International Journal of Education and Social Science (IJESS)

Social workers and social work education have been historically committed to addressing social justice as a core component of social work practice. The concept of human rights as a broader framework for social justice has been a recent focus in social work education in the United States. This focus has included a renewed examination of the preparation of social work students for human rights practice, particularly in field education. This study seeks to understand the perception of human rights among social work students, how they feel their social work education has prepared them for human rights work, and the opportunities that they identify in field to practice from a human rights perspective. Results indicate that students report loss of agency in their placements and an uncertainty about the human rights education they have received. Implications for social work education and field are discussed.