Abstract
The field of social work has a professional and ethical commitment to social justice. However, scholars have identified potential dangers that may threaten that commitment. To transform dangers into opportunities that strengthen social justice service, schools of social work could incorporate critical pedagogy within the Master of Social Work (MSW) curriculum. By training future social workers in critical social work practice, social work education becomes an advocate for marginalized populations. If not educated from an anti-oppressive framework, social workers have the potential to harm, oppress, and control rather than support and serve. The weight of this responsibility and firsthand social work education experiences led to the development and implementation of an elective course in critical social work informed by the Critical Transformative Potential Development (CTPD) Framework. The course follows a method that puts the CTPD theory into practice to bridge the micro-macro divide by engaging students in actively dismantling ideologies and practices of dominance. The course aims to produce anti-oppressive social workers who can better navigate social justice terrain. A student’s perspective on the course highlights strengths and areas for improvement. Future iterations of this class or similar courses of study could be adapted by and adopted for other social work education institutions. Because social work education is fertile ground to plant seeds that will grow social workers rooted in anti-racism and anti-White supremacy, there is the opportunity, with a radical education, to transform the field in a critical direction, better prepared to overcome the social justice challenges of the era.
Highlights
The field of social work has a professional and ethical commitment to social justice
Social work education is fertile ground to plant seeds that will produce social workers rooted in anti-oppressive and anti-White supremacy Transformative Potential whose work will steer the field in a radical direction
This paper about an elective course in Critical Social Work attempts to bridge the gap between theory, education, practice, and research
Summary
It is important to note that the piloting of this elective course influenced the Critical Transformative Potential Development Framework in that relationship building (affinity) was extracted as a fifth dimension. They summarized how their findings from the annotated bibliography converged or diverged with their findings from the member checking process They discussed how their thinking had been informed to imagine potential actions to address the social issue. The elective course invited a student company of Applied Theatre practitioners to start the process of putting “know how” into action through embodied experiences that engage multiple faculties, access points, and ways into doing this work starting from the knowledge already possessed. The framework asserts that once participants develop higher levels of awareness of systemic factors; hold themselves accountable for addressing the issue; and cultivate efficacy, they will develop and execute action strategies that continue to develop Critical Transformative Potential. Critical Social Work - with CAPEs that apply empathic concern and humanizing action - can dismantle social injustice and support liberation
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