One of the underlying principles of this course is for you to learn how important it is for social workers working with diverse cultural groups to be aware of and to address their feelings, thoughts, and attitude about their own culture and their cultural biases.
The objective of this cultural self-assessment is to provide a stimulus for those students who have not yet formulated or organized these ideas and feelings into a cohesive and meaningful manner. For those students who have already dealt with the meaning of culture, this assignment will provide further opportunity to refine, integrate, and consolidate those feelings and thoughts.
Below are some questions that will serve as a guide and basis for writing this cultural self-assessment paper. Students are asked to use the questions below as a frame of reference for developing a clear and helpful understanding of experiences and reactions. It is my hope that you will take the opportunity to vis these thoughts and feelings to further enhance your future social work practice with diverse cultural groups.
1. What is your cultural/racial/ethnic identity? How do you identify yourself? If your cultural/racial/ethnic background is diverse, with which do you most closely identify?
2. How important is cultural/racial/ethnic identity to you?
3. How did your family of origin influence your sense of cultural/racial/ethnic identification?
4. What are the highest held beliefs or values of your cultural/racial/ethnic group? Discuss which of these values you like most and which you like least?
5. How has your culture/race/ethnicity influenced your perceptions about –
a. Problem identification
b. Problem solving
c. Help-seeking behaviors
6. Do persons of your cultural/racial/ethnic group experience racism and discrimination? Have you ever been discriminated against based on your cultural/racial/ethnic identity? Have you ever discriminated against someone based on their cultural/racial/ethnic identity?
7. Discuss your personal biases about diverse cultural groups (e.g., gender, age, class, race, ethnicity, sexual or affectional preferences, physical/mental abilities,
