Cultural competence means acknowledging any preconceived ideas or beliefs you might already have about a particular group of people. Your goal as a social worker is to recognize these as such and set them aside as you enter into a relationship with your client. Being open to differences—to not assuming that differences create barriers—is an important social work skill. Indeed, the similarities between social worker and client almost always outweigh the dissimilarities. To assess cultural similarities, you must first learn about the culture. In this Discussion, you engage with a person of a culture different than your own and identify values unique to that person’s culture.
LEARNING RESOURCES
Required Readings
Kirst-Ashman, K. K.,