Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work
About
Brittanie Atteberry Ash (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. Brittanie uses research on LGBTQ populations as an exemplar for understanding the dynamics and processes of oppression in communities, and in social work practice and education, she is committed to promoting social justice and inclusion across contexts. Her work relies heavily on an intersectional lens to deepen the discipline’s understanding of risk and resilience among people who live at the crossroads of marginalized identities. Brittanie also focuses on promoting justice and inclusion within classroom and field education experiences, identifying strategies for educators to more fully integrate a critical social justice lens into their pedagogy and field supervision of students. Believing in the power of social work education to transform students into practitioners dedicated to a just world, she is passionate about her work as a critical scholar.
Current Work:
I am currently working on a review of literature that examines how social work has defined social justice over the last twenty years. This review is crucial to the profession, as many look to social justice as the bedrock of the profession, yet there is no agreed upon definition of what we mean when we say 'social justice'. After the review of literature I hope to interview leading social justice scholars in the field to find a common understanding of what social justice means to the field of social work. I also an working on a project that examines how social work students understand heterosexual and cisgender privilege and what may be related to that understanding. Both of these projects will help social work educators approach teaching and school based interventions with a more critical lens in order to more effectively graduate students who are committed to a just approach to social work.
Research Area Keyword(s):
social justice, social work education, sexual orientation, gender identity, privilege
