Evaluating
the Level of Cultural Competence among graduate Social work (MSW)
Manoj
Pardasani
Indiana University Northwest
Abstract:
This workshop will examine methods used at IUN to assess the level of cultural
competence of students majoring in social work or psychology. The presentation will examine differences in
cultural competency between students categorized by study major, year in program, elective
courses taken, race/ethnicity, practice experience, etc.
Implications for educators, practitioners and administrators will be
addressed.
Description:
Social workers and
psychologists must be prepared to work effectively and professionally in diverse
environments with specific attention paid to cultural sensitivity and competence. Cultural competence is the belief that
professionals should not only appreciate and recognize differences among groups different
from their own, but also work effectively with them (Sue, 1998). The goal of cultural competence education,
according to Ronnau (1994), is to enable students to embark on the process toward becoming
multicultural. Hoopes (1979) defines
multiculturalism as that state in which one has mastered the knowledge and developed
the skills necessary to feel comfortable and communicate effectively with people of any
culture encountered (p. 31). The
objectives for cultural competence training of social workers and psychologists is two
fold: (1) to increase the cross cultural awareness of the students; and, (2) to increase
the self awareness of students to recognize and understand how their own culture and
experiences shape their world view.
The Council of Social Work
Education requires that all educational programs at the Baccalaureate and Masters levels
must make specific, continuous efforts to provide a learning context in which
understanding and respect for diversity (including age, color, disability, ethnicity,
gender, national origin, race, religion, and sexual orientation) are practiced.
(Evaluative Standard 3.0, CSWE, 1994). Similar
criteria have been established for graduate study programs in psychology by the American
Psychological Association (APA).
Schools of social work and
psychology have responded to the need for creating culturally competent professionals by
either incorporating content on culture, oppression and power (or lack thereof) within the
overall course content, or have created separate courses to address the issues of
diversity and cultural competence. Regardless
of the methodology, it is important to evaluate the level of cultural competence of social
work and psychology students before they enter the field as professionals.
Participants (students in
the social work and psychology programs) were asked to complete the Multicultural
Awareness, Knowledge and Skills Survey (MAKSS). Based
on their responses, an overall score for Cultural Competency was calculated for each
respondent. Respondents scores and
individual responses to specific questions were compared to a number of variables such as
gender, race/ethnicity, prior work/volunteer experience, number of credits earned, types
of courses taken and study major. In addition,
a group of students who undertook a special elective course on Cultural Competency, were
administered the same instrument pre and post-course.
Statistically significant differences were found between students for
several variables. The results of this study
and the implications for educators and educational programs will be shared with
participants at the workshop.
References:
Council on Social Work Education. (1994). Handbook of
Accreditation Standards and
Procedures (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.
Hoopes, D. S. (1979). Intercultural
communication concepts and the psychology of
multicultural
experience. In M. D. Pusch (Ed.), Multicultural Education: Cross
Cultural Training Approach.
Intercultural Network, Inc.
Ronnau, J. P. (1994). Teaching
cultural competence: Practical ideas for social work
educators. Journal of
Multicultural Social Work, 3(1), 29-42.
Sue, S. (1998). In
search of cultural competence in psychotherapy and counseling.
American Psychologist,
53(4Z), 440-448.