Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Anti-oppressive practice'

Greece is seven years into a socio-economic crisis, where oppression has increased as a result of austerity measures driven by the political parties in governance and Troika. In a context of attacks on social care and social work, dominant social values of intolerance and violation of human rights, the pursuit of anti-oppressive practice is more crucial than ever. However, discussions and debates on social work and anti-oppressive practice have mostly taken place outside of the context of Greece. Reflecting on this gap, this doctoral research project asks: What is the role of social work education in influencing students' ability to manage value tensions in relation to anti-oppressive practice within the current context of social work education in Greece? It is the first such study of its kind in Greece. Using a qualitative case study methodology, the research was based in one of the four national Departments of Social Work (subsequently abolished). Semi-structured interviews were undertaken involving social work students in their first and final years of professional education (n=32) and academic staff/placement supervisors (n=10). Data analysis was informed by a ground theory approach. The study revealed social work education's failure in stimulating the development of an ethical and anti-oppressive self in students. The key determinants identified were: students' narrow understandings and individualistic approaches towards oppression; the unjust educational policies within which students are educated and educators work; an outdated curriculum with a clinical and technical approach; and lack of social action/connection with the community by the Department. Results are interpreted using the conceptual lens of Foucault (1977; 1980; 1982) and Freire (1970; 1993; 1994). A conceptual model is also presented, in order to understand and promote (anti-) oppressive practice at multiple levels: subjectivity, discipline and governmentality, as well as discourse, oppressive reality and dividing practices. The key implications of the study are for social work education to reflect and respond to current social needs by developing a radical and anti-oppressive curriculum; being involved in social action through social movements and professional associations; establishing a dialogical and reflexive learning process with the active participation of students and service users in designing and evaluating educational content and processes; and a constant deconstruction/reconstruction of the self for students, educators and practitioners.

The current study was informed by Critical Race Theory and joins an interdisciplinary body of work of activists and scholars resisting oppressive systems. The aim of the current study was to explore the impact of anti-oppressive pedagogy on the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competency (MSJCC) of marginalized therapists. Anti-oppressive clinical training and pedagogy prepares student-therapists to self-reflect, own, and resist the impact of oppression on themselves and their clients. Critical consciousness and racial identity development are personal factors that play a role in MSJCC. As such, the role of educators and clinical supervisors may extend past “professional” territory. The current study examined stories of 11 marginalized therapists and focused on how personal growth related to clinical competency. All participants told critical race counterstories, that is, personal experiences of oppression that occurred within the education system. Their counterstories of racism and sexism in learning and healing spaces will be told. Of the 11 total participants, 6 student-therapists also reported exposure to anti-oppressive clinical training and/or pedagogy. Racial identity development, critical consciousness, and social justice competency development were unique themes that came up among the six participants who were fortunate to have mentors, supervisors, and peers willing to make space for personal growth in classrooms, professor offices, training spaces, and other professional territories. This study calls mental healthcare professionals to learn and work in the gray borderlands of our personal and professional development. In social justice praxis, this research was conducted with an anti-oppressive stance. With humility and accountability, I walked along the borders of student-therapist-researcher.

This thesis critiques and describes the prevalent discourses regarding notions of 'difference' in counselling psychologist's talk. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants and were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed. Participants were asked to speak about notions of 'difference' in their counselling psychology practice. Transcripts were then coded and analysed using a critical discursive psychological approach which looked for prevalent interpretive repertoires, ideological dilemmas and subject positions. This critical discursive psychology approach seeks to employ a twin focus of discourse analysis, attending to both the micro and macro levels of interactions and constructions. The prevalent discourses were described and critiqued by the researcher. Analysis of transcripts provided a rich range of possible constructions of 'difference' and were then grouped into headings and subheadings and presented to the reader. These notions of 'difference' are explored in relation to counselling psychology practice and the impact that they may have on therapeutic relationships. Interpretive repertoires included constructions of where 'differences' originate, how dimensions of 'difference' were constructed, positive and negative constructions of 'difference', 'difference' in relation to notions of power and prejudice and finally professional discourses on 'difference'. This thesis addresses how important it is for counselling psychologist's to analyse the discourses and constructions available to them so that their clients' are facilitated in the therapeutic encounter and so that practitioners' constructions of 'difference' do not hinder therapy. This study contributes to highlighting the need for counselling psychology's continued commitment to anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practices.

