Teaching Human Rights and Social Justice in Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

Human rights and social justice are recognized as integral to social work education. Previous research shows a variety of means are being used to teach human rights and social justice yet relatively little is known about the teaching methods used in social work programs and about the type of knowledge and skills delivered. This survey of social work programs across the United States found that three fourths of all responding programs teach social justice and human rights, yet social justice was more prevalent in the curricula and as an area of faculty expertise. Content on social justice and human rights was most likely to be integrated throughout required courses and in courses focused on cultural diversity and policy.  It is recommended that additional resources should be developed for social work educators to learn about human rights and its relation to social justice to develop rights-based skills and approaches among students.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shirley Gatenio Gabel

Shirley Gatenio Gabel, PhD, MSW, is a professor and the Endowed Chair for the Mary Ann Quaranta Chair for Social Justice for Children at Fordham University School of Social Service.  She is a series editor on rights-based approaches to social work practice (Springer) and author of A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy (Springer 2016).  She co-founded and is co-editor of the Journal of Huamn Rights and Social Work.

Susan Mapp

Susan Mapp, PhD, MSSW, is a professor and chair of the Department of Social Work at Elizabethown College, PA.  She has written numerous articles and books on human rights, global child welfare, and the trafficking of minors in the United States. She is the co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Human Rights and Social Work.