At The Table or On The Menu: Political Social Work Since 2016

Overview: This session reviews a longitudinal national study of social work students and practitioners’ political attitudes and activity. We examine changes in attitudes about political action and government change, particularly before and after the 2016 election. Implications for classroom, field, and practice are examined.Proposal text: The 2016 presidential election was a benchmark for shifts in civic engagement in the US (Misra, 2019; Sydell, 2017). Individuals’ responses to the current political environment express their experiences and perceptions of their ability to affect the system. This study examines ways these political changes affect social workers and students with implications for classroom, field, and future research.
Background
The 2016 election and subsequent events increased political involvement among many groups. Voter turnout in 2018 and 2020 included record involvement (Misra, 2019; Schaul, et al., 2020), and increases in participation in advocacy like the Women’s March, protests at airports after the 2017 travel ban, and collective action in response to George Floyd’s murder. Organizations supporting candidate development and recruitment reported unprecedented growth (Kurtzleben, 2018; Litman, 2017). These increases were pronounced among women, young people, and communities of color (Carter & Lautier, 2018). Characteristics such as race, gender, and political party seemed to affect individuals’ responses to the 2016 election and subsequent events (c.f. Berry, et al., 2019, Campi & Junn, 2019)
Social workers’ political action exceeds the general public in voting and passive political action (Ezell, 1993; Ritter, 2007; Rome & Hoechstetter, 2010), and a minority of social workers engage in active political activities other than voting (Hylton, 2015; Lane, 2011; Ritter, 2007; Rome & Hoechstetter, 2010). No systematic study of the engagement of social work academics in policy and political processes has been completed (Gal & Weiss-Gal, 2017). Mosley (2013) suggests social workers’ advocacy activities exist within organizational contexts; funding, management, and structure of social workers’ places of employment also shape social workers’ political engagement. While the field has a stated ethical commitment to advocacy (NASW, 2021) and historical and practice precedents for engagement, there is much room for growth.
Current study methods
This study examines 2015-2019 data from two national programs. The first has trained 2,300 social work students, faculty, and practitioners to run for elected office since 1995. The second works through schools of social work to create opportunities for student voter engagement. Our research asks: How did political engagement and efficacy of social workers and students changed in the time immediately preceding and following 2016? We also examine characteristics such as previous level of political engagement, race, gender, level of education, and type of program attended. The data used for this study includes 1,500+ participants from 10+ states. Surveys from 2015-2016 were compared to 2017-2019. The survey instruments measure political efficacy, voter registration status, and demographic information.
Implications
Findings from this study will inform social work educators and practitioners about the impact of the 2016 elections on students’ political engagement. The presentation will provide preliminary data that informs ways in which the social work classroom can effectively meet the needs of students in our programs in order to connect them effectively with ethical obligations to social and political action. We will also discuss ongoing research in the wake of the 2020 elections and following political disruptions in the United States.