Fifteen Years of Critical Race Theory in Social Work Education

Abstract

Critical race theory (CRT) has gained traction in social work over the past decade. Its tenets expose color-evasive rhetoric embedded in social work education, moving beyond a “multicultural” education approach by delving into the barriers of institutional racism and other systems of oppression. This chapter illustrates how social work education can address racism by applying critical race pedagogy (CRP), offering lessons learned from the authors’ experiences teaching and running a Master of Social Work (MSW) program rooted in CRT. Since its founding in 2006, the California State University at Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) MSW program has explicitly and intentionally integrated CRP throughout its curriculum. A campus born out of the 1960s Watts rebellion, with 89% Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students, CSUDH remains an auspicious location for CRP. CRP is an innovative approach that not only enhances social work content but also provides a “how to” for integrating CRT into all aspects of competency-based education.