Online Social Work Education and the Disinhibition Effect
Keywords:
Online education, Social work education, Disinhibition, Online communicationAbstract
In this paper, theoretically anchored composite case examples will be presented from a mid- sized, fully online MSW program to illustrate the disinhibition effect and how it impacts on classroom and program dynamics. Classroom communications (discussion boards and emails) as well as program communications (social media postings) will be analysed to better understand the conditions under which disinhibition can occur and exacerbating factors unique to the social work curriculum. An examination of effective classroom and program management strategies (i.e., articulation of communication standards and expectations, student and faculty training), as well as a consideration of the productive pedagogical uses of disinhibition will be included.
References
Abrams, L. S., & Gibson, P. (2007). Teaching notes: Reframing multicultural education: Teaching white privilege in the social work curriculum. Journal of Social Work Education, 43(1), 147–160.
Akcaoglu, M., & Lee, E. (2018). Using Facebook groups to support social presence in online learning. Distance Education, 39(3), 334–352. doi:10.1080/01587919.2018.1476842
Bjorklund, W. L., & Rehling, D. L. (2009). Student perceptions of classroom incivility. College Teaching, 58(1), 15–18. doi:10.1080/87567550903252801
Clark, C. M., Farnsworth, J., & Landrum, R. E. (2009). Development and description of the incivility in nursing education (INE) survey. The Journal of Theory Construction & Testing, 13(1), 7–15.
Clark, C. M., Werth, L., & Ahten, S. (2012). Cyber-bullying and incivility in the online learning environment, Part 1: Addressing faculty and student perceptions. Nurse Education, 37(4), 150–156. doi:10.1097/NNE.0b013e31825a87e5
Cless, J. D., & Goff, B. S. N. (2017). Teaching trauma: A model for introducing traumatic materials in the classroom. Advances in Social Work, 18(1). doi:10.18060/21177
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). (2019). Directory of accredited programs: Online and distance education. Retrieved from https://cswe.org/Accreditation/Directory-of-Accredited-Programs/Online-and-Distance-Education
Duggan, M. (2017). Online harassment 2017: Other types of negative experiences online. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/2017/07/11/other-types-of-negative-experiences-online/
Eskey, M., Taylor, C., & Eskey, M. Jr. (2014). Cyber-bullying in the online classroom: Instructor perceptions of aggressive student behaviors. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 17(4), https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1048301.
Fang, L., Mishna, F., Zhang, V. F., Van Wert, M., & Bogo, M. (2014). Social media and social work education: Understanding and dealing with the new digital world. Social Work in Health Care, 53(9), 800–814. doi:10.1080/00981389.2014.943455
Flaherty, C. Ely, G., Meyer-Adams, N., Baer J., & Sutphen, R. (2013). Are social work educators bullies? Student perceptions of political discourse in the social work classroom. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 33(1), 59–74. doi:10.1080/08841233.2012.7 50259
Galbraith, M. W., & Jones, M. S. (2010). Understanding incivility in online teaching. Journal of Adult Education, 39(2), 1–10.
Ginsberg, M. B., & Wlodkowski, R. J. (2009). Diversity & motivation: Culturally responsive teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.
Greenfield, J. C., Atteberry Ash, B., & Plassmeyer, M. (2018). Teaching social work and social policy in the era of hyperpartisanship. Journal of Social Work Education, 54(3), 426–434. doi:10.1080/10437797.2017.1421489
Hopkins, E. E., Spadaro, K. C., Walter, L., Wasco, J. J., Fisher, M., & Sterrett, S. E. (2017). Incivility in the online classroom: A guide for policy development. Nursing Forum, 52(4), 306–312.
Karpman, H. E., & Drisko, J. (2016). Social media policy in social work education: A review and recommendations. Journal of Social Work Education, 52(4), 398–408. doi:10.1080/10437797.2016.1202164
Keller, T. E., Whittaker, J. K., & Burke, T. K. (2001). Student debates in policy courses: Promoting policy practice skills and knowledge through active learning. Journal of Social Work Education, 37(2), 343–355.
