Faculty Member Works to Elevate Unheard Voices to Influence Social Work Practice

When asked about the future of social work, a new member of the KU School of Social Welfare faculty has a career goal that may seem counterintuitive to some. “I want the profession to not exist anymore,” declares e alexander, Ph.D., assistant professor with the school and an affiliate with the KU Toni Johnson Center for Racial and Social Justice.

But on further examination, Dr. alexander’s goal makes all the sense in the world.

“Social work exists because social inequities exist. People often don’t know how to access resources, don’t have the agency to do so, or don’t have anyone to advocate for them in doing so,” Dr. alexander explains. “Ideally, I want to live in a society where social work isn’t necessary because when people have needs, members of their communities come together and take care of each other.

That’s how it is in my communities.” Dr. alexander is a Black woman from farming and mining communities, and a first-generation college graduate. “The adage in social work is, ‘When we do a good job, we work ourselves out of a job’ because clients don’t need us anymore!”

One of the ways Dr. alexander is working toward that future is by helping social welfare students to look at themselves and their clients differently.

First, social workers must understand their own frames of reference, which are shaped by factors such as their experiences, genders, races, and belief systems, because all those identities will impact their interaction with their clients.

“None of us is a blank slate. None of us is genderless, raceless, sizeless. If practitioners are not aware of their own personhood and the fact that their personhoods are not objective, and if they are not aware of those things in themselves and in their clients, then they have the potential to reproduce the very systems of oppression that make their jobs necessary in the first place,” Dr. alexander says.

As an example, Dr. alexander describes a possible scenario in which a social worker who is white and Christian is asked to assist a client who is a Muslim refugee from a country in East Africa. “If the social worker has never interrogated their own positionality in terms of race, nationality, and worldview, there are so many different ways they could end up being religiously oppressive or dismissive, or racist, or western-centric,” Dr. alexander points out. “They could do that harm and not even realize they are doing it. That’s why constant education and selfwork is important. It’s an ongoing process.”

Second, Dr. alexander says social workers must be able to see the world through the eyes of their clients and adapt their approaches to address a person’s unique needs. “A practitioner’s approach must be responsive to, and catered to, whomever they are serving. There is no cookie-cutter intervention or practice,” Dr. alexander explains.

In fact, Dr. alexander recommends that social workers go a step further and ask their clients what they need, instead of making assumptions about the best course of action on their behalf. “We need to ask the experts, the clients: ‘What would you need – what resources need to be accessible, what conditions need to exist – for your problems to go away?’ I guarantee they have ideas. These are the first steps in how practitioners should design interventions that sustain change –so they can work themselves out of their jobs!”

Dr. alexander’s academic research is grounded in community, culture and place, and focuses on developing new ways to elevate voices of individuals who have historically been unheard, excluded or harmed in academia. Currently, Dr. alexander is co-editing a book with Dr. Penny A. Pasque that collects the works of scholars who employ a wide variety of culturally responsive research methods. Advancing Culturally Responsive Research and Researchers: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods will help faculty and other researchers learn how to place cultural relevancy at the center of their work, with a goal of uplifting the voices and the needs of people who have historically been marginalized in research – including those who access human services.

“Practitioners could make for some of the strongest scholars! Techniques like interviewing, group work, and arts-based approaches are used in both therapeutic practice and research. Practitioners collect and construct data with clients, who are participants in that process,” Dr. alexander says.

“A lot of members of communities of Color, and low-income communities, and rural communities also do work that aligns with social welfare,” Dr. alexander points out. “They are the mothers of churches, PTA parents, community organizers, and others – people who have been advocating for their needs and rights for centuries.” Historically, these social change-makers have not been recognized by professions like social work because they lacked a professional title, certain degrees, institutional power, or access to resources. Dr. alexander wants to see that change.

“I want people who show up in the world the same way I do to know that they matter. Black women matter. Community workers of Color from low-income and rural communities matter,” Dr. alexander says. “And their labor matters! I want them to be affirmed that the knowledge they have cultivated throughout their lives from being in school, community, places of worship, and with family and friends, is just as valid and important as what they gain in a classroom. They need all of it to make the most positive impact, and all of it has a place in transformation work.”

Last, Dr. alexander asks members of the academy to prioritize sharing space with these experts – community workers and practitioners –so they can all learn from each other and co-create the strongest possible systems of mutual care that can be self-sustaining. “This collaboration could also allow everyone to pool and leverage their collective power, knowledge, access, resources, and credentials – toward this aim.” they are supported and engaging in behaviors that build their resilience, that will translate into better outcomes for participants.”