School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations
School Social Work: Challenges and Opportunities
Document Type
Editorial
Publication Date
2022
Abstract
Scholars who have focused on the history of school social work have addressed different points in time when the profession has faced challenges such as contracted funding for social services, school violence, and corporate or neoliberal reform efforts that have exasperated inequities for minoritized and low-income students (Phillippo & Blosser, 2013; Ravitch, 2010; Villarreal Sosa et al., 2017). During my tenure as Editor-in-Chief, school social work practitioners and scholars faced another moment of reckoning and crisis. I assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief during the Trump presidency and its aftermath, with a national climate of increased and unleashed xenophobia, racism, white supremacy, and policies that violated human rights of children. During this time, the nation lived through widespread protests in support of Black lives and challenged the racialized police violence and murders of Black men and women.
Educators and school social workers have continued to face the consequences of COVID-19, confronting issues of safety, managing the social–emotional impact of the pandemic and virtual schooling, and children affected by unprecedented levels of trauma and loss. As Lavin (2022), a school principal, so plainly states, “The Omicron surge is ending. The crisis will still be here. Children are not okay. Teachers are not okay. We knew this year would be hard, but we didn’t know it would be this tough. We need help and we need understanding” (para. 4–5). With the return to in-person schooling, school social workers are actively strategizing how to address issues of attendance; for example, they are developing strategies and interventions to fit this new context, as prior research on truancy and chronic absenteeism does not consider the impact of a pandemic. School social workers are also on the front lines of responding to what is considered the “fourth wave” of the coronavirus: the worsening mental health crisis among children and adolescents (Chicago Sun Times Editorial Board, 2021). As with other social issues, those disproportionately impacted are children from communities of color (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2021).
While these national crises disproportionately and directly impact children from communities of color, efforts to address inequities in schools and communities are curtailed by strategies such as weaponizing “critical race theory” to stop conversations about structural inequities and prevent the implementation of curriculum that honors the humanity and lived experiences of children of color. Due to these movements, many children will not experience having their histories integrated into and represented in their books and classrooms. Instead of schools being places of empowerment and liberation, in some communities they are spaces where Black and Brown children are criminalized, and immigrant children are made to feel that they are not wanted.
Critical and Antiracist Approaches to School Social Work
As school social workers, we have faced challenges in the past, but this context and this time call for a critical examination of the profession, what we stand for, and what actions we are willing to take in support of the children we serve. For too long, school social work has been a profession dominated by white women, and within positions of leadership in practice and research. This lack of inclusion as a profession has also meant that western, race-neutral models continue to dominate and are considered the norm, taught in university classrooms, and replicated in professional development conferences. These race-neutral approaches, and this focus on “evidence-based” practice, can create blinders, preventing school social workers from engaging in necessary boundary brokerage and advocacy for minoritized students. Existing evidence-based practices limit our ability to effectively disrupt racism in schools (Meza, 2020). Similarly, national organizations such as School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) and state organizations must also critically evaluate their own policies, practices, and representation to ensure they are meeting the needs of the diverse student body in the nation’s schools. For example, the current SSWAA leadership board is engaging in racial justice and equity work as an organization for the first time, considering how to increase representation and centered equity in their strategic planning.
In a Children & Schools special issue on racial equity, Meza (2020) discusses the possibilities of critical social work; and the importance of critical self-reflection and questioning of our own practices within the educational system. Furthermore, recognizing political barriers encountered by students enhances the likelihood that social workers will engage in advocacy on behalf of minoritized students (Rodriguez et al., 2020). It cannot be assumed, however, that school social workers will engage in equity work. There must be intentional efforts on behalf of universities that train school social workers and organizations that provide professional development to address issues of racial equity. Similarly, Children & Schools also has a responsibility to lead these conversations, and it was my role to open these conversations and establish these priorities for the journal.
My goal for the journal was to include new voices in the field such as Tabahi and Khayr (2021), who focus on anti-Muslim racism in the schools. Rarely do school social workers learn about the experiences of Muslim youth who are more likely to be bullied compared with other religious groups. Furthermore, few people discuss or understand the experiences of racialization of groups such as Arab Americans and Latinxs. Indeed, school social work practitioners and educators have a responsibility to both engage in and create space for these conversations about race (Villarreal Sosa, 2021). The commitment to antiracism by school districts in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder has quietly been abandoned as the pressure against lessons on race and racism have increased (Pendharker, 2022). School social workers, grounded in their ethical commitment to social, racial, and economic justice, must take the lead in sustaining these efforts to promote equity and inclusion. This means school social workers must expand their role to actively engage in advocacy at local, state, and federal levels (Villarreal Sosa, 2021). Furthermore, our interventions must include supporting clients in exploring their own avenues for advocacy as a form of empowerment and healing from historical trauma (Tabahi & Khayr, 2021; Villarreal Sosa, 2019). As Kendi (2019) argues, “Racism is a powerful collection of racist policies that lead to racial inequity and are substantiated by racist ideas” (p. 20). According to Kendi, being racist is any action, behavior, or thought that sustains racist ideas and policies, and one must be actively antiracist. Furthermore, being antiracist takes courage and an intentional and “radical reorienting of our consciousness.”
As the journal moves forward, in the very capable hands of Dr. Kevin Tan as Editor-in-Chief, it is my hope that we can continue to push the boundaries of the profession and center equity, inclusion, and antiracism, and thus offer a model for the profession as well as a new language to frame school social work research and practice. While we face many challenges as a society that impact the daily lives of children and the school contexts, may this also serve as an opportunity to reassess the role of school social workers, honestly grapple with our often oppressive and exclusionary history, and move forward in ways that redefine practice and offer hope for those engaging in this courageous antiracist daily work in their schools and communities.
Recommended Citation
Villarreal Sosa, L. (2022). School social work: Challenges and opportunities. Children & Schools, 44(2), 67-69. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdac005
Publication Title
Children & Schools
DOI
10.1093/cs/cdac005
Comments
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