Culturally Competent Practice

Abstract

This article defines cultural competence and culturally competent practice and focuses on cultural awareness, knowledge acquisition, and skill development as key components. It traces the historical development of cultural competence in the disciplines of psychology and social work, pointing out how cultural competence has become a professional standard. Cultural competence has also been recognized on the federal and state health and human services levels. Cultural competence is viewed on the practitioner, agency, and community levels as well as the micro, mezzo, and macro dimensions. Among the implications for practice are the issues of cultural competence and cultural competencies, the ethics of cultural competence, social context, and biculturation and multiculturalization. Cultural competence research is briefly surveyed, as is the relationship between cultural competence and critical race theory.

(Super)diversity and the migration–social work nexus: a new lens on the field of access and inclusion?

“…First, diversity should be located in the field of culturally sensitive or culturally competent practice (Lum 2007;Kohli et al 2010;Harrison and Turner 2011). Several US-based models of intervention in social work, education and psychology have built on cultural competence as a 'multidimensional construct', broadly defined as professionals' incremental ability to meet the needs and expectations (both of them culturally defined) of ethnic minority groups (Boyle and Springer 2001, 55).…”

Cultural Competence: A Journey to an Elusive Goal

“…Recognition of these diverse groups includes not only differences between and within these groups but also their complex web of meaning within the current sociopolitical context and their relationship to core social values such as familial roles, child rearing, and work ethics that are important to understand clients (Lee & McRoy, 2008;Lum, 2008;Perry & Tate-Manning, 2006). As a profession, we are also much more aware of the effect of the "isms" (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, elitism, and heterosexism) on ourselves, our clients, and our culture (Harrison, Thyer, & Wodarski, 1996;Van Soest, 2003).…”

Disability and Social Work Education in the United Kingdom

“…In the US, disability is covered at the BSW and MSW levels in related courses on social policy, human behavior, or direct practice. However, while MSW courses in the US employ a critical perspective about disability, BSW courses reflect a medical model approach that is inconsistent with social work's professional adherence to a social model of disability (Lum, 2010).…”

“…Similarly, collaboration between faculties in North American schools of social work is highly valued. Although collaboration is significant in US schools of social work, the collaboration is done with other disciplines using a deficit orientation as evident in the medical model and their association with medicine, rehabilitation programs and health studies (Lum, 2010). Collaboration between schools of social work and other departments, such as disability studies, have broadened theoretical understandings of disability, providing for richer best practice conceptualizations (Carter et al, 2012).…”