Multicultural Issues in Social Work
Practice and Research
Society in its full sense...is never an entity separable from the individuals who compose
it. No individual can arrive even at the threshold of his potentialities without a culture
in which he participates. Conversely, no civilization has in it any element which in the
last analysis is not the contribution of an individual.
–Ruth Benedict (from Patterns of Culture, p. 253)
Anyone who questions the relevance of multiculturalism need only look at how the face
of America has changed in the past century. From 1880 to 1920 America experienced one of
its largest periods of growth when hundreds of immigrants, primarily from southern,
central, and eastern Europe, arrived daily on its shores (LeMay, 1987). During these times
little thought was given to issues such as acculturation or assimilation, and little was
done to help new immigrants navigate the choppy waters of conflict when their values,
beliefs, and behavioral norms clashed with their new environment.
Now we are on the threshold of a new millennium, and we face similar cultural
challenges. According to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (1998)
immigration now occurs at a rate of about 700,000 to 900,000 individuals per
year—about 200,000 more people per year than the boom years of the 1880s through
1920s when 23.5 million immigrants came to America. It is no surprise, then, that cultural
issues remain extremely important and extremely complicated. Interestingly, according to
the INS, Mexico, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, China, and the Dominican Republic are
the top six countries of emigrés to the United States. These recent immigrants are, in a
sense, like the Germans, Italians, Slavs, Poles, Russians, and Greeks of a century ago,
coming to this country with a multitude of gifts, cultures, and needs, and interacting
with a society that is largely unprepared to understand many of their norms, behaviors, or
beliefs.
Cultural issues are important not only because of the arrival of today’s
immigrants—who happen to be from North America and Asia primarily—but also
because there continue to be complexities surrounding the many existing cultures of people
who have lived decades—and even centuries—in this country. Cultural issues
result from the effects not only of immigration but also from what I like to call
intraculturation, that is, the exchange among cultures within a society.
Why is culture so important? Quite simply, because culture is an integral part of the
individual’s very being. Any diminishment of culture diminishes the individual.
Culture, here, takes on the additional rubrics of nationality, ethnicity, and religious
belief. Conflict seems to arise when there is miscommunication about something so central
to a people’s lives as their culture. Huge conflicts arise when culture is
misunderstood by people who hold authority or power over the lives of people of color.
With our history and our worldview, these are the issues that are foremost in our minds
as a community and as a society:
- What are the historical traditions, values, beliefs, behavioral norms, and concerns of
people from differing cultures?
- How can we facilitate communication among cultures in ways that are fruitful,
meaningful, and beneficial to all of our lives and to our country’s progress?
- How do we deliver culturally appropriate services?
- How do we as a profession cope with relatively new health issues such as HIV/AIDS,
especially in culturally different environments?
These are the kinds of questions that social workers contend with daily, as they
navigate the waters among cultures and even bring their own biases to the picture. We do
know that instead of adapting existing social work practices to serve people of color, for
example, we need to acknowledge that not all models work for all people.
This new edition, Multicultural Issues in Social Work: Practice and Research,
brings such issues to light in ways that not only describe the concerns but also provide
crucial insight, understanding, and even solutions. For social workers and other
individuals in the helping professions, this book offers a variety of extremely useful
perspectives for learning to navigate among different cultures, for mediating more
effectively between differing cultures, and for empowering them.
This is a welcome edition to the continuing discourse on multiculturalism in social
work practice. Whereas the edition published in 1996 identified a number of critical
issues, addressed substantive gaps in our knowledge, and attempted to define multicultural
practice across a variety of groups, this edition is organized into sections on
multicultural practice, child welfare, education, youth, communities, health, long-term
care, mental health, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and immigration. Cross-cutting each
chapter are implications for practice, practical tools, and relevant theories and research
findings. This timely work covers natural support systems; health-seeking behaviors and
health care needs of various ethnic and racial groups; the concept of privilege;
value-based practice; marital conflict; adoption; violence; environmental and behavioral
risk factors; social indicators of community strengths; spirituality; alternative health
practices in diverse rural communities; neighborhood-based health promotion; and the
unique circumstances for refugees and immigrants.
Discussions of research methods and approaches show a greater sensitivity and awareness
of the need to collaborate and to actively involve the stakeholders (the individual, the
community, or the group). The outcome of this participatory research model is that
stakeholders gain a voice and thus become empowered by the process, rather than merely its
"subject matter." The profession has paid too little attention to this issue in
the preparation of students for research roles to advance knowledge development. Theories
and perspectives such as identity formulation, constructivism, empowerment, Afrocentrism,
standpoint, communication, cognitive, ecological, stress, and role undergird various
discussions.
What is fascinating about this edition is that it moves the discourse from a
superficial "politically correct posture" to one of social conviction—what
is just and rightful in a humane society. Underneath, hidden below the veneer of the
"politically correct posture," one finds all of the "isms" that
directly conflict with the espoused values of the social work profession. Perhaps this
edition will facilitate the congruency that is sorely needed for the advancement of
knowledge—that what we espouse becomes engrained in our belief systems and behaviors.
The contributors to this volume are recognized for their thoughtful and scholarly
writings. They represent the diversity and breadth of the profession—in terms of
points-of-view, gender, race, ethnicity, and contexts.
Given the texture that is America, the subject of multiculturalism is one of the most
important factors shaping our society in the coming decades and generations. Examinations
of multiculturalism help us glimpse the impact on future generations and the ways in which
we view one another and appreciate and adapt each others’ cultures to our own. In our
ever-changing world—and the way in which greater communication and education has
helped it to shrink—multiculturalism and books such as this one are immeasurably
important. As social workers, striving for the greater good and for the betterment of our
entire society, we embrace issues of culture in a positive manner, acknowledging that
cultural differences are our country’s strength and our country’s challenge.
Paula Allen-Meares, PhD
Dean and Professor
School of Social Work
University of Michigan
References
Benedict, R. (1934). Peter’s quotations: Ideas for our time. In Patterns
of culture (p. 253). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
LeMay, M. C. (1987). From open door to dutch door: An analysis of U.S.
immigration policy since 1820. New York: Praeger.
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. (1998). Immigrants
admitted by region and selected country of birth: Fiscal years 1994–96 [Date on
U.S. immigration] [Online]. Available: www.ins.usdoj.gov/stats/annual/fy96/. |
