Making Our Mission Explicit: Integrating Anti-Oppressive Practice in Course Content, Design, and Facilitation

Overview: Anti-oppressive practice challenges oppressive conditions to affect structural change. The purpose of this presentation is to underscore the value of and need for more explicit integration of anti-oppressive practice in social work education. Strategies highlighting course content, design, and facilitation are provided from policy, political social work, and field courses.Proposal text:

Background: Anti-oppressive social work practice (AOP) can be understood as a collective of theoretical perspectives and practice approaches that explore oppression and group identity (e.g. race, gender, ability, sexual orientation) in service of social justice and change (Morgaine, & Capous-Desyllas, 2019). AOP posits that oppression should be explored as a potential explanatory cause of many social problems and resulting mental health concerns among individuals identifying with marginalized groups. Thus, the ultimate goal of AOP is to affect structural change by recognizing and challenging oppressive conditions. Further, AOP recognizes that the dynamics of oppression not only result in adverse impacts on mental/physical health and general well-being but also the restriction of social, educational, occupational and economic opportunities. The intent is to equalize the balance of power and resources in society to be able to mediate resulting social problems and stressors on individuals; principles of AOP reflect themes of equity, inclusion, empowerment, intersectionality, centering voices historically marginalized, and collaboration (Dominelli & Campling, 2002; Mullaley & West, 2013; Robbins, 2017).

Purpose/ Overview/ Themes: The purpose of this presentation is to underscore the value of and need for more explicit integration of anti-oppressive practice in social work education. The presentation will include a conceptual overview of AOP and its principles as well as revisions for two core undergraduate courses—Social Welfare Policy & the Social Work Profession and Field Practicum—as well as an elective course, Political Social Work. Example strategies for integrating AOP content will be described. Aspects of course design that reflect AOP (e.g., student learning outcomes, discussion prompts, revised assignments, newly created assignments) will be outlined. Lastly, questions for consideration and strategies pertaining to course facilitation will be provided.
After this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe AOP and its principles,
2. Describe examples of integrating AOP in course content, design, and facilitation, and
3. Brainstorm ways to focus on AOP in their individual contexts.
Given the courses explored and nature of AOP, the presentation most closely assigns with the conference themes of civil rights and social and environmental justice.

Significance for Social Work Education/Practice: Explicitly and intentionally integrating AOP provides a conceptual framing that strongly connects to the mission of the profession but can at times be absent or underutilized, particularly in teaching those interested in direct practice social work. This reality calls upon social work education to more clearly identify the impact of systems and structures in enforcing vulnerability, marginalization, and disenfranchisement---and importantly—the theory and method the profession can utilize to create social change.

Dominelli, L., & Campling, J. (2002). Anti-oppressive social work theory and practice. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Morgaine, K., & Capous-Desyllas, M. (2019). Anti-oppressive social work practice (2nd ed.).
Sage.
Mullaly, R. P. & West, J. (2013). Challenging oppression and confronting privilege: A critical approach to anti-oppressive and anti-privilege theory and practice. Oxford University Press, Third Edition, USA.
Robbins, S. P. (2017). Oppression theory and social work treatment. In Turner, F.J. (Ed.), Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches, Sixth Edition (pp. 343-353).