This Teaching Note introduces a practicum-based instructional model designed to enhance Master of Social Work (MSW) students' research education by embedding real-world program evaluation projects within their field placements. Recognizing persistent challenges in research instruction, such as student anxiety, limited faculty expertise, and fragmented course design, this approach integrates classroom learning with hands-on evaluation experiences that are directly aligned with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), particularly Competency 4 on research-informed practice and practice-informed research. The model features a structured sequence of research courses supported by interactive pedagogy, mentoring, and reflective practice. Students engage in applied evaluation activities, including pre-post outcome assessments, client satisfaction surveys, and practitioner job satisfaction studies, which allow them to develop practical research skills in agency settings. These projects are framed as program evaluation rather than formal research, enabling students to explore ethical implementation and methodological rigor without the pressure of producing statistically significant or generalizable results. In collaboration with the university Institutional Review Board (IRB), students complete mock IRB applications and obtain agency support letters, reinforcing ethical awareness and institutional compliance. This experiential learning model fosters student confidence, reduces anxiety, and strengthens the connection between research and practice. The Teaching Note offers a replicable framework for social work educators seeking to improve research instruction, promote evidence-based decision-making, and prepare MSW students for professional roles that demand analytical thinking, ethical inquiry, and practice-based evaluation.
Traditionally, research has been the primary source of academic merit, also within departments of social work. Teaching has occupied a marginal position. In recent decades, however, teaching has gained growing attention and institutional recognition. Today, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is a movement that promotes systematic inquiry into student learning with the aim of improving educational practice. While welcoming this reform, the author also points to a problematic bias in which traditional teaching methods are often regarded as largely irrelevant. This bias, according to the author, may stem from a selective and sometimes superficial engagement with educational theory. The author argues that university teachers should adopt an eclectic stance, alternating between different teaching methods according to their students' learning needs. This claim is substantiated by linking higher education teaching practices to foundational theories and debates in pedagogy, and by relating these to positions in cognitive psychology and epistemology. The text takes an essayistic1 form, as the author draws not only on academic literature but also on personal experience as a social worker, a professor, and a member of many academic promotion committees.
There is a growing recognition of the need for the social work profession to respond to the climate crisis. However, few opportunities exist for students to learn about environmental change and its connections with social welfare. This article describes the development and teaching of a new elective, intended to help students to bridge environmental and social action, in both policy and practice. The article explores the opportunities and challenges that shaped the course, from reengaging with natural and built environments as a determinant of wellbeing, to understanding the complex and multi-faceted human impacts of the climate crisis. The article also outlines the course's learning objectives, which are structured around social work's traditional three levels of practice. The macro level provides space to approach climate and environmental change from a global perspective, with a focus on human impacts, and to examine equity and justice-based approaches. At the meso- and micro-levels, the elective focuses on social workers' roles responding to intensive environmental threats, during disaster and displacement, as well as the more extensive and long-term challenges of urban environmental health and sustainability. Threaded throughout is a focus on social worker's unique and urgently needed contributions to the human dimensions of mitigation and adaptation.
Most professions require that members have acquired a degree in their discipline and the passage of some form of standardized examination. For the field of clinical social work, this involves earning a Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and subsequently completing the Licensed Clinical Worker Exam developed and prepared by the Association of Social Work Boards. Virtually all related disciplines require in their accreditation standards that degree granting programs report the licensure pass rates for their program graduates, and in many instances that the program's graduates must pass their relevant license examinations at a certain threshold, e.g. 70%. This editorial will review the requirements that related disciplines maintain with respect to reporting pass rate data in a transparent manner, and in some cases obtain a certain level of pass rates. It is important that social work adopt similar standards for its programs, particularly given recent challenges to the professional status of our discipline.
Limited research has examined MSW students' knowledge of and capacity to address child neglect while simultaneously including students' personal experiences with child neglect. To address this gap, a national sample of MSW students (n = 519) responded to items on perceived knowledge of and capacity to address child neglect as well as two adverse childhood experiences regarding physical and emotional neglect. Results found that 77.6% either agreed/strongly agreed they had sufficient knowledge of child neglect with 87.7% agreeing/strongly agreeing they had the capacity to address child neglect. The first regression model found that perceived capacity to address child neglect and number of semesters/quarters completed predicted perceived knowledge of child neglect. In the second regression mode, perceived knowledge of child neglect and personal experience of physical child neglect predicted perceived capacity to address child neglect. Findings highlight that the Dunning-Kruger effect may be pertinent to consider where students may feel they have more knowledge of and capacity to address child neglect than they actually have. Future research should include objective measures assessing these traits as understanding what students know and can do has implications for clients and families experiencing child neglect.
Antisemitism continues to rise across the globe. Social work, with its focus on social justice and oppression, should play an active role in combating this ancient oppression. However, to date, it has tended to ignore it, permitting it to flourish. History shows that antisemitism itself is often a precursor to other types of oppression and hate, and thus ignoring it should not be an option. This teaching guide provides a foundation for understanding antisemitism in its many forms, specific topics that should be covered, and references, exercises, and resources that can be adapted into social work classes to further enhance learning.