Since the start of the Syrian war, Jordan has received many Syrian refugees with around 650,000 Syrians now residing in the country. As the state has received a lot of help from the international community, funding refugee camps and providing basic necessities, a lot of international humanitarian practitioners have come to Jordan to work alongside Jordanian and Middle Eastern practitioners. The situation therefore has brought practitioners from different academic, professional and geographical backgrounds together to work with people of a different cultural background than their own. Syrians represent a vast diversity in terms of ethnic, religious, linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds. Research have addressed that practitioners’ sensitivity to how cultural complexities may influence social problems can facilitate a better understanding of the client’s path to recovery. The purpose of our study was to increase the knowledge of mental health and psychosocial support practitioners’ understanding and experience of a culturally sensitive social work in Amman, Jordan and discuss how this affects their practice with Syrian refugees. Through qualitative interviews we found that the practitioners’ perception of Arab culture as one and the same makes culture a non-issue in terms of cultural diversity, and that this perception influence the practice with Syrian refugees in a number of ways.

Denna uppsats är till sin form en reflekterande vetenskaplig essä som undersöker en normkritisk jämlikhetsarbetares praktiska kunnande och yrkesvillkor. Författarens egen yrkeserfarenhet finns med i form av en berättelse från ett genusprojekt inom högre skådespelarutbildning. Denna dilemmasituation bildar utgångspunkt för ett undersökande i dialog med historiska och samtida tänkare och praktiker. Framträdande i undersökningen är Aristoteles kunskapsbegrepp fronesis – den praktiska klokheten. Undersökningen beskriver några av de komplexiteter som finns i att bedriva ett arbete som utmanar maktordningar i en organisation och visar att det krävs praktisk klokhet för att hantera motstånd, starka känslor och våld.
This reflective scientific essay examines the practical knowledge of the equality worker involved with anti-oppressive education in a Swedish context, where the term “norm critique” is used. The writers personal experience is included in the work, in the form of a narrative from a “messy situation” in a project centered on gender perspectives in actor training. This dilemma is the starting point for an inquiry in dialogue with contemporary and historical thinkers and practitioners. Prominently in the essay is Aristotle's term for skill and practical wisdom, phronesis. The inquiry describes some of the complexities that lies in doing counter hegemonic work within organizations and it shows that this kind of work demands practical wisdom to be able to handle resistance, strong emotions and violence.

Anti-oppressive practice is a commonly accepted concept in social work education that concentrates on alleviating oppression and advancing social justice. The goal of this research is to highlight the social work students’ perspectives on anti-oppressive practice and to uncover their experiences of anti-oppressive practice in the field and classroom. A comparative case study based on photovoice was conducted with social work students from Canada and Finland. Qualitative interviews were carried out with research participants in conjunction with the photovoice discussion. Research findings indicate that most social work students who participated in this study have a positive view of anti-oppressive practice. The majority of participants position themselves as anti-oppressive social work practitioners, however, some perceive the anti-oppressive practice as purely theoretical, as opposed to be a part of practical social work. Differences that were found between student responses in samples from Finland and Canada are discussed.
February 2016

