Overview: The implicit curriculum is an integral part of social work curriculum design. This study explored what constitutes a safe learning environment from the perspectives of students in an online distance MSW program. Four major themes were identified: cohort collaboration, principles of engagement, professionalism, and growth.Proposal text: Background The Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (Council on Social Work Education: CSWE, 2015) features four components of integrated social work curriculum design that include program mission and goals, explicit curriculum (EC), implicit curriculum (IC), and assessment. The IC refers to “the learning environment in which the explicit curriculum is presented” (CSWE, 2015, p. 12). Studies have examined the IC in social work education. For example, Grady et al., (2018) examined the psychometric properties of the implicit curriculum survey. Peterson et al. (2014) focused on students’ experiences with the IC in school and field settings and the associated impact on students’ professional empowerment. Although the IC is considered as equally important as the EC, a lack of attention to the IC has been identified (Bogo & Wayne, 2013; Grady et al., 2018). The importance of a student’s learning environment is emphasized in educational settings (Kaufmann & Vallade, 2020; Rustics et al., 2021). One of the critical features of a student’s learning environment is safety (e.g., Prashanti & Ramnarayan, 2020; Soares & Lopes, 2017). A safe learning environment encourages students to engage in difficult discussions with a sense of responsibility (Harless, 2018). Holley and Steiner (2005) highlight that safety is often perceived as a distinct environmental need for exchanging thoughts and feelings especially in relation to challenging topics such as diversity and cultural competence. Currently, many social work programs offer full or partial distance and online education courses. The global pandemic has accelerated this trend. Online teaching platforms present unique challenges in comparison to an in-person classroom learning environment. Ensuring safety in students’ learning environment can be particularly challenging in an asynchronous setting due to the lack of direct interaction and communication. Therefore, the need to examine what constitutes a safe learning environment in social work online distance education is imminent.
Methods This study used a qualitative research design to generate insight from the perspectives of students in an online distance MSW program. Data consists of students’ discussion excerpts addressing what should be included in a class covenant to create a safe learning space. Excerpts were collected from the classes taught by the presenter from 2017 to 2019. Excerpts from 247 students in 22 courses were analyzed. Qualitative content analysis was used to systematically process and analyze data. This process included searching for patterns and themes, measuring the frequency of different categories and themes, and examining the code co-occurrence (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). Qualitative analysis software, DeDoose was used to aid the data analysis process.
Results Four major themes were identified through data analysis: 1) cohort collaboration, 2) principles of engagement, 3) professionalism, and 4) growth. Sub-codes supported main themes, which interacted and overlapped in the construction of a safe learning environment.
Conclusions The IC informs professional values in social work education. It is especially important to ensure that the learning environment cultivates students’ learning and development within online distance social work programs. The results of this study can be utilized to improve the quality of social work education.
