Monthly Monitor: Enter and Conquer - Back to School
Guest Editor: Alauna Reckley, MSW, Doctoral Student (she/her)
In this issue, we cover ways to create community in your doctoral program, universal design in teaching, disseminating your research, and neurodiversity in academia!
Enter and Conquer: Starting the School Year
Building Community with Other PhD Students
Universal Design in Higher Education
Productivity and Disingenuous Research Cultures
Neurodiversity in Academia
Social Work Snippets
Editorial -
Enter and Conquer: Starting the School Year
By: Alauna Reckley, MSW, Doctoral Student (she/her)
Welcome back to the start of another school year!
Too often, students at every level of education end summer with dread for the upcoming school year. From the thought of long and repetitive introductions and continually stating your research interests, upcoming writing assignments and manuscript preparations, assistantship work or regular employment, school is a lot to juggle. It all can be overwhelming. Therefore, I would like to share some tips to support students in feeling more optimistic about starting the school year. I have found that changing our mindsets and different things like our time management techniques or self-care strategies can make any upcoming school year exciting and manageable.
Decide on your time management technique. I admit this is easier said than done. However, it is important that some kind of organization tool is used to help you better manage the many things that PhD students are responsible for throughout the school year, both in and out of school. Something that works for me is having multiple calendars for different things. For example, I have a paper planner that I use only for school assignments and events, I have an outlook calendar for scheduled meetings, and I use my phone calendar for anything else outside of school. Categorizing my calendars helps keep me organized while also allowing me to keep up with everything that I have to do. It took me a while to realize that this system is what works best for me. Try out different things and once you find what works, be sure that you actually make a habit of using it, instead of just talking about it in theory. Routine makes a habit.
Don’t overwork yourself. Overworking can be defined as working beyond your capacity or strength where you are now working too hard or too much. This can cause a lot of stress, confusion, and burn out if we are overworking ourselves in the name of getting things done. A mistake that I made in my first year is saying yes to every opportunity that came my way for fear of not getting that opportunity again. However, I found that I was doing so much that it became a whirlwind of work. I was burnt out by both mandatory class assignments and outside commitments. Coming into my second year, I told myself that it is okay to say no and only do what is required of me with a little extra on the side. Now, I am only working on classes and 2 other manuscripts, one being a group paper. This has freed up a lot of my time and keeps me more organized instead of me having to juggle so many meetings, projects, papers, and publications.
Schedule self care. I am a huge advocate for self care. My routine self care that I do is make Sundays my rest days. For the entire Sunday, I do nothing related to work or school. I use this day to get ready mentally for the week ahead while also relaxing. This makes me better prepared for the week. Although this may not be ideal for others, any time that we take for ourselves is considered self care. Whether that means taking yourself out to eat, going dancing, or going on a hike; whatever works best for you. Dedicating at least one full day of doing nothing school-related, or giving yourself time out every day to do nothing but relax and focus on yourself can be very beneficial to your physical, mental, and overall health. Taking a break from the busy life of PhD is very important to ensure that we are focusing on our mental health, taking care of ourselves, and keeping stress to a minimum when possible.
Look towards the future. In my program, we only have 2 years for course work before we do comps, apply for candidacy, and begin our dissertation. What gets me through each day is thinking about how close I am to the finish line. It makes me excited to move onto the next phase of my PhD career so every time I start a new year or new semester, I remind myself that I am almost done. No matter what phase you are in, you are only going forward! Before you know it, you will look up and the year will be over.
Breathe. You got this! You have come so far and have done so well, everything will work out at the end of the day. Just be sure to try to stay focused and take care of yourself. Knowing when it is time to take a step back and breathe is very important. These times come around for me around the middle of the semester. I often take more than just Sunday off to ground myself so that I can become focused and get back to working and finishing up the semester.
I won’t pretend that using these techniques and tactics will be easy or that it is easy to stay optimistic throughout this journey. I have my days where I feel overwhelmed, or I am running and working all day. I also have a few Sundays where I know I cannot spend the entire day doing nothing, and I’ll have to do some kind of work to stay on top of everything or even to get ahead. This process won't be roses and sunflowers all the time, and it is not perfect. Still, the more routines and positive thoughts that I have, the easier it is to get back on track and focus on what is important in that moment, whether it is school, work, or self care. The better prepared that I am before the school year starts, the easier the school year gets. I take different things that I use from each year to use in my current work and lifestyle, and it makes for greater balance and more positive outcomes. Let's start this school year off on a positive note and try to carry it on throughout our time in classes. We are in this together, we got this!