Anti-Black racism significantly impacts the mental health of Black people in America. This paper provides a concise overview of historical and contemporary manifestations of anti-Black racism and its psychological consequences, followed by a discussion of considerations for Black individuals accessing mental health treatment. After providing this overview, this paper reviews various recommendations for including content on the impact of anti-Black racism on Black mental health within social work education. By addressing these recommendations, social work education can better prepare students to effectively support the mental health of Black communities.
Qualitative research is widely used in social work dissertations, yet doctoral students often struggle to articulate and align research paradigms, theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and methods in coherent, defensible ways. When paradigmatic assumptions remain implicit or are engaged superficially, transparency and rigor in qualitative inquiry can be weakened. Drawing on scholarship on epistemological integrity, doctoral learning, and qualitative rigor, this article examines how challenges with congruence reflect not only methodological complexity but also broader disciplinary norms and epistemic hierarchies within social work education. Using an illustrative dissertation-based example, the paper demonstrates how paradigmatic commitments inform theoretical choices, methodological design, and approaches to rigor across qualitative research decisions. The article further explores how prevailing conceptions of rigor are shaped by epistemological assumptions and power relations, with particular implications for doctoral training. The paper concludes by outlining pedagogical and supervisory practices that support epistemological clarity, reflexive engagement, and methodological coherence in qualitative doctoral research. Explicitly attending to epistemological congruence can strengthen rigor, support doctoral students' intellectual authenticity, and enhance the quality of qualitative social work scholarship.
Social work is one of the leading mental health professions, yet research has indicated that social work curricula likely have limitations with preparing students to enter the mental health field. Although the social work profession reserves clinical education related to mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for graduate curriculum, we argue that generalist and foundational concepts related to mental health and mental illness should receive significant focus in baccalaureate social work education. Therefore, this article explores the extent to which mental health concepts are taught and discussed in undergraduate social work education. We asked to what extent are mental health concepts being taught and discussed in undergraduate social work curriculum? What are social work faculties' general views on undergraduate mental health education related to what should be taught, how often the concepts should be taught or discussed, and who is most qualified to teach mental health concepts? How much autonomy do social work instructors have to select course topics, readings, assignments, and learning activities in their courses? The results of this quantitative research study indicate that mental health concepts should receive greater incorporation into undergraduate social work curriculum and social work instructors maintain the autonomy to do so.
A central concern for the social work profession has been related to preparing students for social work practice in the legal context of court settings. This article focuses on a university-court teaching initiative that supported social work students to attend the General Magistrates Court, to witness court proceedings for people charged with criminal offenses and bail hearings for people being held in custody and seeking release. This paper highlights the perspectives of 43 social work students who attended and responded to an anonymous online student survey which was thematically analyzed. Three key themes were found which related to the students experiencing a "real life" experience of the criminal justice system, learning about court terminology and processes, and engaging with ethical challenges in the criminal justice system. The students reflected on how their experience developed their knowledge of social justice and human rights issues in criminal justice, which is at the forefront of students being prepared for the social work profession.
Social work is a multifaceted profession experiencing growing interest in law enforcement settings; however, many practitioners remain underprepared for the unique demands of police environments. This qualitative study explores the insights and recommendations of social workers currently practicing in law enforcement, with the goal of informing social work education and better preparing students for roles in this field. Between August and December 2022, 40 participants from across the United States were interviewed. Analysis revealed four key themes: practical application and teaching, classroom exposure, comfort with discomfort, and self-care and self-actualization. These themes underscore the importance of integrating real-world experiences into curricula, acknowledging and addressing the discomforts inherent in this work, and promoting strategies for self-preservation. The findings offer valuable guidance for educators seeking to enhance the readiness of social work students entering law enforcement contexts.
Critical thinking is a social work value that helps social work students learn more than simply what to think, but how to think. Evidence-based practice enables social workers to use critical thinking, ensuring we make use of the best information in our work with clients. Pediatric gender medicine is an area of practice in which social workers can apply critical thinking and evidence-based practice. Social work educators can set the tone in their classrooms for open discussion and teach the skills of critical thinking. They can also teach students the basic principles of evidence-based practice, and through discussion, reflection and assignments give students an opportunity to examine viewpoints about gender treatment for youth and guide them in applying critical thinking.
