Redesigning a Diversity and Social Justice Course in a School of Social Work

Overview: This presentation will critically discuss the curriculum redesign of a diversity course in a large MSW program with both online and in-person campus teaching. Guided by theoretical and pedagogical frameworks such as Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, and cultural humility, we engaged multiple stakeholders in the revision of our diversity course.Proposal text: Social workers and social work faculty are champions of human rights and strive to ensure that teaching and student learning are aligned with the latest knowledge, skills and research undergirding competent practice from an anti-racist, social justice perspective. This panel presentation will critically discuss the curriculum redesign of a diversity course in a large MSW program with both online and in-person campus teaching. Guided by theoretical and pedagogical frameworks such as Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, and cultural humility, we engaged multiple stakeholders in the revision of our diversity course: students, alumni, and faculty with diverse teaching profiles. We committed to a process of critical self-reflection as a School of Social Work to shift from understanding and knowledge of key pedagogical frameworks to application of this knowledge so that our MSW students can be better prepared to work with political, economic and social justice efforts at the micro/mezzo/macro levels of practice. We will discuss 1) historical and social contexts (national, local) leading to the call for curricular change, 2) the process of discovery and collaboration towards consensus-building, 2) theoretical frameworks, 3) course redesign components, 4) instructor development and support, and 5) lessons learned and remaining challenges. We will demonstrate how these efforts intentionally honored alignment with our NASW Code of Ethics and the CSWE Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). The presentation will be delivered didactically with opportunities to share our course redesign strategy, lessons learned, examples of the redesigned curriculum, and question/answer period.

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