Use an example to illustrate how social workers can develop critical consciousness through praxis.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: A new, White social worker assigned to work in a predominantly African-American, inner-city high school makes a conscious decision to take action and reach to out to African-American students to establish relationships with them. She talks informally with students both before and after class, on breaks, and in brief presentations and discussions she facilitates in the classroom. She also conducts visits to students’ homes. As she engages in these actions, the social worker becomes increasingly aware of the strengths, issues and problems faced by her students and their families. Along with developing greater awareness, the social worker also chooses to engage in a process of self-reflection to examine what strategies work well in establishing relationships with her students and their families, how her whiteness may affect her interactions with them, and which interactions appear to be difficult or awkward. She further explores these difficulties and successes in dialogue with fellow social workers and teachers in the school district, but she also engages in dialogue with her students and their families to obtain their feedback about her interactions and attempts at establishing beginning relationships with them.