Through my research I explored the frontline worker’s perspective of anti-oppressive child welfare practice (AOP). Five frontline workers from the Children’s Aid Society of Brant, Ontario (Brant CAS) were interviewed to share how they view their practice, and the child welfare system, through an anti-oppressive lens. An Anti-oppressive theory perspective was the framework for my research, using a narrative methodology. It is through the stories of the participants that we learn there is a variance in the understanding and implementation of AOP that is affecting the practice of frontline workers, the families they work with and possibly placing children at further risk. An outcome of this research is to hopefully improve training, allowing the frontline worker to have a better understanding of the philosophy of AOP and how it applies to their practice.
Graduate

yes
The development of a clear personal and professional identity – ‘knowing oneself’ – is frequently cited as a key factor in supporting anti-oppressive practice. In the field of health and social care, work placements are a major vehicle for equipping students to become anti-oppressive practitioners committed to making effective diversity interventions in a range of organizational settings. This article highlights some of the tensions inherent in the formation of such an identity and pays particular attention to issues such as discomfort, power inequalities, the discursive production of the self and ways in which educational and workplace organizational settings can simultaneously promote and inhibit such identity development. The article concludes that the discomfort experienced by students as part of this learning process is not only inevitable but necessary to becoming an anti-oppressive practitioner, and that the narrative process offers ways of empowering both students and service users to challenge oppression.

The first two decades of the 20th century have brought us to a critical crossroad that few could have predicted when the calendar ticked over from 1999 to 2000. The strife of world wars, of intolerance, of discrimination, of prejudice and oppression that were so evident in the 20th century should have provided the impetus for peace and acceptance in the 21st. Yet, world events early in this century have demonstrated that we have not learned from the lessons of history and thus, unless we intervene, we are doomed to repeat them. Teachers and schools play significant roles in shaping future citizens – in helping learners develop character and integrity, to value others and the earth, and to work collaboratively to address problems new and old. Teacher educators play a critical role in developing the pedagogical understanding of pre-service teachers as they prepare to take up these roles in Canadian classrooms. Teacher educators working from and for a social justice mandate recognize that there are many factors that impact their ability to guide pre-service teachers to a greater understanding and valuing of equity and diversity in their classrooms, schools, and communities. This study’s exploration of factors that constrain or enable this work has exposed the difficulty and intransigence of perceiving the work and ultimately, the world through polarized binaries of either/or – constrain or enable. This has resulted in a greater respect for the complexity in envisioning and enacting pedagogy and practice that strives to inculcate pre-service teachers with a commitment to creating classrooms focused on equity, diversity and social justice.
Graduate

