Social Justice and Career Development Practices

1
Social Justice and Career Development Practices

• Dr. Nancy Arthur
• University of Calgary
• narthur_at_ucalgary.ca

• Dr. Sandra Collins
• Athabasca University
• sandrac_at_athabascau.ca

2
Outline

• Heather
• What is social justice?
• Issues for counselling practice
• Culture-infused counselling
• Ethics notes
• Research (preliminary data)
• Perceived barriers
• Vignettes

3
Heather

• A single mother of three children aged 2, 5, 7
• Need to work two jobs
• Experiences financial hardship (low SES)
• Was diagnosed with depression
• Has a history of family violence

4
What is Social Justice?

• Brainstorm the words that come to mind when you
  think about
• social justice

5
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)If the people
involved are not equal, they will not receive
equal shares.

• Concerned with political distributive justice
• People got the goods they deserved, not
  necessarily those they needed
• People were not viewed as being equal

6
Hobbes (1588 - 1679)Every man against every man,
this is also consequent that nothing can be
unjust.

• Viewed humans as antisocial and driven by basic
  instincts
• A just society needs to be governed by the state
• State will create laws to preserve the peace and
  to restrain individuals

7
Marx (1818 - 1883) When people receive what they
need based on their humanity and not on their
social class, social justice will be achieved.

• Opposition to Hobbes
• Stressed social equality
• People are defined by social relationships

8
Rawls (1971)Social justice implies that persons
have an obligation to be active and productive
participants in the life of society and that
society has a duty to enable them to participate
in this way.

• Concerned with distributive justice and equality
• Synthesis between liberalism and socialism

9
Bell (1997)

• . . . full and equal participation of all groups
  in a society that is mutually shaped to meet
  their needs. Social justice includes a vision of
  society in which the distribution of resources is
  equitable and all members are physically and
  psychologically safe and secure (p.3).

10
Young (1990)

• Justice should refer not only to distribution,
  but also to the institutional conditions
  necessary for the development and exercise of
  individual capacities and collective
  communication and cooperation. Under this
  conception of justice, injustice refers primarily
  to two forms of disabling constraints, oppression
  and domination (p.39).

11
Its More Than Resources

• Social justice as the elimination of
  institutionalized domination and oppression
  (Young, 1990)
• Beyond mere distribution of benefits
• Valuing self-development and self-determination
  for everyone.

12
Counselling Notes

• Influence on development of client issues
• Impediments to personal development
• How client issues are defined
• Off track, on track whose track?
• What resources are made available to whom
• What interventions are chosen

13
Recent Observations

• Instruments of the status quo
• Contributing to cultural oppression
• Recognition of cultural impact of oppression vs.
  active stance
• Coping model vs. changing sources of oppression
• Was Heather served well?

14
Social Justice Activities

• Involve advocacy related interventions that
  address issues of self-determination, social
  responsibility, and the equitable distribution of
  opportunities and resources in our society.
• Helping clients challenge institutional and
  social barriers that impede academic, career or
  personal-social development (Lee, 1998).

15
Culture-Infused Counselling(Arthur Collins,
2005)

• The conscious and purposeful infusing of cultural
  awareness and sensitivity into all aspects of the
  counselling process and other roles assumed by
  the counsellor.
• Cultural awareness of self
• Cultural awareness of other
• Culturally-sensitive working alliance

16
Culture and Social Justice

• History consistently links social injustices to
  cultural characteristics of members of
  non-dominant groups.
• Nationality, ethnicity, gender, language, sexual
  orientation, class, ability, and so on.
• The perpetuation of difference is fundamental
  to the maintenance of privilege.

17
Culture and Counselling

• Culture is defined broadly
• Culture is both visible and invisible
• All counselling is multicultural in nature
• Culture has the potential to affect all aspects
  of the counselling process
• Infusing cultural awareness (of self and other)
  optimizes client satisfaction

18
Counselling and Social Justice

• Applying a lens of social justice optimizes
  client success and changes the conditions that
  create client distress
• Examine social structures beneath and around
  people that perpetuate power differences and make
  an effort to ameliorate social inequities
• What is the point and purpose of counselling if
  it cannot deal with fundamental issues of
  injustice that adversely impact clients?

19
Lets Talk About Power

• Examine power disparities
• Explore external influences
• How we frame client concerns
• Introduce social justice themes
• But what if clients dont bring it up?
• Responsibilities for addressing oppression,
  privilege, social resources

20
Levels of Intervention

• Individual and group
• Coaching clients
• Acting on behalf of client
• Advocacy for groups
• Organizational change
• Social and systemic change
• Designing programs

21
The Challenge

• If counsellors are not prepared to address social
  justice
• How can we expect clients to advocate on their
  own behalf?

22
Research Notes

• Diversity and Social Justice Competencies of
  Career Development Practitioners
• Canada and Australia
• What is social justice?
• What competencies support social justice?
• Gaps importance of social justice vs. current
  level of social justice competencies
• Practice examples
• Barriers to social justice activities

23
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• www.socialjusticeresearch.ca
• 86 participants so far
• 80 from Canada, 20 from Australia
• 86 women
• 4 reported experiencing a physical disability
  and 3 a cognitive / psychological disability

24
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)
62.7
51.1
Percentage
20.9
18.6
20.9
17.4
Forms of Discrimination Experienced
25
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)
52.6
Percentage
21.0
14.4
6.5
5.2
Familiarity with Social Justice
26
Defining Social JusticeWhat it is.

