Journal of Teaching in Social Work 

Abstract: Migration across national borders has resulted in demographic changes in the United States, causing the country to become more multi-ethnic. This presents considerable challenges for graduate level educators who need to be responsive to the unique academic needs of diverse populations by considering students' previous experiences, values, and beliefs. This change requires educators to incorporate various teaching styles and to create a classroom atmosphere where security, trust, and openness can be achieved. Developing cultural competence and creating a transformative learning environment is essential for social work educators teaching in multicultural environments in the 21st century. This article provides a brief overview of Burchum's (2002) Evolutionary Perspectives that will help to assist readers in obtaining a clear understanding of cultural competence. It also presents Blunt's Model of Cultural Competence for Transformative Education, which can promote both transformative learning and assi...

Abstract: This article presents a descriptive assessment of human rights education within schools of social work and law. A review of course titles and descriptions within MSW programs and law programs was conducted for identification of human rights content. The results suggest a dearth of human rights content in social work curricula and a great disparity between schools of social work and schools of law in the integration of human rights in graduate level education. Recommendations for further development of human rights education are provided.

Abstract: To facilitate the recovery of people with mental illness (consumers of mental health services), social workers must be strengths-focused and believe in the potential for consumer growth and improvement. Unfortunately, social workers often share the negative, stigmatizing view of mental illness held by much of the general population. In this article, the authors describe a facilitated dialogue process between consumers and master's level social work students that had a goal of positively shifting students' attitudes towards consumers. Pre/post-tests using standardised instruments, as well as post-dialogue semi-structured interviews, showed that the dialogue was effective in improving student attitudes towards consumers.

Abstract: This article presents the starting case for applying the elements of trauma-informed care (TIC) to education and outlines the authors’ initial efforts to develop guidelines for what they call trauma-informed educational practice. To this end, the article starts with a literature review related to the potential for vicarious traumatization and retraumatization among students in clinical training, followed by a discussion of the TIC framework and past efforts to be trauma sensitive in social work education. The authors then describe what drew them to this perspective and inspired them to apply it to educational practice. They then present guidelines for implementing the trauma-informed principle of safety in the classroom in several domains.

Abstract: At all educational levels, social work students resist taking research courses and struggle with their contents. This paper describes some pedagogical principles that are believed to be associated with effective research teaching. Survival techniques for research faculty are discussed as well. The importance of humor in student learning and faculty surival is stressed.