Disabled Social Work Students' Lived Experiences with the Implicit Curriculum

Background: Given the call for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work within the social work profession, we must address these issues within our higher education programs and curriculum. All too often, disability is left out of the discussion of DEI work. However, the minority model and the social model of disability call for recognition that people with disabilities often experience discrimination and exclusion in ways that are similar to those from minoritized racial and ethnic groups as they are oppressed (explicitly and implicitly) by the able-bodied majority. In order to advance DEI in the social work workforce, higher education programs must attract, include, and maintain a diverse student body. There have been extensive efforts to recruit and retain BIPOC individuals, with significantly less attention to disabled students. The implicit curriculum has been called out as an essential factor in retaining and supporting students towards degree completion.

Due to the value of the implicit curriculum, the call for DEI, and the dearth of attention to disabled people as potential for a diverse workforce, we need to better understand disabled students’ experiences. Thus, this study explores the question, “What are the lived experiences of students with disabilities in social work programs, specifically related to the implicit curriculum?”

Methods: This qualitative inquiry used a phenomenology design, aiming to gain understanding of participants’ lived experiences with feeling excluded and included in social work programs, specifically related to their disability. This research project was a true collaboration between social work faculty and students, with students as both the research participants and the data collectors. 10 participants completed one-on-one interviews over zoom. Participants were recruited via social media and the snowball method. Data was analyzed using the whole-part-whole method used often in phenomenological research.

Results: Several important themes were identified, which can be categorized into experiences of exclusion and inclusion. Participants reported mixed experiences with receiving accommodations. While many reported that the disability services office at their university was helpful and supportive, several examples of accommodations not being carried out by social work programs and faculty were discovered, including not acknowledging or providing required accommodations, and an extreme of mocking and shaming students in front of peers for using accommodations. Many participants reported feeling that processes (e.g. practicum placement, course scheduling) were intentionally made more difficult for them as a disabled student, as a form of academic hazing and gate-keeping. Examples of feeling intentionally included and supported as a disabled student came from specific professors who often had their own lived experience with disability, as well as fellow students.

Conclusions and Implications: These findings have significant implications for social work education, specifically in the area of DEI. By centering lived experiences of those most impacted by disability inclusion and exclusion, we can raise awareness about a significant social justice issue for our profession, as well as promote access to higher education for a marginalized population. Several examples of efforts to be inclusive were provided, that can serve as practical strategies for social work programs to undertake.