Amanda Chidwick

Topic

Exploring how white settler social workers are engaging decolonization and anti-racism in unstructured crisis supports

School of Social Work

Date & location

• Thursday, April 23, 2026
• 9:30 A.M.
• Virtual Defence

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Rhonda Hackett, School of Social Work, University of Victoria (Co-Supervisor)
• Dr. Billie Allan, School of Social Work, UVic (Co-Supervisor)

External Examiner

• Dr. Pam Grassau, School of Social Work, Carleton University

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Lyndze Harvey, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, UVic

Abstract

This thesis explores how white social workers understand and reflect on engaging decolonial and anti-racist frameworks in unstructured crisis response settings. Unstructured crisis response settings are situations where social workers respond with little information about those they are meant to support and must respond to within the confines of limited time and resources. The study critically explored the barriers and supports experienced by white social workers integrating decolonization and anti-racism, with a focus on crisis response in social work practice. The focus on unstructured crisis emerged from my professional practice experiences where I noticed how policy and practice were linear in their approach, revealing an opportunity to learn from other white social workers navigating similarly complex and challenging encounters. The literature was not available discussing the specific practice area of unstructured crisis and bringing decolonial and ant-racist frameworks to these encounters. Using an Interpretive Phenomenological Approach (IPA), I interviewed three white social workers to learn how they understood themselves in relation to their practice navigating unstructured crises. IPA as a methodology encouraged an in-depth understanding of how the participants reflected on navigating the complex crises they encountered. Nine themes emerged that demonstrated how the participants reflected on bringing decolonial and anti-racist values to practice. The knowledge gathered in the study identified themes that help to deepen understanding of how white social workers are bringing decolonization and anti-racism to practice. This research contributes to decolonial and anti-racist literature by exploring how white social workers reflect on their positionality, power, and systemic racism in social work and how it impacts care in unstructured crisis response, an area that is not amply addressed in current literature.