Reconceptualizing Culture in Social Work Practice and Education: A Dialectic and Uniqueness Awareness Approach

ABSTRACT

This article examines the definitions and implementations of the concepts of culture and cultural competence in social work education and practice. We take a look at the history and evolution of diversity and cultural competence in the social work curriculum. This article also identifies four theories and models of cultural competence taught in social work education, and the strengths and limitations of each theory and model are discussed. A new approach to cultural competence, the Dialectic and Uniqueness Awareness Approach, considers the triadic relationship between the social worker, the client, and the interaction of both with a multiplicity of systems and experiences. Finally, the five main principles of this approach are discussed using a case example.     

Hearts and minds: goal-orientation and intercultural communicative competence of ROTC cadets learning critical languages

ABSTRACT

This qualitative case study investigates the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of US Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets and their goals in learning critical languages. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were examined through inductive, thematic analysis. Findings indicate that goals appeared in clusters, with mutually reinforcing goals of military application and personal pleasure. This process affected perceived ICC and gains in sociolinguistic competence, leading to change in attitudes and critical cultural awareness.     

“She was more than a friend”: Clinical intervention strategies for effectively addressing disenfranchised grief issues for same-sex couples

This article focuses on grief experienced by same-sex couples with attention to the distinct factors that influence same-sex grieving partners within all social work system levels. An actual case narrative—the first author's lived experience—guides the reader through a powerful, personal journey to gain a greater perspective and connection on the impact of grief and loss. The concept of disenfranchised grief is applied to same-sex couples focusing on the grieving process. The authors delineate effective strategies for practitioner intervention for those working with individuals experiencing grief due to the loss of their same-sex partner. Particular emphasis is placed on cultural competence and cultural humility for enhanced effectiveness while working with same-sex-partner grief issues.     

Training child welfare workers from an intersectional cultural humility perspective: a paradigm shift

The increasing diversity of the populations encountered and served by child welfare workers challenges cultural competence models. Current concerns focus on the unintentional over-emphasis on shared group characteristics, undervaluing unique differences of individuals served, and privileging worker expertise about the client's culture, thereby exacerbating the power imbalance between them. This article promotes cultural humility in child welfare service delivery as a compliment to cultural competence, to liberate workers from expectations of cultural expertise about others, and to actively engage the clients, inclusive of their cultural differences, in the service delivery process. Skills and practice principles are discussed.     

Assessing Cultural Competence in a BSW Student Population

Bachelor’s level social workers serve a population that is becoming more diverse. Social work educators must respond with adapted teaching methods, theories, and exercises to reflect the growing need for cultural competence in our practitioners. The 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) outline the knowledge, value, and skills competencies central to social work education. These competencies include thorough integration of cultural competence in social work education; the ways in which this content is taught likely vary greatly between programs. This study assessed whether students gained competence as a result of taking a bachelor’s level social work (BSW) course in cultural diversity at a mid-sized public university. Furthermore, the study assessed whether their level of competence was related to student demographics, such as being from an urban or rural community. One hundred twenty-three students completed the California Brief Multicultural Competence Scale (CBMCS) at the beginning and end of a course specifically dedicated to cultural competence. Results indicate that the course itself is effective in increasing significantly student’s self-reported cultural competence. Study results lay the foundation for future research that will (1) assess more broadly the implications of a specific cultural competence course and (2) aid in the development of a social work-specific measure of cultural competence.     

Developing Spiritual Competence in Practice

Abstract

This article defines and operationalizes the concept of spiritual competence. Most social workers have received little training on spiritual competence, which is a concern for at least three reasons: (1) Most practitioners affirm the importance of addressing spirituality in practice settings; (2) The NASW Code of Ethics requires services that address spirituality to be characterized by cultural competence; and (3) major accrediting agencies, such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), now require practitioners to explore client spirituality. To help practitioners understand and implement spiritual competence in their work with clients, a three-dimensional definition of spiritual competence is delineated, discussed, and illustrated with a three-part case example.     

