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Undergraduate Social Work Faculty in the USA React to the War with Iraq a
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Cindy Davis , Sherry Cummings & Samuel MacMaster
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University of Tennessee , Nashville Published online: 02 Jul 2007.
To cite this article: Cindy Davis , Sherry Cummings & Samuel MacMaster (2007) Undergraduate Social Work Faculty in the USA React to the War with Iraq, Social Work Education: The International Journal, 26:5, 496-503, DOI: 10.1080/02615470601118639 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615470601118639
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Social Work Education Vol. 26, No. 5, August 2007, pp. 496–503
Undergraduate Social Work Faculty in the USA React to the War with Iraq
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Cindy Davis, Sherry Cummings & Samuel MacMaster
The role of social workers in political activism has been characterized with ambivalence, and few studies have addressed political activism within the social work academic setting. The purpose of the current study was to explore how social work educators responded to the war with Iraq from an educational perspective as well as a personal perspective. Undergraduate social work faculty (N565) from accredited social work programs in each state throughout the USA completed a brief quantitative survey via email about the war with Iraq including the following topics: educational responses; personal responses; personal views; academic freedom; and demographic data. Findings revealed that 70% of respondents felt that social work faculty had a responsibility to educate students about the war with Iraq, however, only 36% of respondents felt that social work faculty had a responsibility to advocate for or against the war with Iraq. The majority of the faculty surveyed incorporated the war with Iraq in their class activities (88%) and participated in war activities outside of class on their own campus (80%). A significant minority of faculty felt restricted by their institution from expressing their views of the war with Iraq during class time (14%) and on their own campus (17%). Keywords: Social Work; Education; War; Advocacy; Activism
Historically, the role of social workers in political activism has been characterized with ambivalence. On the one hand, the profession has produced/been shaped by key activist leaders (e.g. Jane Addams and Bertha Reynolds), a politically active national organization (NASW), and the NASW Code of Ethics, which states that social workers should engage in social and political action (Allen, 1997). NASW is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with over 150,000 members. NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies. However, on the other hand, many writers have Cindy Davis, Sherry Cummings & Samuel MacMaster, University of Tennessee, Nashville, USA. Correspondence to: Cindy Davis, Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee, College of Social Work, Nashville Campus, 193E Polk Avenue, Nashville, TN 37210, USA. Email: cdavis3@utk.edu; cdavis@gwmail.utk.edu
ISSN 0261-5479 print/1470-1227 online # 2007 The Board of Social Work Education DOI: 10.1080/02615470601118639
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documented how social workers have abandoned their mission of social and political action for a more clinical or therapeutic approach with clients (Gil, 1990; Specht & Courtney, 1994; Schriver, 1987). Another issue of consideration is that many social workers who are employed by the government or who are seeking federal funds are hampered by real and perceived limits imposed by the federal government on their ability to engage in political activism, particularly when linked to the employment setting (Thompson, 1994). This may have an impact on social work educators who are employed by state funded universities, seeking federally funded grants, or collaborating with federally funded agencies. Although the research in this area is scant, a few studies have addressed the degree to which social workers are involved in political action. A study by Wolk (1981) found that the political involvement of social workers was equal to that of other professional groups. He also found that political involvement was highest for older social workers, those with higher incomes, those in the profession longest, and those in macro level positions (Wolk, 1981). Similarly, Ezell (1993) surveyed social workers in Washington and found that more than half reported being politically active and almost a third reported being very politically active, with writing letters to public officials being the most frequent activity of social workers. Among the social workers, those with the highest degrees, NASW membership, macro jobs, and AfricanAmericans tended to be the most politically active. It is important to note that these findings may be misleading due to the argument that non-respondents may indicate a person’s inactivity or apathy; therefore, it is possible that as much as 50% of the original sample may fall into a category of political inactivity (Ezell, 1993). A study of political participation among NASW