“Mapping Social Justice”: Integrating Policy Practice Across the Curriculum

ABSTRACT

The National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education identify social justice as a guiding principle of the social work profession, yet there is little consensus in the field of what the term actually means and how it can be achieved. Master of Social Work programs are likewise struggling with how to educate students on social justice and prepare them to engage in macro-level advocacy after graduating. This article examines how one student-led social justice initiative at a school of social work is seeking to increase student engagement in macro-level social justice work through the use of targeted advocacy alerts. This article explores the project’s development, implementation, first-year feedback, and modifications made to provide other MSW programs a blueprint to adopt their own version of the project. Findings suggest that the targeted alert model may be successful in engaging clinical MSW students in social justice advocacy.

Acknowledgments

This project was supported in part through the Council on Social Work Education Policy Practice in Field Education Grant awarded in September 2016.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lisa R. Kiesel

Lisa R. Kiesel is Associate Professor at St. Catherine University.

Lauren R. Abdill

Lauren R. Abdill is a Therapist at Relate Counseling Center.