Building Community with Other PhD Students
Let’s face it, doctoral programs are challenging, and sometimes it can feel like an incredibly isolating experience. That is why we, as students, should prioritize seeking and developing a support system of peers. Building a supportive community surrounded by other doctoral students who understand what we are going through can help us live a more balanced and fulfilling life and help create a more positive experience throughout our academic journey.
We often hear about how networking is vital and that it will have a positive impact on our future academic careers. Even though this is true, it is also essential to cultivate a nurturing community while still in our studies. Networking and connecting are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a distinction between the two. Networking is about knowing people to gather and share information. It is “the process or action of interacting with others to exchange information and developing professional or social contacts.” On the other hand, connecting is “joining or linking things together, especially to provide access and communication.” It is about knowing people more and building deeper relationships and understandings of each other (Networking vs. Connecting; Networking vs. Connecting: There is a Difference). While networking with other doctoral students is important, it is meaningful and beneficial to make genuine connections with other students and build that supportive community – a community that cares about each other’s successes and struggles and is built on mutual respect and trust.
In addition to connecting to classmates in your program/cohort and fellow students further along in their degrees, connecting with other PhD students across programs is excellent too! Here are some reasons why these connections are beneficial and suggestions on where and how to connect with other doctoral students.
Benefits of connecting with other PhD students:
Experiencing a sense of belongingness and being a part of a supportive community
Having emotional support during periods of anxiousness, frustration, and grief and loss
Being held accountable for maintaining self-care and work-life balance
Receiving and giving helpful advice on how to overcome the many challenges unique to your university and graduate school
Exchanging useful information and resources related to school and personal life
Where and how to connect with other PhD students:
Attend and participate in local and international events: Events like conferences (e.g., SSWR Annual Conference!), in-person or virtual seminars, and even graduate school sessions are a great way to build and maintain social relationships.
Join an Affinity Group at your university: These groups are centered on shared identities, concerns, or missions. They can help you locate allies, resources, and opportunities to receive support from and make positive contributions to the larger communities you are passionate about.
Get involved in student organizations of interest at your school: For example, you can join your school’s Graduate Student Association (GSA) or go to GSA-hosted events. Other groups may identify with your interest, such as recreational sports and wellness, volunteer and service, or advocacy and activism.
Make virtual connections through social media like Facebook groups and Twitter: The Academic Benefits of Twitter & Making conversation - how social media helps build an academic community
Engage in Online Support Groups: Online Support Groups for Ph.D. Students in 2022
Universal Design in Higher Education
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework, or approach, that gives ALL students an opportunity to succeed in educational environments[1]. It confronts the primary barrier to equitable learning opportunities and outcomes: inflexible, “one-size-fits-all” curricula. Inflexible curricula raise unintentional barriers to success for all students, particularly for those who have identified or unidentified disabilities. Rather than providing individual accommodations once a student is struggling with curricula, UDL proactively supports a more diverse student population, maximizing access for all from the outset.
The three central principles of UDL are:
Provide multiple, flexible methods of representation
Provide multiple, flexible methods of expression
Provide multiple, flexible options for engagement
As a former elementary special education teacher, I was trained in promoting the evidence-based practice of UDL in my inclusive classrooms. For example, my co-teachers and I designed each and every lesson plan to include multiple possibilities for demonstrating knowledge or completing assignments, presentations of all new information in auditory, visual, and tactile formats, and access to fidget toys for any student that needed it that day. We provided these accommodations for EVERY student, allowing them to customize their learning experience to what works best for them. Rather than pulling our students with special education plans from the classroom to give them individualized support, we offered that support to all our students within the classroom. We assumed that barriers to our students’ learning were in the design of the environment, rather than in the student, and adjusted the environment accordingly. We also were aware of the diagnostic disparities among children of color and low socioeconomic status, including the late and misdiagnoses among these populations. We knew that if we only provided accommodations to students with diagnoses or special education plans, we’d be failing to meet the needs of all students with disabilities in our classrooms and perpetuating oppressive teaching pedagogy. Needless to say, we saw immense progress in all our students.
