Faculty-to-Faculty incivility in social work education

Abstract

This study explores faculty-to-faculty incivility in schools of social work, which has implications for the implicit curriculum and modeling professional values. A total of 243 social work faculty participated in the study, and faculty-to-faculty incivility was perceived as a moderate to serious problem. Physical threats were considered the most uncivil behavior, and failing to perform one's share of the workload was the most frequently experienced uncivil behavior. Contributing factors to faculty-to-faculty incivility included a sense of entitlement and superiority and unclear roles and expectations. Fear of retaliation and a lack of administrative support were cited as the top reasons for choosing not to address incivility. Structural causes of incivility and the dynamics affecting women and minority faculty are discussed.