Social work students, regardless of their multiple social identities in oppressed and oppressor groups, are called upon to take action against social injustice. This conceptual article introduces the Ally Model of social justice and its alignment with social work values and goals and recommends it to social work educators as a pedagogical tool to…

The pink triangle exercise is an example of an experiential learning exercise that creates cognitive dissonance and deep learning of unrealized internalized biases among social work students. Students wear a button with a pink triangle on it for 1 day and write a reflection paper. The exercise increases self-awareness, cultural competence, and the…

The primary purpose of faculty development is to create and sustain a culture of teaching excellence. For social work faculty, an important part of teaching excellence involves incorporating core social work values such as social justice and diversity across the curriculum and developing pedagogical skills and strategies to teach these issues…

Service-learning is a pedagogical approach that integrates students' classroom instruction with community experience. This article discusses qualitative results from a national survey examining service-learning in Council on Social Work Education--accredited baccalaureate programs. Almost 80% of the 202 program respondents required…

Methods of incorporating culturally competent practice and social justice curricula often are addressed in a required course or across courses using an infusion model. This research explored multicultural curricula and MSW students' attitudes about race and diversity. Data were collected from 297 MSW students enrolled at two universities.…

Social workers are poised to play an important role in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings; however, they need the knowledge and skills necessary to make a meaningful contribution. This article presents learning activities that infuse ECEC content, centered on the following four areas for social work education: (1) history of the…

This paper describes a transcultural perspective, employed by one social work program, as an integrative framework for addressing diversity throughout the curriculum. The transcultural perspective incorporates five interrelated but distinct dimensions: (1) culture (recognizing the importance of culture at all levels of practice); (2) understanding…

This paper articulates a curricular approach that centers on a Native American service learning course. Social work students engaged in cross-cultural immersion on a reservation in the United States. By examination of historical United States policy impacting Indian tribes and contemporary experiences that challenge basic instruction in public…

Questions pertaining to racial and cultural identification are salient among social work educators in their role as teachers in the classroom. In the context of the 21st century, as an increasing number of people cannot be classified by race, an awareness of the complexities of cultural and racial identity is more important than ever. For social…

Disparities by race/ethnicity exist in the use of children's mental health and related services. It is no doubt that many factors contribute to these disparities, but practitioner biases may be partly responsible for disparities. The purpose of this article is to show a potential link between practitioner biases and service use disparities and to…

This article provides a detailed review of the historical and theoretical context in which culturally competent practice has evolved in the social work profession and enables educators and practitioners to see holistic connections between the past and present. Historical review of the inclusion of diversity content is followed by definitions of…

Teaching about racism creates challenging issues for educators and students alike. Using experiential learning and a public-access curriculum to teach about racism and social inequality, graduate and undergraduate students participated in this elective course. The hybrid "minimester" course focused on affective responses to classroom activities,…

This article provides a pedagogical approach to presenting alternatives along with the traditional medical model in the context of mental health treatment and service provision. Given the current influence of the medical model in community mental health, this article outlines a rationale for challenging the model and considering alternative models…

This mixed-method in vivo exploratory study examines the learning strategies that prepare students for social work practice and shows that these strategies can make a measurable difference. Though many authors have called for self-awareness to promote cultural sensitivity, the concept of the integrated personal/professional self has not previously…

This paper advances the knowledge base of social work education by employing a critical social work framework to inform teaching strategies that 1) raise critical consciousness, 2) uncover privileged positions that inform research, and 3) conceptualize social work practice that disrupts privilege and oppression. The premise of a need for such…