I now teach adults in master’s level social work courses at my university, and I’ve noticed that many of the tools I used with my elementary school students years ago can be applied to older learners. Each semester, students with school-approved disability accommodations meet with me to ensure they receive the flexible deadlines, extra time on exams, and/or course modifications as laid out in their official accommodation letter. Many are surprised to learn during this meeting that I offer these accommodations to every student in my class regardless of being approved for them. Furthermore, there are other relatively simple UDL methods that can be incorporated into higher education classes:
Agendas and objectives posted at the beginning of each class
Clear expectations and consistent feedback
Routine breaks
Multiple modes of participation: in class, small groups, reflective journals, online discussion boards
Presentation of new information in multiple media types: podcasts, videos, simulations, poems, songs, books, newspapers, stories, articles
Clear options and choice for assignments
Closed captioning on recorded lectures/videos
Interactive learning activities
Regular opportunities for anonymous student feedback
Optional graphic organizers for note-taking
Transparent face masks during COVID-19 in-person teaching
An open box of fidget toys (noticeably used more during finals)
The list goes on. I’ve noticed that students feel supported and engaged by many of these “small” course adjustments. Through UDL, we are able to recognize individual learning variability as the norm, rather than the exception, and in doing so, we can maximize access to higher education for all types of learners. UDL should be prioritized in the design of higher education social work curricula to ensure a more equitable, anti-oppressive, and diverse field.
[1] About Universal Design for Learning. CAST. (2021, April 20). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl.
Additional Resources:
http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/udl_landing
Productivity and Disingenuous Research Cultures
Before I started my PhD program, I heard the phrase publish or perish, but its weight and reality didn’t sink in until I actually started my program.
By the end of the first semester, the pressure for publishing inspired immense fear in me. Thinking about publishing papers immediately left me spiraling: Will I ever be enough? Will I ever do enough? How am I going to do this? Am I behind? I know I’m behind. I’ll never catch up. I’ll never get a job. I’ll never get tenure. I’ll never make it.
The phrase makes light of a shared sense of overwhelming fear and anxiety about the future and the unobtainable levels of productivity that are required of PhD students and doctoral faculty in general.
It ignores why some students may not be able to meet the overwhelming demands of neoliberal frames of research productivity. It ignores that the worth of our work is not always quantifiable by the number of publications we have, or the amount of grant funding we can secure. Many of those opportunities may be out of reach or non-existent for students whose research areas are underrepresented in academia.
As I’ve come to know myself more—as a researcher and just as a person—I’ve come to understand publish or perish as a much more insidious phrase embedded in a wholly disingenuous culture.
The true insidiousness of publish or perish doesn’t lie within the fear and anxiety it induces; it lies in the assumptions it makes about research. The pressure to publish constantly in high-impact scholarly journals reifies a culture within academia that frames research as a mechanism for institutional clout. It removes research from an attempt to seek justice for marginalized communities. It frames research around productivity, and it measures our scholarship not through the impact of our research on people’s lives but on the length of CVs, author impact factors, and h-index.
It's extractive, and it’s objectifying.
What does this mean for institutions who say they support community empowerment and engage in community led action but hold publications in top tier journals above other types of dissemination. If justice was really the goal, does it make sense to only support researchers whose work largely hides behind paywalls? Publishing in open-source journals may help with wider dissemination, but can be cost prohibitive for most students and early career researchers.
As a field of study that focuses on applied and social justice oriented research, social work should stand in contrast to the productivity-focused culture and structures in academia. However, are doctoral students learning skills to share their research outside of traditional academic realms? Are doctoral students provided the time, resources, and opportunities to share research outside of those realms? If doctoral students are, how seriously is such dissemination taken when we finally defend our dissertations and look for jobs?
Neurodiversity in Academia
PhD Students & Neurodivergence
There are some traits of neurodivergence that make being in a doctoral program damn difficult, and other attributes that help us excel in this space. So first off -- you’re here, you made it, you’re doing the thing, and you - yes you, belong here. If you ever thought it was “just you” or blamed yourself for being “lazy” or shame about some perceived personal failing, it’s not. Below we’ll describe some of the ways neurodivergence is disruptive or feels limiting, along with how it can also be a source of strength. We don’t have the answers or a list of organizational hacks (I know) -- just honest discussion, a few resources, and an ask for your input at the end.
A disclaimer: This is not everyone’s experience. We know each person has their own way of relating (or not) to the idea of neurodivergence. The “we” here is not intended to be a generalization of all student experiences, and instead is a combination of the authors’ own personal experiences as neurodivergent doctoral students and observations from friends and colleagues.
