Discovering Body Awareness Through the Lens of Social Work Students: Gender, Awareness-Perception, and Disembodied Education

Sara Nilgün Aldoğan; Özlem Cankurtaran

doi:10.26466/opusjsr.1689589

EN TR

Discovering Body Awareness Through the Lens of Social Work Students: Gender, Awareness-Perception, and Disembodied Education

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged in the field of social work that the body has been marginalized both theoretically and in educational and practical contexts. One significant reason for this exclusion appears to be the lack of research addressing body awareness in the discipline. In this context, this study explores the argument that body awareness is underdeveloped within social work and aims to present undergraduate social work students' reflections and personal experiences regarding the place of the body in social work education. Conducted as a qualitative study, this research adopts a realist ontological perspective and analyzes participants' written reflections using Braun & Clarke's thematic analysis method. Data were collected from 61 students in their 3rd and 4th years through open-ended questions. The analysis revealed five key themes: defining body awareness, confusion between body awareness and body image, the impact of gender on body awareness, the role of bodily practices, and body awareness in social work education and practice. The study found that body awareness is not addressed in a systematic or holistic manner within social work curricula. The findings emphasize the need for the structured integration of both theoretical and experiential components of body awareness into social work education, given its critical role in professional competence and the quality of client relationships.

Keywords

Body awareness , social work education , social work students , gender , body perception.

Sosyal Hizmet Öğrencilerinin Merceğinden Beden Farkındalığını Keşfetmek: Cinsiyet, Farkındalık-Algı ve Bedensiz Eğitim

Öz

Sosyal hizmet disiplininde bedenin gerek teorik olarak gerekse uygulama ve eğitim bağlamında dışarıda bırakılan bir konu olduğu tartışılmaktadır. Bu eksikliğin sebeplerinden birinin sosyal hizmet disiplininde beden farkındalığına dair yeterince araştırma yapılmamasından kaynaklandığı sosyal hizmet literatürü incelendiğinde görülmektedir. Bu bağlamda bu araştırma, sosyal hizmet disiplininde beden farkındalığının eksik olduğu savını ele alarak, sosyal hizmet lisans öğrencilerinin beden farkındalığına dair düşüncelerini ve kişisel deneyimlerini sosyal hizmet eğitiminde bedenin yeri bağlamında ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Nitel bir araştırma olarak gerçekleştirilen bu çalışmada, araştırmacılar realist ontolojik yaklaşım benimsemiş ve katılımcıların beden farkındalıkları ile ilgili yazılı metinlerini tematik analiz yöntemiyle incelemiştir. Araştırma, sosyal hizmet lisans 3. ve 4. sınıf öğrencilerinden oluşan amaçlı örneklemle yapılmıştır. Veriler, katılımcılara yöneltilen açık uçlu sorular aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Analiz sonuçları şu temaları ortaya çıkarmıştır: “Beden farkındalığını tanımlamak, beden algısı ile beden farkındalığı karmaşası, toplumsal cinsiyetin beden farkındalığındaki etkisi, sosyal hizmet eğitiminde ve meslekte beden farkındalığı. Öğrencilerle yapılan bu araştırmanın en önemli bulgusu sosyal hizmet eğitiminde beden farkındalığına yönelik bütüncül ve sistematik bir anlayış olmadığıdır. Bu araştırma sosyal hizmet eğitiminde beden farkındalığı kazanmanın kişisel ve mesleki bakımdan önemli bir unsur olduğunu ortaya koyarak beden farkındalığının sosyal hizmet eğitimi içine sistematik biçimde entegre edilmesine dair öneriler sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Beden farkındalığı , sosyal hizmet eğitimi , sosyal hizmet öğrencileri , toplumsal cinsiyet , beden algısı.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Social Work (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Sara Nilgün Aldoğan ^*
0000-0001-5201-9123
Türkiye

Özlem Cankurtaran
0000-0003-2243-0274
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

May 29, 2025

Publication Date

May 31, 2025

Submission Date

May 2, 2025

Acceptance Date

May 28, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 22 Number: 3

DOI

https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.1689589

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA93BF58KX

APA

Aldoğan, S. N., & Cankurtaran, Ö. (2025). Discovering Body Awareness Through the Lens of Social Work Students: Gender, Awareness-Perception, and Disembodied Education. OPUS Journal of Society Research, 22(3), 550-561. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.1689589

Discovering Body Awareness Through the Lens of Social Work Students: Gender, Awareness-Perception, and Disembodied Education

Abstract

Keywords

Sosyal Hizmet Öğrencilerinin Merceğinden Beden Farkındalığını Keşfetmek: Cinsiyet, Farkındalık-Algı ve Bedensiz Eğitim

Öz

Anahtar Kelimeler

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Early Pub Date

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

DOI

IZ

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