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Articles

Intersecting Sexual, Gender, and Professional Identities Among Social Work Students: The Importance of Identity Integration

Pages 466-479
Accepted 23 Nov 2015
Published online: 17 Apr 2017
 
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Discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social work students can negatively affect academic performance and personal and professional identity development. Intersectionality is a conceptual approach that states that social identities interact to form different meanings and experiences from those that could be explained by a single identity. This study explored how the educational experiences of LGBTQ social work students in the United States and Canada influenced their professional and personal identities. Using an intersectional analysis, three major themes emerged: the need for social work programs to better promote LGBTQ identity and emerging social work professional identity integration, a lack of LGBTQ content in the curriculum, and unsupportive LGBTQ school climates. Implications for social work education are considered.

Additional information

Author information

Shelley L. Craig

Shelley L. Craig is Associate Professor and Gio Iacono is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto.

Gio Iacono

Shelley L. Craig is Associate Professor and Gio Iacono is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto.

Megan S. Paceley

Megan S. Paceley is Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas.

Michael P. Dentato

Michael P. Dentato is Assistant Professor at Loyola University Chicago.

Kerrie E. H. Boyle

Kerrie E. H. Boyle is a master of social work student at the University of Toronto.

Funding

The incentives for this study were generously supported by the CSWE’s Council on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression.. Study analysis was supported through funding from the Royal Bank of Canada to doctoral student Lauren McInroy.

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