‘Politics is social work with power’: training social workers for elected office

Lane, Shannon R.; Ostrander, Jason; Smith, Timothy F.

doi:10.1080/02615479.2017.1366975

Cited by 23 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Previous research on the general political engagement of social workers has shown that the members of the profession are highly involved in policymaking processes, especially compared to the general public (Ezell, 1993;Kindler, 2021;Wolk, 1981). However, social workers who participate in voluntary political activities seem to prefer forms of engagement that require fewer resources in terms of time, money or knowledge (Lane, Ostrander & Smith, 2018). Besides voluntary political participation, social workers also engage in in policy change and effect social change as part of their work setting .…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social workers in politics–a qualitative analysis of factors influencing social workers’ decision to run for political office

Amann

Kindler

2021

European Journal of Social Work

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The aim of this qualitative study is to explore factors that influence social workers' decision to participate in parliamentary politics, and to identify important policy-making skills and competencies of social workers holding elected office. Seven semi-structured biographical interviews with social workers in Switzerland who are serving as elected politicians at local, state, or national levels were conducted and analyzed according to the principles of qualitative content analysis. Based on the Civic Voluntarism Model as well as previous studies in the field of socialization research, this study identifies families of origin and mobilization networks as main influencing factors, alongside with professional experience in social work that also plays a significant role. It can be further concluded that important skills to be successful in policy-making processes are acquired through social work education and professional practice. The results support existing findings and emphasize that to further promote political engagement, political action should be more strongly integrated into social work education and encouraged by professional associations.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social workers in politics–a qualitative analysis of factors influencing social workers’ decision to run for political office

Amann

Kindler

2021

European Journal of Social Work

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“…Real‐world educational experiences lead to increased internal political efficacy (Table ) . Students’ external political efficacy is increased through their own and their classmates’ observable achievements . Incorporating experiential health policy instruction into all basic midwifery education programs would lead to a more engaged, politically astute midwifery workforce.…”

Section: What Needs To Be Donementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A useful model for continuing midwifery education might be the Campaign School for Social Workers, a 2‐day course that prepares social work students and practitioners, as well as other human service workers, to run for office or provide meaningful support to the campaigns of others (Table ) . This educational offering, taught by social workers with political experience, is divided into 3 parts.…”

Section: What Needs To Be Donementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Part 2 provides interactive experiences with individuals who have run for office or worked full‐time in political employment. Part 3 focuses on assisting course attendees in planning their own political futures . This learning experience has been shown to be effective in raising internal political efficacy and increasing attendees’ political ambition for local and state office …”

Section: What Needs To Be Donementioning

confidence: 99%

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Women and Midwives in Politics

Hoover

2019

J Midwife Womens Health

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“…As a consequence, Patti and Dear (1975) argued "of all available avenues for social change…the legislative process would seem to demand the profession's most urgent and informed action" (p. 113). More recently, Lane, Ostrander, and Rhodes-Smith (2018) connect educating MSW students for political campaign work to "the struggle to change the oppressive social forces that keep" populations "from successfully utilizing existing structures and systems" (p. 1).…”

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confidence: 99%

Political Primacy and MSW Students' Interest in Running for Office

Meehan

2020

ASW

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Although social workers are understood to participate in politics more than the general public, little is known about their interest in running for office. To understand how individuals in "helping" professions like social work may think about running for office, this study introduces the concept of political primacy. Political primacy refers to the value individuals assign to elected office's ability to make a difference, relative to alternative ways of making a difference. Using data from the Michigan Law & Social Work Study, representing a sample of 545 MSW and 200 JD students across Michigan, political primacy was shown to significantly predict MSW students' interest in running for office at the local level. Consequently, the more MSW students see elected office as a more effective way of making a difference than alternatives, the more interested they will be in running for office. Implications for social work education are discussed, including the socialization of social work students into politics.

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‘Politics is social work with power’: training social workers for elected office

Cited by 23 publications

References 26 publications

Social workers in politics–a qualitative analysis of factors influencing social workers’ decision to run for political office

Social workers in politics–a qualitative analysis of factors influencing social workers’ decision to run for political office

Women and Midwives in Politics

Political Primacy and MSW Students' Interest in Running for Office

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