social justice education, experiential reflective learning, self-reflection, lived experience, social work

In a social work classroom, we sometimes encounter prejudice and distance on the part of students towards people from vulnerable groups. We perceive that they reflect the state of society in which solidarity and inclusiveness are eroding due to neoliberal ideology and the discourse of meritocracy. In doing so, social workers should be on the front lines of the “struggle” for a socially just society. This is only possible if our study programmes produce graduates who can build alliances based on diversity while critically viewing oppressive structures whose internalised forms may reflect in their own attitudes and conduct. The chapter aims to present the engagement of lived experience combined with student introspection as a tool for the development of social justice education in social work, exemplifying it in the “Construction of Social Norms in Society” course which has been part of the Bachelor’s degree programme in Social Work curriculum. The developed tool was evaluated through qualitative analysis of documents (self-reflective texts from students, internal faculty questionnaire). and the photovoice method. The data analysis shows the importance of contact with lived experience of oppression and the space for building a relationship when meeting people from disadvantaged groups. The reciprocal contact between experts-by-experience and students in the classroom was perceived by the learners as equal and having a common goal. The perception of mutual humanity also proved to be another crucial moment. Institutional validation was a prerequisite for mediating this type of contact. Contact with lived experience of oppression was essential for students to be able to understand “differences” and inequalities. Self-reflective questions were designed to provoke students to become aware of common interests with people from disadvantaged groups, which contributed to building solidarity, and in some cases to reflecting on students’ own lived experience.