Social workers’ construction of cultural competence in polarized cities

2020 ◽  
pp. 146801732095224
Author(s):  
Hisham M Abu-Rayya ◽  
Roni Strier ◽  
Tamar Shwartz-Ziv
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Social Welfare Services ◽  
The Social ◽  
Egalitarian Value

Summary Mixed cities are defined as ethnically diverse cities located within turbulent contexts of intensive, ongoing intergroup political conflict. As such, they may pose serious challenges to social workers’ efforts to develop culturally competent practices, especially in the public service sector. This article examined social workers’ constructions of cultural competence in the social public services delivered to Arab and Jewish clients in Israeli mixed cities. Based on extensive qualitative data gathered from 80 public social workers in Haifa, Acre, and Jerusalem, this study discusses the strengths and limitations of the cultural competence approach, especially when applied in the context of varying degrees of political conflict. Findings Findings illustrated three approaches to the provision of social welfare services: (1) the “universal” construction, which corresponds to universal and egalitarian value-based approach, by which social work professionalism is claimed sufficient to ensure equal treatment for Israeli Arab and Jewish clients; (2) the “indispensable” cultural approach, which indicates that cultural competence is vital and unavoidable in addressing the ethno-diversity needs of Israeli Arab and Jewish clients in mixed cities; and (3) the “critical” construction, which critiques the cultural competence and universal approaches as lacking the complexity to address the problematic ethno-political nature of mixed city settings. Applications The study proposes to adopt an integrated cultural competence approach that combines vital elements of each discrete construction to guide social workers’ practices in mixed cities. Context-informed priorities may occasionally emphasize some elements and minimize others. Institutional support and training is necessary for the proposition to work.

Between Majority and Minority: A Model for Understanding and Promoting Culturally Competent Policy Practice in Multicultural Societies

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 506-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hani Nouman
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Practice Model ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Therapeutic Context ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Policy Arena

Abstract The engagement of social workers in policy-shaping processes reflects the commitment of the social work profession to promoting equality and social justice. Whilst in many countries engagement is a professional requirement, one cannot ignore the fact that it is essentially a political activity inextricably linked to the socio-political context in which it occurs. Cultural competence for engagement in shaping policy processes is necessary to promote effective engagement of social workers in policy practice in cross-cultural political situations. Notwithstanding the focus of the literature on cultural competence in the past decade, it centres mainly on the intercultural encounter between social workers and clients and on the therapeutic context, with emphasis on the practitioner belonging to the dominant Western culture whilst the client belongs to the less dominant ‘other’ in society. This article attempts to fill the gap by developing a theoretical culturally competent policy practice model to examine different dimensions of cultural competence required for the engagement of social workers from different ethnic groups in the policy arena. In addition, the article presents the significant implications of the model for policy, practice and research.

Job stress, perceived inequity and burnout among school social workers in Hong Kong

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony S.K. Tam ◽  
Lilian P.K. Mong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Job Stress ◽  
Personal Accomplishment ◽  
School Social Workers ◽  
Identity Confusion ◽  
Stress Au Travail ◽  
Social Welfare Services ◽  
The Social ◽  
Milieu Scolaire

English Job stress and perceived inequity are revealed as correlates of burnout among school social workers in Hong Kong. The findings do not support the expectation that burnout is general, in spite of the government’s reforms in the social welfare services. A sense of personal accomplishment may serve as a mediator. However, the respondents suffer from role strain and identity confusion due to lack of communication among schools authorities, students and parents. French Cet article décrit comment la conjugaison du stress au travail et inéquités perçues sont liées au `burnout' chez les travailleurs sociaux en milieu scolaire à Hong Kong. Les résultats ne semblent pas confirmer la croyance que le `burnout' existe de façon généralisée malgré les changements observables introduits par le gouvernement en vue d'améliorer l'efficacité des coûts des services de bien-être social. Un sentiment d'accomplissement personnel sert possiblement de médiation efficace. Les répondants souffrent néanmoins de tensions face à leur rôle et de confusion identitaire dues à l'incompréhension du rôle du travailleur social scolaire par les autorités scolaires, les étudiants et les parents. Spanish Este trabajo describe el agotamiento en el trabajo y la percepción de inequidad como correlatos del descontento entre los trabajadores sociales de la escuela en Hong Kong. Los hallazgos no parecen apoyar la expectativa de que el descontento exista como patrón general a pesar de los cambios observables introducidos por el gobierno en los servicios de bienestar social. Un sentido de realización personal puede servir como ,mediador efectivo. Sin embargo los entre,vistados padecen una tensión de rol y confusión de identidad que proviene de la falta de comunicación entre autoridades de la escuela, los estudiantes y los padres de familia.

