Pedagogical Methods of Teaching Social Justice in Social Work: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose Social justice is a foundational social work value, but social work education continues to experience ongoing challenges with how to teach students to embody social justice values. The aim of this scoping review is to map empirical studies on teaching methods that translate social justice value into teachable curricula. Methods: Following Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework, we conducted a rigorous process in which we screened 5953 studies and included a final sample of 35 studies. Results: Our findings identified seven main teaching approaches: intergroup dialogue, online asynchronized discussion board, simulation and role play, group work and presentation, written reflection, community-engaged learning, and social action-oriented learning. In terms of competency development, most of the studies focused on awareness and knowledge versus skill-building. Most teaching methods emphasized students’ affective experiences during the social justice learning activities. Discussion: Challenges, lessons learned, and future recommendations of each teaching method are presented.

What role can (and should) clinical science play in promoting mental health care equity?

“…certainly more long-standing than it has been in clinical science in related fields such as social work and counseling psychology (e.g., Atteberry-Ash, 2023;DeBlaere et al, 2019;Lee et al, 2022), which have provided invaluable and admirable direction around how to integrate social justice principles to achieve health equity more broadly. I am only one of a growing chorus of scholars calling for our discipline of clinical scientists and practitioners to incorporate social justice principles utilized in these related disciplines more centrally into our work to appreciably achieve mental health care equity (e.g., Asnaani, Charlery White, & Phillip, 2020;Marshall-Lee et al, 2020;Thurston et al, 2023).…”

“…To be clear, social justice refers to a movement that urges individuals and broader systems to engage in professional activities that directly and actively promote mental health equity to generate comprehensive solutions for the persisting health inequities in marginalized or underserved segments of society (Horne et al, 2019). Importantly, such a movement has been ongoing and certainly more long-standing than it has been in clinical science in related fields such as social work and counseling psychology (e.g., Atteberry-Ash, 2023; DeBlaere et al, 2019; Lee et al, 2022), which have provided invaluable and admirable direction around how to integrate social justice principles to achieve health equity more broadly. I am only one of a growing chorus of scholars calling for our discipline of clinical scientists and practitioners to incorporate social justice principles utilized in these related disciplines more centrally into our work to appreciably achieve mental health care equity (e.g., Asnaani, Charlery White, & Phillip, 2020; Marshall-Lee et al, 2020; Thurston et al, 2023).…”

Whole-institution approach to social justice education for preservice teachers

“…These high-impact learning practices share opportunities for students to reflect and integrate learning, to discover relevance of learning through real world application, to experience diversity, to interact with faculty and peers, and to engage deeply over an extended period of time (Kuh and O'Donnell, 2013). Lee et al (2022) in their scoping review of teaching approaches that enhance social justiceoriented practice in graduate social work students found intergroup dialogue, community-JARHE 16,4 engaged learning, written reflection, and experiential learning to be among the more powerful approaches in teaching social justice education. There is also evidence that PSTs respond well to certain types of teaching practices of social justice education.…”

“…The Office of Clinical Experiences. Research identifies field experience as critical to developing social justice orientations (Lee et al, 2022). We would like to see PSTs reflecting on their experiences in the field in the context of the annual focus and, through coordinated coursework, to develop action-oriented strategies and solutions.…”

“…Lee et al. (2022) in their scoping review of teaching approaches that enhance social justice-oriented practice in graduate social work students found intergroup dialogue, community-engaged learning, written reflection, and experiential learning to be among the more powerful approaches in teaching social justice education.…”