Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose This study explores potential practice dilemmas that a recent proposed immigration policy may present to social work students. The researchers questioned MSW students about their potential actions regarding a proposed immigration policy. Proposition 200 is an Arizona ballot initiative passed in the November 2004 election. Proposition 200 requires all public employees to check the legal status of individuals prior to providing any services regarded as public benefits, including social work services. Methods The researchers chose an exploratory, qualitative research design. We sought to develop methods that would first and foremost allow for a safe and confidential environment for students to present the complexities and paradoxes of their decision-making processes regarding ethical dilemmas posed by the policy. Students were asked to reflect upon the case and write anonymous narratives in response to a practice scenario. The scenario presents the case of an undocumented Mexican woman who sought social work services after being abused by her husband. The scenario sets up conditions covered by proposition 200, and is designed to elicit student responses regarding their self-anticipated behavior. This methodology was selected over face to face interviews to minimize social desirability bias as the researchers anticipated that some of the participants' responses might be controversial, and that face-to-face interviews might have led to selective responses. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis methods utilizing six successive stages designed to minimize errors in coding. The first round consisted of the data being read without the intent to specifically code. The second round moved to open coding, where codes were assigned to the data with as much specificity as possible. The third round of coding, done one week later, utilized the same process. This was done to ensure that the initially developed codes were congruent with the data. Areas of inconsistency were analyzed and codes were ascribed that best characterized the passages. The fourth round of coding helped draw connections between the codes, and develop themes on a higher level of abstraction. The fifth round focused on alternative explanations in the data, whereby the researchers actively sought to find evidence that ran counter to patterns or themes previously found. Results The analysis found themes related to three key areas: decisions regarding the provision of service, ethical issues that the case presented, and creative solutions to contend with the identified ethical and practice dilemmas. The majority of students indicated that they would provide services to the client, and would not report her. A sizable minority stated they would provide services, but would report her. Additional students stated they would report the client, and would deny services. Ethical issue were identified included the conflict between obeying the law verses social work values and ethics, confidentiality, self-preservation verses serving the client, and service as a human right. Implications Discussion will focus on implications for diversity and social justice in social work education. Implications also pertain to how faculty can help teach students understand the nature of ethnical dilemmas and the practice implications of complex social policies.