chapters revealed that 38% were very active, 27% active, and 35% were not active (Salcido & Seck, 1992). The most common types of political activities were traditional activities, such as, writing and calling legislators and face-to-face lobbying, whereas there was much less participation in political activities, such as, voter registration, protest rallies, or organizing coalitions of interest groups. Findings further revealed that political activities were more likely to focus on promoting the profession rather than promoting social service legislation (Salcido & Seck, 1992). In 1998, Domanski found similar results among 531 social work leaders in health care settings with over 90% of respondents engaging in traditional political activities (e.g. writing and calling legislators, advocacy and voting), but only a small minority of respondents engaging in more activist behaviors (e.g. public hearings and demonstrations). A few studies have also addressed innovations in political activism within the social work academic setting. For example, several studies have presented case studies of how they have developed programs or initiatives to increase joint student and faculty involvement in political advocacy and social change (e.g. Moore & Johnston, 2002; Sherraden et al., 2002; Torczyner, 2000). Only two studies have specifically addressed political activism among social work educators. Mary et al. (1993) surveyed 23 social work faculty and 104 field instructors and found that social workers had more political involvement when compared to general population studies. Findings also
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revealed that older social workers, higher paid social workers, and macro-level social workers were more likely to be involved in political action (Mary et al., 1993). A more recent study by Mary (2001) surveyed 63 social work educators and field instructors and found a high level of political activism, such as, letter writing to a public official (87%), initiating a political discussion (87%), attending a political meeting/rally (76%), attending a march/boycott (76%), wearing a political button or putting a bumper sticker on a car (67%), and making a monetary contribution to a party or candidate (63%). Findings also revealed that significantly more faculty had participated in a boycott, sit-in, march or demonstration, whereas significantly more field instructors reported having initiated a political discussion. The few available studies in this area suggest that social workers are more politically involved than the general population, and that social work educators are more likely to be involved in high level activist behavior (e.g. boycotts, marches/ demonstrations); however, none of the studies explored how social work educators integrated their political activism into the classroom setting or on their own campus. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to explore how social work educators responded to the war with Iraq from an educational perspective as well as a personal perspective. Methods Participants and Procedures A representative sampling frame was developed by the research team to ensure geographic distribution. Private schools were eliminated in order to control for the impact of public funded universities, and only faculty members from public colleges and universities were included in the sample, as it was assumed that these faculty as state employees may feel more pressure to conform to political decisions. The next step was to identify the flagship university in each of the 50 states, or an equivalent university if the state’s flagship university did not have an accredited undergraduate social work program. Contact information on eligible faculty members was obtained from either the universities’ website or by contacting the university directly. A sample of 300 undergraduate social work faculty members from 51 programs in 47 of the 50 states throughout the USA was selected for participation in this study. The response rate was 22%, yielding a sample of 65 undergraduate social work faculty members. Participants completed a brief quantitative survey about the war with Iraq including the following topics: educational responses; personal responses; personal views; academic freedom; and demographic data. In addition, the questionnaire included one qualitative question regarding the respondent’s opinion about social work educators’ role in promoting students’ critical thinking related to major political events of the day. The questionnaire was pasted to the end of an introductory email so that participants could simply click on reply, complete the survey, and click on send. The questionnaire was also attached to the email in both
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Word and WordPerfect files. Participants were re-sent the questionnaire via email for a second time approximately 10 days after the original contact. The majority of participants were either tenured (34%) or tenured track (37%) faculty with a rank of full professor (17%), associate professor (14%), or assistant professor (40%). Although the study did not control for any demographic variables, participants included 12% minority faculty and over 50% female faculty.
