Social Workers' Engagement in Social Action: Examining the Micro/Macro Divide

Background:

According to the NASW Code of Ethics, social work is a profession that seeks to enhance the well-being of all people, and promote social justice and social change through a range of activities, such as direct practice, community organizing, social and political action, and policy development.  However, the current literature suggests that the profession’s focus on social justice and social action are weakening, and being replaced by individualism and therapeutic interventions. 

Studies consistently demonstrate an association between being a macro (versus micro) social worker and higher levels of social and political action.  However, recent studies have revealed that only 9% of MSW students were enrolled in macro concentration courses in 2011, and only 14% of practicing social workers reported macro practice as their primary focus in 2008.  These figures suggest that the field is currently highly oriented toward micro-level practice, which may provide one explanation for the profession’s diminishing emphasis on social action.

The aims of this study were:  1) to examine social workers’ level of engagement in social action activities, and 2) to explore which factors predict social action participation.  I hypothesized that level of practice would predict social action behavior such that being a macro practitioner would predict higher levels of social action activity.

Methods:

Data were collected in the summer of 2015 for a Research Practicum class in a Social Work PhD program at a mid-Atlantic public university.  A cross-sectional survey was mailed to 750 NASW members in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia; 188 completed surveys were returned, yielding a 25% response rate. 

An OLS regression model was used to determine whether level of practice (micro versus macro) predicted social action behavior after controlling for age, race, income, education, and belief in responsibility to engage in social action. 

Results: 

Age, “responsibility”, and level of practice were the only significant predictors of social action behavior.  For every year increase in age, there was a .011-point increase in respondents’ social action scores (p< 01).  Similarly, belief in responsibility to engage in social action behavior was associated with a .613-point increase in frequency of social action behavior (p<.001).  Most importantly, level of practice was a significant predictor such that being a macro or mezzo-level practitioner was associated with a .406-point increase in frequency of social action behavior compared to being a micro-level practitioner (p<.001).  The R²for the final model indicated that 21.3% of the variance in social action behavior was explained by all of the predictors combined. 

 Implications:

These findings suggest that being older, feeling a responsibility to engage in social action, and identifying oneself as a mezzo or macro-level practitioner predict increased frequency of social action behavior, as hypothesized.  Contrary to expectations, the mean social action score of 2.64 (out of 5) indicates that this sample only engaged in a moderate level of social action behaviors.  Implications for educators and professionals include placing more of an emphasis on social action in schools of social work and in practice settings and promoting the importance of macro-level practice.