Joining Together: A Faculty-Student Experience in Political Campaigning

Abstract

The social worker has a professional obligation to be politically active. This paper reviews current research on social work's involvement in politics, considers the preparation that students receive in this area, and describes the participation of social work students in a local political campaign. Drawing upon the experiences of this campaign, the author concludes that students do benefit from direct involvement in a political campaign. Their willingness to work in other campaigns is enhanced, as is their interest in political events. In addition, student voting patterns seem to be positively affected. Local politics appear to provide both advantages and disadvantages as a preparation ground for social work students interested in learning more about the political process.