https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6003-4822
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ABSTRACT
Social justice is a foundational social work value. Scholars express ongoing pedagogical challenges with how to teach students to embody social justice values. New to the social work profession, undergraduate students are in a pivotal stage to be trained as social-justice oriented future social workers. The aim of this review is to map empirical studies on teaching methods that translate social justice value into teachable curricula. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework, we conducted a rigorous process in which we screened 5,953 studies and included a final 41 studies. We synthesized them into the domain, characteristics, types, and sites of social justice training in the curriculum, targets of social justice competencies, and evaluation of the teaching methods. Our findings identified four main teaching approaches: case-based learning, community engaged learning, intergroup dialogue, and simulation-based learning. In terms of competency development, most of the studies focused on awareness and knowledge versus skill building. Most included studies underlined the value of experiential learning and suggested making a fine balance between eliciting and addressing learners’ emotional experiences during social justice learning activities. Pedagogical challenges and future considerations of social justice teaching methods are presented.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Eunjung Lee
Eunjung Lee, PhD, MSW, RSW is a Professor and Endowed Chair in Mental Health & Health at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto Using critical theories in language, discourse and power, her research focuses on everyday interactions in clinical practice and simulation-based learning in social work education. Analyzing praxis of cross-cultural practice, social policy and regulations, her research interrogates how everyday practice, policies, and their underlying politics construct dominant discourses that impact immigrants and refugees in a global neoliberal era, and theorize Canadian multiculturalism and welfare state.
Toula Kourgiantakis
Toula Kourgiantakis, PhD, RSW, CCFT is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream with the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include youth mental health and addictions, equitable access to mental health services, family-centred practices in mental health, social work education and clinical practice. Dr. Kourgiantakis is a Registered Social Worker and Certified Couple and Family Therapist with over 25 years of clinical experience that informs her teaching and research.
Judith Logan
Judith Logan, MA, MLIS, is the Assistant Head of User Services at the John P. Robarts Library at the University of Toronto where she leads a team of librarians and professionals focused on research support and education in the humanities and social sciences. She has co-authored over a dozen scoping reviews with social science research teams over the last five years. Her current research interests include evidence synthesis search methods, trends in librarian collaboration on evidence syntheses, virtual reference, and social justice in library recruitment.
Ran Hu
Ran Hu is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, Center for Gender and Sexual Health Equity. Her scholarship is situated in the field of gender-based violence, primarily focusing on interpersonal and structural violence against sex workers, trafficking, and intimate partner violence. Ran is also interested in social work pedagogical research, social justice-oriented teaching, and the use of simulation.
Rachele Wilson
Rachel Wilson is a Registered Social Worker at Stella’s Place who works collaboratively with young adults to equip them with the necessary tools to create a meaningful life aligned with their values. She holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Toronto and has worked closely with marginalized communities, including those with developmental and dual diagnoses for more than five years. Her passion for promoting social justice led her to research inclusive and anti-discriminatory practices for social work education.
Andrea Greenblatt
Andrea Greenblatt is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Peter Gilgan Center for Research and Learning at the Hospital for Sick Children. She is interested in how critical qualitative methods can be used to center youth voices in mental health research. She is also interested in social justice-oriented pedagogy in social work education.