Dr. Morgan Braganza’s faith informs every part of her life. One of the ways this is most evident is in her social work career.
鈥淢y greatest desire is to follow Christ鈥檚 lead, so where he wants me to go, I will go, and what he wants me to do, I will do,鈥 she says. 鈥淏ecause of this, I鈥檝e witnessed his hand at work and have been able to help a lot of people. As a social work professional, that鈥檚 where my heart is.鈥
In January 2020, Braganza had the opportunity to present a portion of her doctoral research at the Conference in San Francisco, California. Titled 鈥淓ncountering Difficult Differences: Exploring How Persons Who Hold Difficult Differences Experience Being Encountered,鈥 it explains the challenges surrounding the accommodation of diversity within social work education.
鈥淩esearch and my own lived experiences suggest that people struggle when they encounter some differences. In social work, that can be religion, sexual orientation and anything else they find contentious. This then evokes feelings of fear, discomfort and even hostility.鈥
Through her findings, Brangaza discovered that while various approaches and strategies have been proposed for navigating these issues, there was nothing written about the experiences of people with these differences. She set out to change this.
My greatest desire is to follow Christ’s lead, so where he wants me to go, I will go, and what he wants me to do, I will do.
鈥淚 included stories from current and former social work students that the literature claims hold these differences. This included members of the LGBTQ+ community, Muslims and Christians. That was the main inspiration behind the presentation, the sharing of their experiences.鈥
Beyond just an academic interest, the foundation of Braganza鈥檚 work comes from a place of deep compassion for those who are marginalized.
鈥淚n many settings, including social work education and practice, there鈥檚 tension when it comes to differences,鈥 she explains. 鈥淲e can, and we must, find ways of improving this. During my dissertation, I learned a lot from members of different groups who鈥檝e experienced marginalization, and I knew their experiences needed to be brought to a social work audience. SSWR is made up of social work professionals, educators, researchers and students. It鈥檚 my hope that sharing these stories offers knowledge and will help fuel necessary change.鈥
It鈥檚 reasonably safe to say that most Christians in social work, like Braganza, strive to emulate Christ鈥檚 love to those they come across. However, in a society that鈥檚 becoming rapidly more divided, this isn鈥檛 as straightforward as it sounds.
鈥淲e鈥檙e currently trying to navigate these things using approaches that are too simplistic and actually do quite a lot of harm.鈥 Braganza feels that hearing from these groups has helped her discover a better way forward.
The most rewarding apsect of teaching is gearing up the next generation of young leaders who are inspired by their faith to love and serve communities.
鈥淭here needs to be more nuance when we encounter real people, the context of our meeting and how that individual would like to interact,鈥 she says. 鈥淢y dissertation includes a framework for how to do this in various contexts, not just social work. It鈥檚 rooted in stories and other literature including a Christian hospitality framework. I called it 鈥楾he Caring Encounters Guided Framework,鈥 because at the centre of it is the need for care. Care means that we thoughtfully engage with people in a way that makes them feel valuable and important. It can鈥檛 be assumed that we鈥檙e doing this already.鈥
In the midst of her intensive academic discoveries, Braganza鈥檚 students at Redeemer remain one of her biggest sources of motivation and excitement.
鈥淭he most rewarding aspect of teaching is gearing up the next generation of young leaders who are inspired by their faith to love and serve communities. I get to know these amazing young people, their interests, passions and talents, and then journey with them as they build their skills and prepare for God鈥檚 calling.鈥