Discussion: Culture
You are socialized within a culture the moment you are born, both through your family and your broader community interactions.
As humans develop and mature, they learn the unwritten rules of social behavior and interaction as they watch and participate in their social environment. An individual’s culture is often influenced by nationality, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, and geographic location.
By recognizing you have a culture in the context of a larger culture, and that your distinct culture exists along with other distinct cultures, how could that help you see the nature, value, and strengths of those other cultures? In this Discussion, you consider similar questions.
To Prepare
• Consider the different aspects of culture such as: language, communication style, art, customs/traditions (e.g., holidays, weddings, funerals), values, stories, religion, food, social habits (e.g., eye contact, how close one stands, how one greets or says “good”), gender roles, clothing, music.
• Reflect on the first time you remember someone else displaying a different cultural characteristic than your own. Where were you? What did you notice? How did you respond?
• Read Standard 1.05 from the NASW Code of Ethics:
1.05 Cultural Awareness and Social Diversity
(a) Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures.
(b) Social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients’ cultures and to differences among people and cultural groups.
(c) Social workers should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, and mental or physical ability.
(d) Social workers who provide electronic social work services should be aware of cultural and socioeconomic differences among clients and how they may use electronic technology. Social workers should assess cultural, environmental, economic, mental or physical ability, linguistic, and other issues that may affect the delivery or use of these services.
Discussion: Social Work Practice With Groups
Group work offers many benefits that cannot be achieved through individual therapy alone. The most obvious benefit is group member validation. The knowledge that you are not alone and are not the only person who has experienced that particular issue can foster a strong sense of hope.
However, groups also present challenges from different personalities and behaviors that disrupt group dynamics and function. As a social worker, you will need to take different roles to manage the challenges in order to create a safer space for clients to engage in their work. Group work has a lot of benefits that can’t be gotten from individual therapy. The most obvious benefit is validating group members. Knowing that you’re not alone and that you’re not the only one who’s had that problem can give you a strong sense of hope.
But groups also have problems because people have different personalities and act in ways that mess up the way the group works. As a social worker, you’ll have to take on different roles to deal with problems and make it safer for clients to do their work.
In this Discussion, you describe a group you may be interested in facilitating and potential challenges you may experience. With colleagues, you discuss how to apply specific intervention skills to address the challenges.
By Day 3
Post a response to the following:
• Compare task groups versus educational, support, or skills groups.
• Describe a type of treatment group you would facilitate as a social worker.
• Explain what professional role you may take when facilitating this group.
• Describe what is meant by group norms, and explain how you would help shape these norms based on your role in the group.
• Explain what is meant by group roles. Identify at least one group role, and explain why a group member may take that role.
• Describe a group member role that might be most challenging to you as a group leader, and explain why.
Support your post with examples from the course text and any other resources used to respond to this Discussion. Demonstrate that you have completed the required readings, understand the material, and are able to apply the concepts. Include a full reference of resources at the bottom of the post.
