GCU Social Multicultural Questions

Questions :1 Consider the various social identities you align with. What part of the social identities do you feel is most important? Least important? How has your connection to these identities influenced your worldview?

1.Social work involves understanding and working with individuals’ social identities, which are shaped by their membership in various social or cultural groups. These identities can include factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, socioeconomic status, and ability, among others. Social workers must be aware of how these identities intersect and impact an individual’s experiences and access to resources and must work to promote social justice and equity for all individuals regardless of their social identities.

One social identity I strongly associate with is my cultural background, which happens to be Hispanic. I grew up in a Hispanic family, and my mother is from Santiago, Chile. However, when people first see me, they usually assume that I am white, which is not entirely incorrect. Although my mother is also white, my name often leads people to believe I have a brown complexion. My marriage of 20 years is to a Mexican, which has further enriched my cultural experiences and understanding.

What part of the social identities do you feel is most important? 

Least important?

As a social worker, I firmly believe that every social identity is equally important and forms a fundamental aspect of an individual’s personality and life experiences. Each social identity has unique challenges and needs; we must recognize and acknowledge these differences. By doing so, we can ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect, irrespective of their social identity. To foster a just and equitable society, it is crucial to understand how social identities shape people’s experiences and opportunities. It is essential to recognize the systemic oppression and discrimination that specific social identities have faced historically and continue to face today. We must work towards creating an inclusive society that values and celebrates diversity and recognizes all social identities’ unique contributions and experiences. As social workers, we are responsible for advocating for marginalized people and working towards creating a more equitable society. We need to listen to the voices of those with different social identities and work towards creating a society that recognizes and celebrates diversity. Only then can we truly create a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their social identity.

Our understanding of ourselves is shaped by the world, not innate qualities. We learn about our identity and the identities of those around us through interactions with family, peers, institutions, and media. Factors such as gender, social class, age, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, religion, and disability all influence how we view and interact with the world. They also affect the opportunities and challenges we face. Identity is intertwined with power dynamics, values, and beliefs. The media plays a significant role in constructing our cultural and social identity through images, language, and depictions of various personas. (Why identity matters, 2019).

How has your connection to these identities influenced your worldview?

My social work experience taught me the importance of understanding and respecting people’s social identities. As someone who values open-mindedness, I strive never to let my personal beliefs or biases interfere with my willingness to help those in need. As a social worker, it’s crucial to approach each individual with an open heart and mind and empathize with their struggles. I believe it’s essential to put oneself in their shoes and consider how they might feel if they were not given the help they needed because of their beliefs or values. Recognizing and appreciating the diverse perspectives and experiences of those we serve is crucial to being an effective and compassionate social worker.

Utilizing your comprehension of social identities can uncover ways to promote fairness and lead with empathy. Fairness involves providing individuals with the necessary resources to excel, which differs from equality, where everyone is given the same resources. Prioritizing fairness is critical when contemplating diversity and inclusion in a company. Without a focus on fairness, initiatives related to diversity and inclusion may be less impactful and may come across as insensitive. (Understand social identity to lead in a Changing World, 2023).

2. This post arrived at an apt time as I have personally been engaging in introspection this week following an eventful weekend. Something I always returned to in my mental health journey is my own identity, and the different personas I have picked up along the way. In all I feel that the multifaceted way I view myself is the only social identity I have that remains authentic. In our text the author describes social identities as multifaceted and a person may identify with several social identities(Sue et al., 2015). .

Having different social circles is important growing up, something I remember quite fondly since I was raised in very traditional religious home. Without a doubt I feel the social identity I align with most would be of a diverse culture, if that makes sense. Growing up in the area and family I had provided me with a very diverse cultural/ethnic and religious experience. Overtime I have accepted the notion that I may not have one cultural identity but several or one that is ambivalent or multifaceted. Being Hispanic by heritage but American by everything else, culture was a confusing topic for me growing up and It seems like things have only gotten worse. Currently different media outlets bombard the masses with instructions in how to live, eat, drink and most importantly spend money all in an effort to  maintain consumerism. However I postulate that American consumerism is not the core tenet of our nation but strength in cultural diversity. This is something I resonate strongly with seeing as I appear ethnically ambiguous to most people, knowledgeable of many cultures, ethnicity and more. All of this reflection leads me to believe I am on the right track to be a social worker in a big city, able to handle almost anything that comes my way. 