Kim, J. (2018). Online incivility in comment boards: Partisanship matters – But what I think matters more. Computers in Human Behavior, 85, 405–412. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.04.015
Knepp, K. A. F. (2012). Understanding student and faculty incivility in higher education. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 12(1), 33–45.
Lapidot-Lefler, N., & Barak, A. (2015). The benign online disinhibition effect: Could situational factors induce self-disclosure and prosocial behaviors? Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 9(2), doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/ CP2015-2-3
Lee, E. O., Brown, M., & Bertera, E. M. (2010). The use of an online diversity forum to facilitate social work students’ dialogue to sensitive issues: A quasi-experimental design. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 30, 272–287. doi:10.1080/08841233.2010.4 99066
McNeill, J., Dunemn, K., Einhellig, K. S., & Clukey, L. (2017). Exploring nursing student and faculty perceptions of incivility in the online learning environment. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 7(5), 45–54. doi:10.5430/jnep.v7n5p45
National Association of Social Workers, Association of Social Work Boards, Council on Social Work Education & Clinical Social Work Association. (2017). NASW, ASWB, CSWE, & CSWA standards for technology in social work practice. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/includes/newIncludes/homepage/PRA-BRO-33617.TechStandards_FINAL_POSTING.pdf
Neff, K. S., & Donaldson, S. I. (2013). Teaching psychology online: Tips and strategies for success. New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Rainie, L., Anderson, J., & Albright, J. (2017). The future of free speech, trolls, anonymity and fake news online. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/2017/03/29/the-future-of-free-speech-trolls-anonymity-and-fake-news- online/
Rawlins, L. (2017). Faculty and student incivility in undergraduate nursing education: An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Education, 56(12), 709–716. doi:10.3928/01484834-20171120-02
Reamer, F. G. (2013). Distance and online social work education: Novel ethical challenges. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 33(4–5), 369–384. doi:10.1080/08841233.2013.828669
Robbins, S. P. (2016). From the editor—Sticks and stones: Trigger warnings, microaggressions, and political correctness. Journal of Social Work Education, 52(1), 1–5. doi:10.1080/10437797.2016.1116850
Roed, J. (2003). Language learner behavior in a virtual environment. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 16(2–3), 155–172. Suler, J. (2004a). The online disinhibition effect. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 7(3), 321–326. doi:10.1089/1094931041291295
Suler, J. (2004b). In class and online: Using discussion boards in teaching. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 7(4), 395–401. doi:10.1089/cpb.2004.7.395
Wahler, E. A., & Badger, K. (2016). Exploring faculty perceptions of student incivility in social work: Results from a national survey. Advances in Social Work, 17(2), 340–354.
Wildermuth, S., & Davis, C. B. (2012). Flaming the faculty: Exploring root causes, consequences, and potential remedies to the problem of instructor-focused uncivil online student discourse in higher education. In L. A. Wankel & C. Wankel (Eds.), Misbehavior online in higher education (pp. 379–404). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Wood, B. T., Bolner, O., & Gauthier, P. (2014). Student mental health self-disclosures in classrooms: Perceptions and implications. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 13(2), 83–94. doi:10.2304/plat.2014.13.2.83
Wu, S., Lin, T-C., & Shih, J-F. (2017). Examining the antecedents of online disinhibition. Information Technology & People, 30(1), 189–209. doi:10.1108/ITP-07-2015-0167
Xie, K., Miller, N. C., & Allison, J. R. (2013). Toward a social conflict evolution module: Examining the adverse power of conflictual social interaction in online learning. Computers & Education, 63, 404–415.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Australian and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Advances in Social Work & Welfare Education by Australian and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research (ANZSWWER) is licensed under CC BY 4.0
