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Field instructors are critical to enacting social work's signature pedagogy as they are tasked with providing agency-based learning opportunities and supervision for students. It has been well-documented that field supervisors are instrumental in students' learning and that the supervisory relationship is central to success in field education. However, there is a dearth of research regarding issues of identity, difference, race, and/or racism in these relationships, particularly from the perspective of field instructors of color. To date, we found no published literature that focuses specifically on the experiences and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) social work field instructors. The qualitative study presented here draws upon interviews and focus groups with BIPOC field instructors to better understand how race influences their role and work with students in field settings. Key findings include: 1) race and racialized experiences are primary motivations for becoming a field instructor, 2) BIPOC field instructors integrate issues of race and racism into supervision and work with students in multiple ways, and 3) BIPOC field instructors have differential experiences when supervising White students versus students of color. Recommendations for supporting racialized field instructors in their roles and future research are discussed.

Despite the importance of field in social work education, little is known about the specific experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students in field placements. In this qualitative study with 42 social work students, we explored what factors contribute to meaningful experiences in field. Findings include: (a) connection to the practice area or community being served, (b) the importance of relationships with field instructors, including BIPOC field instructors; and (c) supportive agency context. Implications of this study support the recruitment and retention of BIPOC field instructors, continuing to build field instructors' capacity to engage with issues of race, identity, and oppression, ongoing attention to agency context, and building more robust research regarding racial equity in field.

Field education and macro practice have been highlighted as central educational domains in social work education; however, little scholarship has looked at how macro social work practice competencies have been integrated into field-based learning. This exploratory study aimed to gain perspectives from field instructors regarding macro social work and the integration of macro practice into their work with practicum students. Consistent with scholarship that has elucidated the impacts of neoliberalism on social work, including the marginalization of macro practice, emergent themes demonstrated that field instructors face barriers to incorporating macro work into their training of students. Challenges include prevalence of the medical model, time constraints, and funding limitations. Further, field instructors observed gaps among students, their university, and their organizational setting in regard to expectations for integrating macro practice into field education. Recommendations and directions for future research are discussed.

In this reflection (which is a revised version of a recent keynote address), I invite feminist social work scholars to consider what it might look like to build our scholarship through an intersectional queer praxis. I posit that as critical feminist scholars, it is important that we consider not only the topics we study but also how we do our work. Specifically, I propose an intersectional queer praxis that brings together key tenets of Slow scholarship with queer lived experiences and critical theoretical lens(es) that assert that queer is destabilizing of dominant ideologies and a challenge to normative ways of being. I discuss four interrelated dimensions of intersectional queer praxis that draw upon Slow scholarship and elements of queer life: (1) reimagining time; (2) centering relationships, community care, and collaboration; (3) embracing complexity and disrupting binaries; and (4) attention to embodiment and emotion. I argue that employing this kind of intersectional queer praxis challenges dominant approaches to academic knowledge production and carries with it new possibilities and creative imaginings for how we do our work. This talk is an invitation to think collectively, to reflect, and to raise questions for us as social work scholars as we continue to build a more robust practice of critical feminist scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity and social justice are central to social work and related curricular content is mandated by accreditation standards. However, research regarding diversity and social justice courses remains limited. This study aimed to better understand how these courses are conceptualized through a qualitative content analysis of course descriptions and objectives from 27 MSW course syllabi. Findings were organized into themes related to knowledge, skills, and values-based content areas. Emergent themes highlighted that these courses center knowledge acquisition, are linked to professional socialization, and have self-awareness as a primary goal. Implications for social work education are discussed.