My work in the area of spirituality and religion builds on our profession's proud history of expanding diversity to include previously marginalized groups. Each iteration of diversity, however, has been met with critiques implicitly designed to affirm the status quo. In this article, I respond to criticisms that have been leveled against my…

This article contributes to discourse on signature pedagogy by reconceptualizing how our pedagogies are understood and defined for social work education. We critique the view that field education is social work's signature pedagogy and consider what pedagogies are distinct about the teaching and learning of social work. Using Shulman's…

This article is an invited response to "Toward a Learning Environment That Supports Diversity and Difference: A Response to Dessel, Bolen, and Shepardson," by David R. Hodge ("Journal of Social Work Education," 47(2), pp. 235-251). The authors agree with a number of Hodge's recommendations. First, they support Hodge's recommendation to use common…

Social work strives to be inclusive of all cultural groups and religious identities. However, a tension exists in the profession between freedom of religious expression and full acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. David Hodge and others claim social work is oppressive to evangelical Christians. This article critiques primarily Hodge's…

Echoing conflicts in society, some observers argue social work education should exclude religious students while others argue social work education should exclude gay students. Instead of perpetuating this conflict, I suggest educators should transcend it and affirm the voices of both religious believers and lesbians and gay men. After noting…

The integration of spirituality content into curricula has accelerated dramatically during the past decade. Despite this trend, little discussion has appeared in the literature about the instructional methods best suited to teach spirituality. Adopting a new approach referred to as "pedagogical pluralism," the authors suggest that some aspects of…

This article responds to Fran Danis and Lettie Lockhart's editorial in the Summer 2003 "Journal of Social Work Education" (Vol. 29, No. 2), which questions the disconnect between the battered women's movement and the social work profession regarding knowledge and practices related to domestic violence. The author examines how two factors might…

Argues that the values of the research university should not have a decreasing emphasis in social work education equivalent to its decreasing proportional numerical status. Argues that the distinctive values of the research university are particularly good for social work education, the profession, and clients, and that recognizing, articulating,…

Analyzes disability theory and content in the social work curriculum and advances a theoretically expansive approach to disability that is consistent with social work's commitment to diversity and the elimination of oppression. Suggests shifting disability content from an emphasis on individual deficiency toward addressing disability as the…

Two articles and rebuttals provide contrasting views on whether convicted felons should automatically be denied admission to a social work education program. One view focuses on the importance of the gatekeeping role in the profession whereas the other emphasizes the special understandings that such an individual, if truly reformed, can offer the…

Discusses the need to train clinical practitioners in social work to address ongoing issues of oppression. Describes a second-year Master's in Social Work clinical practice sequence taught from feminist, poststructuralist, postmodern, and social constructionist perspectives, where students learn to assess the impacts of oppression, discover…

Identifies challenges to the social work profession in an aging society including the shortage of gerontological social workers, lack of gerontological expertise and competence, negative attitudes towards older adults, inadequate social work curricula in aging, and cutbacks in federal resources. Offers strategies for enhancing gerontological…

Identifies six developments shaping the future of social work practice and field education, including: (1) economic globalization, (2) the changing political climate, (3) the growing use of technology, (4) demographic shifts and their impact on cities, (5) the changing nature of social service agencies, and (6) changes in universities. (Author/DB)

Reviews key concepts and applications of chaos theory and the broader complex systems theory in the context of general systems theory and the search for a unified conceptual framework for social work. Concludes that chaos theory shows promise as a solution to many problems posed by the now dated general systems approach. (DB)

A discussion of the increase in multiple authorship of scholarly journal articles in social work looks at the reasons for this phenomenon, implications of multiple scholarship, and potential ethical questions arising from such collaborations. Guidelines from related professions are reviewed, and comments are made concerning when and under what…