3. Social identities can be formed in many different categories and a person has many social identities that may intersect  (Sue et al., 2015). Some of the categories that create social identity would be race, gender, sexuality, age, socioeconomic status, etc. For me, a social identity I associate with the most would be gender. I grew up with a lot of women around me and female influences in my life, so this part of my social identity is important for me. However, a part of the social identities that I feel is least important to me would be age. I feel that I can connect to all people, no matter their age, and I like working with clients in a broad age range. For that reason, I don’t feel like I connect with that part of my social identity as much. Of course, I have friends my age, but many adults in my family are a lot older than me and there were not many other people my age at family functions since I am the youngest in my family. For that reason, I feel like I’m able to connect with people who are older than me because I grew up with older adults in my family, and age is not a huge part of my social identity.

I feel that my connection with these aspects of my social identity have influenced my worldview in specific ways. Since I heavily associate with my gender identity, I think it connects with my worldview because I feel like I am able to understand other women better than other genders. On the other hand, because I don’t associate age as part of my social identity too often, it influences my worldview because it helps me understand different perspectives from different age groups.

Questions 2

Why is self-awareness essential to social work practice? What can you do throughout your career to maintain your awareness and exploration of your own cultural values and identity? How has social environment influenced your identity development? Why is it important for social workers to be aware of how social environment can influence a client’s identity development?

This discussion question is informed by the following EPAS Standards:

1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior

2: Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice

Student1:

Self-awareness is fundamental to social work practice for several reasons. Some of those reasons include ethical principles. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in ensuring ethical practice. Social workers must be aware of their biases, values, and beliefs to prevent them from negatively influencing their professional interactions. Another reason self-awareness is essential in social work is to provide effective communication. Self-awareness allows social workers to recognize and understand their emotional responses and communication patterns. This understanding can lead to more effective communication with clients, as it prevents personal emotions or biases from interfering with the therapeutic process. Maintaining awareness and exploring one’s cultural values and identity is a continuous journey. A way to maintain awareness is through Seeking Supervision and Mentorship engaging in discussions about cultural identity with supervisors or mentors. They can provide valuable feedback and insights from their experiences and perspectives. The social environment plays a pivotal role in shaping an individual’s identity development, and for social workers, understanding this influence is crucial for several reasons. Those reasons include preventing stereotyping and bias; social workers should obtain education about and demonstrate an understanding of the nature of social diversity and oppression concerning 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 (NASW, 2023). By acknowledging the vast diversity within social environments and their nuanced impacts on identity development, social workers can avoid over-generalizing or making assumptions based on limited information. 

Reference 

NASW. (2023). Read the code of ethics.

https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-

Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-Englis

Student 2:

Self-awareness is essential to social work practice for numerous reasons. It allows social workers to recognize their biases as it can help with client interactions. According to (Sue et al., 2016), the goal is to increase the level of self-awareness of social work in order to address their own potential biases. This will eventually allow clients to encourage themselves and be more aware of their self-awareness. Doing this will allow social workers to ensure that they are treating their clients with respect and, at the same time, understanding them. In order to maintain awareness throughout our profession, we need to research and learn about different cultures continuously. This will allow us to communicate with our clients and help us understand their beliefs and values when working with clients.

The social environment plays a major role in shaping an individual’s identity. For example, an individual’s work ethic and professionalism towards others could be an example of how their social environment shapes them. Being aware of the social environment is understanding the client’s social environment in the first place. Doing this will allow us, the social worker, to understand the client’s social environment and how they are influenced by it. According to (Verhoeven, 2019), identity development is an important task when helping individuals with their goals as it shapes an idea of what they want to be. Ultimately, it gives us an understanding of how to serve our clients better and help them reach any goals.

References:

Sue, D. W., Rasheed, M. N., & Rasheed, J. M. (2016). Multicultural social work practice: A competency-based approach to diversity and social justice (2nd ed.). 

Verhoeven, M., Poorthuis, A. M., & Volman, M. (2019). The role of school in adolescents’ identity development. A literature review. Educational Psychology Review, 31, 35-63. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-018-9457-3

Questions 3. During the first week, the course focused on developing cultural competency. Identify one training resource that would be beneficial to you as a new social worker. Why is it beneficial.