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues, experiences, and theorizing have had limited representation within social work education. In recent years there has been an increase in the scholarly discourse regarding queer and trans issues and social work education, but little is known about the landscape of this body of published work. In this scoping review, we explored peer-reviewed literature regarding the intersections of social work education and queer and trans experience, issues, and theorizing. Utilizing major academic databases, we identified 54 articles published in social work literature from 2010 to 2020 that met inclusion criteria. Topical areas of study included: classroom experiences of queer and trans students/faculty, student/faculty attitudes toward LGBTQ people, integration of gender and sexuality content within social work curriculum, and pedagogical strategies. In addition, we analyzed rationales for the research presented, theoretical frameworks employed, representation of identities, engagement with race, authors’ identity disclosure, and recommendations for social work education. We suggest that more scholarship is needed within social work education that centers the lived experiences of queer and trans people; asks a range of questions rooted in varied theories and epistemologies; and decenters whiteness and focuses on intersectionality within queer and trans communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of field in social work education, little is known about the specific experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students in field placements. In this qualitative study with 42 social work students, we explored what factors contribute to meaningful experiences in field. Findings include: (a) connection to the practice area or community being served, (b) the importance of relationships with field instructors, including BIPOC field instructors; and (c) supportive agency context. Implications of this study support the recruitment and retention of BIPOC field instructors, continuing to build field instructors' capacity to engage with issues of race, identity, and oppression, ongoing attention to agency context, and building more robust research regarding racial equity in field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable research highlights the value of mentorship to the professional development of early career faculty in academia, yet less research focuses on factors motivating individuals to provide formal guidance to junior colleagues. Given that new social work faculty, in particular, may not receive sufficient mentoring, understanding what attracts senior scholars to serve as mentors can inform the development of future endeavors to promote mentorship programs in social work. This article presents findings from interviews with eight out of nine faculty leaders from the Summer Institute on Aging and Social Work, an advanced training program in aging research for social work faculty, regarding what prompted their participation in an ongoing mentorship role and how they were impacted by serving in such a capacity. Results from thematic analysis reveal three primary domains in faculty mentors' narratives: (a) their role and experiences in the institute, (b) reflections on the program itself, and (c) advice for emergent social work scholars in aging. Faculty unanimously asserted that the personal and professional satisfaction stemming from mentoring early career academics strongly motivated their participation in the institute. In addition, they appreciated the mutual learning that arose as they shared expertise in research and grantsmanship, while gaining knowledge from institute participants regarding social work's unique perspective on aging-related issues. Advice for emergent scholars centered on encouraging resilience during the grant application and reapplication process and effectively aligning research agendas with the teaching and research expectations of their respective institutions.

This collection of letters serves to explore the narratives of a collective of women of color in academia by examining individual, collective, spiritual, and institutional strategies for surviving and transforming our institutional spaces and the ways that White Supremacy has shaped our journeys. Multiple perspectives are viewed, and we have written to our children, our future social work students, our future selves, our BIPOC faculty siblings, and our feared enemies to envision and embody more liberatory futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Black perinatal health workers are part of a tradition of Black people fighting for the well-being of Black communities. The purpose of this article is to better understand the unique experiences of these professionals. Method: Descriptive qualitative research was used to understand Black providers' experiences in a culturally specific perinatal public health program. A focus group was conducted with seven nurses and community health workers, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Three themes emerged: (a) shared lived experience and parallel process between staff and clients; (b) navigating multiple shifting gazes between clients, public health department, and medical systems; and (c) reproductive justice and community care characterize a culturally informed approach. Discussion: Findings revealed strengths and complexities facing Black nurses and community health workers in their roles. More work is needed in education, practice, and research to better prepare and support nurses and community health workers in culturally specific settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored turning points in health perceptions among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adults of color living in a major US city. Turning points in health perceptions were elicited from 38 participants through in-depth interviews and were examined using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Findings revealed three key themes: (a) diagnosis and disease; (b) death or illness of family and friends; and (c) changes in environmental context and body. The positive impacts of turning points are discussed, including the development of active coping skills, engagement in health-promoting behaviors, and increased community connectedness. Implications for future research