残疾文化胜任力:一个理论概念的嬗变研究

残疾文化胜任力是残疾研究领域的一项重要议题,为残疾研究开辟了全新的视野。残疾文化胜任力的嬗变过程经历了研究视角的转型、概念内涵的探明、实践目标的定型三个发展阶段。研究视角的转型包括从“同质化”向“文化多元化”的转型,以及从“文化胜任力”向“残疾文化胜任力”的转型。残疾文化胜任力的内涵包括意识胜任力、态度胜任力、知识胜任力和技能胜任力。残疾文化胜任力的实践目标包括观念性目标、机制性目标与能力性目标。残疾文化胜任力对我国残疾人事业高质量发展具有启示价值,并在残疾人工作研究、残疾人工作实务和残疾人工作策略方面具有视角创新、工具创新与思路创新的价值。     

Perceived Levels of Cultural Competence for School Social Workers: A Follow-Up Study

The purpose of this article is to report on findings from a follow-up study that examined the relationship among social work education programs, postgraduate professional development, and school social workers’ perceived levels of cultural competence in practice with urban minority youth. The initial study demonstrated that African Americans perceived a higher level of cultural competence than their Anglo American counterparts did. Findings highlight the need to understand the processes by which practitioners become culturally competent for urban school social work practice. Underscoring the importance of professional development, the authors determined that geographic location of practice may serve as a factor that influences how practitioners anticipate the need for culturally competent practice with diverse populations. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Perceiving the other: hostile and danger attributions among Jewish and Arab social work students in Israel

The aim of the present paper is to examine the possible relations of hostile and danger attributions and cultural competence socialization. We conducted an empirical study based on a factorial survey, focusing on the significance of formal cultural competence classes and the ongoing interpersonal contact among members of majority and minority groups: Jewish and Arab social work students in an Israeli University. The experimental design manipulated variables of ethnicity, potential dangerousness, and potential intended harm, using vignettes. The results indicated that Arab students attribute more hostility to both Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking figures than their Jewish counterparts. Jews attributed more danger to Arabs, and Arabs attributed more dangerousness to Jews. The most striking finding is the significant and positive association between multicultural competence socialization and attribution of danger and hostility. The findings are discussed within the framework of ethnic and political conflicts in turbulent areas, anti-oppressive social work, and their implications to social work education.     

Problematising international placements as a site of intercultural learning

This paper theorises some of the learning outcomes of a three-year project concerning student learning in international social work placements in Malaysia. The problematic issue of promoting cultural and intercultural competence through such placements is examined, where overlapping hegemonies are discussed in terms of isomorphism of social work models, that of the nation state, together with those relating to professional values and knowledge, and the tyrannies of received ideas. A critical discussion of cultural competence as the rationale for international placements is discussed in terms of the development of the graduating social worker as a self-reflexive practitioner. The development of sustainable international partnerships able to support student placement and the issue of non-symmetrical reciprocation, typical of wide socio-economic differentials across global regions, is additionally discussed.     

Factors Related to Transracial Adoptive Parents’ Levels of Cultural Competence

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship of parents’ level of cultural competence with several factors. Exploratory regression analysis was utilized with a sample of transracial adoptive (TRA) parents of children born in Korea and China (n = 912). Results indicated that 16.2% of variance in a measure of TRA parents’ cultural competence was explained by families’ participation in postadoption support groups; parent's sex, that is, female; traveling to the child's country of origin for adoption; postadoption contact with adoption professionals; absence of biological children in the family; and families’ annual income over $75,000. Conclusions and implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Teaching Cultural Competence:

The need for inclusion of cultural competence material in Social Work curriculums is well established. There is a dramatic increase in cultural and ethnic diversity in American society. Commensurate with that increase is an alarming rise of racism on college campuses. Social Work programs are required to include cultural competence material and Social Work educators need down-to-earth and practical ideas for doing so. This paper describes five strategies for teaching cultural competence which have been successfully employed in Social Work practice classes. Evaluation results are reported.     

Building spiritual sensitivity through an online spirituality course

ABSTRACT

The National Association of Social Workers and Council on Social Work Education define cultural competence and acknowledge the role of spirituality within cultural experiences. Both describe cultural competence as a linear experience that begins with awareness and sensitivity, leading to competence. Understanding the role of spiritual sensitivity in building spiritual competence is essential in social work practice where spirituality informs both assessment and intervention. This qualitative study examines the experiences of 37 undergraduate students in an online spirituality course. Results reveal the emergence of spiritual sensitivity indicated by an awareness of spiritual diversity and need for spiritual competence.     

Graphic and cultural aspects of pictograms: an information ergonomics viewpoint

The use of pictograms is discussed considering their information content, graphic complexity and cultural dimension. The resemblance and the illusion theories are highlighted to define pictogram as a salience-based representation system, which communicational efficacy depends upon historical and cultural aspects in their interpretation. Thus, the competence in interpreting pictograms is considered relative to users' acquaintance with the pictorial system and with the referents. Pictogram as a general/neutral visual statement is questioned, pointing out the cultural and gender attributes added to pictures to represent people, professions and social events. As a result of this discussion, some critical points of the standardization of pictograms are presented.     

