Strengthening critical allyship in social work education: opportunities in the context of #BlackLivesMatter and COVID-19
- Authors: Gates, Trevor , Bennett, Bindi , Baines, Donna
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Social work education Vol. 42, no. 3 (2023), p. 371-387
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- Description: COVID-19 has shifted social work education and widened the gaps in services for historically marginalised communities, including people of diverse cultural, sexual and gender identities and social classes. Existing inequities based on cultural differences have been magnified, perhaps most recently evident in George Floyd's slaying and the subsequent #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations across the globe. Learning to be an ally for diverse communities and working towards the betterment of all people is a goal of social work education. We argue that simple allyship is not enough given the structural inequities present in North America and Australia the civil unrest amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Social work education's focus should trend towards allegiance with disadvantaged communities or critical allyship and include a commitment to undertake decisive actions to redress the entrenched colonial, capitalist, systemic and structural inequities that oppress many and provide unearned privilege and advantage to others. We explore strategies used in classrooms to promote allegiance and make recommendations for social work education, policy, and practice in this time of change.
An intercultural critical reflection model
- Authors: Redfern, Helen , Bennett, Bindi
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of social work practice Vol. 36, no. 2 (2022), p. 135-147
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- Description: Critical reflection is an important tool used by social workers to develop culturally responsive education, practice, and supervision. Current frameworks provide clearly defined processes for learners and professionals to create culturally safe learning and practice. However, in the models currently used in Australian social work, there is no representation of Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing. In this paper, we introduce a new model which integrates, for the first time, both Western and Aboriginal Peoples' epistemologies in critical reflection. This model is intended to be used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous learners and professionals who are dedicated to creating culturally safe spaces that acknowledge and integrate Aboriginal Peoples' culture and wisdom. The aim of the model is to support social workers to reflect deeply, then integrate and act on their learning in a culturally responsive way that may create transformative practice.
Creating spatial, relational and cultural safety in online social work education during COVID-19
- Authors: Bennett, Bindi , Ross, Dyann , Gates, Trevor
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Social work education Vol. 41, no. 8 (2022), p. 1660-1668
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- Description: Spatial, relational and cultural safety are critical elements of trauma-informed social work practice, gaining momentum in social work education. Culturally responsive and trauma-informed pedagogical approaches meet the definition of safety. The aim is to create a democratic, collaborative, and reflexive space whereby students and educators can feel simultaneously supported in the diversity of their respective lived experiences and learning. The challenges in fostering these learning and teaching spaces are reflected upon at one Australian university which responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by quickly transitioning to online learning without prior planning and consultation. The reflection describes the challenges and opportunities in delivering online content and the use of spatial, relational and cultural safety to navigate these challenges. The authors demonstrate the Aboriginal practice of social Yarning for use in online classrooms. Yarning helps educators and students attend to safety as an integral dimension of social work education.
“Before the training I just assumed they've done something bad”: Reporting on professional training for pharmacy assistants and pharmacy dispensary technicians on medically assisted treatment of opioid dependence
- Authors: Patil, Tejaswini , Mummery, Jane , Salman, Mohammed , Cooper, Simon J. , Williams, Dominic
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy Vol. 17, no. 7 (2021), p. 1250-1258
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- Description: Background: A study that examined the lived experiences of Medically Assisted Treatment of Opioid Dependence (MATOD) consumers suggested that they had experienced discrimination and stigma in pharmacies in regional Victoria, Australia. To address this, the need for professional training opportunities for Pharmacy Assistants (PAs) and Pharmacy Dispensary Technicians (PTDs) had been emphasised. A research project was undertaken to develop training modules using Social Determinants of Health (SDH) for PAs and PDTs involved in providing MATOD pharmacy services in regional Victoria, and to evaluate their effectiveness. Objectives: The study aimed to examine and evaluate changes in attitudes and practices amongst PAs and PDTs involved in MATOD services in regional Victoria, Australia and who had undertaken the training modules. Methods: The paper reports primarily on the in-depth qualitative interviews that were completed after the training with PAs and PTDs. Thematic analysis was employed to code the data. Results: Thematic analysis generated five themes: understanding of the professional role of PAs and PTDs, initial judgements concerning MATOD consumers, reflection on the SDH, training content analysis, and the post-training impact upon Professional Practice. These themes reflected participants’ insights with regards both to MATOD consumers and the impact the training itself had had on their professional practice. Conclusion: “Consciousness-raising” from participation in the training can positively influence the development of participants’ professional attitudes and practices with regards to MATOD service delivery. This development supports that training informed by SDH and ideas of critical reflection can help facilitate the creation of knowledge around the social construction of health and increased understanding of the impacts of language-use, attitudes and behaviour. © 2020
What to bring when you are told not to bring a thing: The need for protocols in acknowledging indigenous knowledges and participants in Australian research
- Authors: Bennett, Bindi
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of sociology Vol. 56, no. 2 (2020), p. 167-183
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- Description: This article provides a content analysis of articles published in Australian 'Social Work, the British Journal of Social Work, the International Journal of Social Welfare' and 'International Social Work' from 2007 to 2017 regarding the practice of acknowledging Indigenous participants and knowledges in articles that contain Indigenous content. This article argues that acknowledgement is an important way of recognising and showing respect for Indigenous people, as active agents in the research process. Indigenous cultural ideas, values and principles are now contributing to and informing a significant amount of research. Ways are suggested by which authors and journals can develop good practice when acknowledging Indigenous peoples respectfully within their research. This research found a need for the development of specific journal editorial policies and guidelines for authors who wish to publish content pertaining to Indigenous peoples that adequately reflects their contribution while protecting and acknowledging Indigenous knowledge, ideas and ownership of information.
Visualising career progression for ICT professionals and the implications for ICT curriculum design in higher education
- Authors: Von Konsky, Brian , Jones, Asheley , Miller, Charlynn
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Sixteenth Australasian Computing Education Conference (ACE2014) p. 13-20
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- Description: The current environment in higher education calls for more consideration of the linkages between ICT curriculum development, skills capabilities and industry, particularly in light of recent changes in quality and standards agencies. This paper evaluates ICT career progression visualisation methodology and has a threefold purpose: to contribute to a holistic approach to curriculum design and management; to add to materials that aid graduates to better prepare initial professional practice choices for employment in the ICT profession; and to facilitate further dialogue with industry representatives, higher education providers and other ICT stakeholders to ensure undergraduate curricula authentically reflects the skills required within the ICT profession. This paper evaluates SFIA-based tools intended to enable educational designers to visualise ICT career progression pathways and thus inform curriculum design in higher education. Several visualisation techniques are compared using SFIA-based skillsets that were previously published in the literature. The evaluation demonstrates extended radar diagrams are an effective visual representation for capturing the level at which SFIA skill sets are practiced. The research indicates that such representations are well positioned to enhance dialogue amongst stakeholders and contribute to the design of ICT curriculum in a manner that better prepares students for ongoing development in the profession.