Rebuilding Community Organizing Education in Social Work

Abstract

Although the campaign and election of Barack Obama as the nation's first President with a background in community organizing (CO) has boosted the visibility and popularity of the field, graduate social work programs have not taken full advantage of the opportunity. This article, therefore, presents a three-fold argument regarding the future of CO education. There is an increasing demand and need for trained organizers and community organizing education. This historical moment holds significant potential for CO education in social work. Graduate schools of social work with CO programs should broaden their outreach to attract potential students and activists to careers as social change agents.

Keywords:

• community organizing
• community learning
• civic engagement
• macro practice
• service learning
• Obama
• student activism

Acknowledgments

We thank the journal editors—Alice Butterfield, Louise Simmons, and Tracy Soska—and readers of earlier, drafts including Scott Harding and Cathy Havens, for their insightful and challenging comments. We also thank other colleagues at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work—among them John Bonelli, Tilitha Conyers, Kathy Libal, Gerry Maine, Milagros Marrero-Johnson, and Salome Raheim—who in countless ways help build awareness about graduate education in Community Organization.