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Results Findings revealed that 70% of respondents felt that social work faculty had a responsibility to educate students about the war with Iraq, while 12% disagreed and 17% were undecided. However, only 36% of respondents felt that social work faculty had a responsibility to advocate for or against the war with Iraq, while 46% disagreed and 15% were undecided. As shown in Table 1, findings revealed that most of the faculty surveyed (88%) incorporated the war with Iraq into their class activities in the following ways: discussed issues related to the war during class time (69%); facilitated in-class discussions related to the war (57%); integrated information related to the war into class content (51%); allowed class projects or papers related to the war (15%); and other strategies (e.g. on-line discussions, departmental conferences, and cancelled classes: 11%). Respondents’ reasons for incorporating this content into their classes included: they usually tried to incorporate significant world events into their classes (66%); they felt that their students were interested in exploring these issues (62%); they felt that the topic was related to course content (54%); and they felt that Table 1 Activities Related to the War with Iraq Undertaken by Undergraduate Social Work Faculty both On and Off Campus War related activities Allowed time in-class for students to discuss Facilitated class discussions Sign petition off campus Discussed with students outside class Integrated information into class content March/demonstration off campus Symbolic gestures off campus (e.g. yard signs, bumper stickers, flags) March/demonstration on campus Symbolic gesture on campus (e.g. sign in office, flag in office, wearing accessories with war statement) Educational seminars off campus Class projects/papers ‘Teach-in’ or other educational seminars on campus Other in-class activities (e.g. on-line discussions, departmental conferences, and cancelled classes) Other on campus activities (e.g. petition, letter to editor) Other off campus activities (e.g. letter to editor, on-line discussions) Spoke to the media off campus
Percent 69 57 55 55 51 40 32 31 30 23 15 15 11 8 6 5
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students needed to be educated on issues related to the war (48%). Only 12% of respondents did not incorporate the war with Iraq into their classes, and most of these participants reported that they felt the topic was not related to their course content. A few isolated respondents stated that they felt this information was too sensitive due to possible loved ones serving in the military or that it was inappropriate for social work faculty to engage in such activities during class time. Nearly 80% of respondents stated that they did not feel any restriction or encouragement from their institution about expressing their personal views of the war with Iraq in their classes. However, 14% of respondents did feel restricted from expressing their views of the war with Iraq during class time by their institution, while 3% of respondents felt some encouragement to express their views during class time by their institution. In addition, incorporating the war with Iraq into classroom activities was not significantly related to any of the key demographic variables (i.e. gender, race, or type of class taught). Most of the faculty surveyed (80%) participated in activities related to the war with Iraq outside of class on their own campus, such as: discussions with students (55%); symbolic gestures (e.g. sign in office, flag in office, accessories with war statements: 39%); march/demonstrations (31%); and ‘teach-in’ or educational seminars (15%). Most of the faculty surveyed (75%) participated in activities related to the war with Iraq off campus, such as: signed petitions (55%); march/demonstrations (40%); symbolic gestures (e.g. yard sign, bumper stickers: 39%); educational seminars (23%); and speaking to the media (5%). Some 20% of faculty surveyed did not participate in any war activity on their campus, and 25% did not participate in any off-campus war activity. Nearly 80% of respondents stated that they did not feel any restriction or encouragement from their institution about expressing their personal views of the war with Iraq on their own campus. However, 17% of respondents felt restricted from expressing their views of the war with Iraq on their own campus by their institution, and 2% of respondents felt some encouragement to express their views on their campus by their institution. Almost all respondents (95%) stated that they did not feel any restriction or encouragement from their institution about expressing their personal views of the war with Iraq off campus, yet 5% of respondents reported that they felt restricted to express their views on the war with Iraq off campus. The majority of respondents (79%) opposed the war with Iraq, 6% favored the war, and 14% were undecided. Some 85% of respondents were opposed to President Bush’s handling of the war with Iraq, while only 6% favored the President’s handling of the war with Iraq, and 8% were undecided. In contrast to their own views on the war, only 32% of respondents believed the majority of their students opposed the war, 22% of respondents believed the majority of their students favored the war, 15% of respondents believed the majority of their students were undecided, and 31% of respondents were unsure about their students’ views on the war. The qualitative item regarding the respondent’s opinion about social work educators’ role in promoting students’ critical thinking related to major political events of the day revealed mixed feelings about the degree to which faculty should be involved in this role. On the one hand, there was consensus that promoting critical
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thinking is an essential role of social work faculty; however, there was less consensus on using the war with Iraq as a mechanism for promoting critical thinking. For example,
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I believe we have an obligation to educate students, but not to force ideologies or values upon them. Thus, while I personally oppose the war in Iraq, in the classroom setting – I feel all relevant issues should be heard and critically discussed when appropriate to the curricular content. Social work educators SHOULD play a role in promoting critical thinking. Unfortunately, this thought alone seems somewhat radical. The role should be faculty/administration to set the stage for critical thinking to take place, not support one side or another. I think that students should be presented with pros and cons about any major political event. I wish I could believe that the material provided would be unbiased, but I think most social work professors probably err on the side of indoctrination … If we are to be a human rights and social justice profession allied with peoples with the gravest struggles and the most powerful aspirations for human dignity and survival, which is grounded locally and thinking globally, we have no choice but to challenge our students to think critically and nurture our students’ abilities to connect empathetically and publicly around the major political events of the day … It is imperative that we do so, though I’ve been very careful in how I do so, since I don’t have tenure. It is an opportunity to promote students’ critical thinking and advocacy skills when linked to major political events of the day. Faculty need to model political activism. It is essential that students understand the impact of political and economic decisions on the lives of people. The cost of the war is having a devastating impact on the availability of services and programs for poor, disempowered and disenfranchised people. Isn’t that what social work is suppose to do?