are also suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expediency, efficiency, and rapid production within compressed time frames represent markers for research and scholarship within the neoliberal academe. Scholars who wish to resist these practices of knowledge production have articulated the need for Slow scholarship—a slower pace to make room for thinking, creativity, and useful knowledge. While these calls are important for drawing attention to the costs and problems of the neoliberal academy, many scholars have moved beyond "slow" as being uniquely referencing pace and duration, by calling for the different conceptualizations of time, space, and knowing. Guided by post-structural feminisms, we engaged in a research project that moved at the pace of trust in the integrity of our ideas and relationships. Our case study aimed to better understand the ways macro forces such as neoliberalism, criminalization and professionalization shape domestic violence work. This article discusses our praxis of Slow scholarship by showcasing four specific key markers of Slow scholarship in our research; time reimagined, a relational ontology, moving inside and towards complexity, and embodiment. We discuss how Slow scholarship complicates how we understand constructs of productivity and knowledge production, as well as map the ways Slow scholarship offers a praxis of resistance for generating power from the epistemic margins within social work and the neoliberal academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and social/political protest concerning structural anti-Black racism marks a moment for deep reflection and revision of many taken-for-granted assumptions about our research and academic lives as social work scholars. In this reflexive essay we, as two non-Black qualitative social work scholars, explore some of the questions and considerations for social work research that have surfaced since the emergence of these complex social, political, and economic crises. We organize our reflection around what we study, why, and how we go about studying it. We then offer a discussion of various constraints and challenges that emerge in this type of reflective scholarly practice, including an analysis of how contexts of white supremacy culture and neoliberalism shape social work scholarship. We close the essay with a number of recommendations for further reflection for social work scholars, such as reviewing research practices, seeking external research funding, practicing reflexivity, interrogating assumptions about knowledge production, self and community care, and integrating scholarly work into social work curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, the Violence Against Women Act became one of the first federal laws to explicitly prohibit discrimination against transgender people, yet little is known about its impact in practice. This qualitative study draws on in-depth interviews with transgender people working in domestic and sexual violence advocacy organizations. Building on critical and intersectional perspectives, the findings suggest that the persistence of inequities for trans survivors are tied to the reliance on criminal legal responses, contingent access to gender-specific services, compliance-focused approaches to inclusion, operating theories of gender-based violence, and the diversion of responsibility to LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) programs. This study highlights the participants' recommendations for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines underlying assumptions of Master of Social Work diversity and social justice courses as sites that embody social work's dual projects of social justice and professionalization. Through a latent content analysis of course syllabi from 27 US-based social work programs, three key assumptions emerged: (1) social workers are members of dominant social groups; (2) cultural competency and anti-oppression are compatible frameworks; (3) self-awareness mitigates oppression. Findings reflect the reification of dominant culture groups in social work and promotion of individual-level skill development over structural change. Implications and recommendations for social work education and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work scholarship concerned with mixed-race and queer identities is growing and ever-changing, yet often treats race and sexuality as separate experiences independent from context and environment. In addition, in studies of mixed-race people, the legacy of the Black-White/US-based multiracial paradigm and the history of such research using race as the only or primary analytic has left a dearth of studies that seek to understand mixed-race experiences within geographical, transnational and intersectional contexts. In this paper, we extend previous work focused on situational and contextual multiracial identities through an interview-based study of a sample of 12 queer and mixed-race individuals. We employ a narrative analysis to explore how emergent themes of geography and migration are salient to self-making processes of participants. Findings include: (1) diverse geographic and migration histories among participants; (2) interviewees’ use of discursive strategies that draw upon experiences of geography and migration within the narrative structure; and (3) the critical role of geography and migration in expanding and changing participants’ identity discourses and in shaping individuals’ identity and sense of community. Ultimately, this work serves as a call for on-going attention to how geography and migration, as well as intersectional and transnational perspectives, add depth and texture to studies of queer-mixed people while also offering specificity to social work’s broader commitment to context and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]