“we need a r/evolution”: Transformational Resistance as a Framework in Advancing ADEI in Social Work Education

Abstract: In a time of great political unrest when strides on Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) are being upended in the United States, the profession of social work is once again at a juncture to uphold its mission, values, and principles or capitulate to the silencing and intimidation of oppressive institutions. In the belief that social work education and classrooms are sites of r/evolution, this paper uses counter-narrative autoethnography as a method where experienced social work educators and scholar activists identify pedagogical problems and tensions in the classroom and offer tools and activities informed by critical theories and frameworks to guide social work students toward transformational resistance. Through these critical counter-narratives, we aim to reimagine social work as a discipline capable of challenging traditional, hegemonic ways of knowing and doing, while preparing students to not only assess their immediate circumstances but also situate those circumstances within the broader sociopolitical and historical harms that shape present-day marginalizations and commit toward collective liberation and structural change.

Recommended citation: Maglalang, D. D., Flores, A. T., Godoy, S. M., Cosse, J., Mabrouk, F. A., La Torre, J. C., & Irsheid, S. B.(2026). "we need a r/evolution" :Transformational Resistance as a Framework in Advancing ADEI in Social Work Education. Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work. Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work, 4(1).
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