Perceptions of social work students in Mexico and the United States regarding the role of the government in addressing social issues: Implications for social work education

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to examine social work students’ perceptions of the role of the government in addressing social issues among social work students from the United States and Mexico. Data were drawn from a sample of 893 social work students from universities in the United States and Mexico, in the fall of 2010. Multivariate ordinary least squares regressions indicated that compared with social work students in the United States, students in Mexico reported significantly higher beliefs that government should do more to lessen social gaps, and ensure housing, employment, health insurance, basic necessities, an adequate standard of living, and equal opportunities.

Keywords

Education government Mexico policy social work

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abram

F.Y.

Cruce

(2007) ‘A Re-Conceptualization of “Reverse Mission” for International Social Work Education and Practice’, Social Work Education 26(1): 3–19.

Alzua

M.L.

Cruces

Ripani

(2013) ‘Welfare Programs and Labor Supply in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from Latin America’, Journal of Population Economics 26(4): 1255–84.

Androff

D.K.

Tavassoli

K.Y.

(2012) ‘Deaths in the Desert: The Human Rights Crisis on the U.S.-Mexico Border’, Social Work 57(2): 165–73.

Ayón

Valencia-Garcia

Kim

(2017) ‘Latino Immigrant Families and Restrictive Immigration Climate: Perceived Experiences with Discrimination, Threat to Family, Social Exclusion, Children’s Vulnerability, and Related Factors’, Race and Social Problems 9(4): 300–12.

Barraza-Lloréns

Bertozzi

González-Pier

Gutiérrez

J.P.

(2012) ‘Addressing Inequity in Health and Health Care in Mexico’, Health Affairs 21(3): 47–56.

Becerra

(2014) ‘The Effects of Neoliberal Capitalism on Immigration and Poverty among Mexican Immigrants in the U.S’, in Vidal

Haymes

Miller

(eds) Routledge Handbook of Poverty in the United States, pp. 463–71. New York: Routledge.

Bradshaw

(2008) ‘From Structural Adjustment to Social Adjustment: A Gendered Analysis of Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes in Mexico and Nicaragua’, Global Social Policy 8(2): 188–207.

Brown

Neku

R.J.

(2005) ‘A Historical Review of the South African Social Welfare System and Social Work Practitioners’ Views on Its Current Status’, International Social Work 48(3): 301–12.

Castillo

J.T.

Asante

Becerra

Dwumah

Asamanin Barnie

(2015) ‘The Role of the Government in Addressing Social Issues in Ghana: The Perceptions of Ghanaian Undergraduate Social Work Students’, Journal of Social Work 15(2): 162–85.

10.

Castillo

J.T.

Asante

Dwumah

Becerra

(2013) ‘Ghanaian BSW Students’ Perceptions of Poverty and Social Welfare Policies in Ghana’, Advances in Social Work 14(2): 477–500.

11.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2017) Policy Basics: Public Housing. Washington, DC. Available online at: https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/policybasics-housing.pdf

12.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2017) ‘Health Insurance Coverage’, National Center for Health Statistics. Available online at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/health-insurance.htm

13.

Chishti

Bolter

(2017) ‘The Trump Administration at Six Months: A Sea of Change in Immigration Enforcement’. Available online at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trumpadministration-six-months-sea-change-immigration-enforcement

14.

Coleman-Jensen

Rabbitt

M.P.

Gregory

Singh

(2017) ‘Household Food Security in the United States in 2016’, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Report No. 237. Economic Research Service. Available online at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84972

15.

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) (2008) ‘Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards’. Available online at: https://www.cswe.org/getattachment/Accreditation/Standards-and-Policies/2008-EPAS/2008EDUCATIONALPOLICYANDACCREDITATIONSTANDARDS(EPAS)-08-24-2012.pdf.aspx

16.

Cuellar

Simmons

Finegold

(2012) The Affordable Care Act and Women. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services.

17.

Doherty

Kiley

Tyson

Jameson

(2015) ‘Beyond Distrust: How Americans View Their Government’ Pew Research Center. Washington, DC. Available online at: http://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/11/11-23-2015-Governance-release.pdf

18.

Gallegos

(2004) ‘Border Matters: Redefining the National Interest in U.S.-Mexico Immigration and Trade Policy’, California Law Review 92(6): 1729–78.

19.

Gertler

Martinez

Rubio-Codina

(2005) Investing Cash Transfers to Raise Long Term Living Standards. Washington, DC: The World Bank.

20.

Herman

Post

O’Halloran

(2013) The United States Is Far Behind Other Countries on Pre-K. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.

21.

Hernandez

S.H.

Dunbar

(2006) ‘Social Work Practice and Education in Mexico’, Social Work Education 25(1): 52–60.

22.

International Council on Social Work Education (ICSW) (n.d.) Global agenda for social work and social development commitment to action. As cited in Sowers Dulmus

K.M.

Colby

C.N.and I.C.

(eds) (2008). Comprehensive Handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare, Social Policy and Policy Practice. New Jersey: Wiley.

23.

International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) (2018) Available online at: https://www.ifsw.org/ (accessed 26 June 2018).

24.

Jenson

(2010) ‘Diffusing Ideas for After-neoliberalism: The Social Investment Perspective in Europe and Latin America’, Global Social Policy 10(1): 59–84.

25.

Jenson

Saint-Martin

(2006) ‘Building Blocks for a New Social Architecture: The LEGO^TM Paradigm of an Active Society’, Policy & Politics 34(3): 429–51.

26.

