Experiences of Disabled Social Work Students, Faculty, and Staff: A Photovoice-Inspired Project

Social work education and social work practice call for educators and practitioners to engage in anti-oppressive practice and to center social justice. Current research on the experiences of social work students, faculty, and staff who identify as being disabled is still limited, but it demonstrates that disabled students, faculty, and staff face barriers, discrimination, and exclusion. This study adds to this existing body of knowledge using a photovoice-inspired approach to data collection. Twenty creative works showcasing the individual’s experience of disability in their social work program were submitted and analyzed. Three themes emerged from the data analysis, representing system-level journeying and change: structural ableism to disability justice, managing symptoms to interdependence, and internalized oppression to disability pride. These themes are discussed in detail and implications for future educational practices and research are presented.