The challenges of inclusivity for students with a criminal history
Keywords:
inclusivity, criminal history, studentsAbstract
Criminal history checks in Australian social work education are a recent development consistent with international higher education practices and local employment practices. There has been little exploration of the impact other human service educators prior to placing students on field work is a relatively recent development in Australia that reflects the increased use of such checks by human service employers. The use of these checks has the potential to prevent some individuals from undertaking the study program. As such it is an important practice with significant ethical implications for educators. However, despite the debates about the use of criminal record checks in a broad range of contexts (Naylor 2005; Naylor, Paterson et al. 2008) there has been little scrutiny of Australian university practices in this area and indeed the research on which this paper draws demon- strates that there is diversity of practice around Australia with the potential for people with similar criminal histories to have different experiences in different states of Australia.
This paper draws on a review of the practices of social work educators in Australian universities involving qualitative research with 16 Australian Schools of Social Work (or equivalent). Utilising the insights of university staff involved in field education, this paper explores the principles that would guide good practice in the management of criminal history checks in social work education.
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