BARRY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
THE JOURNEY TO SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY
AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION
A DISSERTATION
PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF
BARRY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN SOCIAL WORK
BY
ANDREW FRANK SCHOOLNIK
MIAMI SHORES, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 2018
THE JOURNEY TO SOCAIL JUSTICE ADVOCACY
AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION
By
Andrew Frank Schoolnik
2018
A Dissertation submitted to the Ellen Whiteside McDonnell School of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
APPROVED BY:
__________________________________________
Heidi Heft LaPorte, Ph.d.
Chairperson, Dissertation Committee
__________________________________________
Sharron M. Singleton, D.S.W.
Member, Dissertation Committee
___________________________________________
Lynne Kelly, Ph.D.
Member, Dissertation Committee
University of Hartford
___________________________________________
Mitchell Rosenwald, Ph.D.
Director, Doctoral Program
___________________________________________
Phyllis Scott, Ph.D.
Dean of the School of Social Work
Barry University
February, 2018
Copyright © by Andrew Frank Schoolnik
All Rights Reserved
An Abstract of
The Journey to Social Justice Advocacy
and Its Implications for Social Work Education
by
Andrew Frank Schoolnik
Submitted to the Ellen Whiteside McDonnell School of Social Work in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Barry University
February 2018
The principle of social justice is a pillar of social work that can be traced to the beginning of the profession – a time that coincides with the Progressive Era. Through advocacy practice, social workers have a long history of advancing social justice. Social workers who advocated for social justice have faced oppression from both inside and outside of the profession. Through the course of many decades, both schools and students of social work have become clinically-centric, placing less emphasis on macro practice areas.
The purpose of this study is to learn of the seminal experiences in the development of social justice advocacy practitioners. Through learning of the characteristics and features of social justice advocates, and specifically the influential experiences that led them to their social justice interests and beliefs, schools of social work will become better informed to target, recruit, and engage the next generation of social justice advocacy practitioners.
Keywords: social justice, progressive, oppression, advocacy
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A special thank you for my Dissertation Committee, and the Director of the PhD Program at Barry University. In addition, I express gratitude to my colleagues in the Barry University PhD Program.
DEDICATION
To my parents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter I: Introduction…………………………………………………………………….page 11
Statement of Problem and Its Significance…………………………………………page 11
Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………………..page 13
My Own Journey to Social Justice Advocacy………………………………………page 13
Research Question………………………………………………………………….page 16
Definitions of Important Terms…………………………………………………….page 17
Social justice: Equity in society……………………………………………page 17
Advocacy: People-in-environment…………………………………………page 19
Oppression: Scarcity of contemporary interest and knowledge……………page 21
Social justice activism: Challenging the status quo……………………….page 24
Limitations and Delimitations………………………………………………………page 25
Summary……………………………………………………………………………page 27
Chapter II: Review of Literature……………………………………………………………page 28
History and Background of Social Work’s Unapologetic Progressive History……page 28
The Oppression of Social Justice Advocates………………………………………page 33
Trends in Current Literature………………………………………………………..page 35
Psychotherapeutic leanings: Students of social work………………………page 35
Psychotherapeutic leanings: Schools of social work………………….……page 37
Consequences Associated with Social Work Drifting Away from Social Justice…page 39
Keeping Social Justice in Social Work is a “Grand Challenge”……………………page 41
The Development of a Social Justice Advocate……………………………………page 43
Among youth……………………………………………………………….page 43
Among adults………………………………….…………………………….page 45
Among historically notable social justice leaders……………………………page 46
Theoretical Framework: Oppression………………………………………………page 49
Oppression’s macro nature…………………………………………………page 49
Oppression’s structural inequalities………………………………………..page 51
Chapter III: Methodology…………………………………………………………………page 53
Purpose of the Research……………………………………………………………page 53
Qualitative Research…………………………………………………………………page 53
Anti-Oppressive Research………………………………………………………….page 55
Phenomenological Approach……………………………………………………….page 57
Sampling Method……………………………………………………………………page 58
Research Procedures………………………………………………………………..page 59
Plan for Data Analysis………………………………………………………………page 61
Researcher Bias and Limitations of the Research………………………………….page 61
Ethical Considerations………………………………………………………………page 64
Implications…………………………………………………………………………page 64
Chapter IV: Findings………………………………………………………………………page 66
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………page 66
Theme 1: Gaining Awareness of Injustice…………………………………………page 68
Sub-theme 1a: Recognizing Social Injustice………………………………page 68
Sub-theme 1b: Encountering Social Injustice Indirectly………………….page 75
Sub-theme 1c: Encountering Social Injustice Directly…………………….page 78
Theme 2: Willingness to Participate………………………………………………page 84
Sub-theme 2a: A Call to Action……………………………………………page 85
Sub-theme 2b: Collaboration and Solidarity………………………………page 88
Theme 3: Inspired by Others………………………………………………………page 90
Theme 4: Duty……………………………………………………………………..page 96
Theme 5: Challenging Social Conventions/Rebellious Framework……………….page 99
Theme 6: Progressive Vision…………………………………………………….page 105
Theme 7: Fulfillment……………………………………………………………..page 110
Theme 8: Tikkun Olam (repairing the world)……………………………………page 115
Summary…………………………………………………….……………………page 119
Chapter V: Implications, Limitations, Discussions………………………………………page 121
Development of a Social Justice Advocate……………………………………….page 121
Implications……………………………………………………………………….page 123
For Social work education…………………………………………………page 123
For social work research…………………………………………………..page 130
For social work practice…………………………………………………..page 131
For social work policy………….…………………………………………page 134
Implications summary…………………………………………………….page 133
Education…………………………………………………………page 133
Research…………………………………………………………..page 133
Practice……………………………………………………………page 134
Policy…………………….………….…………………………….page 134 Limitations…………………………………………………………page 135
Researcher as Student……………………………………………………………..page 136
Memo review………………………………………………………………page 136
Words painting pictures……………………………………………………page 140
Understanding participants’ world views…………………………page 140
Learning what it means to be a Progressive………………………page 141
Recognizing the value of community……………………………..page 142
Gaining my own awareness that gaining awareness of
injustice is a process………………………………………page 142
Forever changed…………………………………………………………..page 143
Future Directions for Social Work………………………………………………..page 145
Social work’s progressive ties…………………………………………….page 145
Social work’s sextant to the future……………..…………………………page 146
A Last Thought: You Never Know………………………………………………page 147
Figure 1……………………………………………………………………………………..page 36
Table 1….…………………………………………………………………………………..page 67
Figure 2……………………………………………………………………………………page 121
Figure 3……………………………………………………………………………………page 129