The Working Alliance and Cross-Cultural Competence

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
Joseph Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Working Alliance ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Related Concept ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
Task Collaboration ◽  
And Task

The purpose of this chapter it to review the research-based concept of the working alliance, characterized by the forming of an emotional bond, worker/client goal consensus, and task collaboration, and to illustrate how it can be established and monitored by social workers. A related concept, that of cross-cultural competence, is also discussed. It refers to a social worker’s capacity and willingness to be attuned to a client’s culturally imbedded experiences, investigate the relevant details of that client’s experiences, and share with the client some of the social worker’s own relevant cultural experiences, to create mutual understanding. Cross-cultural competence facilitates the establishment of a working alliance.

Indigenizing Social Work: Andragogical Strategies for Incorporating Native Knowledge in Curricula

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-230
Author(s):  
Brittany Hunt ◽  
Sonyia Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Diverse Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Competence Training ◽  
American Indian People ◽  
Critical Portion

Though there are more than 5 million American Indian people living in the United States, and they are disproportionately represented among social workers’ clientele, social work curriculum rarely centers Indigenous history and knowledge. Therefore, the cultural competence training that social work students receive is incomprehensive because it often erases a critical portion of the population. This work focuses on the unique knowledge that one Indigenous social work instructor brings to her classroom, as well as the perspective of the BSW director who recruited her to the position. It is critical that the social work profession begin to move toward being representative of the diverse populations that we serve, not only in the field but also in the classroom. This work will provide examples of cultural competence training as well as Indigenous knowledge that can be incorporated into classrooms to indigenize those spaces and decolonize curricula. This article was written jointly by an Indigenous social work professor and an administrator and professor in a BSW program.

Mentally Ill Mothers and Their Children

1988 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bågedahl-Strindlund ◽  
G. Undén
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Mental Disturbance ◽  
Social Welfare Services ◽  
The Social ◽  
Psychiatric Department ◽  
Observation Period

177 cases of parapartum mental illness and 173 matched obstetric controls were studied retrospectively from the perspective of the social welfare services (SWS). Data covering five years before the index partus until five to seven years thereafter, were studied. Parapartum mentally ill women were known to the SWS to a much greater extent (75%) than their matched controls (33%). They also presented more severe environmental problems than their matched controls. Within the index sample the largest number of adverse factors known to the SWS was found in the addicts and NTI (neuroses and temporary insufficiencies) groups. The dysfunction in the families appeared to be constant throughout the observation period. A large proportion of the index children (32%) had been placed in foster care or adopted. When the index women had applied to the SWS during the first postpartum year the social workers were informed of the fact that she had contacted a psychiatric department in 8 out of 10 cases. However, only in half of these cases had regular collaboration taken place. Collaboration was far more frequent when the mother suffered from severe mental illness than when she was suffering from a less severe mental disturbance.

scholarly journals Receptivity and Readiness for Cultural Competence Training Amongst the Social Workers in Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent W P Lee ◽  
Daniel W L Lai ◽  
Yong-Xin Ruan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
The Social ◽  
Competence Training

Abstract This research examined understandings of cultural competence of social workers in Hong Kong, their needs and challenges in serving culturally diverse groups, and their willingness and receptivity to receive cultural competence training by using constructivist grounded theory. Individual qualitative interviews were conducted with thirteen frontline and managerial practitioners and educators in training institutions in the social work profession. Data were analysed by identifying major themes. The findings show that social workers in Hong Kong tend to encounter language barriers and various forms of cultural shocks in serving ethnoculturally diverse clients. The professional code of practice is not sufficient in promoting culturally competent practice and there are institutional barriers to the enhancement of cultural competence of the social services. Mainstream social work units are generally not well prepared to provide services to non-Chinese communities. In response to these obstacles, professional training should provide future Hong Kong social workers with opportunities to interact with ethnoculturally diverse communities through service-learning. To tackle institutional racism, leaders should have cultural awareness and promote culturally inclusive practices. Inclusion of staff members from diverse cultural backgrounds would increase the capacity of the organisations to better serve clients of diverse needs. Anti-racism training should be made as an essential professional development component for social work students, practicum students, practitioners and managers.

scholarly journals Tumbler in Tidal Wave: The Professional Stance of Social Workers under Managerialism

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Hung Sing Lai
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Professional Identity ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Values ◽  
Tidal Wave ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
Social Welfare Services ◽  
The Social

