Discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social work students can negatively affect academic performance and personal and professional identity development. Intersectionality is a conceptual approach that states that social identities interact to form different meanings and experiences from those that could be…

As social work educators, much of our practice involves helping students think critically about complex political, economic, and social issues. One of the most complex and contentious sociopolitical issues of our time has been civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. This teaching note considers how we, as LGBT…

This article presents findings from the first national surveys of United States and English- speaking Canadian MSW social work faculty examining their support of curriculum content on sexual orientation and gender identity. Faculty in either country are generally supportive of including LGBT content but report significantly more support for…

Little research exists on how self-disclosure is taught in social work education (Pianko, 2001). Few social work education programs include precontemplative components of exploring identity for gay male students. In this study, the data from 4 focus groups of gay male therapists, who discussed their self-disclosure, decision-making processes, were…

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…

This article reviews how sexuality is addressed in the curricula of Norwegian social work bachelor's programs. The purpose of the review was to examine whether heteronormativity was problematized in social work curricula. A keyword search revealed that sexuality was addressed in only 0.08% of curriculum materials in the 2013-2014 academic year (90…

This exploratory study examined MSW education's organizational-level lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) competence. Data were gathered from a sample of MSW program directors, faculty members, and students (N=1385) from 34 MSW programs in the United States. Hierarchical linear modeling analyzed differences in perceptions of…

Few studies have examined social work students' reflections on and experiences working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning persons and addressing the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexuality within practice. This study explored current master's of social work student (n = 11) and recent graduate (n = 7) reflections on…

The purpose of this study was to explore field instructors' experiences and insights in working with lesbian and gay MSW students. In-depth 1- to 1.5-hour interviews were conducted with 8 field instructors selected using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using narrative thematic analysis and a constant comparative method. One set of themes…

This article examines the experiences of 19 women who self-identify as lesbian or bisexual as they pursue degrees in accredited master of social work educational programs located within the Southern United States. The pervasive discomfort and silence surrounding lesbian and bisexual issues, as well as the privileging of heterosexuality experienced…

Social work students' responses to their professor's in-class disclosure of homosexuality are examined. Topics addressed include student awareness of gay/lesbian issues, reactions to disclosure, effect on learning environment, recognition of homophobia and heterosexism, classroom power balance, relationship between personal and political actions,…