Ideology, politics, and the influence of values often override evidence-based policy. When there is evaluation conflict, a policy advocate must be prepared to defend their reasons for wanting to implement a policy. Because almost all proposed policies are circumscribed by politics, you should be prepared for some conflict, ranging from having your research ignored, to having the accuracy of your data questioned, to having your personal values brought into question.
Your work as a policy advocate is and should be an extension of your commitment to the social work profession. As such, it is important to continually reflect on how your actions and intentions align with the mission, values, and ethics of social work. For this Discussion, you will consider how your social change project connected with the mission of social work as described by NASW. Additionally, you will consider how your project represents the values of the social work profession.
To Prepare:
• Read Chapter 14 of the Jansson text.
• Review the Code of Ethics by NASW found in the Learning Resources this week.
o Focus on the mission of social work as defined in the section “Preamble.”
o Review the six core values outlined in the section “Ethical Principles.”
• Review the video in the Required Media this week.
• Consider how your Social Change Project in this course reflects the mission and values of social work. It is okay if you find that your project does not align with some aspect of the mission or values—this is an opportunity to reflect and consider how you can continue to strive to uphold the mission and values of the profession.
Post to your Discussion, addressing the following:
• Explain how your Social Change Project upholds the mission of the social work profession. Cite 2–3 specific examples from your project in your explanation.
• Select one core value from the NASW resource that you think is least evident in your Social Change Project. Explain your selection. Include actions you will take to better represent the value in your future advocacy work.
• Describe additional steps you will take as a social change and policy advocate to ensure your advocacy work continues to be guided by your social work mission and values as defined by NASW.
Advocacy’s most fundamental definition is to represent, promote, or defend a person, an interest, or an idea. This broad concept encompasses a variety of activities such as rights representation1 and social marketing2, but the focus of this manual is on the strategies used by organizations and coalitions to change or preserve specific government programs, i.e., strategies aimed at influencing public policy decisions. It is typically referred to as “policy advocacy” to separate it from other sorts of advocacy actions. To make this contrast clear, we utilize this word throughout the guide.
lementation of VR in high schools will present younger students with the opportunity to expose themselves to educational opportunities. Having hands-on exposure to a certain field earlier on helps the student to understand the subject better and helps in creating a strong base by making it easier to understand the concept. This exposure will make students more engaged, leading to higher absorption and understanding of the content. An example of how VR could be beneficially implemented into lower educational facilities is through the subject of history.
With VR implementation, history becomes more interactive. Professors and teachers would be able to create programs in VR that would allow their students to become indirect eyewitnesses to events encompassed by VR. Although the students wouldn’t actually be partaking in the historical event, the instructor could simulate that environment and make them feel like they are truly present. This is expanded upon by Arthur Schlesinger, a specialist in American history and a public intellectual, in his book The Historian and the World of the Twentieth Century. He explains how eyewitness historians are more credible than normal historians because they are able to feel the emotions that took place at that time and are able to document events without making connections to other events (Schlesinger 10). Additionally, Brooke Donald, an editor of Stanford University’s News Communications, supports Schlesinger by explaining how Abby Reisman, a head curriculum designer and doctoral student at Harvard, states that embedding historical context into activities by means of first-person experiences leads to better recall (Donald 2). Students who become eyewitnesses to an event automatically learn much more than students who listen to lectures because the students become much more engaged and are able to experience the event as if they were a part of it. This engagement of history, through VR implementation, proves that it is beneficial in changing the way how students obtain information and learn.
While looking at the beneficial effects of implementing a social network in education, one must also consider the negative aspects. Social networks such as VR have been under development for many years. Gershon Dublon, professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Media Lab, and Joseph A. Par