Empowering Students in a Feminist Social Work Practice Course

Predictors of Feminist Activism among Social Work Students in the United States

“…Greater educational attainment often leads to greater levels of feminist activism for all citizens (Henderson-King & Stewart, 1999), with the effects of education being the strongest when classes directly focus on gender inequities (Duncan, 1999;Nelson et al, 2008). Among social work students, some studies contend that exposure to feminist content in classrooms fosters a greater commitment to feminist activism (Abram, Schmitz, Taylor, Tebb, & Bartlett, 2001;Black, 1994;Lincoln & Koeske, 1987;Munson & Hipp, 1998;Vinton, 1992), while other studies suggest that participation and completion of certain academic courses inspires many sorts of political activism (Butler & Coleman, 1997;Fahs, 2012;Morrison Van Voorhis & Hoestetter, 2006;Rocha, 2000;Van Soest, 1996). However, a few studies cautioned that finishing a course on oppression did not lead to higher advocacy intentions (Van Soest, 1996;Weiss & Kaufman, 2006) even while it may serve a clear consciousness-raising role (Fahs, 2012).…”

“…With injustice frames being essential to protest activities, clearly social work programs should try to motivate activism by revealing the discriminatory and exploitative nature of many United States institutions (systematic sexism, racism, classism, heteronormativity, ageism, etc.). Moreover, there is some evidence that students are more politically active after they take a class on sexism (Abram et al, 2001;Black, 1994;Lincoln & Koeske, 1987;Vinton, 1992) or any form of oppression (Morrison Van Voorhis & Hoestetter, 2006;Rocha, 2000;Van Soest, 1996). Similarly, with activist identities being important in most cases, professors must reveal the connections between client well-being and injustices in families, agencies, and political arenas.…”

The Impact of Feminism on Social Work Students in Hong Kong

“…Students need opportunities to reflect and rethink their personal biases and subjectivity, to learn how to handle their own personal issues, and to incorporate their personal issues into theory and practice (Chan & Dilworth, 1995;Parton & O'Byrne, 2000;Trotter & Leech, 2003). Without such changes in social work education, the profession cannot move toward effective non-oppressive and empowering practice (Abram, Schmitz, Taylor, Tebb, & Bartlett 2001;Rose, 2000).…”

Computer Technology for the Feminist Classroom

“…Such an approach may be especially beneficial to instructors in schools of social work, where students are predominantly female. Teaching methods that are informed by feminist principles have been used for social work courses on research (Globerman & Chan, 2000), practice (Abram, Schmitz, Taylor, Tebb, & Bartlett, 2001;Bartlett & Tebb, 1995;Dore, 1994;Pennell, Flaherty, Gravel, Milliken, & Neuman, 1993), and policy (Pennell et al, 1993). This article describes the use of three feminist pedagogical strategies that involved computer technology in a social work course on oppression and diversity and evaluates the students' perceptions of the learning experience.…”