A Multilevel Approach to Integrating Social Justice and Family Therapy

Social workers have often considered cultural competence to be an individual ability or skill (Green;, 1999; Ponterotto, Sanchez, & Magids, 1990). Some scholars, however, have transcended this individual-based approach and addressed cultural competence at the interpersonal, agency and systems levels. (Yan & Wong, 2005; Hyde, 2004). In this study, the authors pursued a multilevel approach to studying cultural competence, conceptualized as the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of individuals, agencies, and wider systems to address the needs of underserved and minority populations. Professionals who work with victims of domestic violence were surveyed to assess cultural competence. There were positive relationships between individual cultural competence and both agency and systems cultural competence, indicating that individual, agency, and systems cultural competence are connected and that a multilevel approach to addressing the needs of underserved individuals could prove useful in promoting the ends of social justice.

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Changing perspectives in the face of the decolonisation of knowledge at South African public universities

Kybernetes ◽

10.1108/k-11-2016-0334 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 46 (9) ◽

pp. 1564-1577 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Philip Baron

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Family Therapy ◽

South African ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Public Universities ◽

Content Type ◽

The Public ◽

Social Tension ◽

The Face ◽

African Context

Purpose The legacy of colonisation and apartheid in South Africa has resulted in a radical challenge to the public universities. The successful #FeesMustFall campaign that took place in 2015 accentuated several aspects of post-apartheid transformation that have not been adequately attended to. The public universities are now faced with meeting the needs of students and interested parties who would like to see transformation at various levels, in particular, the decolonisation of knowledge. This paper aims to present an approach to address the decolonisation of knowledge. Design/methodology/approach Shifting universities’ approach to teaching and learning is a challenging endeavour, especially as it entails an embrace of previously ignored worldviews. Taking a metaphoric approach, an analysis of this problem is presented in systemic terms from a family therapy approach adhering to second-order cybernetics. A solution to bridging the disconnect between the participants in the decolonisation of knowledge in a South African context is presented. Findings Early successes were attained on the back of a therapeutic approach to meeting the needs of students who took part in curriculum and policy changes. The findings suggest that for a transformation to take place, all the participants in the university should acknowledge that the problem (which may have different forms) is a shared one and that decolonisation requires the participants to learn about other participants in the system. Reflecting on historical narratives and its present status quo from the epistemology of the directly affected parties is suggested as an indispensable step that should occur prior to the implementation of any solutions. Without the reflection process, the other members of the system may not understand the context and reasoning for the decolonisation, resulting in friction and fear, in turn mitigating the decolonisation process. Research limitations/implications Methods of empathetically engaging people who have been discriminated against is important in the goal of restoring equality and social justice. Family therapy is presented as a vehicle for communal dialogue in a therapeutic empathetic context. This approach has value in many settings other than in the education arena. Social implications Legacies of apartheid are still in effect in the South African public university system. Decolonising knowledge is one topic that may address social justice which helps to diffuse social tension and subsequent protest action. Originality/value Family therapy as an approach to decolonisation of knowledge and as an approach to appeasing social tension in the educational context is unique.

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