If workers hold a narrow definition of justice-based or rights-based practice, they may overlook new opportunities or their current actions that do in fact advance human rights and social and economic justice. Many workers are not accustomed to analyzing human rights principles related to a social issue (Reichert 2011). Those skills may reflect familiar approaches to practice the explicit connection to human rights and social justice, however, may be a new way of conceptualizing practice. Many social work activities can be framed as a means of advancing human rights and social justice (Funge et al. Social work education socializes students into the mission and values of the profession (Miller 2013), including consciousness raising about connections between practice and human rights and social justice. Some workers may not recognize that practice focused on violence, poverty, corrections, education, and health can advance human rights (McPherson and Abell 2012). Domestically, they may practice in a US-centric way and without incorporating cross-cultural concepts (Reichert 2003). Social workers tend to embrace human rights in practice on an international level (Ife 2012). Often, the social work literature about human rights concentrates on indigenous worldviews or international issues (Bonnycastle 2011), such as the criminalization of homosexuality (Healy and Kamya 2014) or human trafficking (Androff 2011). A rights-based approach emphasizes universal entitlements, and thus conveys empowerment and a sense of worth (Skegg 2005). According to the NASW’s ( 2004) International Policy on Human Rights, social justice may be the “profession’s fundamental value and concern,” but it is a “fairness doctrine that provides civil and political leeway in deciding what is just and unjust” (para. Human rights encompass social justice but focus on rights, rather than needs (Skegg 2005). Fairness referred to how people are treated by agencies and within society, as well as the outcomes and activities of social institutions and social practices. Equality was used differentially some required identical treatment for all people, while others focused on different treatment to ensure equity. Seventy-seven participants defined it with the term “equality” 23 used “fairness,” and another 24 linked these terms. O’Brien ( 2011) explored social workers’ ( n = 191) definitions of social justice. In the literature, social justice is often described with the terms equality and fairness. Human rights and social and economic justice are inextricably linked. Implications for social work education and the implementation of CSWE’s 2015 Education Policy and Accreditation Standards are discussed. More than other core competencies, some students struggled to identify specific activities related to their practice setting, client population, or social work role. The findings revealed the types of activities that social work students engage in to develop and demonstrate readiness for practice. Fifteen of these students also provided their understanding of the connection between their activities and this core competency. This qualitative study analyzed learning contracts of four cohorts of BSW seniors ( n = 114) to identify the stated activities for advancing human rights and social and economic justice through field education.
VISIT TO A RELIGIOUS FACILITY FIELD WORK JOURNAL PROFESSIONAL
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) mandates that social work students develop knowledge, values, and skills in this area, as one of the core competencies of their professional training. Social workers advance human rights and social and economic justice through their practice and policy work.
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