Browsing by Subject "Social work education"

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Engaging diversity and difference in practice : towards a conceptual framework for assessing student outcomes
(2014-05) Pulliam, Rose Marie; Gilbert, Dorie J.; Anastas, Jeane; Davis, Tamara; DiNitto, Diana; Jones, Barbara; Streeter, Calvin
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the sole accrediting body for social work education at the baccalaureate and master's levels in the United States, articulates the competencies that social work students should achieve through the Educational Policy and Standards (EPAS). Educational Policy 2.1.4, "to engage diversity and difference in practice" (CSWE, 2008), serves as the primary standard related to students' achievement of the ability to work with diverse populations in a competent manner. This standard is operationalized by only four very broad and relatively abstract practice behaviors. Although cultural competence models are the primary framework used for designing curriculum to help students achieve the engaging difference and diversity competency, critiques about the utility of cultural competence models abound. There is also a lack of literature that analyzes the relationship of cultural competence and engaging diversity and difference in practice concepts. The lack of clear conceptualization creates difficulty with identifying and evaluating specific outcomes and developing social work education programming that effectively addresses the outcomes desired. This dissertation presents an exploration of the construct, engaging diversity and difference in practice, through three articles describing two studies and a conceptual application of theory. The first article describes Critical Race Theory and used the theory as an approach for a logic model of a social justice course that has utility for teaching students to engage diversity and difference in practice. The second article explored social work faculty's experience of student's achievement of engaging diversity and difference in practice. This article reports findings from a qualitative study that yielded themes that describe the demonstration of engaging diversity and difference in practice. The third article describes findings from a concept mapping study that examined engaging diversity and difference in practice from the perspectives of social work faculty and field instructors. Comparisons between faculty and field instructors' ratings of importance, ease of assessment, and whether they adequately assess each element are reported. This dissertation addresses gaps in the literature and through the development of a conceptual framework moves toward the conceptualization and measurement of student outcomes in a key core competency.
Teaching and learning about race, racism, and Whiteness : towards anti-racist social work education
(2018-11-29) Olcoń, Katarzyna Jadwiga; Gilbert, Dorie J.; Rountree, Michele A.; Gulbas, Lauren; Padilla, Yolanda; Cokley, Kevin
Inadequate attention to race, racism, and Whiteness in social work education limits the profession’s ability to effectively prepare students to work with racial and ethnic minority groups, and undermines our commitment to furthering social justice. Guided by critical race theory and critical Whiteness theory, this three-article dissertation contributes to the social work education discourse on engaging students in critical dialogues on race, racism, and Whiteness. The first article systematically reviewed prior literature on the range and efficacy of social work education approaches to teaching about racial and ethnic diversity. The review revealed that while many studies reported positive student learning outcomes, as a whole, the studies lacked methodological rigor and sound theoretical grounding. The field thus lacks an intentional and systematic approach to teaching and evaluating student learning outcomes particularly related to race, racism, and Whiteness. The second study utilized ethnographic observations, analysis of reflective journals, and in-depth interviews with 19 U.S. college students who participated in a study abroad program in Ghana to examine their learning and meaning-making related to the history of racial oppression. The following themes were identified through inductive thematic analysis: (1) the suffering and resilience of African and African descent people; (2) “It’s still happening today”; (3) “You don’t learn about that in school”; and (4) remembrance, equity, and healing. Students expressed a frustration with significant knowledge gaps from the U.S. education system and believed a forthright education and dialogue about the history of racial injustice is a first step toward creating a racially equitable society. Using a case study design with elements of narrative data analysis, the third article examined experiences and responses of six White social work students learning about Whiteness in Ghana. Their stories exposed varied responses to “confronting” Whiteness, including avoidance and withdrawal, shock and defensiveness, humility, transformation, and goals of becoming anti-racism advocates. The researcher, a White co-creator of these stories, examined her positionality and experiences relating to the students during the research process. Recommendations for social work education, research, and practice are discussed with particular focus on anti-racism pedagogy and reflective, experiential, and emotional domains of learning.