De grandes enquêtes en milieu scolaire, au Québec comme ailleurs, ont documenté depuis les années 2000 la portée des violences homophobes, particulièrement à l’école secondaire, ainsi que leurs impacts négatifs sur les élèves qui en sont victimes, qu’ils s’identifient ou non comme lesbiennes, gais, bisexuel(le)s ou en questionnement (LGBQ). La diffusion des résultats de ces enquêtes, ainsi que les constats similaires d’acteurs sur le terrain, ont fait accroitre les appels à la vigilance des écoles quant aux discriminations homophobes pouvant prendre forme en leur enceinte. Plusieurs des responsabilités résultant de cette mobilisation ont échoué par défaut aux enseignants, notamment en raison de leur proximité avec leurs élèves. Cependant, malgré la panoplie de publications et de formations visant explicitement à les outiller à ce sujet, les enseignants rapportent de manière consistante manquer de formation, d’habiletés, de soutien et d’aise à l’idée d’intervenir contre l’homophobie ou de parler de diversité sexuelle en classe. Cette thèse de doctorat vise à comprendre les pratiques d’intervention et d’enseignement que rapportent avoir les enseignants de l’école secondaire québécoise, toutes orientations sexuelles confondues, par rapport à la diversité sexuelle et à l’homophobie. Dans une perspective interdisciplinaire, nous avons interrogé la sociologie de l’éducation, les études de genre (gender studies) et les études gaies et lesbiennes, ainsi qu’emprunté aux littératures sur les pratiques enseignantes et sur l’intervention sociale. Les données colligées consistent en des entrevues semi-structurées menées auprès de 22 enseignants du secondaire, validées auprès de 243 enseignants, par le biais d’un questionnaire en ligne. Étayés dans trois articles scientifiques, les résultats de notre recherche permettent de mieux saisir la nature des pratiques enseignantes liées à la diversité sexuelle, mais également les mécanismes par lesquels elles viennent ou non à être adoptées par les enseignants. Les témoignages des enseignants ont permis d’identifier que les enseignants sont globalement au fait des attentes dont ils font l’objet en termes d’intervention contre l’homophobie. Ceci dit, en ce qu’ils sont guidés dans leurs interventions par le concept limité d’homophobie, ils ne paraissent pas toujours à même de saisir les mécanismes parfois subtils par lesquels opèrent les discriminations sur la base de l’orientation sexuelle, mais aussi des expressions de genre atypiques. De même, si la plupart disent condamner vertement l’homophobie dont ils sont témoins, les enseignants peuvent néanmoins adopter malgré eux des pratiques contribuant à reconduire l’hétérosexisme et à alimenter les mêmes phénomènes d’infériorisation que ceux qu’ils cherchent à combattre. Sauf exception, les enseignants tendent à comprendre le genre et l’expression de genre davantage comme des déterminants de type essentialiste avec lesquels ils doivent composer que comme des normes scolaires et sociales sur lesquelles ils peuvent, comme enseignants, avoir une quelconque influence. Les stratégies de gestion identitaire des enseignants LGB influencent les pratiques qu’ils rapportent être en mesure d’adopter. Ceux qui optent pour la divulgation, totale ou partielle, de leur homosexualité ou bisexualité peuvent autant rapporter adopter des pratiques inclusives que choisir de se tenir à distance de telles pratiques, alors que ceux qui favorisent la dissimulation rapportent plutôt éviter autant que possible ces pratiques, de manière à se garder de faire face à des situations potentiellement délicates. Également, alors que les enseignants LGB étaient presque exclusivement vus jusqu’ici comme ceux chez qui et par qui se jouaient ces injonctions à la vie privée, les enseignants hétérosexuels estiment également être appelés à se positionner par rapport à leur orientation sexuelle lorsqu’ils mettent en œuvre de telles pratiques. Nos résultats révèlent un double standard dans l’évocation de la vie privée des enseignants. En effet, la divulgation d’une orientation hétérosexuelle, considérée comme normale, est vue comme conciliable avec la neutralité attendue des enseignants, alors qu’une révélation similaire par un enseignant LGB est comprise comme un geste politique qui n’a pas sa place dans une salle de classe, puisqu’elle se fait au prix du bris d’une présomption d’hétérosexualité. Nos résultats suggèrent qu’il existe de fortes prescriptions normatives relatives à la mise en genre et à la mise en orientation sexuelle à l’école. Les enseignants s’inscrivent malgré eux dans cet environnement hétéronormatif. Ils peuvent être amenés à y jouer un rôle important, que ce soit en contribuant à la reconduction de ces normes (par exemple, en taisant les informations relatives à la diversité sexuelle) ou en les contestant (par exemple, en expliquant que certains stéréotypes accolés à l’homosexualité relèvent d’aprioris non fondés). Les discours des enseignants suggèrent également qu’ils sont traversés par ces normes. Ils peuvent en effet choisir de se conformer aux attentes normatives dont ils font l’objet (par exemple, en affirmant leur hétérosexualité), ou encore d’y résister (par exemple, en divulguant leur homosexualité à leurs élèves, ou en évitant de conforter les attentes dont ils font l’objet) au risque d’être conséquemment pénalisés. Bien entendu, cette influence des normes de genre diffère d’un enseignant à l’autre, mais semble jouer autant sur les enseignants hétérosexuels que LGB. Les enseignants qui choisissent de contester, explicitement ou implicitement, certaines de ces normes dominantes rapportent chercher des appuis formels à leurs démarches. Dans ce contexte, une telle quête de légitimation (par exemple, la référence aux règlements contre l’homophobie, la mobilisation des similitudes entre l’homophobie et le racisme, ou encore le rapprochement de ces enseignements avec les apprentissages prescrits pour leur matière) est à comprendre comme un outillage à la contestation normative. La formation professionnelle des enseignants sur l’homophobie et sur la diversité sexuelle constitue un autre de ces outils. Alors que les enseignants québécois continuent d’être identifiés comme des acteurs clés dans la création et le maintien d’environnements scolaires non-discriminatoires et inclusifs aux réalités de la diversité sexuelle, il est impératif de les appuyer en multipliant les signes formels tangibles sur lesquelles leurs initiatives peuvent prendre appui (politiques explicites, curriculum scolaire inclusif de ces sujets, etc.). Nos résultats plaident en faveur d’une formation enseignante sur la diversité sexuelle, qui ferait partie du tronc commun de la formation initiale des maîtres. Chez les enseignants en exercice, il nous apparait préférable de miser sur une accessibilité accrue des formations et des outils disponibles. En réponse toutefois aux limites que pose à long terme une approche cumulative des formations spécifiques portant sur différents types d’oppressions (l’homophobie, le racisme, le sexisme, etc.), nous argumentons en faveur d’un modèle d’éducation anti-oppressive au sein duquel les élèves seraient invités à considérer, non seulement la multiplicité et le caractère situé des divers types d’oppressions, mais également les mécanismes d’attribution de privilège, de constitution de la normalité et de la marginalité, et de présentation de ces arbitraires culturels comme des ordres naturels.
