THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN BSW PROGRAMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION IN THE U.S.

Abstract

The Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) instruction on diversity and social justice is central to the mission of social work education. The population of the United States has become more diverse and social work education has a pressing need to ensure students understand how diversity and social justice issues shape human experiences. Little research has systematically examined Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) programs in that regard. This paper examines correlations among demographic characteristics and program directors' impressions on teaching diversity and social justice in the United States' (BSW) programs. Using Qualtrics, a web-based survey tool, 36 program directors responded to a 47-item instrument composed of both closed and open-ended questions. Content analysis of the data was conducted with the assistance of Nvivo 12 to identify themes and nodes. However, due to inadequate information from the program directors, the open-ended questions were analyzed using thematic analysis. Emergent themes primarily pertained to implicit and explicit curricula. A central finding from the data was that there was variation in the way schools approached instruction regarding diversity and social justice assessment. The study raises questions for continued research and may have implications for the role of accrediting organizations in offering guidelines for diversity and social justice instruction and assessment.