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Josyl from Northern British Columbia said,
talked (wrote) about her own experiences as a
social worker and wasn't afraid to say she made
mistakes and didn't have the answers. One time
she talked about her own family member and his
right to 'live at risk' and that she found it really
hard compared to how she handled that kind of
thing with clients. It was refreshing to see a prof
do that.
Because so many of the distance students are
already practicing in the social work field, the
wealth of practical experience available to me is
far superior to what I might expect on campus....
It has broadened my knowledge of social work in
this country.... The bonus in online work is staying
current with practice issues across Canada
Faculty are also instrumental in establishing
an atmosphere wherein exploration and examina-
tion of assumptions, biases, issues and actions
can occur with due respect to the sensitivity and
vulnerability of all involved. Here is an excerpt
from a posting I made to the class in my role as
faculty for the online seminar:
Expanded contextual analysis available
through the broadened community of learners
available online merges with the imperatives of
critical reflection, which includes the deconstruc-
tion of structurally embedded and personally
experienced oppression. Facilitation by faculty
anchors the processes of critical reflection, notably
hinged on looking from the inside out and from
the outside in, in review of social and cultural un-
derstandings of clienthood, social justice, agency
and ethical practice.
The role of faculty in adhering to the tenets
of critical reflection is central to the project of
advancing deep integration of personal assump-
tions, context and practice challenges. Reading
the literature on critical social work broadly, and
critical reflection specifically, can be helpful to
prepare for this role. Forming a support network
among faculty using this pedagogical process is
an important means through which to continue
to hone one's skills in the questioning pivotal to
reflection, reflexivity and analysis of material and
discursive power within the group. Further, mod-
elling the unpacking of assumptions can validate
the legitimacy of this approach. Toward this end,
faculty members are encouraged to present their
own practice situations and identify their assump-
tions, values, beliefs, and understandings at play.
Rochelle, a student from Alberta, commented on
this practice by the faculty person facilitating
the seminar:
In much of our daily interactions, and in this
online seminar as well, it can be easy to discuss
issues and suggest actions without thinking about
our assumptions. How does this happen? Well, all
around us are the encouragements to leave the
status quo as is; society seeks to maintain itself at
its least critical. Yet in social work we know that as-
sumptions often serve to disadvantage particular
individuals and groups in society. We analyze the
dominant discourses that perpetuate discrimina-
tion and oppression. Our role is to be aware that
disagreements, conflicts and opposing perspec-
tives might be the result of differences in hidden
assumptions about the issue being addressed. In
this seminar we have a great opportunity to paral-
lel critical social work practice, by surfacing and
identifying our assumptions about the issues we
raise here, so that discussion and analysis can be
formed on common understandings. While I know
that we need to feel safe in order to take a risk,
remember that with every risky step forward, we
create a little more safety….and on it grows.
As this excerpt suggests, the pedagogical
congruencies between the online medium and
the processes of critical reflection are significant.
Students in the online seminar assert that asynchro-
She always asked great questions as we were try-
ing to make sense of our experiences. She also
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