In Québec and elsewhere, school climate surveys have documented since 2000 the prevalence of homophobic violence, especially in high schools, and its negative impacts of its victims— whether or not they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning (LGBQ). The dissemination of subsequent data, as well as similar observations made by various actors on the field, have resulted in calls for schools to be vigilant towards homophobic discriminations that could take place onto their premises. Many of these responsibilities have fallen onto the shoulders of teachers, partly because of their close proximity to students. However, despite the sheer number of sexual diversity awareness-building training sessions and publications available to them, teachers consistently report lacking the training, the abilities, the support, and the comfort needed to intervene against homophobia or to refer to sexual diversity in class. This doctoral thesis aims at understanding the pedagogical and intervention practices relative to homophobia and sexual diversity that Québec high school teachers of different sexual orientations report putting forth. Borrowing from sociology of education, gender studies, as well as gay and lesbian studies, we adopted an interdisciplinary lens that also incorporated literature on teaching practices and social intervention. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 high school teachers, and these findings were validated through an online questionnaire filled out by 243 teachers. Results detailed in three scientific papers allow a better understanding of teaching practices relating to sexual diversity, but also of the various mechanisms through which they come to be adopted or not by teachers. Teachers seem globally aware of the expectations that surround them in terms of intervening against homophobia. However, since their interventions appear to be guided by the limiting concept of homophobia, they can be unaware of the subtle mechanisms through which discriminations based on sexual orientation, but also atypical gender expressions, can operate. Furthermore, although most teachers claim condemning homophobia, they can nevertheless implement practices that can perpetuate heterosexism and feed into the very symbolic violence they try to put an end to. Aside from rare cases, teachers appear to understand gender and gender expression as essentialist and determinant factors they must learn to work with, rather than social norms they can come to influence as teachers. Identity management strategies advocated by LGB teachers influence the practices they report being capable of, or at ease of, implementing. Teachers opting for total or partial disclosure of their LGB identity can either choose to adopt inclusive practices or to keep at a safe distance from such initiatives. Those who choose to hide their sexual orientation can also consider that implementing practices that are inclusive of sexual diversity is not a viable option for them. Although LGB teachers have long been seen as the ones constrained by these injunctions regarding private life, heterosexual teachers declare having to explicitly state their sexual orientation when they undertake such practices. Our results suggest that teachers are held to different standards with regards to their personal lives. While heterosexual teachers do not hesitate to refer to their heterosexual status, perceived as normal sexual, LGB teachers must assess the most discreet allusion to their home life, in as much as the neutrality supposedly threatened by openly homosexual teachers constitutes a normative and heterosexist status quo. There appears to be strong normative prescriptions relative to gender and sexual orientation in schools. Teachers operate in this heteronormative environment and can come to play an important role in the propagation (for ex., by silencing informations regarding sexual diversity) or the contestation of these norms (for ex., by explaining to students that some of their opinions on LGB people are informed by stereotypes and therefore not empirically valid). The discourses of teachers suggest they themselves are influenced by these norms. They can decide to conform to the normative expectations that target them as teachers (for ex., by asserting their heterosexuality) or choose to resist to them (for ex., by coming out as non-heterosexuals to their students, or by avoiding to explicitly reinforce the expectations that target them) at the risk of being consequently penalized. This influence of gender norms varies from one teacher to another, but seems to be at play for both heterosexual and LGB teachers. The teachers who choose to contest, either explicitly or implicitly, some of these norms report looking for formal signs supporting their initiatives. In this context, their quest of legitimization (whether it is referring to policies against homophobia, calling to mind the similarities between homophobia and racism, or mobilizing the subject in relation to the contents that are prescribed by school authorities) should be understood as a quest for tools to support their normative contestation. Teacher training on homophobia and sexual diversity is another of these tools. As Québec teachers continue to be identified as key actors in the creation and preservation of school environment that are non-discriminatory and inclusive to sexual diversity, it is imperative that they be able to lean on tangible formal signs supporting their actions (ie. explicit policies against homophobia and heterosexism, curriculum that is inclusive of these topics). Our results call for mandatory training sessions on homophobia and sexual diversity for pre-service teachers. In-service teachers would benefit from an improved accessibility of available tools and training rather than mandatory training sessions. Considering the long-term limits that are inherent to a cumulative approach to teaching training – suggesting teachers ought to receive specific trainings on each type of oppression (homophobia, racism, sexism, etc.), we argue for an model based on anti-oppressive education. In this model, students would be taught to consider that knowledge is always situated and that various types of oppressions can operate at once. They would also learn about the social mechanisms through which various groups come to be privileged, normalised or marginalised.

