Power Sharing and Syllabus Design: Addressing Inequality in Higher Education

Overview: This interactive workshop will engage social work educators in a collaborative, dynamic conversation about how to adopt and execute antiracist pedagogy using specific examples. Facilitators will focus on Liquid Syllabi creation as a method of antiracist pedagogy. Participants will engage in small group and large group conversations with colleagues.Proposal text: A commitment to antiracist teaching has always been essential in academia and is even more so currently given the sociopolitical milieu in which violence is enacted against BIPOC (Kendi, 2019; Ohito, 2020).

Antiracist pedagogy relates to how we create classroom spaces that encourage critical, ongoing reflection regarding how the history of higher education belies the social justice roots upon which the social work profession was founded (hooks, 1994 & 2003). An important step for educators to take in thwarting the racist and oppressive practices governing higher education is revising the course syllabus to move away from the Draconian practice of listing assignments and punitive late work policies and deadlines and toward a collaborative contract between student and instructor.

Pacansky, Smedshammer, and Vincent-Layton (2020) advocate for instructors to utilize the Liquid Syllabus, a tool that opens space for dialogue and is responsive to student needs. Syllabi often use deficit-based language that can serve to isolate and alienate students, making them feel as though they do not belong in the class even before it has begun (Estrada, Eroy-Reveles & Matsui, 2018). Especially students who join social work classes from underserved communities, syllabi in the traditional form propagate systems of power and oppression. Liquid Syllabi, conversely, center the value of fostering a sense of belonging among students, asking for their feedback regarding due dates, and working alongside them to come to understand how best to represent the different ways of knowing. Often, this can look like having multiple options for each assignment (i.e., a traditional essay or creative assignment such as spoken word, poetry, or video creation), and seeking student input as to the way in which they would prefer to receive feedback (Pacansky-Brock, 2021).

A Liquid Syllabus further communicates a sharing of power even in terms of its physical form. One of the most successful tools for implementing a Liquid Syllabus is to use a website for the syllabus rather than a fixed word document or PDF. Having a URL that reflects the most updated dates and course materials invites a dynamic approach to the syllabus that invites students to be a part of the course process. The syllabus tone also can validate students in a way that encourages them to seek mental health support in the face of academic stress (Gurung & Galardi, 2021).
By utilizing Liquid Syllabi, honoring different ways of knowing, and engaging with students in a way that promotes the co-construction of knowledge, educators can work with students to be equal partners in the learning environment and eschew the white supremacist values that undergird social work education.

For the first 20 minutes, participants will be given information regarding the presenters' experiences with Liquid Syllabi and antiracist teaching methods. In groups, participants will explore areas of their syllabi in need of review and identify some specific strategies for approaching change in course design for 30 minutes. Workshop participants will collectively discuss ways of promoting inclusivity and collectively explore how these changes could impact future social workers professional practice.