As theoretical education in social work comes under scrutiny amid intensifying anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion movements and broader threats to academic freedom, educators face mounting challenges in fostering intellectual environments where diverse viewpoints can be critically examined. This paper introduces an innovative Current Event Presentation assignment and its preparatory activities designed for the MSW-level Human Behavior in the Social Environment I course. Working in small groups, students select a recent news article and analyze it through the theory assigned that week. Presentations focus on applying core theoretical concepts to the case, critically evaluating the theory's fit, identifying the social work implications, and generating discussion questions to stimulate critical reflection. By anchoring conversation in theoretical frameworks rather than personal viewpoints, the assignment supports academic freedom while creating an intellectually safe space for politically sensitive dialogue. This paper also highlights two student-led presentation cases that illustrate the range and depth of the assignment. It concludes with a critical reflection on the strengths and challenges of implementing the assignment. This approach equips social work educators with a strategy for navigating complex issues, preserving academic freedom, and building students' confidence to practice critical thinking in a contested sociopolitical environment.
This article examines the fundamental incompatibility between liberal/enlightenment and postmodern/critical theory (PCT) paradigms in social work education, particularly regarding free speech and critical thinking. The liberal tradition requires free speech and critical thinking as essential tools for reasoned debate, empirical investigation, and knowledge advancement. In contrast, PCT frameworks, as self-described political movements with unfalsifiable tenets (e.g., the permanence of racism), often are not welcoming of open inquiry and external critical examination. Rather than simply critiquing current approaches, we offer concrete strategies for fostering intellectual pluralism that maintains social work's longstanding commitment to social justice while restoring critical thinking to its rightful place in professional education. The implications for social work education are profound: educators must choose between promoting genuine intellectual diversity and critical thinking or advancing political ideology. We argue that social work's ethical obligation to improve client outcomes demands pedagogical approaches grounded in rational consistency and evidentiary support. We suggest specific classroom techniques, assessment innovations, and institutional frameworks that can bridge this divide while preparing students with the analytical tools necessary to navigate complex practice realities.
The role of tenure has historically been a prominent subject of public discussion, with debate focusing on its function and impact across the broader landscape of higher education. This article critically examines the dual nature of tenure in social work education, positioning it as both a safeguard for academic freedom and as a structural force with the capacity to constrain intellectual diversity, research innovation, and pedagogical development. Drawing on literature from higher education, organizational sociology, and faculty governance, this analysis considers how, and in what ways, tenure can influence organizational culture, faculty research, teaching and curriculum development, and service engagements, with an emphasis on highlighting heterodox perspectives. Rather than advancing a prescriptive stance for or against tenure, this analysis explores how it operates as both an institutional logic and a mechanism of organizational socialization, with complex implications for academic freedom, professional identity, and the cultivation of critical thinking in schools of social work and beyond.
This paper explores the integration of critical reflection into undergraduate (BSW) and graduate (MSW) social work curricula as a transformative pedagogical tool for fostering self-awareness, critical thinking, and ethical practice. To engage effectively with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities, social workers must understand their own identities and social contexts. Critical reflection enables students to unpack underlying assumptions, interrogate power dynamics, and develop a deeper understanding of intersectionality and systemic oppression. The authors describe a two stage process of applying a critical reflection model in classroom settings to help students analyze critical incidents from practicum or life experience. Through reflective dialogue, theory-driven questioning, and structured group processes, students learn to shift from reactive problem-solving toward intentional, values-based practice. The authors offer considerations for the design and facilitation of critical reflection courses that nurture curiosity, nonjudgment, and collaborative inquiry. Emphasizing "slow pedagogy," instructors are encouraged to create space to engage with discomfort, complexity, and uncertainty. Integrating critical reflection into social work education not only enhances professional development but also resists dominant narratives that perpetuate inequity. By fostering critical consciousness, social work programs can better prepare students for ethical, anti-oppressive, and sustainable practice in the current complex sociopolitical context.
Public trust in education has reached historic lows, driven partly by persistent allegations of ideological bias. Conservative groups claim schools indoctrinate students with progressive viewpoints; many educators dismiss these concerns as politically motivated attacks. This impasse has made understanding the problem, let alone addressing it, nearly impossible. This paper offers a way forward through the concept of ideological conditioning: the presentation of politically contested assumptions as settled facts. Unlike "indoctrination," which implies intentional deception, ideological conditioning can occur through sincere belief making it both more common and more difficult to address. By clarifying how contested claims become embedded as truths, this framework provides educators with practical tools to maintain intellectual integrity while fostering genuine pluralism in the classroom.
Social work instructors are navigating educational environments that are impacted by the divisiveness apparent within society today, but few resources exist to guide them. This article attempts to contribute practical guidance for educators, especially those teaching about political issues where students, and perhaps even instructors, may possess differing perspectives that juxtapose with the official mandates of social work. This study replicated a prior study that examined the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election results by employing the same method with an updated survey to examine the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. First, this article begins with a literature review examining current scholarship addressing this issue and potential frameworks to inform instructors, which involve adapting a critical teaching pedagogy and grounding course content in social work ethics and values. Next, through a mixedmethod approach, MSW students completed a survey related to the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, including questions on political divide in their classrooms and ideas for instructors to promote civil discussions. The data were compared with the previous study and revealed insightful shifts in student political division and participation, and offered recommendations for instructors to promote inclusivity in the classroom.
