Racial Equity as a Human Rights Issue: Field Agency Practices and Field Instructors’ Knowledge and Attitudes

Racial equity which, at minimum, is defined as the state in which health, social, and economic outcomes are no longer predicted by race has become a critical issue for social workers who work with and advocate for the rights of marginalized communities. Despite its importance, it remains to be seen if field instructors and the agencies they work for understand racial equity as a human rights issue. Through an anonymous survey, we assessed field instructor’s racial equity awareness, knowledge, and understanding and examined actions agencies have taken to address and advance racial equity. It was hypothesized that field instructors who view racial equity as a human right would report promoting and advancing these important concepts with their students and organizations. A total of 170 field instructors accessed the survey through an emailed link in this exploratory effort. Descriptive analyses found that field instructors believe that racial equity is a significant human rights issue and that their agency’s culture views racial equity as important; however, issues with time, resources, funding, and expertise to promote racial equity initiatives create obstacles to bring about change. The discussion emphasizes the importance of building capacity among field educators to address racial equity through a human rights lens, which is integral to advancing the collective social work goals of social justice and dismantling systemic oppression.