Cultural Awareness in Social Work

What does cultural competence really mean?

Some social workers argue that the focus on “cultural competence” creates an expectation that cultural competence equals an end state that can be achieved once one has acquired all of the knowledge and skills related to practicing with a specific group. This conceptualization ignores the influence of intersectional identities on an individual’s unique cultural experience and positions the social worker as “expert in the other,” often resulting in reinforcement of stereotypical thinking.

Social work as a profession has begun shifting to the concept of cultural awareness and the use of cultural humility. These concepts recognize that the client is the expert in their own cultural experience and that the social worker must take a humble approach as a constant learner. In addition, social workers need to recognize the institutional and historic discrimination that influence the social experience of a cultural group identity.

This week, you examine the importance of cultural awareness within social work practice and the skills necessary for incorporating it into practice with diverse populations. You also interview a diverse individual and present on your experience.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze culturally competent social work practice
• Analyze skills for addressing barriers to cultural competence
• Analyze culture from a micro, mezzo, and macro level
• Critically reflect on cultural difference

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2018). Understanding generalist practice (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Chapter 12, “Culturally Competent Social Work Practice” (pp. 466–498)
Chapter 13, “Gender-Sensitive Social Work Practice” (pp. 499–543)

Hook, J. N., Farrell, J. E., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Utsey, S. O. (2016). Cultural humility and racial microaggressions in counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(3), 269–277. http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1037/cou0000114
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

 

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013b). Sessions: Logan (episode 1) [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note:  The approximate length of this media piece is 1 minutes.
Accessible player –Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload Transcript

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013c). Sessions: Logan (episode 2) [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note:  The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.
Accessible player –Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload Transcript

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013d). Sessions: Logan (episode 3) [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note:  The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.
Accessible player –Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload Transcript

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013e). Sessions: Logan (episode 4) [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note:  The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.
Accessible player –Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload Transcript

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013f). Sessions: Logan (episode 5) [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note:  The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.
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Discussion: Cultural Awareness in Social Work Practice

In order to become a practitioner who addresses the diverse needs of your clients in a sensitive and respectful manner, you must be dedicated to continued education around the needs and experiences of different groups, religions, ethnicities, and other populations. The first step is to identify any personal biases and perceptions you might have about other cultures. From a broader perspective, how might an individual’s culture, race, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation affect how society perceives and treats them? Which potential social structures may perpetuate the oppression and marginalization of certain groups? The most important attribute you can bring to this topic is an open mind and a willingness to learn about others unlike yourself and ask how they want to be treated by you as a social worker. In this Discussion, you consider these topics in relation to a case study depicting issues in cultural competence.

To prepare: Review this week’s Learning Resources, including the videos, and then reflect on the following:

• What is your definition of cultural competency?
• What skills do you think are necessary for attaining cultural competence as a social worker working with that population?
• What is the difference between having knowledge about a cultural group and engaging with an individual from the stance of cultural humility?
• Then, search the Walden Library for peer-reviewed article(s) that support the skills you selected.

By Day 3

Post:

• Provide your definition of culture competence.
• Explain the skills you think are necessary for developing cultural competence as a social worker when working with Eboni.
• Reference at least one peer-reviewed article that supports the skills you selected and include an APA citation and reference for that article.

By Day 6

Respond to two colleagues:

• Describe a potential barrier to culturally competent practice a social worker might face when working with Eboni.
• Recommend a skill your colleague might use to address this barrier.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6

Week 6 Discussion

Assignment: Interview Presentation

How you present yourself to others is an important part of being a social worker. Being able to present yourself in an open, caring, and professional manner helps with building rapport and influences your clients’ willingness to share their experiences. You also must be skilled at interacting with clients who are different from you.

Interviewing skills are also very important, as you have seen, and social workers must be mindful of how to conduct an interview in a culturally competent and culturally sensitive manner.

In this Assignment, you have an opportunity to practice your engagement and assessment skills. You conduct an interview with an individual from a different culture than your own to learn their perspective about culture and gender. The goal is for you to explore the cultural norms within that ethnic or cultural group.

To prepare:

• Identify an interview subject with a different cultural background than you.
• Download the “Interview Presentation: Questions” handout from the Learning Resources.
• Ask your interview subject the questions found in the Interview Presentation handout. Be sure to record the interview (with participant’s permission) and/or take good notes.
• You will not submit the interview itself. You create a presentation about the interview.
• Use the Capture Space function of Kaltura Media to record a PowerPoint presentation. Your video should be 4–5 minutes but no more than 6 minutes.

By Day 7

Submit an audio recorded PowerPoint (PPT) presentation about your interview with a person from a different culture than your own. Your PowerPoint presentation should include 8–10 slides.

• Each slide should be written using bullet point text, i.e., no long paragraphs of written text should be in the slides.
• Include a brief narration of less than 30 seconds for each slide (i.e., the narration takes the place of any written paragraphs, while the bullet points provide context and cues for the audience to follow along).

In the PPT presentation, address the following:

• Identify basic background information of the interviewee.
• Provide a summary of what you learned about the individual when conducting this interview.
• Analyze the individual’s cultural experience at the:
  • Micro level
  • Mezzo level
  • Macro level
    • Support your analysis at each level with scholarly resources.
• Describe your reaction to this activity.
• Reflect on these reactions and explain why you believe you may have experienced these thoughts and feelings.
• Describe what you learned and explain how you can apply what you learned to the social work profession.

Please remain mindful of confidentiality and privacy of the interviewee when presenting information in the educational environment.