Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Advocating for Human Rights in Higher Education

Overview: Panelists will discuss their experiences in advocating for students and department faculty/staff within a public, state-funded university. Panelists will highlight key challenges social work educators and programs may face in the midst of drastic societal and educational change and possible creative solutions.Proposal text: Background
Social work educators teach students to advocate for social justice and to dismantle systems of oppression, while simultaneously navigating institutional barriers that negatively impact student, faculty, and staff well-being, mental health, and human rights. Because accredited social work programs are responsible for guiding students in their understanding and active adoption of the professional values outlined by the NASW Code of Ethics (NASW, 2021), an uncomfortable reality exists in that they must also operate within higher education structures that uphold racist and colonized hierarchies (Hanesworth, 2017). The recent sociopolitical context of the Trump presidency, a global pandemic, and a more visible fight for racial justice has directly impacted public institutions of higher education, leading to rapidly shrinking resources and ever-increasing demands on educators. Social work staff, faculty, program directors, and department chairs find themselves sometimes in direct opposition to university administrators as they attempt to decolonize their curricula, advocate for the rights of students, and grow their programs while remaining true to social work values.
While this tension is not new, the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the social and human rights injustices already present in higher education and society. Students have a right to an education, yet Black, Indigenous and students of color face barriers to accessing higher education. Faculty and staff have a right to favorable working conditions, but increasing demands coupled with shrinking resources are leading to untenable levels of burnout. Recent research on mental health of social work students during the pandemic shows a significant spike in anxiety (Díaz-Jiménez, et al., 2020), depression (Lawrence et al., 2021), and high levels of stress across all aspects of functioning (Apgar & Cadmus, 2021). Social work educators are also experiencing high levels of intense stress and burnout (Peinado & Anderson, 2020), particularly those in parenting or caregiving roles (Deryugina, et al., 2021), as they have been required to carry on as usual with minimal institutional support or acknowledgement, placing the needs of others before their own (Hansel, 2020).
This all presents several challenges and opportunities for advocacy for social work educators at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. First, how can programs advocate for the human rights of social work students, particularly those who already experience barriers within institutions of higher education? Second, how can social work educators advocate for resources and the importance of the profession when social workers are needed more than ever? And third, how can social work educators advocate for systemic support from their host institutions to prevent burnout during a time of such intense prolonged stress?
Objectives of Panel Discussion
The panel brings together BSW and MSW program faculty, program directors, and the department chair who will be speaking from their perspectives as educators, parents/caregivers, and community members. Panelists will discuss their experiences in advocating for creative solutions to support students and department faculty/staff within a public, state-funded university. This discussion will highlight key challenges social work educators and programs may face in the midst of drastic societal and educational change, and possible solutions.