Diversity Council Update: SSW
Filed under Diversity
Posted by , March 23, 2005
View all posts for March 2005
The Diversity Council (TDC) recently funded several diversity action plan initiatives at the School of Social Work. Among them are projects to examine diversity content in the SSW curriculum, and to increase the diversity of the teaching staff.
The goal of the curriculum project is to enrich students’ learning about diversity within a research and evaluation context. The project team is conducting reviews of the SSW syllabi, as well as focus groups with students, and interviews with teaching faculty.
The SSW is considering how diversity and oppression issues can be applied to the different phases of the research and evaluation process and how course readings, instructional materials, and assignments can support learning in this area.
“From our review, we expect to understand more clearly how our readings and assignments may be modified so that students have greater opportunities to learn about racism and oppression in the study of research and evaluation of social work practice,” said Associate Professor Abbie Frost, leader of the project.
The project to increase the diversity of the teaching staff focuses on the “Human Behavior in the Social Environment” (HBSE) courses. The TDC Funds support two teaching fellows from racial/ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the HBSE faculty this semester.
Each of the fellows is a social worker with many years of practice and an interest in teaching, who works in a class alongside a senior full-time faculty member. The fellows contribute to the plans for each class, participate in leading classroom discussions and making presentations, and grade some student papers along with the senior teacher.
“This semester, two classes are getting the benefit of a second perspective, that of a practicing social worker whose social identities differ from that of the senior teacher,” said Professor Ann Fleck-Henderson, leader of the project. “In addition, the teaching fellow is gaining experience and confidence in preparation for a regular adjunct teaching position.”
