oppression; PCS analysis model; critical social work; social work education; involvement of lived experience in education

This chapter stresses the importance of focusing on the oppression in social work education. It emphasizes that social work students need to deeply understand how the intersectionality of oppression works in clients’ situations in a society where individuals grow into neoliberalism. To bring a more substantial impact to the issue, a new teaching method was piloted based on combining experiential knowledge; work with personal, cultural, and structural analyses according to Neil Thompson; and the self-experiential techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed. The effects of the teaching were evaluated using a photovoice technique with students and people with lived experience. The data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. The chapter introduces the teaching approach and evaluation results and further discusses how oppression could be taught in social work education. The chapter closes by presenting barriers to teaching about oppression as well as possible strategies to overcome them.

This chapter stresses the importance of focusing on the oppression in social work education. It emphasizes that social work students need to deeply understand how the intersectionality of oppression works in clients’ situations in a society where individuals grow into neoliberalism. To bring a more substantial impact to the issue, a new teaching method was piloted based on combining experiential knowledge; work with personal, cultural, and structural analyses according to Neil Thompson; and the self-experiential techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed. The effects of the teaching were evaluated using a photovoice technique with students and people with lived experience. The data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. The chapter introduces the teaching approach and evaluation results and further discusses how oppression could be taught in social work education. The chapter closes by presenting barriers to teaching about oppression as well as possible strategies to overcome them.