Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student experiences in social work field education

Attracting more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the social work profession is an important strategy in responding to Indigenous disadvantage. The literature suggests that the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, knowledge, and skills in social work is impeded by racism and white privilege. This  research project  aimed to explore the field education experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work students. Interviews were conducted with 11 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and graduates and their narratives were analysed through a collaborative process. Findings reveal experiences of subtle and overt racism as every day features of their placements. The findings highlight the need to address racism, the value of cultural mentors, and the necessity to increase the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academic staff in social work education.

The dataset deposited includes the transcripts of the qualitative interviews with the participants and the themes from the focus group interview.

 

    Data Record Details
    Data record related to this publication Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student experiences in social work field education
    Data Publication title Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student experiences in social work field education
  • Description

    Attracting more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the social work profession is an important strategy in responding to Indigenous disadvantage. The literature suggests that the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, knowledge, and skills in social work is impeded by racism and white privilege. This  research project  aimed to explore the field education experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work students. Interviews were conducted with 11 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and graduates and their narratives were analysed through a collaborative process. Findings reveal experiences of subtle and overt racism as every day features of their placements. The findings highlight the need to address racism, the value of cultural mentors, and the necessity to increase the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academic staff in social work education.

    The dataset deposited includes the transcripts of the qualitative interviews with the participants and the themes from the focus group interview.

     

  • Other Descriptors
    • Descriptor

      Data consists of 16 files saved in both MS Word (.doc and .docx) and PDF formats and stored in 2 zip files in the secure section of the Tropical Data Hub (TDH) archive.

    • Descriptor type Note
  • Data type dataset
  • Keywords
    • field education
    • social work
    • Aboriginal people
    • Torres Strait Islander people
    • racism
  • Funding source
  • Research grant(s)/Scheme name(s)
    • - Australian Association of Social Workers Practitioner Grant
  • Research themes
    People and Societies in the Tropics
    FoR Codes (*)
    SEO Codes
    Specify spatial or temporal setting of the data
    Temporal (time) coverage
  • Start Date
  • End Date
  • Time Period
    Spatial (location) coverage
  • Locations
    • Townsville, Queensland, Australia
    Data Locations

    Type Location Notes
    Physical Location Transcripts of qualitative interviews and themes from the focus group interview are stored in the secure data section of the Tropical Data Hub (TDH) archive - eResearch Centre, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
    The Data Manager is: Ines Zuchowski
    College or Centre
    Access conditions Restricted: no access
  • Alternative access conditions
  • Data record size 16 files: 616 KB
  • Related publications
      Name Gair, Susan, Miles, Debra, Savage, Dorothy, and Zuchowski, Ines (2015) Racism unmasked: the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in social work field placements. Australian Social Work, 68 (1). pp. 32-48.
    • URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2014.928335
    • Notes Attracting more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the social work profession is an important strategy in responding to Indigenous disadvantage. The literature suggests that the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, knowledge, and skills in social work is impeded by racism and white privilege. This article reports on a research project that aimed to explore the field education experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work students. Interviews were conducted with 11 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and graduates and their narratives were analysed through a collaborative process. Findings reveal experiences of subtle and overt racism as every day features of their placements. The findings highlight the need to address racism, the value of cultural mentors, and the necessity to increase the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academic staff in social work education.
    • Name Gair, Susan, Miles, Debra, Savage, Dorothy, and Zuchowski, Ines (2015) Racism unmasked: the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in social work field placements. Australian Social Work, 68 (1). pp. 32-48.
    • URL https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/34222/
    • Notes Accepted Author Version (Green Open Access)
    • Name Zuchowski, Ines, Savage, Dorothy, Miles, Debra, and Gair, Susan (2013) Decolonising field education: challenging Australian social work praxis. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 15 (1). pp. 47-62.
    • URL https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=479373007574587;res=IELHSS
    • Notes Social Work's contribution to Australia's legacy of colonisation, the Stolen Generation and ongoing child welfare interventions, may make entering the profession a contentious issue for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Yet the profession is poorer for their absence, and closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous social work graduates is a quest aligned with social justice, and with social work as a human rights profession. Field education is considered a significant and important process through which students are socialised into the profession. Questions arise about how professional enculturation might occur for Indigenous students as they put theory into practice, when this theory and practice derives from dominant western frameworks. In this article we present findings from research exploring the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work and welfare students in field placements. The findings identify racism as ever-present, highlight the impact of Eurocentricsm on practice, and reveal the disregard of Aboriginal cultural ways of helping and the potential for disempowerment. These findings have implications for social work praxis and social work education. Recommendations for improved practice and further research are made.
    • Name Miles, Debra, Zuchowski, Ines, Savage, Dorothy, and Gair, Susan (2014) Strengthening the cultural wellbeing of indigenous social work students: confronting racism and promoting cultural safety and respect. In: Abstracts from the Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development 2014: promoting social and economic equality, p. 85. From: Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development 2014: promoting social and economic equality, 9-12 July 2014, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
    • URL https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/34068/
    • Notes Conference Abstract
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  • Data owners
      James Cook University
    Citation Zuchowski, Ines; Gair, Susan; Miles, Debra (2018): Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student experiences in social work field education. James Cook University. https://research.jcu.edu.au/data/published/57f548887b2fee802f1caca2d59ec63d