Internalizing and Advocating for Social Work Professional Ethics through Filmmaking: A Innovative and Progressive Teaching Reform for MSW Curriculum

Background and Purpose: The importance of social work ethics in Master of Social Work (MSW) education cannot be overstated, as they form the foundation for professional practice and guide social workers' decision-making and behavior throughout their careers. However, no visual teaching tools are available to measure the extent to which students have internalized professional ethics. Meanwhile, discussions on social work education in the digital era have focused on instructional technology. Yet, little attention has been paid to incorporating digital artifacts as mechanisms for learning. Particularly, with the popularity of creative short video clips generated by young people on social media, it is promising to integrate filmmaking as a learning tool for MSW students.

Through an internationally-collaborated educational action research conducted between 2020 and 2022, the present study aims to explore effective and culturally competent ways of integrating microfilm-making into the course design of the MSW-level Social Work Ethics course. The study also aims to extend the lessons learned to international social work educators interested in incorporating digital artifacts into their educational practice on professional ethics. This project is partially supported by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW).

Methods: The action research approach was adopted to implement a teaching reform on the Social Work Ethics curriculum in China through two action cycles. The first action cycle (2020 and 2021) integrated scripted filmmaking into the course. The second action cycle (2022) involved international collaboration on providing enhanced training in filmmaking techniques and comprehensive guidance to students through all stages of the filmmaking process.

Results: In the first action cycle, the Chinese instructor redesigned the course structure and added student-led microfilm-making as a final assignment. The evaluation showed that the expected learning objectives were not adequately fulfilled. Primary obstacles include students' lack of skills and experience in the film production processes and limited realism and educational components within the scripts generated by students. In response to the challenges in the first action cycle, three instructors from China and the United States collaborated on the second cycle to provide more refined training in and outside the classroom. Students learned to use documentary filmmaking to identify and focus on real-world professional ethical dilemmas and overcome technical challenges to create high-quality content. Moreover, continuous and guided discussions on the proper visualization of social work ethics encouraged active reflection and stimulated critical thinking among students. All microfilms were premiered at a student-organized filming festival and successfully demonstrated students' internalization of professional values and capability to advocate for such values to the general audience.

Conclusions and Implications: The present study provides practical lessons and evidence for social work educators interested in adopting filmmaking methods as a learning tool for MSW students. Incorporating microfilm-making in social work education requires sufficient training in film production, a focus on realism and social work values, and a comprehensive plan to guide students in the learning process. The successful collaboration between Chinese and American instructors offers a model for cross-cultural and international cooperation in social work education.