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'Meeting them halfway': legitimation in the discourse of secular social work educators at ultra-Orthodox campuses.

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Title: 'Meeting them halfway': legitimation in the discourse of secular social work educators at ultra-Orthodox campuses.
Authors: Bershtling, Orit1 (AUTHOR) oritbe@edu.hac.ac.il
Source: Social Work Education. Aug2025, Vol. 44 Issue 5, p1199-1214. 16p.
Subject Terms: *Discourse, *Teaching methods, *Cultural awareness, Identity (Psychology), Acceptance (Psychology), Social services
Abstract: This paper critically examines the discursive practices used by secular social work educators when teaching ultra-Orthodox students, whose strict interpretations of Jewish religious law often clash with professional values. Utilizing data from a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with 16 social work faculty members, the paper elaborates van Leeuwen's framework for analyzing legitimation in discourse. The findings indicate that the lecturers often encounter controversial situations that require them to abandon their professional ethics in order to accommodate the differential needs of their ultra-Orthodox students. I contend that in order to legitimize and camouflage conflictual pedagogic actions, such as the exclusion of women, self-censorship or the acceptance of discriminatory attitudes, the interviewees use social work concepts and terminology, such as cultural sensitivity, discretion or rapport. That is, the lecturers paradoxically use their professional identity to suspend social work principles in an attempt to implement multicultural politics in the classroom. The study uses identity construction as a complementary analytical lens to van Leeuwen's approach and illuminates the use of discursive legitimation in educational and professional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Social Work Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: 'Meeting them halfway': legitimation in the discourse of secular social work educators at ultra-Orthodox campuses.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Social+Work+Education%22">Social Work Education</searchLink>. Aug2025, Vol. 44 Issue 5, p1199-1214. 16p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Discourse%22">Discourse</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+methods%22">Teaching methods</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+awareness%22">Cultural awareness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Identity+%28Psychology%29%22">Identity (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acceptance+%28Psychology%29%22">Acceptance (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+services%22">Social services</searchLink>
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  Data: This paper critically examines the discursive practices used by secular social work educators when teaching ultra-Orthodox students, whose strict interpretations of Jewish religious law often clash with professional values. Utilizing data from a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with 16 social work faculty members, the paper elaborates van Leeuwen's framework for analyzing legitimation in discourse. The findings indicate that the lecturers often encounter controversial situations that require them to abandon their professional ethics in order to accommodate the differential needs of their ultra-Orthodox students. I contend that in order to legitimize and camouflage conflictual pedagogic actions, such as the exclusion of women, self-censorship or the acceptance of discriminatory attitudes, the interviewees use social work concepts and terminology, such as cultural sensitivity, discretion or rapport. That is, the lecturers paradoxically use their professional identity to suspend social work principles in an attempt to implement multicultural politics in the classroom. The study uses identity construction as a complementary analytical lens to van Leeuwen's approach and illuminates the use of discursive legitimation in educational and professional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Social Work Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/02615479.2024.2377772
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      – SubjectFull: Cultural awareness
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              Text: Aug2025
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