On June 1, 2018, doctoral fellow Xiaoran Wang made a presentation on “Four Dimensions of Connecting Social Policy Education with Social Work Practice” in Influencing Social Policy 2.0 Conference held at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The selection of presentations into the conference was based on a competitive peer-review process.
In her presentation, Wang shared a social policy teaching framework that she developed to help MSW students understand how social policy could inform social work practice. The framework has four dimensions: (1) social policy as a context of understanding social work practice; (2) social policy as a context of understanding clients’ experiences; (3) social policy practice as an intervention to promote social justice; and (4) social policy practice as an intervention to empower clients. Under each dimension, Wang discussed related social work competencies, teaching objectives, course contents, and teaching strategies. Wang also presented a sample syllabus integrating the four dimensions and hoped that her work would contribute to social policy teaching practice in the future.
Influencing Social Policy (ISP) is an organization dedicated exclusively to promoting social work’s involvement in policy and policy practice. ISP has convened an annual Policy Conference 2.0 since 2014, focusing on social policy teaching and practice in the current political and social environment. This year’s conference was participated by 112 scholars and educators from around the country.
Congratulations to Doctoral Fellow Xiaoran Wang!
