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Is Social Work Still Racist? A Content Analysis of Recent Literature
Nicole A Corley1, Stephen M Young1
1Nicole A. Corley, PhD, MSW, is assistant professor, School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 Floyd Avenue, Third Floor, Richmond, VA 23284. Stephen M. Young, PhD, LCSW, is BSW program director and assistant professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, University of South Alabama, Mobile.
Social Work
|August 24, 2018
Summary
Social work literature shows minimal focus on systemic oppression affecting minority groups. Research indicates a continued failure to address institutional racism, with a heavy reliance on individual-level interventions.
Area of Science:
- Social Work Research
- Racial Justice Studies
- Sociology of Professions
Background:
- Social work literature demonstrates a limited focus on systemic oppression impacting racial and ethnic minority groups.
- Previous research highlighted this gap in the 1980s, necessitating an updated analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the extent to which major social work journals addressed issues of systemic oppression and institutional racism affecting Asian Pacific Islander (API) Americans, African Americans, Latinx or Hispanic Americans, and Native or Indigenous Americans between 2005 and 2015.
- To compare current trends with findings from a 1980-1989 literature review.
Main Methods:
- Content analysis of 1,690 articles published in four prominent social work journals (Child Welfare, Research on Social Work Practice, Social Service Review, Social Work) from 2005 to 2015.
- Inclusion criteria focused on articles addressing specific racial and ethnic minority groups and systems of oppression.
Main Results:
- Only 123 out of 1,690 articles met the inclusion criteria, indicating continued marginal interest in these critical issues.
- Findings reveal a persistent failure by social work researchers to address institutional racism.
- Interventions discussed in the literature predominantly focus on micro-level approaches rather than systemic change.
Conclusions:
- Social work research continues to neglect the critical issue of institutional racism.
- There is an urgent need for social workers to prioritize and increase efforts to dismantle systemic racism and oppression.
- A shift towards macro-level interventions addressing systemic issues is crucial for effectively serving minoritized populations.
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