Social work struggles between the dichotomy of “individual” and “society” as it is characterized as enhancing both individual well-being and social justice. As these are not always easily balanced and social work has limited autonomy, social workers must develop their capacity for making moral judgments and defend these within their various roles and responsibilities. Studies which explore the role of ethics in social work practice enhance the potential for maintaining a common identity. This exploration permits a deeper understanding of social work ethics and reinforces a common framework inclusive of purpose and standards for the profession. These studies also capture the contextual factors impacting on the moral agency of social workers, and thus substantiate the role for social work in a world with structured oppression. The purpose of this study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of social work ethics in the practice context of public hospitals in Greece. Using a case study design, data was gathered to explore and understand the role of social work ethics in daily practice and the formation of what is perceived as “good” practice. The analysis followed Yin‟s (1993) descriptive strategy. Data collection included fifteen in-depth interviews with hospital social workers, a group interview with social work academics, and a thematic analysis of the social work journal of the Hellenic Association of Social Workers (HASW). The meaning of ethical dilemmas and problems appeared to be constructed by personally held values, a lack of attention in social work education and the HASW on social work ethics, a professional emphasis on individualism rather than collectivism, and insufficient social protection in Greece. Importantly, these factors led to a fairly consistent response to ethical problems. “Having a clear conscience”, character traits such as bravery and imaginativeness, as well as the use of psychotherapy emerged as characteristics of “good” social work practice. These findings are of value to those who try to restore the values and ethics as central in social work. Values and ethics as key elements of social work expertise can lead social workers to a more competent and effective practice in terms of their ethical engagements.

This study explored the motivations of college faculty who teach social justice lessons through their service learning courses. In recent decades, universities have begun to respond to calls for a renewal in their civic missions, and educating students on civic responsibility and social justice issues (Boyer, 1994; Boyte & Hollander, 1999; Ehrlich, 2000). Faculty have been shown to be the critical facilitators in brining social justice topics to the curriculum through the use of service learning instruction (Buchanan, 1998; Ward, 2003). Given the emphasis in higher education today on social justice learning outcomes and the importance of the role of faculty, there is surprisingly no previous research on faculty motivation to teach social justice lessons through service learning. For this study, there were two guiding research questions: (1) what aspects of the faculty’s individual backgrounds influence their teaching of social justice topics? (2) What are faculty’s perceptions of the impact that service learning has on student learning? The setting of the study was a large research university in the southwest. Data were collected from 11 faculty through individual interviews and supplemented by course-related artifacts. Data were analyzed using coding procedures suggested by Strauss and Corbin (2008) from a grounded theory qualitative approach. Results indicated that faculty motivation to use service learning to teach social justice lessons was based on several core themes. These themes included: 1) the faculty’s personal background; 2) individual identity and role as faculty; 3) faculty’s perceived desired student outcomes; and 4) faculty reflection of observed student outcomes. In addition to the key themes, results showed that faculty did enjoy their teaching approach, an enjoyment that reinforced their motivation to continue to teach. Faculty in lecturer positions indicated that they believed they were adding special student experiences through social justice lessons that were void in other aspects of their education. Faculty with tenure indicated that although they were providing social experiences for students, they also tended to combine their social justice instruction with their research work. A model of faculty motivation for teaching social justice topics was presented. Implications for research and practice are discussed. / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Philosophy / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

This study described how suburban public elementary school principals and teachers perceived the principals' social justice leadership as shifting demographic diversity increased in racial and ethnic minority students, decreased in white students, increased in child poverty, and threatened schools academic achievement status. The two Arizona high performance suburban public elementary schools (SPES) were located in two different suburban districts on opposite sides of a metropolitan city. A multiple embedded replication case study involved principals and six K-5 grade teachers at each school and included participant semi-structured interviews, school observations, and document analysis. The data showed how principals' leadership was perceived and practiced in educating students with social and educational inequalities while simultaneously trying to maintain high performance schools. Findings revealed that principals' different and similar practices were not motivated from a social justice disposition. Nevertheless, I discovered that principals' leadership practices imperceptibly included tenets of social justice. The teachers perceived that principals made concerted efforts beyond contemporary leadership practices that addressed children's inequalities owing to poverty and lack of academic preparation. The principals and teachers cared for the students and pushed for additional resources. The educators expressed being underprepared professionally for the tensions brought about by students' shifting demographics. An unexpected finding was that child poverty trumped the children's race and ethnicity as the foremost issue challenging the principals and teachers. As a result of the findings, part of my proposition supported the premise that principals would perceive the educational inequalities experienced by students. Conversely, part of the premise stating that principals' perceptions of students' educational inequalities would influence them to use social justice leadership was weakly supported because principals did not perceive or attribute their practices with teachers as driven by a belief in social justice. Two themes emerged from the analysis of patterns across cases: (1) Principals did not have a social justice consciousness driving their leadership practices, and (2) Principals' contemporary leadership practices imperceptibly combined social justice leadership tenets to influence teachers and promote equality of educational opportunity for all students.

Both in and out of the classroom, critically discussing and exploring the issues of gender, race, power, equality, and social justice can be a social and emotional minefield for educators and students alike. In politically charged times, escaping pre-formulated reactions and creating real change and empathy can seem a nearly impossible task. Some educators have turned to the visual and creative arts to provide students with emotional connectedness, visceral responses, and modes of self-expression. In this study, I examine two education programs to understand the effectiveness of social justice pedagogical methods using phenomenological research. My focus is on the educators' experiences, influences, and personal pedagogies. I plan to highlight three successful programs to better understand how complex and emotional issues can be better explored through art and visual culture and how other educators can adapt these methods to their own classrooms.

