Engage Anti-racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ADEl) in Practice
As a social worker I have to be knowledgable of the various power dynamics that are instilled in society. The worldview an individual develops impacts how they function and perceive others daily. Social workers must consistently engage with anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion practice to ensure that our own worldview along with others does not target specific populations negatively. Whether a social worker is servicing through a micro, mezzo, or macro lens, we must reflect back to our values to support our craft in working with intent. In order to promote diversity and justice, we must be capable of designing and implementing action towards this goal. We must keep in mind all aspects of racial, social, economic, and environmental justice. When I engage with clients, I will advocate for them with the intention of closing the gap on the social injustices they experience.
Practice Behaviors:
3A – Demonstrate leadership in advocating for human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice.
Field Evidence: At Calhoun City High School, I along with the Family Engagement Coordinator decided to officially create a food pantry that is easily accessible to students in a discreet manner. I was able to take initiative on this project and receive funding from a local church in the area. The process of advocating for a food pantry supports the student’s human right to have accessible food on campus regardless of their home situation. Families are encouraged to apply for free or reduced lunch every year, but I have found that many do not meet the criteria and still struggle to support themselves financially.
When students notify me or the Family Engagement Coordinator about food insecurity, we will take them to the pantry so they can choose which items they desire. Letting students choose which items they want by giving them a “shopping” experience with a reusable bag exemplifies my leadership in advocating for economic and environmental justice. I demonstrated leadership in advocating for social justice by opening this food pantry to all students without setting specific eligibility criteria.
Due to confidentiality, only the Food Pantry Poster can be viewed.
3B – Design and implement social action strategies demonstrating social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Course Evidence: In the course Advanced Social Policy, I collaborated on a project that focused on addressing the bill Tennessee SB 2173/HB 2258 along with promoting the addition of three amendments. This policy and advocacy action plan supported the concept of promoting inclusion in schools by keeping students in the classroom versus pursuing expulsion as disciplinary action. To support this policy and advocacy action plan, my group and I designed a social media campaign. Our design of the social media campaign was influenced by our research findings on the best social action strategies. We found that maintaining public communication with related communities and being inclusive with our campaign designs can help increase public participation. In result of this, we created a concise policy brief that had large fonts, benefits of participating, and a social action request. This advocacy effort demonstrated social justice by promoting a restorative disciplinary approach for students in Pre-K to Second grade. This social action demonstrates racial justice by basing the advocacy on key findings such as the disparity in suspension and expulsion rates among black and white children. Economic justice was demonstrated by including the economic benefit of participating in the campaign. Lastly, environmental justice was expressed through the use of promoting participation through electronic means.
This media campaign post was implemented by sharing it through the social media platform, Instagram.
The strategies used to implement social action can be found on pages 21-23 in the link below. On page 46 you will find the direct post that was posted on Instagram.
Click here to view the final policy paper.
Skills Used: To demonstrate these learning behaviors I used the skills leadership, advocacy, and research.
Knowledge Used: Knowledge from the course Advanced Social Policy and evidence based articles were used to fulfill these learning behaviors.
Values Present: Dignity and worth of a person, competence, and social justice.
Cognitive Process Used: Evaluation, because I had to review potential amendments that would best suit the bill I was advocating for. I also used Analysis because I identified a need in the school which was food insecurity.
Affective Process Used: Characterization, because I managed to coordinate the food pantry advertising and revise my peers section in the group assignment.
Theoretical Foundation Used: Confirmation Bias theory. I used this because I discussed and collaborated with others in these learning activities. I needed approval from others to continue the process.