Changes to MSW Faculty Workload Resulting From COVID-19: An Issue of Equity

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ABSTRACT

As a result of the health and safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, in Spring 2020 social work programs nationwide were required to make significant shifts in their instructional methods and field placements. These changes often resulted in faculty members taking on new or additional responsibilities related to teaching and field. This work explores the experiences of full time faculty members from the 18 accredited Masters of Social Work (MSW) programs in Texas. Sixty faculty members completed an online survey about changes to their teaching and field related responsibilities during COVID-19. Results indicate that non-tenure track faculty were most acutely impacted by these changes, leading to significant increases in both teaching and field responsibilities relative to their tenure track peers. Additionally, faculty working at private institutions reported less of an impact on their workload than those working at public institutions. These results underscore the importance of supporting non-tenure track faculty, who are often women and from racial/ethnic groups historically underrepresented in academia, who are afforded less job security and employment related benefits, as they continue to take on additional responsibilities essential to the continued operation of MSW programs. Implications for future research and social work education are discussed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Texas at Arlington [New faculty startup funds for Dr. Micki Washburn].

Notes on contributors

Micki Washburn

Micki Washburn, PhD, LMSW, LPC-S, is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. Jandel Crutchfield, PhD, LCSW, is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. De’An O. Roper, PhD, LCSW, is an assistant professor of practice at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. Dawnetta Smith, Ed.D., MSW, is an assistant professor of practice and assistant dean of field education at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. Yesenia Padilla, MSW, is a graduate research assistant at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work.