From the Editor—Teaching and Modeling Social Work Activism: A Nod to Dr. Bernice A. King

Politics in the United States and around the world have led us to a place where culture wars have been lit and kept aflame by binary thinking and a rigid lack of openness to nuance and complexity or effort to understand other perspectives or experiences. We currently live in a world of “Us versus Them,” “Republican versus Democrat,” or “Basket of Deplorables” versus good old left-leaning liberals. We were divided before the pandemic, and now we are more grouchy, divided, and lonely than ever. A recent U.S. Surgeon General’s report released in May 2023 indicated that half of adults were experiencing an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” even before the pandemic started (U.S. Surgeon General, 2023). Imagine where we are now coming out of the pandemic. Imagine where our students are. Technology has not necessarily made this better. Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years old spend less time together, and 70% have less social interaction with friends (U.S. Surgeon General, 2023). Some of the recent student protests and activism on U.S. college campuses seems to mirror the knee jerk reactions we routinely see on social media. They do not reflect the same kinds of social connection, relationships, and strategic, thoughtful planning they once did. We must model and teach our students something better. As social workers, we know what works. We have years of professional knowledge and experience with community organizing and development on which we can draw. We know how to listen to others, see the humanity and dignity in every person, and we can model for our students how we can think critically, consider and weigh complex and nuanced issues, respond thoughtfully, and work with other people with whom we disagree to find common ground that benefits all members of our broader community.

I was heartened by the message of our Opening Plenary speaker at the Council of Social Work Education’s Annual Program Meeting, Dr. Bernice A. King. She reminded me that nonviolent social change requires love, and that it involves calling in rather than calling out. It requires relationship building with people with whom you do not always agree to get beyond our labels and see each other as people. According to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968), in Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love” (p. 38). Dr. Bernice King shared a story about a brave Black friend who reached out to members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) to engage in conversation to increase his understanding of their perspectives, to share his perspective, and to experience each other’s humanity. This effort won these members of the KKK over to become staunch advocates for racial justice. This story led me to reflect on how I can do a better job of reaching across these barriers through relationship and connection. This might be just what we need to rid our country of this divisiveness and accomplish our profession’s goals of social justice, while also reducing the loneliness and disconnection that only makes divisiveness worse. Given this, how can social work education and social work more broadly foster a culture of connection in such divided times? How can we teach emerging social workers to not only reduce this epidemic of loneliness, but also draw on approaches to activism and nonviolent social change? According to The King Center online (2023), “[N]onviolence is a love-centered way of thinking, speaking, acting and engaging that leads to personal, cultural and societal transformation.” How can we use pedagogy that fosters student connection, reinforces the worth and dignity of all people, models intellectual humility, recognizes complexity of disparate viewpoints, respects different viewpoints, and offers constructive dialog in a safe and trusting context so that learning and growth can happen? If we can accomplish this, I think we will develop social workers who are ready to change the world.

In this issue

Volume 59 of the Journal of Social Work Education rounds out with 30 articles, nine of which are teaching or research notes. The first two articles focus on violence against women. Wachter and Mathis report their findings from both qualitative and quantitative analyses that evaluated outcomes of a social work elective in “Global Perspectives on Violence Against Women: A Study of a Social Work Elective During COVID-19.” Next, Khetarpal, Johnson, and Stemetzki describe their process of developing core competencies by collecting feedback in an online survey from 115 researchers and practitioners in “Violence Against Women and Children Certificate Program (VAWC-CP) Core Competencies Development Project (CCDP).”

The next four articles focus on the use of simulation to teach clinical social work practice skills. Occhiuto, Sewell, and Asakura report on the results of a thematic analysis of online survey responses to explore the use of online live-streamed simulations (LSS) in “Pivoting to Online Live-Streamed Simulations: Students’ Experiences in Clinical Social Work Education.” Findings suggested that online LSS could offer similar training potential as those offered face to face. Next, Gellis, Gregory, LaMarra, Radway, Cao, Connors, Delgado, Sloan, and Trovati describe and report on the outcomes of a Standardized Patient program focused on developing students’ geriatric mental health proficiency in “Effectiveness of an Integrated Simulation in Teaching Clinical Social Work Skills: Geriatric Mental Health Proficiency.” In “Reflections in Case-Based Learning: Experiences of Computer-Based Simulations in Social Work Education,” Egonsdotter and Bengtsson describe the SimChild simulation exercise and social work students’ perceptions of the use of SimChild for case-based learning. Clary, Bennett, Bui, Tan, and Carter-Black then report on the use of simulation-based learning to promote cultural competency in “Simulation-Based Learning to Foster Critical Dialogues and Enhance Cultural Competency with MSW Students.”

