Using a Lived Cross-Cultural Approach of an Immigrant Field instructor

Overview: This presentation examines the relationship between personal cross-cultural experiences, field education pedagogy, and human rights. Using auto-ethnography the presenter investigates how, as a Black-Caribbean-Canadian, lived intersections of race and culture inform her approach to field education. The presenter uses vignettes to contextualize global and human rights pedagogy within field education.Proposal text:

Background:
CSWE has called for the inclusion of an anti-racist agenda in social work education. The U.S. population has become significantly more racially and ethnically diverse in recent decades. This has prompted an increased interest in teaching strategies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021; Mills, 2020; Muller & Schwarz, 2020)

Social work has always embraced values that promote the dignity and worth of individuals and emphasize social justice and cultural competence (NASW, 2021). The absence of cross-cultural experiences in social work education is revealed by examining the modalities utilized to educate diversity in the social work curriculum. Purnell (2014) noted that social work educators perceive themselves as culturally competent yet acknowledge that they lack an understanding of diversity (Goldberg, 2000; Lee & Greene, 2003),

Students in social work programs must be prepared to serve all members of the global society. Teaching about White privilege will not eliminate its manifestations on a national or global scale. It will help students of all races and cultures recognize, discuss, and learn how to cope with White privilege (Abrams & Gibson, 2007).

Social work educators must ensure that the social work curriculum related to anti-racism is shaped by those social work educators who have multicultural experience and training. Social work programs and agencies should have pedagogically responsible field instructors who can make the connection between personal and professional experiences, social justice, and cultural competence, and can create opportunities that link cross-cultural practice and policy and human and global rights (Jani et al., 2011; Goldstein, 1993; Deepak et al., 2015; Finn & Jacobson, 2008; Simon, 1994).

Methods
The presenter will examine how cross-cultural experiences influence and impact her social work pedagogy related to global and human rights in field education. The presenter will share illustrative vignettes that show how her experiences working with ethnically and ethnically diverse communities around the globe affect her teaching practice (Ngunjiri et al., 2010).

Results
Take away lessons from the presenter’s analysis of her how her own experiences impact her strategies for supporting students cross-cultural work in field, include:
1. Help students translate policy from one country based on personal experience
2. Help identify Differences in Language to express Shared Experiences
3. Help students identify Influence and Impact of Culture on Conceptualization/ Interpretation of Shared Experiences

Conclusions
Students in social work programs should have direct and indirect access to people who have had cross-cultural learning experiences relevant to the curriculum, as global rights are human rights, and they can be achieved through a cross-cultural approach.