Empowering social work students in the college setting

Relatively little has been written about empowering social work students, especially material which blends ideas with actual practices on the college-based part of social work programmes. The empowerment of social work students is considered within a context of the diffusion of power, discourse analysis and oppressive societal structures, such as racism. Critical perspectives on empowerment are examined. Some suggestions are made to empower social work students more effectively. These include the empowerment of social work lecturers, the empowerment of black students, the provision of more participatory, democratic course policies and practices, and the further development of empowering adult learning approaches, based upon rights and choice.