The next common thread shared by the following articles is a focus on teaching clinical social work. In “Practice Makes Perfect: MSW Students Reflect on Skill-Based Teaching Methods in Clinical Social Work Education,” Magill, Mastroleo, Kuerbis, Sacco, Thombs-Cain, Wagner, and Velasquez report on a qualitative study seeking to understand student experiences with clinical skill-based teaching and learning across six universities in the United States. Next, Lee, Bowles, Tratner, and Greenblatt describe and provide a rationale for a new clinical training approach in “A Microchange Process of Activation–Contract–Processing (ACP) Across Treatment Models: A Common Process in Clinical Social Work Practice.” This article illustrates the steps of ACP, while connecting these steps to core aspects of clinical social work, such as person-in-environment, social justice and diversity, and evidence-based practice. In “Social Workers’ Use of Theories and Methods in Practice: Identifying What Informs Social Work Practice in New York City,” Teater and Hannan report on quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with social workers to identify the most used practice theories and approaches, as well as the ways in which social work education influenced their use. In “Trauma & the Brain: Student Experiences With a Case-Based Training Series for Social Work Students,” Evans, Miller, Bender, and King report on the results of four focus groups conducted with 17 participants from the Trauma & Brain training series to understand the ways in which students applied this series to their field work. Next, Conrick, Graves, Angell, and Moore report on an online survey administered to licensed social workers in Washington to better understand their experiences and training needs when working with clients with a traumatic brain injury in “Assessing Learning and Training Needs for Social Workers to Serve Clients With Traumatic Brain Injury.” In “Support and Aid to Families Electronically (SAFE): Addressing Intersecting Academic and Community Needs,” Sanders, Antia, Bernal, Landon, Reed, Seale, Sullivan, Sutton, Arundel, and Csiernik introduce and provide a rationale for a new program model that was developed to increase social work practicum opportunities while providing support to students and families in public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next group of articles focuses on the support of social work students through the COVID-19 pandemic, but also on the development of the practice of self-care, reflective-thinking, and resilience. Barros-Lane, Smith, McCarty, Perez, and Sirrianni describe the use of an antioppressive lens to engage in solidarity social work practice or power-sharing between students and faculty during the first semester of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the qualitative results of this approach in “Solidarity in Time of a Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of Student Experiences of Power-Sharing and Collaboration During COVID-19.” In another part of the world, Segev described a mindfulness social work course offered in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic and the results of a phenomenological qualitative analysis of students’ journals during the course in “‘The Course Was My Lifesaver’: The Significance of a Mindfulness and Social Work Course for Students in Israel During the COVID-19 Crisis.” Next, Nicotera, Han, Sedivy, and Andelora describe a qualitative study of Master of Social Work (MSW) student self-care in “A Qualitative Study of MSW Student Self-Care and Wellness: Implications for Social Work Education.” They identified five major barriers and facilitators of self-care among students. In “Reflective-Thinking and Resilience as Predictors of Professionalism in Master of Social Work Students,” Brown, O’Donovan, Grieve, Yu, Ross, Oliaro, and Etherington report on a study examining the associations between professionalism, resilience, and reflective-thinking of 212 students enrolled in a Master of Social Work program. The authors prove implications for social work curricula and future research.

