The Place of Political Diversity within the Social Work Classroom

Abstract

This article examines political ideology and its implications as a newer diversity variable within social work education. Responding to internal assessments and external critiques of social work education, the dynamics of how diverse political ideologies might manifest in 5 core course concentrations—human behavior in the social environment, research, practice, field education, and policy—are highlighted. The authors offer a series of critical questions, a typology for addressing political ideology, and a set of educational guidelines to assist educators, administrators, and students as they grapple with attending to political diversity in a variety of social work classrooms.