An exploratory study of the attitudes of African American graduate students towards the Afrocentric perspective, 1999

The attitudes of African American graduate students towards the Afrocentric Perspective were investigated. Thirty-one African American graduate students enrolled in the Clark Atlanta University School of Social Work participated in the study. Twenty-five of the participants were females and six were males. Most of the students in the group were between the ages of 22 and 35 years of age. Sixty percent of these students were first year graduate students, and forty percent were second year graduate students. A survey research design was used in this exploratory study. The survey consisted of 55 closed-ended items which examined demographics; knowledge of the Afrocentric Perspective; attitudes towards this perspective; attitudes about its applicability to social work practice; and attitudes towards its incorporation into educational curricula. Frequency distributions were calculated for each item. The results indicated that the majority of the students believed the Afrocentric Perspective is legitimate and should be incorporated into the educational curriculum. Most also believed the Afrocentric Perspective and social work practice share similar philosophical assumptions and values, however the transition from theory to practice has not been made as yet. Finally, most of the students felt the Afrocentric perspective is applicable to social work practice, and that African American social workers have an obligation to apply the Afrocentric Perspective to their interventions