JSWE Award Winners for Volume 54
Best Reviewer
Congratulations to Ram Cnaan (University of Pennsylvania) and Barbara P. Early (The Catholic University of America, retired), who have been selected as the Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE) Best Reviewers of 2019! Each year, the recipients of the Best Reviewer awards are selected by the JSWE Editorial Advisory Board to recognize manuscript reviewers who have demonstrated exceptional service in responsiveness to requests for review, timeliness in submitting completed reviews, and quality of written reviews. Dr. Cnaan and Dr. Early will be honored at the Membership Meeting at the CSWE 2019 Annual Program Meeting, Friday, October 25, from 5:30 pm–6:30 pm in Denver, CO. The Best Reviewer Awards are sponsored this year by the University of Utah.
CSWE and the JSWE Editorial Advisory Board would like to thank all the dedicated professionals who generously donate their time and expertise to review manuscripts and thus contribute to the value and success of the journal.
Best Empirical Article
David McCarty-Caplan. "Seeing the Same Thing Differently: Program Director, Faculty, and Student Perceptions of MSW LGBT Competence." 54: 448–463. doi:10.1080/10437797.2018.1453904
This exploratory study examined MSW education’s organizational-level lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) competence. Data were gathered from a sample of MSW program directors, faculty members, and students (N=1385) from 34 MSW programs in the United States. Hierarchical linear modeling analyzed differences in perceptions of organizational LGBT competence between MSW programs and among participants in the same program. Results showed organizational LGBT competence varied significantly among MSW programs and indicated program directors, faculty members, and students had different perceptions of the competence of their shared program. Specifically, directors rated the LGBT competence of their program higher than faculty, and faculty rated their program higher than students did. Implications for research and suggestions for social work education are discussed.
Best Conceptual Article
Timothy B Leduc. "'Let Us Continue Free as the Air': Truthfully Reconciling Social Work Education to Indigenous Lands." 54: 412–425. doi:10.1080/10437797.2018.1434445
Social work is being challenged to situate its theories and practice within the lands it finds itself on in North America. This article considers the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls for change from the perspective of how social workers are educated in relation to land, from Indigenous views on its colonial conversions to the land’s role in healing. The discussion is grounded in a course I teach on Reconciliation and Indigenous-Social Work Relations on the Haudenosaunee lands of the Grand River in Ontario. Social work students consider their vocation in relation to a truth-telling process that is a first step for reconciling with Indigenous nations and land. The article concludes with general implications for social work educators.
Best Teaching Note
Hye-Kyung Kang & Peggy O’Neill. "Constructing Critical Conversations: A Model for Facilitating Classroom Dialogue for Critical Learning." 54: 187–293. doi:10.1080/10437797.2017.1341857
Discussions of power and privilege, oppression, and structural inequities in classrooms can produce complex understanding and critical analysis when facilitated effectively. In this article we present the critical conversations model for facilitating conversations that open up space for discussing such issues and encourage the development of critical consciousness and reflection through experiential learning. The model provides flexible scaffolding for instructors to use to navigate their way through classroom tensions and capitalize on spontaneous learning opportunities. Theoretical underpinnings of the model are explained, followed by a description of the model. Implications for social work education and next steps are discussed.