Social Workers as Civic-Minded Professionals

Abstract

This study examined civic-mindedness among a sample of social work educators, community practitioners and new graduates. Using a web-based survey, researchers administered Hatcher’s (2008) Civic-Minded Professional scale. Results indicated that traditional and field faculty were more civic-minded than new graduates and other practitioners. Social work educators who focused on raising civic awareness in courses were more civic-minded than colleagues. New graduates who had participated in club service events were more civic-minded; however, there was no significant differences between groups based on number of community service courses completed. Social workers, whether faculty or not, who had participated in collaborative research were more civic-minded. The authors conclude that how social workers view their commitment to civic engagement has implications. Social workers need to be vigilant in our commitment to well-being in society. Intentional practices could be implemented to strengthen the partnership among groups.

Academic Librarians’ Attitudes about Civic-Mindedness and Service Learning

“…Finally, it is unknown how this sample of librarians compares to other professionals. Obtaining the data from Hatcher (2008) and Twill and Lowe (2014) may provide a more complex analysis and context in which to assign meaning of the CMP scale scores. It may also be interesting to compare librarians to other similar helping professionals to examine similarities and differences in civic-mindedness.…”