Developing Anti-Racist Practice in Social Work Field Education

Background and Purpose

The Council on Social Work Education’s 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards expects students to develop competence in engaging anti-racism in practice. As the signature pedagogy of the profession, field education provides students with opportunities to integrate “knowledge acquired across the curriculum with the practical world of a social work practice setting in the community” (CSWE, 2022). Explicitly and implicitly, students learn whether—and how—anti-racism is part of practice at their field placement. Field instructors play an important role in socializing and modeling knowledge, skills, and values (Kadushin & Harkness, 2014). This study explores White MSW students’ experiences learning about anti-racism in the field education, focusing on supervision with their field instructor.

Methods

Participants were recruited as part of a quantitative study about White MSW students’ commitment to anti-racist practice. After completing a survey, students could volunteer to be interviewed for this project. Interviews focused on the understanding of racial justice, observations of anti-racism work at field placements, and conversations about anti-racist practice in supervision. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. A thematic analysis was conducted by multiple coders in Dedoose.

Results

Participants (N=30) included 25 women and 5 men who attended MSW programs nationwide. Their field placements included: macro/policy (n=7), outpatient mental health (n=5), nonprofit agency (n=4), healthcare (n=4), residential program (n=3), school (n=3), child welfare (n=2), and housing (n=2).

Participants shared examples of social workers advancing racial justice at their placement, including addressing inequities (n=47), engaging in advocacy and policymaking (n=37), and doing their own reflective work (n=30). Participants identified barriers to advancing anti-racism, including competing priorities (n=14) and the lack of an explicit connection to the agency’s mission (n=10).

Participants described their supervisory experiences in same-race (n=27) and cross-racial (n=3) pairings. Some students (n=14) initiated conversations about racial justice with their supervisor, while others (n=15) reported that their supervisor raised the topic. A third of students (n=11) wanted more conversation about anti-racism in supervision. In considering the future, participants shared plans to utilize culturally relevant approaches (n=17), immerse racial justice in all of their work (n=17), remain aware of the impact of their Whiteness (n=16), remain open to learning more (n=16), and engage in work on structural and systemic levels (n=12).

Conclusions and Implications

These White MSW students identified examples of anti-racism in practice at their field placements. A third of students wanted more conversation about anti-racism with their field instructor in supervision. The organizational culture and broader societal factors may influence the focus of supervision and the time spent on any particular aspect (Kadushin & Harkness, 2014). Social work programs can support field instructors in developing their supervisory skills, including how to initiate conversations about anti-racism and model anti-racism in practice. This study illustrates one way to work toward the SSWR conference theme of “re-centering and democratizing knowledge.”