Mireya Narvaez
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Lorraine Gutierrez
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology and Social Work / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 4 – 2:40pm – 3:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Mireya Narvaez , Andrea Mora
Presenter: 30
Abstract
Limited research exists on social work faculty’s perspectives of the social work curricula in the United States. Despite the field’s continued promotion of a dual focus on individual and social change both in the United States and internationally (Mizrahi, T., & Dodd, S.-J, 2013), little is known regarding how much importance faculty who teach in MSW programs place on important social justice topics ranging from immigration to feminism in their respective classrooms. As continuation to a 1999 study, a random sample of faculty from over one hundred MSW-accredited universities were surveyed in 2019 to identify faculty attitudes and views on the importance of including diversity and oppression topics in the MSW curricula. Specifically, frequencies of faculty attitudes towards significant minority communities were analyzed to gauge faculty sympathy and support towards people of color, the LGBT community, and felons. In agreement with the original hypothesis, of the eleven questions selected to represent the standard for support, the most prevalent response for each question demonstrated a strong allegiance to the rights of the outlined communities. Given that little is known about faculty’s perspectives regarding the content they teach their students, the identification of social issues faculty feel most strongly about offers a key insight into the institutions impacting the next generation of professionals. Moreover, findings from the current study can have implications for preventing potential biases among faculty from affecting the goals of the field of social work.
Interdisciplinary, Social Sciences
