Student development in the context of a beginning-level social justice practicum.

Abstract

Scholars continue to call for innovations in social justice training and offer suggestions for pedagogical design and training content (e.g., Steele, 2008;Vera & Speight, 2003). Building on this existing literature and incorporating suggested activities and elements, we designed and offered a semester-long predoctoral social justice consultation practicum course at a midsize state university located in a rural college town in the midwestern United States. Reflecting back on the practicum, we decided to conduct a study using Corbin and Strauss's (2015) grounded-theory methodology to analyze the practicum contents (i.e., documents produced during the course) to provide a scholarly understanding of the content and process of the practicum course and our social justice practicum training. Specific findings at the open-coding and axial-coding levels of analysis (e.g., role of psychologists in social justice, personal challenges, population challenges, field observation, and needs assessment) were compiled at the selective-coding level to illustrate the processes that were activated through this social justice practicum. This study adds to the current social justice training scholarship by providing a glimpse into how students experience social justice-oriented practicum training. We discuss the contributions, limitations, and implications of this study/practicum for social justice training.

Awareness, social cognition, and commitment: Developing a social justice orientation in psychology training programs.

“…Furthermore, recent studies have focused on the development of social justice practica for trainees in professional psychology (Hage et al, 2020; Knutson et al, 2020). Our study supports Hage et al’s (2020) assertion that a universal approach to social justice training may be too general and counterproductive.…”

“…The results reported here suggest that trainees’ capacities for critical reflection and their endorsement of colorblind attitudes may impact their openness and commitment to social justice. Previous studies that highlighted the significance of the links between internal reflection and the development of social justice practice in psychology trainees have largely been qualitative in nature (Hage et al, 2020; Knutson et al, 2020). Our study adds a quantitative perspective on the impact of critical reflection and colorblindness on the development of a social justice orientation.…”

The future of education and practice in health service psychology: A Delphi study.

“…Global war, deinstitutionalization, and radical reconfigurations in relation to public accountability and health-care reform have all triggered seismic shifts within the terrain of HSP (Norcross et al, 2011; Rozensky, 2014; Zlotlow et al, 2011). Contemporary accelerants fueling the field’s transformation include exponential advances in information technology (Glueckauf et al, 2018; Pierce et al, 2020), the ascendance of social consciousness and social justice (Knutson et al, 2020), and the continuing proliferation of professional specializations (Baker & Cox, 2014; Kaslow et al, 2012). In fact, recent research has estimated that in many areas of specialization within applied psychology, new knowledge begins yielding to obsolescence in as little as 5–7 years (Neimeyer et al, 2014).…”

“…A wide range of other critical contemporary issues joins the press for technological competence as a driver of potential change in future graduate training. The ascendency of social justice (Knutson et al, 2020), the ongoing evolution of health-care systems (Rozensky, 2014), the continuing quest for expanding cultural competence (Benuto et al, 2018), and the growing acuity of a wide range of specific societal issues (such as substance use, violence, and suicide), all vie for attention within training programs struggling to accommodate this escalating demand within the already crowded curricular space that defines graduate training programs in the field.…”

Still wanting change, still working for justice: An introduction to the special issue on social justice training in health service psychology.

“…Throughout the issue, authors provide compelling arguments and illuminating summaries of the need for HSP involvement in social justice training and the consistency of HSP goals, values, and competencies, including the need for social justice at different levels of training from graduate training courses to practicum to postdoctoral training (Curtis-Boles, Chupina, & Okubo, 2020; Treichler, Crawford, Higdon, & Backhaus, 2020). Several articles describe model programs and outcome data supporting the delivery of training across doctoral and internship levels, often alongside other professions (Brinkman & Donohue, 2020; Knutson et al, 2020; Lund, Wilbur, & Kuemmel, 2020). These articles provide a diverse array of examples of how training can be coconstructed with learners to identify a variety of practices to achieve learning social justice at individual, community, and systemic levels (Hage, Miles, Lewis, Grzanka, & Goodman, 2020).…”