Toward a Cultural Competence Measure for Social Work with Specific Populations

Abstract

The notion that cultural competence is crucial to sound social work practice is widely accepted in the profession. However, there exists a gap between the achievement of the goal of developing culturally competent practitioners through social work education and the ability to measure such competence. A second gap exists between education and the providing of culturally appropriate services in everyday practice. These gaps are likely due to (1) the broad terms used to define cultural competence, (2) the slow evolution of instrumentation to measure cultural competence, and (3) the lack of culture-specific training and measurement techniques. This paper assesses the need for further refinement of the concept and suggests a new approach for the development of instruments to measure it. The authors provide an overview of the construct of cultural competence, analyze the conceptual and empirical foundations of four well-known measures, and provide a rationale forthe development of culture-Specific instruments.     

A skillset and a stance: Program planning for cultural competence and cultural humility in home visitation

Cultural competence has long been valued in home visitation, with a special focus on adapting home visiting programs to maximize their effects on specific cultures and populations. Critics advocate that traditional cultural competence training focusing on individual, professional skills-building should be replaced by cultural humility approaches that focus on humble engagement of participants. Little is known about how home visiting programs serving broadly diverse populations experience cultural competence and/or cultural humility efforts and initiatives on the ground. Interviews approximately 90−120 min in length were conducted with 34 home visiting program administrators in a large Midwestern state. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded thematically, and subjected to content analysis. Two themes were identified from interviews. Respondents emphasized that: 1) cultural competency training was required by home visiting program models, so cultural competency questions were always addressed in home visitation, especially in training for new home visitors; and 2) cultural competence also included many aspects of cultural humility, commitment to continuous self-evaluation and self-reflection on cultural encounters that identified cultural knowledge gaps and sought more information. Respondents did not see cultural competency and cultural humility as oppositional and saw both concepts as important for engaging participants in home visitation.     

From cultural knowledge to intercultural communicative competence: changing perspectives on the role of culture in foreign language teaching

Approaches to the concept of culture and teaching cultural competence in a foreign language classroom have been changing over the last decades. The paper summarises, compares, contrasts and evaluates four major approaches to teaching cultural competence in foreign language teaching, that is, knowledge-based approach, contrastive approach, Communicative Language Teaching and intercultural communicative competence approach.     

Trends in the Relative Influence of Education and Income on Highbrow Taste, 1982–2012

Although numerous studies have confirmed the separate effects of economic and cultural capital on arts participation, research focusing on the cumulative and interactive effects of economic and cultural capital through the creation of taste publics is limited. Using data from the United States (Survey of Public Participation in the Arts [1982–2012]), this research integrates economic and cultural capital—measured as income and education—into the analysis of taste, creates taste publics, and examines their association with highbrow arts participation over time. We find that the effects of economic and cultural capital on highbrow arts participation decreased between 1982 and 2012, and American publics seem to have converged across both types of capital. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Trajectories of adjustment of international students: U‐curve,learning curve,or Third Space 1

International students may need to adapt their approaches to learning and their views of themselves as learners in their new situation. The research reported on in this paper concerns a pre‐sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course for international students entering Higher Education in the UK—mostly Masters students entering a Business School—having a focus on assisting change rather than addressing deficit. Theories of cultural adaptation—U‐curve and learning curve—are discussed in the light of theories of place and space taken from phenomenological geography, and of identity and ‘third space’ taken from cultural studies. The seminar—as this is understood in UK Higher Education—is described as an existential space, and reflective accounts of international students are analysed to see how these narratives both record and create their varying feelings of identifying with the epistemological requirements of seminars. The conclusions drawn are that interventions should be designed to encourage reflective learning, should accept that hybridity rather than complete acculturation is the most likely result, and that synergy—combining elements of different epistemologies—could become a target for all universities.     

‘We Have Certainly Saved Ourselves’: Popular Views of Masculinity during the Korean War, 1950–53

This article addresses the ways in which the American popular media, particularly middle-brow magazines, novels, and films, created a gendered interpretation of the Korean War. On the US home front, cultural commentators linked the purported 1950s crisis of masculinity to concerns that “coddled” and “overmothered” American military personnel would lack the manly vigor necessary to prevent South Korea from falling to communist forces. Ultimately, though, most of these observers insisted that in the crucible of war lay an antidote for America’s flagging masculine spirit. The so-called “police action” served as a critical terrain — both real and imagined — for debating masculinity during the Cold War. Although such optimism proved short-lived, this martial vision for boosting manliness resonated in post-war US policy and culture well beyond the three short years of the conflict.