Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Qualitative Social Work
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Trotter, J.
Right arrow Articles by Levie, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Revealing Disagreement and Discomfort through Auto-ethnography and Personal Narrative

Sexuality in Social Work Education and Practice

Joy Trotter

Lee Brogatzki

Lesley Duggan

Emma Foster

Jo Levie

University of Teesside, UK

Social worker educators in the UK are familiar with social issues of exclusion and marginalization, and are used to teaching about sexual abuse or sexual exploitation. However, many are less informed about work with gay people or with broader issues of sexuality. Adopting an auto-ethnographical perspective and using semi-structured discussion groups (which were audio taped, transcribed and analysed), this small group of gay and ‘straight’ practitioners and academics explored current social work practice and culture in the North East of England and reflected on their own learning and teaching experiences. They identified three key themes: differing opinions about what is regarded as an acceptable level of disclosure about personal information, disagreement about the use and meaning of key terms, and discomfort and defensiveness among social work educators, practitioners and students when addressing these issues. These findings are presented alongside some of the literature in this area, highlighting the links with professionals’ exclusion of gay people and the marginalization of gay and ‘straight’ issues in education and practice.

Key Words: auto-ethnography • disagreement • discomfort • personal narrative • sexuality

Qualitative Social Work, Vol. 5, No. 3, 369-388 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1473325006067366
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?