Discussion The overall aim of the current study was to explore how social work educators responded to the war with Iraq from an educational perspective as well as from a personal perspective. Prior to discussing the results, it is important to consider several limitations of the study. Although efforts were made to obtain a representative sample of undergraduate social work faculty from public accredited universities across the USA, the participants are not representative of all undergraduate social work faculty due to the low response rate. As with previous studies (Ezell, 1993), it is possible that these findings may be misleading due to the argument that nonrespondents may indicate a person’s inactivity or apathy, therefore presenting a skewed view of how social work faculty responded to this issue.
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Despite these limitations, the results revealed important information on how some undergraduate social work faculty responded to the war with Iraq and integrated this event into their role as educators. Findings from the current study revealed that the majority of undergraduate social work faculty surveyed felt that social work educators had a responsibility to educate students about the war with Iraq and incorporated this content into their classes using various innovative techniques. Over half of the faculty surveyed allowed time for in-class discussions, facilitated class discussions, and integrated content on the war with Iraq into their course content. A smaller number of faculty incorporated content about the war with Iraq into their classes via class projects/papers, on-line discussions, hosting conferences, and the symbolic statement of canceling class. As with previous studies (Wolk, 1981; Ezell, 1993; Mary et al., 1993; Mary, 2001), the current sample reported engaging in a high level of political activity. Previous studies found that social work professionals were more likely to engage in low risk political activities, such as, letter writing, as opposed to marches, demonstrations, or protests (Salcido & Seck, 1992; Domanski, 1998). However, the current study found that around 40% of the social work faculty surveyed participated in some type of march/demonstration and displayed some type of symbolic gesture (e.g. yard sign or bumper sticker) in support for or against the war with Iraq. The most important finding is that this activity occurred at all. As previously mentioned, many writers during the 1980s and 1990s documented how social workers have abandoned their mission of social and political action for a more clinical or therapeutic approach with clients (Gil, 1990; Specht & Courtney, 1994; Schriver, 1987). This, coupled with a general societal sense of political apathy in the United States, in contrast to the political activism at other times of war, most notably the Vietnam War-era, led to the implicit, and unsupported, hypothesis of the research team that there would be little reported political activism. The fact that social work faculty surveyed participated at such high rates is important in and of itself, and may lend limited support to allay the fears of social work abandoning its traditional obligation of political involvement. However, it is important to note that the low response rate to this survey may indicate apathy amongst the large majority of undergraduate social work faculty in the US. Further research is needed to address the role of political activism among social work faculty in the US and internationally. Another issue of consideration in this study was whether social work faculty felt hampered by real and/or perceived limits imposed by their institution as suggested in previous research due to the reliance on federal funding (Thompson, 1994). Almost all respondents (95%) stated that they did not feel any restriction or encouragement from their institution about expressing their personal views of the war with Iraq off campus. Nearly 80% of respondents stated that they did not feel any restriction or encouragement from their institution about expressing their personal views of the war with Iraq in their classes; however, 14% of respondents did feel restricted from expressing their views of the war with Iraq during class time by their institution. These results lend support to the notion that public institutions are not imposing real or perceived limits on faculty to express their personal views on controversial
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political topics. However, it is important to note that a significant minority (14%) of respondents did feel some real or perceived limitations on expressing their views in the classroom. Further research is needed to explore this topic more clearly and to examine any demographic factors (e.g. faculty rank, race, gender) which might be related to this issue.
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