Measuring Rights-Based Perspectives: A Validation of the Human Rights Lens in Social Work Scale

Abstract

A B S T R A C T Objective: This article reports the initial validation of the Human Rights Lens in Social Work (HRLSW) scale, a tool designed to measure a social work er's ability to see individual and social problems as resulting from human rights violations. The purpose of the research was to gather evidence regarding the valid ity of this multidimensional measure of a new construct, i.e., human rights lens. Method: Data from a convenience sample of 1,014 licensed clinical social workers were collected by electronic survey, and the sample was split to conduct discrete exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The exploratory factor analysis was performed on half of the sample (n 5 507) to establish the underlying factor struc ture of the construct; the other half of the sample (n 5 507) underwent a confirma tory factor analysis to examine the subsample's psychometric properties. Results: A respecified model using only one error covariance fit the data very well. All fit indi ces were within their critical values (x 2 /df ratio 5 1.5; CFI 5.99; TLI 5 .99; RMSEA 5 .03; SRMR 5 .03). Thus, factor analysis confirms a two-factor, 11-item model for the HRLSW scale, consisting of two subscales, clients seen as experiencing rights viola tions, and social problems seen as rights violations. Conclusions: This scale is a useful tool for educators, researchers, and practitioners who want to practice-or promote the practice of-social work as a human rights profession. K E Y W O R D S : social work, social workers, human rights, human rights practice, validation studies

A Social Work Education Grounded in Human Rights

“…A human rights lens applied to field practicum encourages the emerging social worker to not only promote individual rights but also to assess structural inequities impacting clients and advocate for justice in community and policy settings (Gatenio Gabel, 2014;McPherson et al, 2017). Learning agreements, commonly individualized, are used to plan learning opportunities, connect field work to the classroom, and serve as a basis for evaluation to ensure core competencies are met (Tapp, 2012).…”

“…McPherson and colleagues developed and validated three scales for assessing human rights exposure in social work curricula, the human rights lens, and human rights engagement in social work practice (McPherson & Abell, 2012;McPherson et al, 2017). Assessing human rights exposure and engagement in social work curricula may assist with both explicit and implicit curriculum improvements to better prepare social work students for human rights engagement in practice at multiple levels.…”

“…The 11-item scale (ɑ = 0.88) was composed of two subscales (McPherson et al, 2017). Both subscales used a 7-pt Likert scale.…”

Social work research and human rights: where do we go from here?

“…In the meanwhile, this declaration led to a renewed and vital body of scholarship on the role of human rights for social work (see for example Ife, 2001;Reischert, 2007;Wronka, 2008). McPherson et al (2017), for example, made a plea for a human rights perspective in social work that helps shape understandings of who is disadvantaged and who is not, but also enables the social work community to identify macro-forces at work as well as the need for intervention on the macro-level. In that vein, Ife (2001) distinguishes between a top-down and a bottom-up approach to human rights in social work, referring to the discursive nature of human rights.…”

“…A sole focus on this legally guaranteed function of rights is nonetheless not enough, as it entails the risk that rights are seen as a purely individual matter. As McPherson et al (2017) argue, a human rights lens however goes beyond a legalistic understanding of human rights and engages with a socio-political interpretation of human rights, addressing the question: how can social work shape society in such a way that human rights and social justice are substantively realised? The inductive approach, on the other hand, thus starts from the realities and complexities emerging in everyday social work practice situations of citizens who experience a kind of second-class citizenship and then asks: what are the human rights issues at stake and how can they be realised?…”