<p>Since the concept of Managerialism has been introduced to the social welfare services in Hong Kong, the ecology of social welfare sector has changed drastically. The operation of most organizations adopts a business inclined practice to run their services under the new competitive environment. Consequently, management that is originally supposed to be an auxiliary servant to facilitate the delivery of services has eventually become the master to be served. Most social workers working under such climate find it difficult to exercise their professional functions as they are demanded to fulfill a great deal of managerial duties. Worse off, some appear to have lost their professional identity. This paper is to reveal the struggles of social workers under Managerialism and explore strategies for social workers to live with Managerialism in a way without losing their professional stance through conducting a qualitative research in Hong Kong. The result of this research identifies eight strategies: “reasserting the professional identity”, “realizing the social work values”, “discerning the first and foremost tasks”, “actualizing professional integrity”, “evoking team solidarity”, “exercising personal influence, “performing collaborative resistance”, and “practicing self-reflection”. Since the core of social work is the social work values and to sustain such values demands social workers having a solid professional stance, the suggested strategies derived from this research can be served as a reference for social workers to withstand the assault from the tidal wave of Managerialism and stand firm again on their professional stance, like a tumbler!</p>

scholarly journals Competência Cultural na Intervenção com Imigrantes: Uma Análise Comparativa entre Profissionais da Saúde, da Área Social e Polícias

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Gonçalves ◽  
Marlene Matos
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Positive Perception ◽  
Time Service ◽  
The Social

Introduction: Cultural diversity places increased demands on services to multicultural populations, so the development of cultural competence by help professionals is currently a concern in institutional practices.Material and Methods: This study evaluated the perception of cultural competence of help professional of three distinct areas: health services, social services and criminal police. Through an online questionnaire, we questioned the perception of cultural competence, at four dimensions: cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, technical skills, and organizational support. There were 610 participants, mostly female (58%), with a mean age of 39.74 years, developing activity in the social area (37%), health (33%) or the police (30%).Results: The professionals showed, in general, a positive perception of their cultural competence. Those who had formative experiences on the subject and had more time service, perceived themselves, significantly, as more culturally competent. Significant differences were found between professionals from different areas: health professionals were more effective in terms of technical skills, the social workers at the level of cultural knowledge and polices at the level of cultural awareness. Health professionals were the ones that showed a lower perception at the level of organizational support.Discussion: Despite the positive perception that technicians have about their awareness and knowledge of the values, norms and customs of immigrant communities, they realize technical aptitude as less positive, showing difficulty in practical application of their knowledge.Conclusions: Cultural competence has implications for good professional practice in serving multicultural populations, being urgent to invest in the development of culturally competent interventions to ensure more effective services, namely in hospitals and health centres.

An Intimate Yet Anglo-Centric Account of a Renaissance Human Rights Man

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-134
Author(s):  
Dilek Kurban
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Legal Scholar ◽  
Minority Community ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social

In his well-researched biography, Mike Chinoy chronicles Kevin Boyle's life and career as a scholar, activist and lawyer, bringing to light his under-appreciated role in the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland and the efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, as well as his contributions to human rights movements in the United Kingdom, Europe and the world. Are You With Me? is an important contribution to the literature on the actors who have shaped the norms, institutions and operations of human rights. In its efforts to shed light on one man, the book offers a fresh alternative to state-centric accounts of the origins of human rights. The book offers a portrait of a social movement actor turned legal scholar who used the law to contest the social inequalities against the minority community to which he belonged and to push for a solution to the underlying political conflict, as well as revelations of the complex power dynamics between human rights lawyers and the social movements they represent. In these respects Are You With Me? also provides valuable insights for socio-legal scholars, especially those focusing on legal mobilisation. At the same time the book could have provided a fuller and more complex biographical account had Chinoy been geographically and linguistically comprehensive in selecting his interviewees. The exclusion of Kurdish lawyers and human rights advocates is noticeable, particularly in light of the inclusion of Boyle's local partners in other contexts, such as South Africa.

Exchange Systems in Late Postclassic Mesoamerica: Comparing Open and Restricted Markets at Tlaxcallan, Mexico, and Santa Rita Corozal, Belize

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 780-799
Author(s):  
Marc D. Marino ◽  
Lane F. Fargher ◽  
Nathan J. Meissner ◽  
Lucas R. Martindale Johnson ◽  
Richard E. Blanton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Theory ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Market Development ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Open Market ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
The Social ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Open Markets ◽  
Social Sectors

In premodern economic systems where the social embedding of exchange provided actors with the ability to control or monopolize trade, including the goods that enter and leave a marketplace, “restricted markets” formed. These markets produced external revenues that could be used to achieve political goals. Conversely, commercialized systems required investment in public goods that incentivize the development of market cooperation and “open markets,” where buyers and sellers from across social sectors and diverse communities could engage in exchange as economic equals within marketplaces. In this article, we compare market development at the Late Postclassic sites of Chetumal, Belize, and Tlaxcallan, Mexico. We identified a restricted market at Chetumal, using the distribution of exotic goods, particularly militarily and ritually charged obsidian projectile points; in contrast, an open market was built at Tlaxcallan. Collective action theory provides a useful framework to understand these differences in market development. We argue that Tlaxcaltecan political architects adopted more collective strategies, in which open markets figured, to encourage cooperation among an ethnically diverse population.

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