Social work students＇ attitude toward poverty in the new economy： A multivariate analysis

This study, conducted at a mid-sized university located in central Canada, had two purposes. The first was to simultaneously assess the influence of undergraduate social work education and other variables such as gender, ethnicity, perceived financial security and political affiliation on students＇ attitude toward poverty. The second was to contribute to the fledgling body of international studies which focus on the area of social work education and perceptions of poverty. The participants in this study were students enrolled in one of three selected undergraduate social work courses or an undergraduate business course. In all of the social work classes, the students were exposed to key ideas and concepts pertaining to poverty and poverty policy, including the cyclical nature of market economies and the challenges and barriers faced by the working poor population. The results indicated that social work education and affiliation with a leftist political ideology predicted a more structural attitude toward poverty.