The next three articles offer some novel ideas for improving social work education. Garcia, Watts, Carlough, Christian, Finck, Jaffee, Greeson, and Connolly present findings from focus groups with varied helping disciplines and stakeholders to develop an interdisciplinary training template to guide education efforts in child advocacy in child welfare in “A Template for Implementing Interprofessional Education in Child Advocacy.” Next, Powers and Ulaszek report on a mixed-methods evaluation of a transition-age youth at risk training model in an MSW program over 3 years in “A Mixed Methods Program Evaluation: Field Education Aimed at Improving Services for At-Risk Transition-Age Youth.” In “Students’ Experiences of Participating in a Dual-Language English–Spanish MSW Program Component: A Qualitative Study,” Senreich and Saint-Louis describe this program and report on the analysis of postprogram focus groups with the 25 students who completed the program. Findings suggested more confidence working with Spanish-speaking clients, yet some difficulties integrating the program in field contexts.

The next two articles focus on social work educators. In a phenomenological study of social work educators whose teaching or research focus directly on combating systems of oppression titled “Catalysts of Conscientization Among the Professorate: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study,” Altranice and Mitchell offer a composite structural definition of conscientization and a composite textural–structural description of its catalysts. Next, Malka, Gadot, Fine, Mazor, and Gavri present findings from a photovoice inquiry of the experiences of lecturers during the COVID-19 pandemic in “Real-Time Lived-Experiences of Social Work Educators Following the Outbreak of the Coronavirus Crisis: Photovoice-Based Research.” They identify four main narratives and discuss the implications of these findings.

We round out this issue with nine research and teaching notes. In “Integrated Care Training and Preparedness: Evidence From 5-Years of Postgraduation Data,” de Saxe Zerden, Lombardi, Guan, Day, Jones, and Kanfer compare data of students who participated in the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) professional training and those who did not, and found BHWET participants were able to secure employment more quickly, earn higher salaries, work on interprofessional teams, and view their interprofessional skills and abilities significantly higher comparatively. Deedat, Wysor Nguema, Radis, and Keeler contribute a research note titled “Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Educational Experiences: Perspectives of Undergraduate Social Work Students” where they report on a quantitative survey of undergraduates at a large public state university in Pennsylvania.

There were several teaching notes with novel ideas offered for the classroom. Chan, Marsack-Topolewski, LaFave, Ratnayake, Graves, Fenske, and Jones describe a partnership called Supporting Older Adults & Caregivers: Integrative Service Learning (SOCIAL) in “Supporting Homebound Older Adults and Caregivers Through Integrative Service Learning.” This innovative approach helps train undergraduate social work students to provide in home support to older adults with chronic illness and their family caregivers, helping families while also creating a pipeline for geriatric social workers, and opportunities for curriculum building, research, and evaluation and engagement. In “The Hidden Key: Opening the Door to Self-Disclosure in Social Work Education,” Segev and Hochman provide four illustrations of self-disclosure pedagogies that are used to develop students’ professional identity.

In the next teaching note, “Teaching Trumpism,” Karpman and Crath describe syllabi development, course content, structure and unique approaches and exercises used to teach the historical and contemporary context of Trumpism. This teaching note may be particularly useful as we enter a new election season where Trumpism continues to permeate politics. Magruder, Mitschke, and Slater describe an innovative effort to teach social and environmental justice issues in their teaching note, “Ecological Devastation Bus Tour: A New Pedagogy for Environmental Social Work?” This teaching approach was evaluated with 30 students, and results were presented. Next, Mirick presents a teaching note on the evaluation of a student self-care assignment titled, “Self-Care in Social Work Education: An Experiential Learning Exercise.” Learning themes are reported and future implications for social work programs are discussed. In “Telehealth on the Fly: Why We Need a More Thoughtful Approach to Social Work Education,” Rinkel, Maynard, and Martin discuss the need for and a new approach for teaching students to use telehealth using telehealth simulation during the early weeks of the pandemic. Implications, recommendations, and potential benefits for teaching telehealth using simulation in social work programs are offered. The final issue of 2023 rounds out with a final teaching note, “Using Technology to Enhance Experiential Learning Through Simulated Role Plays,” by Flaherty. This note also discusses the use of simulation-based education and the use of Eleos Health to offer practicum learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Flaherty discusses the potential benefits of this learning approach beyond the pandemic crisis.