Reconceptualizing the Role of Identity in Social Work Education Through Liberation Pedagogy

Abstract

In response to social developments and the civil rights movement in the 1960s, the social work profession began to develop a formal identity which included a commitment to social justice. Today, that concept of social justice includes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in education and practice. Teachers and researchers have rarely assessed the use of teaching pedagogy and student experiences in diversity courses via the social work education curriculum from the lens of White students developing an understanding of social justice. A mixed method study was designed and implemented to reconceptualize the role of White identity in social work education with social work undergraduate students.

Hypothesizing that identity is influenced by both pedagogy and life experiences, social work students took part in a classroom intervention to understand how White racial identity development occurs and the role that emotional regulation has in difficult conversations which shapes behavior and action. Findings: quantitative analysis using both linear mixed models and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed a lack of statistical significance between groups due to unexpected sampling issues and possible social desirability bias. Surprising findings from the qualitative portion of the study, a phenomenology, provided surprising support of the intervention and the utility of the teaching model. Modifications to the study design and broader intervention application for future replication are explored. 

The full findings of this study are presented in three manuscripts, the first theoretical, exploring the early conceptualizations of identity in social work with particular attention to social justice and White Racial Identity Development theory. The second manuscript explores using liberation pedagogy in the classroom to quantitatively assess for change in White racial identity status and frequency of anti-racist behavior with 17 undergraduate students. The third manuscript shares results of a hermetical phenomenology to understand student's life experiences and how those experiences contributed to their overall development as social workers. In sum, the role of values, dissonance, relationships, and curiosity emerged as important to understanding the overall development of students. Implications for education and practice are provided.