Libertun de Duren

. (2018) ‘A Look at Housing in Latin America’, Global Housing Watch Newsletter. Available online at: http://unassumingeconomist.com/2018/03/a-look-at-housing-in-latin-america/

27.

Lopriete

Macdonald

(2014) ‘Gender and Latin American Welfare Regimes: Early Childhood Education and Care Policies in Argentina and Mexico’, Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State, and Society 21(1): 80–102.

28.

Luccisano

Macdonald

(2014) ‘Mexico and Social Provision by the Federal Government and the Federal District: Obstacles and Openings to a Social Protection Floor’, Global Social Policy 14(3): 333–51.

29.

Magaña-Lemus

Ishdorj

Rosson

C.P.

(2013) ‘Welfare Impacts of Increasing Food Prices in Mexico: An Application of Engel Curves and LA/EASI Demand System’, in Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, 3–5 February.

30.

Martinelli

Parker

S.W.

(2003) ‘Should Transfers to Poor Families Be Conditional on School Attendance? A Household Bargaining Perspective’, International Economic Review 44(2): 523–44.

31.

Midgley

Sherranden

(2000) ‘Social Development Perspective in Social Policy’, in Midgley

Tracy

Livermore

(eds) The Handbook of Social Policy, pp. 435–46. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

32.

National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (2017) Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: NASW.

33.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2008) Growing Unequal. Paris: OECD.

34.

Pew Research Center (2011) Views of the News Media: 1985-2011: Press Widely Criticized, but Trusted More Than Other Information Sources. Available online at: http://www.people-press.org/2011/09/22/press-widely-criticized-but-trusted-more-than-other-institutions/ (accessed 20 May 2015).

35.

Pew Research Center (2013) Views of Congress: Problem Lies with Members, Not the System: Majority Says the Federal Government Threatens Their Personal Rights. Available online at: http://www.people-press.org/2013/01/31/majority-says-the-federal-government-threatens-their-personal-rights/ (accessed 20 May 2015).

36.

Rawlings

L.B.

Rubio

(2003) ‘Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: Lessons from Latin America’, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper no. 3119. Available online at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=636482

37.

Rawlings

L.B.

Rubio

(2005) ‘Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs’, World Bank Research Observer 20(1): 29–55.

38.

Reisch

Andrews

(2001) The Road Not Taken: A History of Radical Social Work in the United States. New York: Routledge.

39.

Reutter

Williamson

(2000) ‘Advocating Healthy Public Policy: Implications for Baccalaureate Nursing Education’, Journal of Nursing Education 39(1): 21–6.

40.

Rothman

(2013) ‘Education for Macro Intervention a Survey of Problems and Prospects’, Association for Community Organization and Social Administration. https://www.socialworkhelper.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ACOSA+Report-by+Dr.+Rothman.pdf

41.

Roth

Peters

S.J.

(2014) The Assault on Social Policy. New York: Columbia University Press.

42.

Rubio-Goldsmith

McCormick

Martinez

Duarte

(2007) A Humanitarian Crisis at the Border. Washington, DC: Immigration Policy Center.

43.

Segal

E.A.

(2010) Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

44.

Segal

E.A.

(2016) Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

45.

Semega

J.L.

Fotenot

K.R.

Kollar

M.A.

(2017) ‘Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016’, Current Population Reports. U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. Economics and Statistics Administration. Available online at: https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/P60-259.pdf

46.

Skelton

(2018) ‘Separation of Children from Parents in Situations of Migrancy: Avoidable Trauma’, South African Journal of Psychology. Epub ahead of print 13 August. DOI: 10.1177/0081246318794363.

47.

Stabb

Gerhard

(2011) ‘Putting Two and Two Together? Early Childhood Education, Mothers’ Employment and Care Service Expansion in Chile and Mexico’, Development and Change 42(4): 1079–107.

48.

Tam

T.S.K.

(2003) ‘Humanitarian Attitudes and Support of Government Responsibility for Social Welfare: A Student of Perceptions of Social Work Graduates in Hong Kong and People’s Republic of China’, International Social Work 46(4): 449–67.

49.

US Department of Labor (DOL) (2010) ‘Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2009’, 1 June. Available online at: https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/archive/womensearnings_2009.pdf (accessed 25 May 2015).

50.

US Department of Labor (DOL) (2011) ‘Women’s Employment during the Recovery’, 30 May. Available online at: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/842/ (accessed 25 May 2015).

51.

US Department of Labor (DOL) (2016) ‘Labor Force Participation Rates’ Washington, DC. Available online at: https://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/NEWSTATS/latest/laborforce.htm#two

52.

Weiss

(2006) ‘Factors Associated with Interest in Working with the Poor’, Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services 87(3): 385–94.

53.

Weiss

Gal

Cnaan

R.A.

Majlaglic

(2002) ‘What Kind of Social Policy Do Social Work Students Prefer? A Comparison of Students in Three Countries’, International Social Work 45(1): 59–81.

54.

Whitaker

Arrington

(2008) Social Workers at Work: NASW Membership Workforce Study. Washington, DC: National Association of Social Workers.

55.

Woodcock

Dixon

(2005) ‘Professional Ideologies and Preferences in Social Work: A British Study in Global Perspective’. British Journal of Social Work 35(4): 953–997.

56.

World Economic Forum (2013) ‘The Global Gender Gap Report 2013’. Available online at: http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2013 (accessed 26 May 2015).

57.

World Health Organization (WHO) (2013) ‘World Report: Mexico 2013’. Available online at: http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/mexico?page=2 (accessed 26 May 2015).