Putting Principles Into Practice: Addressing Historical Trauma, Mistrust, and Apprehension in Research Methods Courses

ABSTRACT

The social work profession has articulated commitments to acknowledging and affirming how diversity and culture shape the human experience and to developing social workers who can competently engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. However, there remains a need in social work education for more widespread use of culturally relevant pedagogies that can help achieve these goals. Informed by historical trauma theory and the Black perspective, this article presents a model we used for teaching research to master’s-level social work students at a historically Black university. The article describes assignments and classroom exercises that were used and discusses the implications of this model for culturally informed research curricula that promotes antioppressive research in diverse classroom settings.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zuleka Henderson

Zuleka Henderson is Assistant Professor of Social Work at Bowie State University.

Lucinda A. Acquaye-Doyle

Lucinda A. Acquaye-Doyle is Assistant Professor of Social Work at Dominican College.

Shayna Waites

Shayna Waites and Tyriesa Howard are doctoral candidates in the School of Social Work at Howard University.

Tyriesa Howard

Shayna Waites and Tyriesa Howard are doctoral candidates in the School of Social Work at Howard University.