The Korean “Human Rights Lens in Social Work” Scale Equips Social Workers to Promote Human Rights in Social Service Settings

Abstract

This study presents the validation of Korean version of the Human Rights Lens in Social Work (K-HRLSW) scale, a measure that can be used to foster the promotion of human rights in Korean social service settings. First, the English-language HRLSW was translated and adapted for Korean language and culture. Then, item analyses, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to verify the psychometric properties of the Korean-language scale. For cross-validity, a total of 401 social workers were randomly split into two groups (group 1 = 202; group 2 = 199) to conduct EFA and CFA on separate samples. The overall reliability of the measure was good (alpha= .796), and the reliability of the two subscales were satisfactory with .742 for “social problems as rights violations” and .795 for “clients as experiencing rights violations.” A CFA (n = 199) confirmed the overall fit of the revised model with the two factors. Thus, the K-HRLSW is a reliable and valid measure that researchers can employ to assess Korean social workers’ human rights-related competencies in practice and their ability to promote human rights in social service settings.