Social Work Commons^™

Call To Action: Disability Justice As A Framework To End Punishment Of And Advance Liberatory Education For Disabled Students, Jacy Hornsby, Jelena Todic

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The absence of disabled students in higher education, including social work, is a problem not only because of the missed educational opportunities and adverse effect on their earning potential but because disabled people’s knowledge, lived experiences, and skills can enhance social work services, advance innovation in knowledge production, and contribute to transformative organizational and movement leadership. School punishment, including suspensions, expulsions, and arrests, contributes to the absence of disabled people in higher education and begins as early as preschool. However, even for disabled students who graduate from high school and enroll in higher education, punishment continues covertly throughout higher education. …

Re-Imagining Neoliberal Ideologies In Social Work Education Using Critical Feminist And Disability Theories: A Phenomenological Autoethnographic Account, Stephanie L. Baird, Ami Goulden

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This brief commentary paper provides a phenomenological autoethnographic account of our personal and reflexive experiences of re-imagining dominant neoliberal ideologies in social work education. We draw upon our involvement as instructors of an individual and families social work practice course to illustrate how we problematized and disrupted traditional bio-medicalized and ableist practice approaches by adopting an intersectional crip lens. Our reflections are organized into four areas of consideration: 1) the theorization of an intersectional crip lens, 2) re-envisioning course content and traditional frameworks of practice, 3) examining and disrupting ableism within social work education, and 4) centering the voices of …

Action Steps Toward Dismantling Ableism In Social Work Education, Laura J. Wernick, Rose C. B. Singh, Natasha M. Lee-Johnson, Shanna K. Kattari, Brendon Holloway

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite social work’s commitment to social justice, ableism remains rampant among social work programs. Students and faculty often have to fight in order to have their basic accommodations and access needs met, disability is frequently missing from social work education’s discussions of diversity, and it is often implied that disabled people will be our clients, while social workers themselves are non-disabled. There is a glaring gap in our profession when it comes to engaging with and supporting disabled individuals. More than that, basic access is not enough; rather, we must work towards active inclusion and affirmation in order to be …

“Everyone Else Gets To Have The American Dream:” How Social Security Disability Policy Shapes Disability Identity, Katie Savin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the United States welfare state, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is the primary institution that shapes the disability experience through its disability benefit programs. This study used qualitative methods to explore 33 disabled adult beneficiaries’ experience with SSI/SSDI policy administration and the impact on their sense of worth, self-concept, and identity. Critical Disability Studies and a constructivist grounded theory approach drove data analysis. What emerged from the data was a negative disability identity experience referred to as the Social Security model of disability. Capitalist ideals that assign morality to formal work meant that disabled participants faced exclusion and stigma …

Historical Trauma And The Disability Community, Susan Neely-Barnes, Melissa Hirschi, Laura Taylor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The theory of historical trauma has emerged as an important perspective for understanding historically oppressed communities, especially communities racialized as black or brown. The theory has been given relatively little attention in disability studies and in practice with people with disabilities. People with disabilities have experienced historical marginalization, oppression, and genocide and continue to experience oppression today. This paper explores the elements of historical trauma and how they apply to the disability experience. Future research in disability studies and social work should consider the historical trauma perspective. An understanding of historical trauma would tie social work practice more closely with …

Towards Addressing Poverty And Inequality In Nigeria: Rethinking Social Protection Strategies, Olanrewaju O. Ogunnubi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Poverty and inequality are major issues that fuel agitations and violent conflicts in Nigeria today. Although the Nigerian government continues to implement various social protection strategies, these have not been able to bridge the vast poverty and inequality gap in the country. This study examines social protection programs in Nigeria. It draws out observable challenges in the implementation of these programs and provides recommendations for improving social protection schemes in the country. The study adopts a qualitative historical analysis approach with data obtained from secondary sources. The study reveals that social protection schemes have largely failed to bridge the widening …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 51, Issue 3 (2024)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Teaching About Black Adolescents’ Exposure To Trauma: A Mixed Methods Study, Bridget E. Weller, Winifred Wilson, Jaimie E. Sullivan, Brittney E. Ivy, Bakari A. Wallace

