Social workers use genograms in a collaborative manner with clients to assess family dynamics and to guide their intervention processes. Although genograms are intended to accurately and respectfully depict families, some of the standard genogram symbols and conventions are based on cisnormative and heteronormative assumptions. This article…

Schools of social work are tasked with preparing students to support the field's ethical challenge of eliminating racism. Given that color-blind racial attitudes constitute a form of continued racism, identifying the factors associated with color-blind racial ideology (CBRI) in social work students represents a first step toward meeting this…

We investigated the feasibility of a formative objective structured clinical examination adapted for social work (OSCE-SW) with a parent-bisexual child dyad and evaluated self-efficacy and performance learning outcomes for undergraduate social work students. Eighteen undergraduate students participated in a simulation involving two embedded…

On March 29, 2021, the Religious Exemption Accountability Project filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of 33 sexual and gender minority students who reported discrimination at institutions that have a Title IX religious' exemption. Of the 25 institutions named in the suit, 14 have accredited social work…

Racial attitudes can be shaped by personal attributes and social network properties. Literature on White social work students' racial attitudes remains scarce. The purposes of this study are to explore racial attitudes among social work students and identify personal and social network correlates of such attitudes. One hundred and sixty-three…

This study examines students' negative experiences in field placement related to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, examining areas of conflict and emotional responses to conflicts. Using a subset of data gathered as part of a larger survey of 1,018 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) undergraduate and…

This survey of BSW students (N=909) reports on their experiences with microaggressions in their social work education. About one third (31.8%) of participants reported experiencing a microaggression committed by a social work faculty member. A relationship was found between experiencing a microaggression and participants' social identities,…

This exploratory study examined MSW education's organizational-level lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) competence. Data were gathered from a sample of MSW program directors, faculty members, and students (N=1385) from 34 MSW programs in the United States. Hierarchical linear modeling analyzed differences in perceptions of…

Within the last decade, there has been a significant shift in the field of social work toward competency-based education. This article details the use of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) Adapted for Social Work Performance Rating Scale. We used the measure to evaluate specific practice competencies among students (n = 33)…

As social work educators, much of our practice involves helping students think critically about complex political, economic, and social issues. One of the most complex and contentious sociopolitical issues of our time has been civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. This teaching note considers how we, as LGBT…

Discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social work students can negatively affect academic performance and personal and professional identity development. Intersectionality is a conceptual approach that states that social identities interact to form different meanings and experiences from those that could be…

This article is an invited response to "Toward a Learning Environment That Supports Diversity and Difference: A Response to Dessel, Bolen, and Shepardson," by David R. Hodge ("Journal of Social Work Education," 47(2), pp. 235-251). The authors agree with a number of Hodge's recommendations. First, they support Hodge's recommendation to use common…

This study reports results from a national Internet-based survey administered anonymously to a cross-section of social work faculty in the United States. Drawn from a sampling frame of 700 accredited or in candidacy schools, data were collected between November 2010 and March 2011. We investigate the role of sex, sexual orientation, race,…

Few studies have examined social work students' reflections on and experiences working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning persons and addressing the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexuality within practice. This study explored current master's of social work student (n = 11) and recent graduate (n = 7) reflections on…

Social work strives to be inclusive of all cultural groups and religious identities. However, a tension exists in the profession between freedom of religious expression and full acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. David Hodge and others claim social work is oppressive to evangelical Christians. This article critiques primarily Hodge's…