On being a neurodivergent doctoral student
This is not intended to be a list of flaws/failures that make us incompatible with academia, but more to validate why this experience may be frustrating. Do you have any experiences with the following? Rejection sensitivity can make it difficult to ask for feedback. Time-blindness can make it challenging to estimate how long it will take to complete a task. Energy fluctuation and attention/focus can vary day to day, or based on physiological needs, environmental stimuli, or our “to-do” list. This combination may lead to feelings of being overcommitted and overwhelmed. Perhaps we are genuinely interested in opportunities around us. It is also feasible to feel pressure to add more to our CVs, or be compelled to overcompensate for a self-perception of laziness or incompetence. Add to this the ability to mask (sometimes a little too well), and we may look like we have it together -- until we don’t. And then asking for help becomes even more of a challenge - especially if our PhD programs are poorly equipped to help us navigate this journey.
But there’s another side to being a neurospicy aspiring academic. When we get hyper focused, we are locked in. We thrive when we are interested in a topic. Neurodivergence can shine light on problems, solutions, or ways of engaging in research through a different vantage point. And while it’s not an ideal regular practice, when we’re up against that deadline, get out of our way because we know how to get the thing done. Neurodivergence does not mean bad, broken, or not cut out for a PhD program. It just means different; and sometimes that means finding different ways to channel your energy and flex your skills while taking care of yourself, each other, and meeting your goals.
A major selling point in academia is its flexibility, or at least, perceived flexibility. Many PhD milestones, as well as general research, analysis, and writing, are often completed over long timelines, at times requiring self-imposed deadlines. Though classes and meetings usually take place during ‘typical’ working hours, completing individual tasks and writing can generally be done at any time of day or week. This allows for working whenever and wherever feels best, and making the most of a motivational streak, as well as space to take care of other non-academic tasks. This flexibility accompanied by self-imposed deadlines, unfortunately, can also mean the adrenaline rush spurred by an outside deadline to get something done may not happen. Tasks and endeavors that are of less interest or are unclear may continuously get pushed aside, or forgotten about due to a lack of mental bandwidth.
Many of these aspects, both strengths and struggles, are not frequently discussed. This leaves the field with a general assumption that everyone works in the same way, citing personal failures when one deviates from this. In the field of social work particularly, we ought to have more awareness around differing needs and capacities. Social work purports to value diverse individuals, needs, and perspectives in the community, yet falters within the academy when these differences lead to inconveniences. At times, this may go so far as to deny requests for accommodations.
There is no “normal” or “typical” in how people think, work, and function, but there are archetypes that garner deeper levels of support and acceptability within the academy. Framing intelligence and capability within one set of traits reinforce stigma around traits that do not ‘fit.’ Having supportive and understanding colleagues and mentors can mean a world of difference for neurodivergent students. Doctoral programs are challenging enough, riddled with feelings of imposter syndrome and competing priorities. Being fearful of disclosing neurodivergent identities and needs to mentors who are situated to help us should not be an additional hurdle.
Survey
We can only speak from our own experiences, so we have an ask for you. If you are a doctoral student, have your PhD, or otherwise work within academia, and are neurodivergent, disabled, and/or have lived experience with mental illness (however you define any of the above), we would like to hear from you! What strategies and resources have helped you throughout your time in academia? What support is still needed?
The anonymous, brief survey can be found here: https://forms.gle/1sitSGC4F2rCWDyQ6.
Resources:
SOCIAL WORK SNIPPETS
Call for Papers
Special Issue in the Clinical Social Work Journal: Life After the MSW
Deadline: October 1, 2022
This special issue of the Clinical Social Work Journal aims to offer practical advice to newer professionals in the field of social work. We hope that the articles within this special issue can be used by faculty members and supervisors who are helping to train new social work practitioners, as well as by the graduates/students themselves.
We will be seeking manuscripts that offer readers a mix of historical/scholarly information about the topic, as well as concrete and practical information for soon to be and/or recent MSW graduates.
Some examples of topics for this special issue could include, but are not limited to issues related to post-masters education, clinical supervision considerations, navigating and/or preparing for the licensure process, practicing clinical social work with a social justice lens, and potential career paths as a clinical social worker.
