Develop a Cultural Competence Resource & Reflection
Social workers often encounter people from diverse backgrounds. It is helpful “indeed critical” for social workers to study the characteristics of various diverse populations. It is equally as important that they are open to engaging clients as experts in their own experience. In this assignment, you assume the role of learner. Your goal is to understand how diversity and difference shape the human experience and play a role in identity development, as well as to gain a deeper understanding of a selected population’s cultural needs by viewing them as experts on their own experience.
- Choose a population with which you are not familiar. This can be a population defined by age, class, color, culture, disability and ability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, marital status, political ideology, race, religion/ spirituality, sex, sexual orientation, and tribal sovereign status.
- Briefly explain why you chose this particular population.
- Based on critical aspects of cultural competence identified in this week’s readings, prepare a list of ten questions aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of your population’s cultural needs. These are not questions that you would necessarily ask a client, but academic questions aimed at improving cultural competence.
- Prepare a two-paragraph response to each of your questions. In the first paragraph, explain why you believe the question would assist you in gaining a better understanding of the population’s social work needs. In the second paragraph, present a simple answer to the actual question based on the week’s readings and/or research of the social work literature.
Finally, conclude your assignment with a brief personal self-reflection on your own background, values, and relationship style and how those characteristics might make it both easier and more difficult to work with your identified population. Discuss the role of social work professional values in the working relationship between you and a client in this population.
Support your assignment with at least three scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including seminal articles, may be included.
Total Length: 4-6 pages, not including title and reference pages
Your assignment should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.
Sample Answer
Chosen Population
The chosen population is the Hispanic community. The term refers to individuals of Mexican, Central, or South American, or Spanish culture regardless of their race. In the United States, individuals that are from or can trace their ancestry from Mexico form the largest population of people from the Hispanic community.
Why the Population was Chosen
The Hispanic community is a racial minority group and a rapidly growing population in the country. The Hispanic population is expected to increase by 28.6% by 2060 (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). As a minority group, the population is disproportionately impacted by poor conditions of daily life, which are shaped by structural and social factors. With the expected growth of the population, it is critical to gain cultural competence related to the community to ensure that they receive competently and quality services that address their needs adequately to reduce the disparities in socioeconomic and other sectors.
Ten Questions Aiming at Gaining Understanding
What is the most important Social Unit of the Hispanic Community?
As a social worker, one works with both individuals and family networks, and understanding the important social unity in the community facilitates the designing of interventions. The question also helps understand the resources available for clients depending on the nature of social support from social units. Prediction on the nature of social needs becomes more relevant.
Family is the most important social unit. It, however, extends beyond the nuclear family to include extended family members such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, and other relatives. Working with the community requires involving all members to different levels depending on their role in the family.
What is the commonly held misconception about individuals from the Hispanic Community?
The question helps to eliminate any bias about the community. The question establishes what is false about the community enabling actions to be based on facts. The question can improve attitude towards the community and increase understanding of their status and behavior.
Major misconceptions entail the view that the individuals are uneducated, from Mexico, do not pay taxes, and are illegal immigrants. This affects their ability to access opportunities, including job opportunities and other services. Individuals are more prone to discrimination based on misconceptions.
How are gender roles presented in the Hispanic Community?
The question can boost the understanding of the community’s social needs by providing knowledge of how social responsibilities are distributed in the community. A social worker would be able to identify the root causes of a social problem and engage the relevant stakeholders for effective change. The interventions would be designed appropriately based on the roles of individuals.
The male is the economic provider and the leader in the family. The role of women based on the traditional role is a housewife and being a mother. In the family setting, males are the ones who make decisions. Although the roles have shifted with new norms, including sharing bills due to economic reasons, the community values the traditional gender roles.
What are the common beliefs and values of the community?
Knowledge about the beliefs and values of a community reflects factors that influence the choices and actions of community members providing a clear picture of the social needs of a community. The knowledge can give an explanation of why certain social issues are prevalent in certain communities compared to others. The information provides awareness of what is acceptable and unacceptable in a community.
The Hispanic community holds a strong belief in God as the sovereign authority actively involved in everything. Children are taught good manners, the importance of honor and respect for the elderly, and authority (Marrero, 2016). Preserving the Spanish language is a common practice in the community. Formality is key in the interaction between community members.
How often do individuals from the community encounter discrimination?
For a social worker focusing on advocacy, the question can be used to increase knowledge in areas where there are high levels of inequality and requires the establishment of more favorable policies. The information can also create awareness and conduct community training and education.
Individuals from the Hispanic community report being treated unequally on certain occasions due to their race and ethnicity. Such areas include employment, healthcare, education, and other areas. The majority feel they are treated harshly especially based on the misconceptions held against the population. Major stereotyping include lazy, stupid, foreign, underserving, and stealing American jobs (Fernández et al., 2021).
Describe the attitude of the community towards social justice based on experience?
The question can be crucial in increasing opportunities for the community and reducing the existing disparities. This may include areas of economic justice, in the political area, healthcare, food insecurity, and others. The question can promote fairness and equity.
Social injustice towards the community is a major challenge for the population. The population has a high likelihood of being harassed by the police or experiencing excessive force. The majority suffers from low income, poor housing, and experiences challenges in education. The majority struggles with mistrust of the social institution and utilizes social services less.
The major challenge while seeking services from various institutions?
The question can be used to minimize barriers facing the population. The social work needs of the community will be reflected by barriers in different areas. This can be used to increase services providing solutions.
The language barrier is a major challenge for the population, especially for the elderly and those with lower educational levels. Inability to speak fluent English is a major barrier to accessing various social services due to misunderstanding. Immigration status is also a major barrier (Messias & Estrada, 2017).
Describe the social system within the community that helps to address social problems.
The question can be used to assess the level of resources available to the population to solve social issues. The question also helps to identify the relevant stakeholders that social workers can collaborate within providing solutions to the community.
Social issues among Hispanics are solved by family members, including extended members. Issues are mainly addressed within the family before engaging a third party. The church also plays the role of mediating issues among the members of the population.
