasingly common as a means of assisting incoming students with their transition to college. They have been shown to improve student retention, academic performance, and student-faculty relationships. Learning communities are prime examples of group work in action, and can provide opportunities for educators to teach and model social group work concepts and principles. This paper 1) defines and describes learning communities, 2) discusses the theoretical basis for the application of group work principles to the learning community experience, and 3) describes and assesses three years of experience with the application of group work principles in social …

What Do Clinicians Know About Human Sexuality After Leaving Graduate School?, Linzy K. Barnett

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Clinicians are trained to address a variety of issues regarding their clients' mental health, but how well are professional counselors being trained to explore "alternative" sexual expressions, erotic (counter) transference, gender identities, and the enumerable ways clients can have concerns or issues with aspects of their sexuality? Within this study 15 clinicians were interviewed regarding their experiences within graduate school and the level to which they felt competent and prepared to discuss topics of sex, gender, and sexuality within a clinical context. Many of the participants described utilizing their personal life experiences, self-sought trainings, and individual reading choices as ways …

Origins Of Clinician Bias Against People Diagnosed With Borderline Personality Disorder, Lindsay K. Heightman

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

A growing body of literature confirms that bias exists and thrives in mental health settings among clinicians charged with the care of individuals who meet criteria for BPD as outlined in DSM V – TR and DSM V. This study explores the origins of such bias against individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Second, this study examines the various sources of learning that shape student clinicians' attitudes about people with a BPD diagnosis. Study participants, all students in Master's-level clinical social work programs, responded to an anonymous online survey wherein they were asked to reflect on their learning experiences …

Here-And-Now Learning In The Social Work Practice Classroom, Raquel Willerman

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Here-and-now learning, also called experiential learning, holds a tenuous place in the curricula of graduate level social work programs. Students are not required to participate in experiential training groups and have few elective opportunities to do so. Though conscious awareness about things such as socio-location and environment is emphasized throughout social work academic programs, increasing one's awareness of unconscious aspects of self and other is not explicitly encouraged. However, recent trends in contemporary psychoanalytic theory point to the processing of the therapeutic relationship as the main mechanism of client change and to the therapist's subjectivity as having an importance equal …

The Development And Pilot Of A New Macro Social Work Field Evaluation Instrument, Sarah P. Maynard

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The dissertation study explores the complex concepts of macro social work student competence and describes the development and pilot of a field evaluation that employs the use of qualitative student descriptors in the evaluation of macro social work students. A qualitative student descriptor is a short statement that describes a behavior of a social work student. When used for field evaluation purposes, field instructors are given a list of qualitative student descriptors that cover a range of competency levels. Field instructors are asked to indicate which statements best describe their student. Each qualitative student descriptor is linked with a 1-5 …