Examining Relationships Among Student Empowerment, Sense of Community, and the Implicit Curriculum: A Multigroup Analysis of Race and Ethnicity

ABSTRACT

Schools of social work are now mandated to assess and address the effects of the implicit curriculum on students, who are from diverse backgrounds. Given this mandate, the purpose of this secondary data analysis was to differentiate the effects of the implicit curriculum on White, non-Hispanic students and students of color. In addition, the study sought to determine whether various aspects of sense of community mediated the relationship between the implicit curriculum and the outcome of students’ professional empowerment. Using a multigroup path analysis, results demonstrated that the implicit curriculum had a differential effect on White, non-Hispanic students and students of color. In addition, the results suggested that different aspects of sense of community mediated the relationship between the implicit curriculum and student professional empowerment for both groups. Implications for facilitating empowerment among social work students and strategies for enhancing the implicit curriculum are discussed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sheila M. McMahon

Sheila M. McMahon, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Barry University School of Social Work, Miami Shores, FL.

N. Andrew Peterson

N. Andrew Peterson, PhD, is a professor with the School of Social Work at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.

Antoinette Y. Farmer

Antoinette Y. Farmer, PhD, is a professor in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.

Shari E. Miller

Shari E. Miller, PhD, is associate dean and associate professor at the University of Georgia with the School of Social Work, Athens, GA.