“This is about heart knowledge”: the disconnect between anti-racist knowledge and practice among white students in social work education

ABSTRACT

Our study conducted 11 focus groups with 41 students enrolled in a school of social work at a large public university about their experiences with anti-racism social work education. White students consistently reported that they felt prepared with a lot of knowledge around anti-racism but felt a disconnect engaging in anti-racist practice. Students of color identified that white students need stronger skills with anti-racist practice. We identified several subthemes within this overarching theme, including interpersonal anti-racism, anti-racist practice within the classroom, school, and practicum, and the mind and body connection. We have identified some potential competencies for how white students might develop more tangible skills related to anti-racist practice in the future, including 1) noticing emotions and creating space for them; 2) slowing down and pausing, 3) practicing how to temper and condition the body to engage in antiracist practice; and 4) working with perfectionism and making mistakes.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work education
• anti-racist knowledge
• anti-racist practice
• anti-racist education
• white body supremacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Spencer Foundation [10035130].