This thesis explores some of the themes and issues that social workers may wish to consider when investigating and addressing matters pertaining to wellness in individuals with sex-variances. Foundational literature includes writings by John Money, the Chicago Consensus, and the clinical guidelines of the Intersex Society of North America. A three pillars model is introduced as a potential means for fostering better understanding and diversity in relation to sex, gender, and sexuality. Semi-structured interviews surrounding wellness are conducted with four individuals who have sex-variances. Interview results are analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Recommendations are put forth in a manner designed to allow social workers to work collaboratively with individuals who have sex-variances and their families, as well as with other medical and health professionals who provide services thereof. The analyses and recommendations presented in this thesis are situated within a context of evidence-based anti-oppressive practice.

This qualitative study locates elementary educators new to the profession in their experiences in the current educational climate of Southwestern British Columbia. Data for this study was generated through six semi-structured interviews and one focus group with elementary school teachers in the first seven years of their practice. Using an anti-oppressive framework that meshes Kumashiro (2002) and Young (1990), and drawing on relevant literature to interpret the findings, I argue that teachers in elementary schools are enacting a variety of practices in their classrooms that span a range of anti-oppressive possibilities. These practices are shaped by the particularities of elementary education and the current educational climate, both of which are implicated in their choice of, and the results, of their actions. The research suggests that for new teachers, becoming ah anti-oppressive educator is an iterative process that develops alongside increasing support, knowledge and agency of teachers. I have concluded with an investigation of the participants' articulation of changes needed to better support new elementary teachers in enacting anti-oppressive pedagogies.
Education, Faculty of
Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of
Graduate