Changing Perceptions of Diversity and Oppression

Abstract

Meeting the Council on Social Work Education's standards related to diversity content poses unique demands for faculty, who may encounter student resistance and heightened classroom emotions. This article reports on data gathered from the self-reports of 43 MSWstudents enrolled in a required course on diversity and oppression in the fall 1994 semester. The authors analyze barriers to student learning about the effects of social identity and discrimination, and make recommendations for curriculum development and classroom teaching.