The present mixed-methods study examined adolescents’ social perspective taking in contexts of social justice as demonstrated by their awareness and interpretations of hypothetical peer interactions depicting racism and sexism. Fifty adolescents in Grades 9 and 12 participated in a semi-structured interview in which they were presented with two scenarios, involving adolescents in conflicts portraying racism and sexism. They were asked a series of questions designed to elicit their awareness and understanding of social group differences. Qualitative analyses revealed three categories of adolescents’ responses, reflecting distinct interpretations of social group differences. On average, adolescents assumed a perspective that was naïve to the disparities existing between vulnerable and less vulnerable social groups. Furthermore, it was shown that older adolescents had significantly more sophisticated social justice understandings than younger adolescents. These findings highlight the need to educate adolescents about issues of social justice and facilitate an appreciation of social group differences.

Social exclusion is the restriction of participation in one’s community; it is the denial of access to rights, services, dignity and respect. Youth who are homeless experience social exclusion on numerous fronts, as they are marginal to the social, economic and civil worlds of Canadian society. This dissertation is a qualitative, participatory project on youth homelessness that prioritizes voice by employing a “methods from the margins” approach (Kirby & McKenna, 1989). During this project I worked with youth who have experienced homelessness (ages 16-25), first in focus groups (n=13) and, then, through interviews (n=30), to explore their views on topics connected to social exclusion. The youth guided the topics that I explored, which I connected to the features of social exclusion outlined by Silver and Miller (2003). Results of this study highlight that youth who are homeless do not describe their experiences in terms of social exclusion. The results of this work question the homogeneity of experiences of the youth in the age bracket of 16-25, and review findings through three specific age categories of youth being “not yet adults,” “new adults” and “adults.” My findings indicate that youth who experience homelessness perceive themselves to be more independent and mature than youth who have not experienced homelessness, questioning dominant constructions of both “youth” and “homelessness.” Youth respondents also mentioned a number of other difficulties they experienced because of homelessness, including discrimination and limited opportunities for education and conventional employment and access to housing. This highlights the multidimensionality of social exclusion. At various points in the thesis I discuss youths’ views on rights and social citizenship, pointing to the impacts of limited rights and social safeguards in a neo-liberal state. Recommendations are made for reducing the social exclusion of youth who experience homelessness through “housing-first” approaches to addressing homelessness.

Darbo tikslas – atskleisti jaunimo (iki 29 metų amžiaus) poreikius, siekiant integruotis į darbo rinką bei atskleisti kliūtis, trukdančias jų užimtumui. Darbo uždaviniai: išnagrinėti socialinio teisingumą; pateikti socialinės nelygybės sampratos teorinę interpretaciją; išanalizuoti jaunimo galimybes į socialinį teisingumą integruojantis į darbo rinką; atlikti sociologinį tyrimą, leidžiantį išsiaiškinti atskleisti jaunimo (iki 29 metų amžiaus) poreikius, siekiant integruotis į darbo rinką bei atskleisti kliūtis, trukdančias jų užimtumui. Tyrimo dalykas: jaunimo požiūris į nelygybę ir socialinį teisingumą integruojantis į darbo rinką. Darbo metodai: mokslinės, statistinės, publicistinės literatūros analizė; kokybinis tyrimas (interviu): dvi informantų grupės: 5 – studentai (akademinis jaunimas) ir 5 darbdaviai (įmonės vadovai). Tyrimu nustatyta, kad pagrindiniai reikalavimai, kuriuos darbdaviai kelia jauniems specialistams yra kvalifikacija, išsilavinimas bei pareigingumas. Darbuotojo, atitinkančio darbo keliamus reikalavimus, pasirinkimas yra svarbi sėkmingo darbo prielaida. Svarbu ir tai, kad naujai priimtas tinkamas žmogus dirbtų pakankamai ilgai. Darbuotojų keitimas įmonei gana brangiai kainuoja. Naujas darbuotojas pasiekia reikiamą darbo našumą, praeina maždaug metai, o kol pasiekia meistriškumą – gerokai ilgiau. Pažymėtina, kad jaunimas stodamas į aukštąsias mokyklas nepasveria, ar pasirinkta specialybė bus paklausi. Dažnas jaunas žmogus, įgijęs išsilavinimą universitete... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the Master‘s thesis is to disclose the needs of young people (up to their late-twenties) seeking integration into the labour market as well as to reveal the obstacles hindering them from being employed.The objectives – to analyse the issue of social justice; to present a theoretical interpretation of the concept of social inequality; to look into young people‘s opportunities for social justice in terms of integration into the labour market; to carry out a sociological survey which enables to clarify and reveal the needs of the youth (up to their late-twenties) in order to integrate themselves into the labour market and, in addition to this, to investigate the obstacles interfering with the process of employment of young people.The subject of research: the attitude of young people towards inequality and social justice while integrating themselves into the labour market. Methods of the Master‘s thesis: the analysis of academic and statistical literature as well as publications of social and political journalism; qualitative research (interviews); two groups of informants: five students (academic youth) and five employers (company executives). The research has established that the main requirements posed by employers for young specialists include qualifications, education and a sense of duty.The choice of an employee meeting the job requirements is an important prerequisite for successful work performance. It is also vital that a... [to full text]

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