Deadline: October 31, 2022
The spirit of this Special Issue is to create an intellectual space for us to imagine what the future of race, ethnicity and culture would look like in relation to social issues and problems that we are facing now. The world is changing constantly and rapidly in many ways. It will be important for social work professionals, scholars, researchers, and educators to understand the current landscape, look into the potential future development and challenges so that the social work profession can act on creative, preventive, and innovative solutions that will promote racial and social justice as well as embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Advances in Social Work Fall 2023 Special Issue: Leveraging Social Work to Address Gun Violence
Abstract Deadline: November 1, 2022
This special issue of Advances in Social Work invites manuscripts regarding how the profession of social work can address the multifaceted issue of gun violence. Gun violence permeates our nation and damages physical, mental, and behavioral health across different populations and systems. Every day, 321 people are shot in the United States, and gun violence is one of the most pressing public health crises of our time. In 2020, the most recent year for which complete data is available, 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S., according to the CDC. That figure includes homicides, suicides, accidental deaths, and legal interventions; gun suicides accounted for over half of these deaths. This figure does not include the much larger number of non-fatal injuries and trauma caused by guns, especially in the context of mass shootings.
New Perspectives on Trauma-Responsive Care
Deadline: March 23, 2023
We welcome contributions on the following topics (among others): new and emerging perspectives on mezzo and macro trauma-responsive care (TRC); thoughts on the measurement practices of TRC; the effectiveness of existing trauma-responsive policies; thoughts about the current availability and focus of funding to develop effective mezzo and macro trauma-responsive interventions. Research-based and thoughtful conceptual manuscripts that contribute to the development of the field are welcome.
Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work
Deadline: Ongoing
Announcing a new, open access, peer-reviewed social work journal dedicated to abolitionist perspectives in social work research, education, policy, and practice. Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work is now accepting articles for publication with our first issue anticipated for early Spring 2023.
Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work grew out of recognition that abolitionist perspectives are not fully embraced by the profession due to social work’s longstanding role in supporting and maintaining the carceral state. As abolitionist perspectives have grown, these perspectives are often criticized as potentially harmful to the profession and those the profession serves. As a result, these perspectives are often marginalized and excluded from mainstream social work discourses, including social work journals. Thus, Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work exists to provide a dedicated and supportive space for the development and dissemination of these ideas.
Deadline for Abstracts: Rolling
Social workers have long recognized the importance of practice research – through a critical examination of practices and development of new ideas or services based on experience – as a factor influencing the social work practice that promotes the well-being of service users. This implies the importance of curiosity about practice, and the generation of knowledge directly from practice itself in a grounded way.
The term ‘practice research’ has been used in different ways. To avoid confusion, papers to be published in this issue may report: projects planned, carried out, written up, (and sometimes also disseminated, and carried through to utilization) only by practitioners, either singly or jointly, OR research carried out where practitioners are in equal partnership with academic researchers, but where the problem is primarily one of practice. In both cases the feedback loop that takes the implications of research findings to practitioners, managers and policy makers is the raison-d’être of practice research.
This special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development seeks to feature works that further develop a good understanding of the practice research in, about and for social work and development across the countries of Asia and the Pacific, which have their origin in government agencies, non-government organisations, or community development projects. While we expect most articles will report actual studies, we also welcome submissions that introduce and assess innovative practice research strategies or programmes.
New Research and Briefs
Free teaching tools to “build financial capability and assets for all”
Social workers routinely collaborate with vulnerable clients to address financial issues, but many practitioners lack training in financial matters. To support social work educators who wish to integrate financial content into their classes and to aid practitioners in understanding the financial landscape and applying it to their settings, the Center for Social Development in the Brown School at Washington University has created seven free modules on financial capability and asset building (FCAB) in the United States. The modules can be used alone or as supplements to the textbook Financial Capability and Asset Building in Vulnerable Households: Theory and Practice. Financial services, credit building, and debt management are among the subjects featured in the modules, which can be accessed here.
Not following “SWRnet”?
Formerly known as the IASWR Listserv, SWRnet (Social Work Research Network) was launched in October 2009 to continue serving the social work research community by providing regular updates on funding opportunities, calls for papers, conference deadlines and newly published research. SWRnet is administered by the Boston University School of Social Work.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is created as free service by SSWR Doctoral Student Committee Communications Subcommittee members:
Tasha Childs
Riley Hostetter
Isaac Akapnitis
DeShara Doub
Hannah Boyke
Fatima Mabrouk
Alauna Reckley
Paulette Nance
Brianna Suslovic
Kelechi Wright
Julisa Tindall
Kiley McLean
The opinions expressed in this newsletter are the opinions of the individuals listed above alone and do not claim to represent the opinions of SSWR or the SSWR Doctoral Student Committee.