PhD Student University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Urbana, Illinois, United States
Overview: This presentation utilizes a historical perspective to infuse three topics: social justice theory, the U.S. criminal legal system, and social work education, Additionally, this presentation applies social justice tenets to the social work profession and discusses the incorporation of criminal legal content into social work explicit and implicit curricula.Proposal text: Beginning as a social contract necessary for human socialization and survival, philosophers asserted people’s undeniable human rights through the theory of “social justice” (Pogge, 1988; Johnston, 2011; Platz, 2011; Simmons, 2016). Although the United States colonized the country with Locke’s social justice tenets of life, liberty, and property, the criminal legal system was created under Rousseau’s punitive response to injustices. Meanwhile, the social work profession and its curriculum developed (Austin, 1997). However, as a result of colonization, racism, and classism, BIPOC individuals, families, and communities were disproportionately both entrapped in the criminal legal system (Kovera, 2019) and underserved by social work education and practice (Gary & Gary, 1994; Hopps et al., 2021; Parker, 2022).
Throughout the professionalization of social work, social justice remained central to education, practice, research, and policy (Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), 2015; National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 2021). Despite the modernization of social justice theory to centralize fairness (Rawls, 1971, 1999), the theory remained individualized and excluded people affected by the criminal legal system, including BIPOC communities. Therefore, social justice tenets lacked consistent applications to all populations and settings (Hawkins et al., 2001; Pettus-Davis, 2012; Scheyett et al., 2012).
Recently, Nicotera (2019) defined social justice tenets for the social work profession through a “circle of insight”, contesting that justice is both a process and a product, surpasses equality and equity, and incorporates empowerment and critical consciousness frameworks. This definition acknowledges the social work profession’s attention to the micro and macro levels and aligns with restorative and transformative justice frameworks. However, few studies exist on criminal legal explicit and implicit curricula [Author, In progress]. Therefore, the need for infusing a social justice theoretical tenets (Hodge, 2009; Funge, 2011, 2012; Watts & Hodgson, 2019) and criminal legal content into the social work curriculum is apparent.
First, this presentation examines the historical contexts of three topics: a) social justice theory, from justice as a social contract to justice as fairness; b) the criminal legal system, from the racist criminalization of substances to mass incarceration; and c) social work’s educational and professional development, including the exclusion of BIPOC social workers in higher education settings and addressing the injustices that BIPOC communities face. Next, this presentation compares historical interpretations of social justice theory with Nicotera’s (2019) tenets, with applications to the criminal legal system. Finally, this presentation examines the literature on current practices in criminal legal social work education, including the incorporation of explicit (Ivanoff et al., 1993; Young & LoMonaco, 2001; Roberts & Springer, 2009; Maschi & Killian, 2011; Epperson et al., 2013; Warde, 2014; Kubiak & Milanovic, 2017; Maschi et al., 2019) and implicit curricula (Young, 2014, 2015; Toi, 2015; Knight, 2017; Secula, 2018).
Attendees will receive a historical overview of social justice theory, the criminal legal system, and social work education. The infusion of these topics facilitates the practical application of social work-aligned social justice tenets into education on the criminal legal system. Additionally, attendees can apply this presentation globally to other sub-fields of social work.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, the participant will be able to describe the historical context of social justice theoretical tenets, including the following frameworks: justice as a social contract, justice as fairness, retributive justice, rehabilitative justice, restorative justice, transformative justice, and abolitionism.
Upon completion, the participant will be able to compare and contrast social work social justice tenets with historical and modern approaches to justice in the United States criminal legal system.
Upon completion, the participant will be able to synthesize the incorporation of United States criminal legal explicit and implicit content into the social work curriculum.