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Black adolescents are exposed to race-based forms of historical, structural, cultural, and interpersonal dimensions of trauma. However, social work educators have little evidence-based guidance on how to teach this content in a way that improves graduate students’ sense of self-efficacy (i.e., belief in their ability) to work with Black adolescents who experience trauma. The purpose of this sequential mixed methods study was to examine and understand possible reasons for changes in students’ self-efficacy after completing a graduate-level, elective course in social work that aimed to prepare students to professionally work with Black adolescents who experienced trauma. Quantitative findings from a …

Analysis Of Trauma Screening As A Potential Predictor Of Congregate Care Placement As A Key Factor In Caseworker Decision Making, Amy Louise Perricone

Dissertations

The placement of foster care children into congregate care (CC) facilities has been debated regarding whether CC can provide safety and healing, or if it is harmful and retraumatizing to children. In recent years CC has come under scrutiny due to high per diem costs and increasing reports of abuse and even death of children. In response, the federal Families First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) was enacted in 2018 with a goal of reducing the number of children in CC. Since then, efforts have been implemented nationwide to achieve this goal. This study explored the value of statewide trauma screening …

Elucidating College Students’ Stressors: Photovoice As A Pedagogical Tool And Qualitative Methodology, Deanne Priddis, Heather L. Hundley

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Traditional research examining student stress relies on surveys using pre-determined categories. This study diverts from that approach by adopting a Communication in Conflict class assignment over seven classes (N = 115) using photovoice to determine if results fluctuate by using a different methodology. Additionally, we sought to understand if the sources of stress vary by gender and semester. The data revealed seven categories as the main stressors of student conflict: 1) time management, 2) mental health, 3) finding oneself, 4) future uncertainty, 5) other, 6) financial, and 7) past mistakes. Regardless of participants’ sex/gender or semester in which the data …

Feasibility Of A Stress Reduction Program Among Foster Youth In College, Alexis Melinda Ferioli Morin, Jennifer E. Lape

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Foster youth endure traumatic adversities, which can lead to obstacles when transitioning to young adulthood and pursuing postsecondary education. This vulnerable population is required to navigate independent living while also managing stress that commonly arises from postsecondary education.

Method: A pre test, post test pilot design was employed to determine the potential impact and feasibility of an evidenced-based multi-factorial stress management program in reducing foster youth’s perceived stress during postsecondary education. Participants (n = 3) received one, 90-min individual occupational therapy session weekly over 6 weeks. Author-generated stress management surveys along with the Perceived Stress Scale …

Transracial Adoption; Cultural Pedagogy In The Context Of Social Work, Tianna Smith

Honors Theses

Through a mixed-methods survey of a convenience sample of social workers' attitudes, this paper investigates foster care and adoption social workers’ attitudes toward the process of transracial adoption. Survey responses were analyzed using groups made up entirely of foster care and adoption social workers. The findings of this study support previous research on social workers' attitudes toward transracial adoption and difficulties they face in finding a family with different cultural backgrounds.

Anti-Transgender Policies And Practices In Social Work Education, Accreditation, And Licensing: A Call For Change, Darren L. Whitfield, Liam Westgate, Rachel E. Gartner, Leah A. Jacobs, Brittanie Atteberry-Ash

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The social work profession is guided by the values of social justice and the dignity and worth of the person. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics requires that all social workers act in a professional manner consistent with these values. These values mandate that social workers “challenge social injustice on behalf of and in concert with vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups.” Yet, historically, and contemporarily, the social work profession and national professional organizations (i.e., NASW, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Associate of Social Work Boards (ASWB), Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), …

An Introduction To The Special Issue, Megan S. Paceley, Candace Christensen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Problematizing Of Teen Pregnancy Is A Feminist Issue, Amy E. Nourie

