Black MSW students' experiences at a historically and predominantly white university: a participatory qualitative investigation.
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| Title: | Black MSW students' experiences at a historically and predominantly white university: a participatory qualitative investigation. |
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| Authors: | Hicks, Karon1 (AUTHOR), Jamison, Zoe1 (AUTHOR), Montgomery, Rose1 (AUTHOR), Ocean, Mia2 (AUTHOR) Mia.Ocean@wichita.edu |
| Source: | Social Work Education. Mar2026, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p306-328. 23p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Black students, *Universities & colleges, *Graduate students, *Social work education, *Qualitative research, Racism, Critical race theory |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | Despite decades of espoused commitment to diversity, there remains an educational and opportunity gap between Black and White students in U.S. higher education and social work. Some universities create satellite locations to recruit Black and post-traditional students, but multi-site universities face additional complexities that require thoughtful planning. As a team of graduate social work students, alumni, and faculty, we conducted a participatory, interpretive description study to investigate Black student experiences with racism and inclusion at One United Regional (OUR, pseudonym) institution. OUR institution is a U.S. public, historically, and predominantly white university that hosts graduate social work programs at two locations: an urban location with a Black-student-majority population and a suburban location with a White-student-majority student population. We interviewed current students and recent alumni (n = 18) across its locations. We drew on critical race theory to guide our questions and codebook and followed an iterative thematic process to conduct team coding and analysis. We developed five themes: experiences of inclusion; Black students as generous, unpaid educators; Black students as generous, unpaid administrators; catering to Whiteness; and the permanence of racism. After detailing our findings, we highlight the implications for social work higher education administrators and faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | Despite decades of espoused commitment to diversity, there remains an educational and opportunity gap between Black and White students in U.S. higher education and social work. Some universities create satellite locations to recruit Black and post-traditional students, but multi-site universities face additional complexities that require thoughtful planning. As a team of graduate social work students, alumni, and faculty, we conducted a participatory, interpretive description study to investigate Black student experiences with racism and inclusion at One United Regional (OUR, pseudonym) institution. OUR institution is a U.S. public, historically, and predominantly white university that hosts graduate social work programs at two locations: an urban location with a Black-student-majority population and a suburban location with a White-student-majority student population. We interviewed current students and recent alumni (n = 18) across its locations. We drew on critical race theory to guide our questions and codebook and followed an iterative thematic process to conduct team coding and analysis. We developed five themes: experiences of inclusion; Black students as generous, unpaid educators; Black students as generous, unpaid administrators; catering to Whiteness; and the permanence of racism. After detailing our findings, we highlight the implications for social work higher education administrators and faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 02615479 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02615479.2025.2465461 |