• Social justice as it relates to career practice
  would be assisting and empowering those who may
  have been, or are, discriminated against, for
  example, based on religion, race, sexual
  orientation, gender etc, to be able to enter the
  workforce equipped to deal with and/or overcome
  the affects thereof. Also, advocating on behalf
  of clients to assist them in reaching their
  fullest potential and enhancing their
  socioeconomic status.

27
Defining Social JusticeWhat it is.

• Social justice is ensuring that no one is
  discriminated against and that opportunities and
  justice are equal for everyone. This should
  include fairness and honesty with immigrants
  before they leave the country, accountability and
  support when immigrants arrive (language
  training, assistance with credential recognition,
  assistance with navigating professional
  associations), assistance with job search, fair
  treatment from employers at interviews and on the
  work place, and a work environment that promotes
  a culture of learning supported financially and
  in policy.

28
Defining Social Justice The dilemma

• Career practitioners often face ethical
  dilemmas such as whether or when to become an
  advocate. In other words, for example, do we
  counsel the worker with a physical impairment to
  avoid applying for jobs where he might encounter
  prejudice, or do we advocate for employment on
  his behalf? Do we advocate on his behalf, or
  teach him how to represent himself?

29
Defining Social Justice

• I am very unfamiliar
• I'm afraid since I do not know enough about
  social justice, I am uncertain how it would
  relate to the career practice

30
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Asked to share their perspective on the
  importance of social justice to career
  development practice generally
• Asked to share the degree to which they
  personally felt competent
• 5-point scale from very low to very high

31
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Attitudes related to social justice
• Importance of social justice
• Rated highest Believe in the equal worth of all
  people (M4.89)
• Rated lowest Recognize the impact of
  discrimination on career development based on
  religion (M4.16)

32
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Attitudes related to social justice
• Competence level
• Rated highest Believe in the equal worth of all
  people (M4.29)
• Rated lowest Believe that career development
  practitioners have a role to play within broader
  social, economic, and political systems (M3.20)

33
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Attitudes related to social justice
• Paired t-tests gt all stat. significant
• Importance of social justice moderately high
  to very high
• Competence level average to moderately high

34
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Attitudes related to social justice
• Correlations gt all stat. significant except for
  one
• Believe that career development practitioners
  have a role to play within organizations

35
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Knowledge related to social justice
• Importance of social justice
• Rated highest Explain how SES might impact
  career decision-making (M4.60)
• Rated lowest Explain potential ethical dilemmas
  involved in intervening directly to facilitate
  change in the external factors affecting clients
  career development (M4.09)

36
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Knowledge related to social justice
• Competence level
• Rated highest Explain how gender might impact
  career decision-making (M4.02)
• Rated lowest Describe how to effectively
  evaluate social justice interventions (M3.08)

37
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Knowledge related to social justice
• Paired t-tests gt all stat. significant
• Importance of social justice moderately high
  to very high
• Competence level average

38
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Knowledge related to social justice
• Correlations gt many stat. significant except
• Describe how to facilitate change in
  communities, organizations, and broader social,
  economic and political systems
• List goals that may apply for clients who are
  experiencing social injustices

39
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Skills related to social justice
• Importance of social justice
• Rated highest Identify individual client
  strengths that help them cope with the effects of
  oppression (M4.87)
• Rated lowest Mobilize media to promote
  awareness of social injustices (M3.98)

40
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Skills related to social justice
• Competence level
• Rated highest Identify individual client
  strengths that help them cope with the effects of
  oppression (M3.96)
• Rated lowest Implement interventions that
  target social, economic, and political systems by
  lobbying for change in legislation (M2.51)

41
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Skills related to social justice
• Paired t-tests gt all stat. significant
• Importance of social justice average to very
  high
• Competence level moderately low to average

42
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Skills related to social justice
• Correlations 44 not stat. significant
• Encourage other career development practitioners
  to examine social justice issues
• Encourage professional organizations to advocate
  for social justice
• Conduct evaluations to demonstrate the efficacy
  of social justice interventions in career
  development practice

43
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)
69.3
69.3
57.1
Percentage
36.7
30.6
30.6
28.5
24.4
8.1
Barriers Identified by Participants
44
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Critical incidents that went well
• A holistic and a collaborative approach
• Recruitment of community support
• Practitioners as advocates
• Time, efforts, determination, and persistence
• Meeting clients are their level
• Acceptance of client issues
• Strong therapeutic alliance
• Respect
• Cultural understanding
• Time to assess time for follow-up

45
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• A critical incident that did not go well
• Lack of fund and resources
• Culture clash
• Lack of community support
• Lack of understanding within the community
• Lack of cultural knowledge
• Lack of accessibility to programs - long wait
  lists
• Government policies
• Limited therapeutic alliance

46
Social Justice and Career Development Survey
(Prelim. Data)

• Preliminary conclusions
• Career practitioners perspective on the
  importance of social justice to career
  development is higher than their perceived
  competence level
• Career practitioners knowledge and skills tend
  to be solely focused on client needs even though
  their attitudes are broader
• Career practitioners appear to be disempowered in
  regards to advancing the social justice agenda

47
Questions?
Comments?