Teaching Strategies for Addressing Poverty Awareness With Aspiring Helping Professionals

Othelia Eun-Kyoung Lee,Mary Ann Priester

doi:10.1177/2158244016673132

Othelia Eun-Kyoung Lee, Mary Ann Priester

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016673132

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Abstract

This study describes the use of guided learning activities that exposed aspiring helping professionals to the challenges and discrimination experienced by individuals living in poverty. Pretest/posttest and qualitative analysis of participants’ reactions to a Poverty Simulation and a Bridges Out of Poverty Workshop were analyzed to explore perceived learning benefits reported by 43 master of social work (MSW) students. Incorporating poverty content into masters-level social work curriculum stimulated classroom discussions about how the lived experiences of individuals living in poverty impact the service relationship between helping professionals and clients. This observational study evaluated the effectiveness of the used strategies and methods in impacting individual assumptions about socioeconomic class and illustrated the value of university–community collaborations in supporting diversity education and awareness both on and off campus.

Highlights

The neoliberal economic policies of the past 25 years have culminated in increased poverty rates and income inequality (Coburn, 2004)
Compared with the 50 most populous cities in the United States, the southeastern city in which this study was conducted was recently rated as having the lowest social mobility with only 4.4% of children born in the bottom fifth income level likely to move to the top fifth income level during their lifetime (Chetty, Hendren, Kline, & Saez, 2014)
A non-structural view of poverty increases the likelihood that helping professionals will be unsupportive, un-empathetic, and unable to challenge policy and organizational culture to best serve individuals living in poverty. These findings suggest that levels of poverty awareness impact helping professionals’ interactions and practice with individuals living in poverty

Summary

Introduction

The neoliberal economic policies of the past 25 years have culminated in increased poverty rates and income inequality (Coburn, 2004). Compared with the 50 most populous cities in the United States, the southeastern city in which this study was conducted was recently rated as having the lowest social mobility with only 4.4% of children born in the bottom fifth income level likely to move to the top fifth income level during their lifetime (Chetty, Hendren, Kline, & Saez, 2014) This inability of a person to move up the economic ladder highlights tremendous racial and socioeconomic disparities in the region—factors which inhibit the ability of many individuals and families to reach goals of higher education and/ or move out of poverty (Chetty et al, 2014; U.S Census Bureau, 2010).

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