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Teen pregnancy has long been considered a social and moral problem in the United States. Politicians and community organizations have repeatedly attempted to ameliorate this social issue by enacting legislation and promoting educational campaigns for prevention. These campaigns and legislative measures mention the long-term consequences of bearing a child as a young woman, though they fail to discuss how and why teenage pregnancy became an American issue in the first place. While feminists critique public responses to motherhood and mothering, teen pregnancy is not necessarily seen as a feminist issue. The problematizing of teen pregnancy in American social history, however, …

Review Of Psychiatric Casualties: How And Why The Military Ignores The Full Cost Of War By Mark C. Russell And Charles Figley, Brian Graves

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Psychiatric Casualties: How and Why the Military Ignores the Full Cost of War. Columbia University Press, 2021. 447 pages.

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 …

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, …

“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 …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 50, Issue 2 (2023)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

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 …

Volume 50, Issue 1 (2023)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

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 …

"We're All We Have": Envisioning The Future Of Mutual Aid From Queer And Trans Perspectives, Brendon T. Holloway, C. Riley Hostetter, Karaya Morris, Jax Kynn, Maximillion Kilby

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Mutual aid has prevailed for as long as humans have existed. However, the concept of mutual aid became popularized in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial uprisings in response to the continued police brutality toward Black people, and an increase in global climate crises. Mutual aid spread as a way of survival and collective care when formal systems, such as federal and local governments within the U.S., were failing to meet people's needs. Using a subset of data from semi-structured interviews, the current study relied on a desire-based research framework and foresight lens to capture the …

Applications Of Transformative Justice Principles For Centering Transgender And Gender Expansive Experiences In Social Work Education And Practice, E. Bickford, Angela Matijczak, Aaron Kemmerer, Florence Martinez, M. Alex Wagaman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work education has traditionally used frameworks, such as cultural competency, to guide implicit and explicit curricula that shape how we think about communities that live and thrive outside of white supremacist and cis/heteronormative norms and values. While the cultural competency framework intends to promote a level of consciousness and attention that is required to practice with diverse individuals, families, and communities whose identities differ from that of the social worker, it instead inadvertently creates a knowledge base that reinforces harmful power dynamics between social worker and client/community. The cultural competency framework is absent of historical and structural context and …

Deconstructing The Administrative State”: Legal Trends And Consequences, Vicki Lens

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Attacks on the administrative state are escalating. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is on track to reverse key pillars of administrative law that gives deference to an agency’s expertise and knowledge when interpreting its authorizing statute. This article explores the legal, ideological, and philosophical underpinnings of these doctrinal changes in administrative law and the likely effect on administrative governance. It aims to inform non legal stakeholders, including social workers, how legal doctrines and principles shape what executive agencies do, the consequences of doctrinal changes, and the implications for administrators, those they serve, and the larger body politic.

Racial Microaggressions And Asian Americans' Well-Being: A Scoping Review And Exploratory Meta-Analysis, Shinwoo Choi, Amy Alberton, Hyejoon Park, Eun-Jee Song, Heather Gough, Inyoung Stella Lee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BACKGROUND: Racial microaggressions continue to be a serious problem in the United States. While racialized microaggressions have been a long standing, though under explored, issue for all Asian Americans, Covid significantly amplified both overt and microaggression-based discrimination against Asian Americans because of the links between the origins of the viral spread and China (Lee & Waters, 2021). Despite this history of discrimination against Asian Americans, research in the area of microaggressions has lagged compared to other groups. However, research in this area has recently grown significantly, warranting a synthetic study of existing literature in order to better frame understandings of …

Book Review Of A Clinician's Guide To Gender Actualization: An Approach To Gender Affirming Therapy By Caitlin Yilmazer, Melinda Mccormick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of A Clinician’s Guide to Gender Actualization: An Approach to Gender Affirming Therapy. Routledge, 2022. 157 pages.

Review Of The Philosophical Roots Of Loneliness And Intimacy: Political Narcissism And The Problem Of Evil By Ben Lazare Mijuskovic, Seunghyun (Max) Moon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of The Philosophical Roots of Loneliness and Intimacy: Political Narcissism and the Problem of Evil. Springer Nature, 2021. 225 pages.