Equity Case Studies Report - School of Social Work - University of ...

UBC school of social work equity and diversity strategic plan: A compilation of case studies 53
Officer, which was a consultant position. The Equity Advisor’s role entails participating in the
Diversity Initiative and Committee, outreach, mentoring, and community liaison.
Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Ongoing Goals
As George, Shera, and Tsang (1998) claim, “Organizational change for inclusiveness is
an ongoing, long-term activity. Each stage should proceed from the learning of the previous
stage” (p. 82). As such, the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work recognizes the importance
of ongoing evaluations, and receiving input from students, faculty, alumni, and community
members. For example, changes in the course on diversity issues, originally called AMNI, were
not made until a comprehensive evaluation was conducted (George, Shera, & Tsang, 1998).
Challenges arose throughout their journey in improving diversity-integration in the curricula,
which propelled the Faculty to continue to work on making improvements. A lesson learned
through this process was the importance of evaluations, documentation, and persistence.
Another example of their process of improving equity and diversity in curricula is the
challenges that ensue in climate when teaching equity-related topics. As George, Shera, and
Tsang (1998) illustrate,
Whereas some students actively demand a training preparing them to work with
diversity, there are different comfort levels in response to diversity issues, especially
when these issues have particular personal significance. For example, students may
position themselves differently in relation to existing and historical social relations of
oppression and, therefore, have different expectations regarding the political positioning
of faculty members and the material they deliver in class. The possible reproduction of