Lorraine M. Gutierrez

Toward an Understanding of (Em)Power(Ment) for HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescent Women

Adolescent females, particularly urban and low-income youth of color, are at particular risk for HIV infection. This article uses an empowerment perspective to consider the degree to which intrapersonal and interpersonal power dynamics in heterosexual relations have an impact on condom use among high-risk youth. Participants in this study were 333 African American and European American urban youth, ages 14–19 years, who were heterosexually active. Measures focused on interpersonal and intrapersonal factors thought to be associated with condom use. This model was most useful in predicting condom use among women and least useful in predicting condom use among male participants. Implications for empowerment theory and future research are discussed.

Empowerment Forum: A Dialogue between Guest Editorial Board Members

This forum involves several members of the guest editorial board for the Health Education Quarterly (HEQ) two-issue set on &dquo;Community Empowerment, Participatory Education, and Health.&dquo; The purpose of holding a forum was to expand on some of the issues that emerged through the review process related to power and power dynamics within health professional and community relationships. Although many of the articles touched on these issues, we wanted to take advantage of the collective wisdom within the guest editorial board to deepen our understanding of the potential implications for incorporating community empowerment into our practice. As a result of reviewing the articles, a common set of theoretical and practical questions were circulated to and agreed upon by the entire guest editorial board. The questions concerned definitions of community empowerment (CE) and power, the underlying values in these terms, the parameters of empowerment processes and outcomes, and the contradictions and paradoxes that confront us as we try to

SUPPORT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY CONTENT IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION: RESULTS FROM NATIONAL SURVEYS OF U.S. AND ANGLOPHONE CANADIAN FACULTY

This article presents findings from the first national surveys of United States and English- speaking Canadian MSW social work faculty examining their support of curriculum content on sexual orientation and gender identity. Faculty in either country are generally supportive of including LGBT content but report significantly more support for content on LGBT populations as compared to the types of oppression experienced. Significant predictors of support for LGBT content include being female, younger, non-White/non-European, having positive LGBT social attitudes, and the availability of resources on transgenderrelated issues. The findings suggest that faculty development should address the social attitudes among faculty as well as integrate gender identity into diversity discourse in social work education.

Choosing to do participatory research: An example and issues of fit to consider

ABSTRACT Participatory research is an increasingly popular approach, and considered by some to be synonymous with progressive social work research practice. It is important, however, to assess its suitability for both a given project and the people involved with it. Points to consider include fit of the approach with researcher(s), community, topic, organizational context and constraints. This article describes a participatory research process through which community members collaborated in the design and implementation of a project to identify, learn about the work of, and develop training based on the perspectives of people doing multicultural community organizing in Detroit. Discussion sections present value, costs and limitations of this project, as well as issues and recommendations for those considering or using participatory research methods.

Educating Students for Social Work with Latinos: Issues for the New Millennium

The growth of the Latino population in the United States and their internal migration to new regions will have a strong influence on social work practice. To be culturally competent when working with this population, social workers and social work students must have adequate knowledge, values, and skills necessary for work with Latinos. In this article the authors discuss social work literature on Latinos, current and emerging trends in this literature, and the implications of these trends for social work education.

Perspectives of Social Work Faculty on Diversity and Societal Oppression Content: Results from a National Survey

This article presents data from a secondary analysis of a 1992 survey of graduate social work faculty to identify their views of the importance of content on diverse populations and types of oppression. The large majority of respondents rated content on several population groups and types of oppression to be important or very important. In most categories, however, the respondents rated including content on populations rather than on types of oppression to be more important, at a statistically significant level. The authors discuss the implications of this finding and place it in the context of current writings on multicultural social work.

Educating Students for Multicultural Community Practice

Summary This article explores the concept of multicultural community organizing and some of the issues and dilemmas involved in educating for this form of practice. It then outlines the development of a course on multicultural community organizing and describes experiences in teaching it; specific teaching strategies and methodologies, including exercises and assignments; and outcomes for students, educators, and communities. Social work educators are encouraged to consider ways to incorporate these and similar perspectives, methods, and exercises throughout the community practice curriculum, so that an awareness of multicultural dynamics and issues can be part of understanding and determining the use of tactics.

U.S. Graduate Social Work Faculty's Attitudes Toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People

ABSTRACT Social workers are expected to promote social justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and social work programs and their faculty are expected to prepare students for competent and ethical practice with LGBT people and communities. Facultys LGBT social attitudes can play a central role in developing students’ competencies. Minimal attention has been given to the nature of facultys LGBT social attitudes. This article presents the results of a national survey conducted in the United States with a random sample of graduate teaching faculty concerning their LGBT social attitudes (n = 161). Bivariate and multivariate predictors of LGBT social attitudes were identified. Although a number of factors were significant in bivariate analyses and initial multivariate analysis (controlling only for sociodemographics), the final estimated model suggests race and social attitudes about women and critical consciousness are significant. The authors outline recommendations to enhance facultys attitudes to strengthen efforts to realize accreditation standards and better prepare students for culturally competent and ethical practice. In addition to examining other predictors of facultys attitudes, future studies should investigate perceptions of each separate population comprising the LGBT community.

Identifying Goals and Outcome Measures for Diversity Training

ABSTRACT Despite the growth in diversity training programs, little is known about the goal setting process used in developing diversity training and how its effectiveness is assessed. Based on in-depth interviews with 13 diversity consultants working in human service organizations, diversity trainers discuss their goals for managers, employers, and clients, as well as the methods they use to evaluate its effectiveness. Questions to guide decision-makers in identifying diversity training needs are offered, as well as directions for further research on diversity training.

Women's Achievement of Empowerment through Activism in the Workplace

In social work, workplace activism has been overlooked as a source of empowerment for women clients. This article reports on the results of a case study of a predominantly female union engaged in grass-roots organizing and legislative activity to promote comparable worth. An unanticipated finding of the study was the high degree to which personal, interpersonal, and political empowerment took place among the women who were deeply involved in the campaign for comparable worth. Social workers need to be more aware of the potential that workplace organizing and political action offer for the empowerment of their women clients.