Running Head: PART D

Individual Cultural Competency Project: Part D Jessica Klinger Georgia State University

PART D Abstract

This paper is about skill development. I begin by discussing how I have accomplished and plan to keep working on the ten standards of the NASW Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice. Next I highlight my social action plan, which discusses how I will fight oppression. Then I take a look back to my pretest essay and see how I have improved after taking the posttest.

PART D Skill Development

The first time I tried to ride a bike I could not do it. Finally someone showed me how and I practiced many times; today I can ride a bike. Skills are the same way. These tools require knowledge and then practice. This semester helped me to gain a lot of skills necessary to work with clients of many different cultures. Cultural Competency Action Plan Cultural Competency is essential as a Social Worker. Kelly Jackson and Gina Samuels support this statement by saying a culturally attuned practice approachis not only timely, but also consistent with the profession's ethical obligation to provide culturally relevant services to all consumers and clients. The standards of the NASW Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice are vital in helping me to be an effective Social Worker. I have accomplished Standard 1 Ethics and Values, Standard 3 Cross-Cultural Knowledge, Standard 4 Cross-Cultural Skills, and Standard 10 Cross-Cultural Leadership through learning about many different cultures, going on four cultural immersion experiences, and doing a group project on a culture that I knew almost nothing about. I plan to continue to enrich my understanding of these standards through learning about more cultures and increasing my knowledge base about the ones I already I have learned about already. Standard 2 Self Awareness was accomplished through learning about my dominant and subordinate group memberships and my cultural biography. Putting my ancestry together with my Aunt is one way I will try to continue growth in this area. Standard 5 Service delivery and Standard 6 Empowerment and Advocacy have required me to keep up with the news more and specifically local news, which I have done and plan on continuing. I have accomplished Standard 7 Diverse Workforce and Standard 8 Professional Education by attending Georgia State University, which has a diverse school of social work and requires this Cultural Diversity class. I will continue to implement these standards by choosing to work for organizations that hold these standards in high regard. I learned about Standard 9 Language Diversity by looking at my dominant group of being able to speak English. I see the necessity for interpreters and plan to use them as necessary. Social Action Plan Oppression is a fact of everyday life when working with diverse cultures. Tina U. Hancock et al. discuss why it is important for Social Workers to fight oppression by stating, Institutions may oppress people by restricting access to resources and opportunities needed for people to self determine their lives. When working with oppressed groups it is important for me to recognize my positionality as it relates to this group, recognize their dominant and subordinate memberships, relate to them without diminishing their experience, and advocate for them. I hope to continue growth in my ability to confront and address oppression of all vulnerable groups by learning more about these groups. I would like to become an ally for Muslim Americans. Prior to this class I was very prejudiced against Muslim Americans because of hate that was passed down through generations in my family. This class helped me to recognize my ignorance and see this group experiences oppression just like I do. The very least I can do is to educate more people on this group in an effort to stomp out hate. As a Social Work Practitioner I plan to advance human rights and social and economic justice through educating people. This semester has helped me to

PART D

see that most hate begins through ignorance. If we can get rid of ignorance then hate will go down with it. Post Reflection Experience Looking back at my Pretest essay was interesting because I thought I was already fairly culturally competent. This semester allowed me to really fine tune my cultural competency skills. One of my goals in my pretest essay was to learn more about Asian Americans, Muslim Americans, and First Nations People. I effectively accomplished this goal. My group project was about Asian Americans and allowed me to learn a lot about their history. For my second cultural Immersion I went to a presentation on Turkey where I also learned a lot about Muslim Americans and helped to sweep away prejudice that I had harbored for years. This class also helped me to gain the courage to ask my friend who is Cherokee if I can go to the Sweat Lodge with him. He also gave me a book on the Cherokees that I plan to read over the break. The activities that I found contributed the most to my cultural competency were the immersions and in class activities. These really made the material come alive for me. Conclusion Gaining skills is helping me to become a better Social Worker. I hope to never stop learning. I felt at the beginning of the semester that this class would be information that I already know. Instead I was taken on an enriching learning experience and ganined a lot of knowledge.

PART D References

Hancock, T. U., Waites, C., & Kledaras, C. G. (2012). Facing Structural Inequality: Students' Orientation to Oppression and Practice with Oppressed Groups. Journal Of Social Work Education, 48(1), 5-25. Jackson, K. F., & Samuels, G. M. (2011). Multiracial Competence in Social Work: Recommendations for Culturally Attuned Work with Multiracial People. Social Work, 56(3), 235-245.