BUSSW Faculty Present Research on Student Perceptions of Anti-Racist Pedagogy at National Conference
Clinical associate professors Ashley Davis and Hope Haslam Straughan recently highlighted growing leadership in anti-racist pedagogy from BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) at the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons Conference.
Their presentation, where they were joined by Research Assistant Professor Melisa Osborne from BU’s Bioinformatics Lab, highlighted findings from a survey conducted with BU colleagues after the group revised courses across the university. Student Perceptions of Anti-Racist Pedagogy: A Cross-Disciplinary Descriptive Study focused on whether students were aware of the anti-racist pedagogy in their course; how they define anti-racism and assess their anti-racism self-efficacy; and what aspects of the course promoted anti-racism.
The course revisions were part of a unique fellowship offered by BU that supported a multi-year design of anti-racist curriculum, funded by BU Diversity & Inclusion, the Center for Anti-Racist Research, and the Institute for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at BU. Professors Davis and Straughan were the only social worker faculty selected for the competitive fellowship and are leading the national conversation about evidence-informed teaching and curriculum transformation in social work education.
The work is especially timely as the accrediting organization for social work schools, the Council on Social Work Education, requires programs to meet the following competencies: advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice; and engage anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion in practice.