Don’t Tread on Me—When Social Work Academics Get Defensive

Authors

  • Yarneccia D. Dyson The University of North Carolina Greensboro
  • Elisa M. Martin Siena College
  • Laura Hunt Trull East Tennessee State University
  • Karen Myers James Madison University

Keywords:

mentoring, professionalism, microaggressions, anti-racism, implicit bias

Abstract

In the fall of 2018, we set out to study how mentoring is implemented in social work education and to offer best practice recommendations for administrators. However, an incident during our research shifted our focus. This article briefly reviews mentoring literature to frame our reflections, leading to two key findings. First, mentoring is crucial during difficult times, and these relationships should be established before they are urgently needed. Second, experienced professionals can hinder growth when they fail to engage in self-reflection and personal development. We recommend that administrators (1) support new faculty in building mentoring relationships at multiple levels—formal, informal, and peer-based, both within and outside academia, (2) allocate time and resources to sustain mentoring, and (3) embrace their role as formal mentors, critically examining their biases and addressing their own racist actions. This is vital as social work continues to evolve toward inclusive excellence.

Author Biographies

Yarneccia D. Dyson, The University of North Carolina Greensboro

Yarneccia D. Dyson, PhD, MSW (she/her) is Professor, Executive Director, and Head, School of Social Work, North Carolina State University Greensboro, Greensboro, NC (yddyson@uncg.edu).

Elisa M. Martin, Siena College

Elisa M. Martin, PhD, MSW (she/her), is Associate Professor, Social Work Program, Siena College, Loudonville, NY (emartin@siena.edu).

Laura Hunt Trull, East Tennessee State University

Laura Hunt Trull, PhD, MSW (she/her) is Associate Professor of Social Work, Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN (trulllh@etsu.edu).

Karen Myers, James Madison University

Karen Myers, JD/MSW (she/her) is Adjunct Professor, Social Work Department, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (myers2kl@jmu.edu).

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Published

2025-06-30

How to Cite

Dyson, Y. D., Martin, E. M., Hunt Trull, L., & Myers, K. (2025). Don’t Tread on Me—When Social Work Academics Get Defensive. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 31(2), 60–69. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/2084

Issue

Section

General Submissions