Racism, anti‐racist practice and social work: articulating the teaching and learning experiences of Black social workers

Abstract

In the mid 1990s a Black practice teacher programme was established in Manchester and Merseyside with the primary aim to increase the number of Black practice teachers in social work organisations, and in turn provide a supportive and encouraging learning environment for Black student social workers whilst on placement. In the north‐west of England research has been undertaken, to establish the quality of the practice teaching and student learning taking place with Black practice teachers and students. This paper is an exploration of the ideas generated within the placement process that particularly focused on the discourse of racism and ant‐racist practice. Black students and practice teachers explain their understanding of racism and anti‐racist practice within social work. From the research, the paper will critique some of the ideas concerning anti‐racism. In particular, it will question whether anti‐racist social work practice needs to be re‐evaluated in the light of a context with new migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. It will concluded, by arguing that whilst the terms anti‐racism, Black and Minority Ethnic have resonance as a form of political strategic essentialism, it is important to develop more positive representations in the future.

Keywords:

• anti‐racism
• Black perspectives
• Black practice teacher
• Black social workers
• Black students
• ethnicity

Notes

1. A Black practice teacher is someone of African/Caribbean and/or Asian heritage that teaches social work students how to practice social work on placement.

2. A social work organisation is a local government, private or voluntary‐funded agency that employs social workers to work with vulnerable children, families and adults in need.

3. Managerialist and performance agendas are terms used to describe the growing influence of managers and the measurement of performance through targets and outcomes in social work organisations. It is widely suggested that this management‐led influence has undermined the professional identity and autonomy of social workers.

4. Practice teaching – now entitled practice assessing – is the activity undertaken by experienced social work practitioners to enable teaching and learning to take place for social work students on placement with them.

5. The term ‘Black’ is used as an umbrella term for the political identification and experience of people with African/Caribbean and/or Asian heritage. It is meant as an inclusive term for anyone who self‐identifies as such, who has experienced racism. At times, the term will be used interchangeably with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) to be as inclusive as possible, and to reflect the ever‐changing experience and identities of Asian and African/Caribbean peoples.

6. Snowballing is a sample technique used when it is difficult to generate a sample, or when the population group are difficult to reach. It is based on the notion of personal contacts, knowing one person that fits the criteria of interview who knows someone else and so on.

7. The documentary evidence used was the portfolios that practice teachers had compiled to demonstrate their competence to teach social work students on a placement.

8. In 1980, 1981 and 1985, riots took place in UK major cities, where Black youths fought with the police, as a response to the discrimination they experienced in housing, education, policing and social welfare.

9. Multiculturalism is a contested concept in the UK (for instance see Hall 2000; Modood 2007; Spencer 2006). However, it is generally accepted as a term that describes the positive inclusion of diverse cultures and ethnicities in society.

10. The term ‘service user’ is now recognised as most appropriate to describe individuals and families who receive a social work service.

11. A practice supervisor is a person who assesses a practice teacher, including marking their portfolio to establish whether they have reached the designated standard of being an accredited practice teacher.

12. This term refers to polarising debates concerning ethnic identity to people being either Black or white. The notion of binarism critiques this simplistic analysis, suggesting that ethnicity refers to a much more heterogeneous identity and experience.