Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Committed To The Cause? Examining Social Work Education's Role In Supporting Ally Behavior For Transgender And Nonbinary People And Communities, Brittanie Atteberry-Ash, N. Eugene Walls, Brendon T. Holloway, Jayme Dooley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) youth and adults are under attack in the United States, with at least 300 state-level anti-transgender bills introduced thus far in 2022 (HRC, 2022). Social workers, guided by professional values and ethics, play a critical role in supporting and advocating for TNB youth and adults, clinically and through mezzo and macro approaches. Given the current political context and the goals of the social work profession, understanding correlates of ally behavior on behalf of TNB people among social work students can help guide improvements in social work education. Specifically, in this study, we examine how demographic differences, …

Transphobia In Class, Anti-Trans Legislation At The State: A Commentary On Navigating Harm And Hope In A Social Work Education Program, Emera Greenwood, Megan S. Paceley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

EG (they/them): I was misgendered on day one of my BSW program; isolation and transphobia continued for two years. While I did my best to advocate for myself, I learned that you can't fight institutionally entrenched oppression alone.

MP (they/them): EG joined my class mid-semester after repeated incidents of transphobia. For two years, during an onslaught of anti-trans policies across the U.S., we advocated for changes in our school and social work education.

EG’s experience is not unique. Numerous studies document transphobia experienced by transgender and gender expansive (TGE) social work students and the lack of TGE content, visibility, and …

A Descriptive Account Of The Practicum Experiences Of Trans And Nonbinary Social Work Students, Jama Shelton, Sj Dodd, Jamie Borgan, Gabriel San Emeterio, Ana Rikki Wilhelm

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Current anti-transgender legislative activity necessitates social workers take action in solidarity with transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals and communities. Pervasive discrimination and marginalization of TNB people across multiple public domains, including education, is irrefutable (James et al, 2016). Social work education is no exception. Not only is there a documented lack of affirming educational and practicum opportunities for TNB social work students (Austin et al., 2016), social work students also report being ill-prepared to practice with TNB individuals and communities (Craig et al., 2015). Social workers are ethically obligated by their professional identification to demonstrate competency related to service provision …

“An Institution Can Have Good Intentions And Still Be Atrocious": Transgender And Gender Expansive Experiences In Social Work Education, M. Killian Kinney, Darren Cosgrove, Tayon R. Swafford, Richard A. Brandon-Friedman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Educational settings have been found to be challenging arenas for transgender and gender expansive (TGE) youth and young adults due to misgendering, lack of affirming bathrooms, systemic exclusion (e.g., legal names and lack of inclusive gender identity demographic options), and frequent silence or avoidance related to TGE issues. Though studies of TGE adult experiences in higher education are emerging, most explore disaffirming experiences. Social work education focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion, along with how to promote social justice, which suggests more affirming environments for TGE individuals. However, little is known about the experiences of TGE students and even less …

Teaching Beyond Trans-Competency: Exploring Trans-Affirming Pedagogy Through Applied Case Studies, Sam Harrell, Sarah Mountz, Hazel (Bobbi) Ali Zaman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this paper, we share two applied case studies social work instructors can use to teach trans-affirming, anti-oppressive practice. These cases span two practice arenas, child welfare and low-barrier shelter services, and are derived from practice in the authors’ personal and professional experiences in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions of the United States. For each case, we describe the accompanying class context, share our pedagogical approach, name the underlying assumptions and structures that facilitate harm, explore relevant practice skills, and identify theoretical, philosophical, and ethical commitments essential for trans-affirming practice. Our approach to social work education on transgender and gender …

Between The Noise And Silence: An Autoethnography Challenging Schools Of Social Work To Evolve For Trans Students, Isaac M. Akapnitis, G. Trey Jenkins, Natasha S. Mendoza

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work programs have been largely silent in the face of legislative at- tacks on transgender/nonbinary (TGNB or “trans”) communities across the U.S., which signals to TGNB students that they may not be supported in their respective programs. Consequently, TGNB students, staff, and faculty shoulder the burden to advocate for change within social work academic institutions and to speak out about violence perpetrated against TGNB communities. Using our voices as two trans doctoral students and a queer cisgender associate professor, we employed collaborative and critical autoethnography to share insights about the impact of this burden on TGNB social work students …