Pracademics: Advancing Social Justice through Practice and Research

Overview: Social work pracademics integrate practice knowledge and theoretical understanding. DSWs are pracademics who lead in service delivery, social policy formation, and issues of social justice and social change. Leveraging the strengths and expertise of researchers (PhDs) and scholar-practitioners (DSWs) enhances social work’s ability to holistically address critical societal issues.Proposal text: Social workers have been working to address issues of discrimination and oppression for 60+ years. Recent societal crises in the United States include the immigration crisis at the southern border, black women and men dying at the hands of police officers, the erosion of transgender rights, health inequities, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Social work has a rich history of responding to crises and collaborating to address social problems in communities. Yet recent events illustrate how far our profession still must go to achieve racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Social workers must be well-informed and grounded in both research and practice. The profession must move beyond the divide of which is more valuable - either research or practice - and embrace an integrated and holistic approach whereby both research and practice are used together and inform each other.

Although not commonly used in social work, pracademics describe professionals who integrate practice knowledge and theoretical understanding (Dickfos, 2019; Owens, 2017). Other fields of study such as public administration (Posner, 2009) and foreign policy (Murphy & Fulda, 2011), are beginning to articulate the importance of expertise in both academic and professional practice. The blending of the practical and the academic is crucial to social work. In many ways, the Council on Social Work Education has set the stage to engage pracademics. For instance, the requirement for practice classes to be taught by MSWs with two years post masters experience and field education as “the signature pedagogy” (Council on Social Work Education, n.d.) which requires students to engage with practitioners both highlight the connecting of academics and practice. The purpose of this presentation is to: (a) discuss the role of the DSW in promoting pracademics in social work education, (b) explore how the DSW supports the development of scholar-practitioners, and (b) explicate the complementary roles of the DSW and PhD in social work.

The conferring of practice doctorates has increased in fields such as nursing, psychology, physical therapy, education, nutrition, and public health (Thyer, 2015). These practice doctorates, not unlike the DSW in social work, create pathways for seasoned practitioners who want advanced academic preparation at the doctoral level to inform their practice and assume professional leadership positions. The DSW supports the development of social work pracademics and bridges the longstanding divide between research and practice (Rountree & Pomeroy, 2010).
To advance racial, economic, and environmental justice social work needs DSWs, advanced scholar-practitioners, who are leaders in service delivery, social policy formation, and issues of social justice and social change.

The social work PhD has long focused on training social workers to engage in cutting edge research. Expanding the professions cadre of PhDs and DSWs enables the advancement of social work’s knowledge based through research, science, and practice. Recognizing and leveraging the strengths and expertise of researchers (PhDs) and scholar-practitioners (DSWs) enhances practice-informed research as well as the ability to translate research findings to practice, stay attuned to shifting community needs, develop mutually beneficial collaborations, and holistically address critical societal issues.