PhD Student, Graduate Research Assistant, and Adjunct Faculty Member The University of Texas at Arlington
This study examines the impact of unpaid internships on social work students' mental health, with a focus on disability and perceived exploitation. Findings reveal that unpaid status significantly predicts higher perceived exploitation, contributing to burnout. Implications for social work education highlight the need for disability-inclusive, financially just field education policies.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:
Critically analyze how unpaid internships in social work education perpetuate ableist and exclusionary practices, disproportionately burdening disabled and economically marginalized students.
Apply disability justice principles to reframe financial precarity and burnout as systemic access barriers rather than individual hardships.
Evaluate policy and advocacy strategies, such as the Payment for Placements (P4P) movement, as systemic interventions to create an equitable and accessible field education model.
