Running Head: PERSONAL WORK PLAN

Personal Work Plan for Culturally Competent Practice

Esther Mason
SW 3110
November 15, 2012

PERSONAL WORK PLAN

In giving thought to what types of clientele I might find challenging is difficult for me.
Having experienced discrimination and prejudice first handedly has allowed me the ability to
empathize with oppressed individuals. I believe that working with persons of Asian decent would
be particularly beneficial for me. This is due to the fact that I was somewhat unfamiliar with their
cultural values. I would also consider working with individuals of this culture a personal benefit,
due to the fact that researching the many subcultures would enhance the skills required for
effective social work. In addition this would enhance my abilities to become culturally
competent.
Weather through simple observations in my surrounding communities or mainstream
media I was able to obtain some knowledge of other cultures in American society. Looking back
in the beginning off this course I feel my level of cultural competence was about average. Living
in densely populated urban setting made cultural awareness a fact of daily living. My own
personal life experiences such as race and gender have also contributed to my awareness of a
multicultural society and allowed me a first hand view of oppression. Being female and nonwhite is just two of the contributing factors that govern my own culture. Studying the Feminist
theory was enlightening and added a to my knowledge base the concept that all women, no
matter how privileged, are affected by oppression, because all women are subjected to the
hierarchical ranking of their gender. (Appleby, Colon, Hamilton) In addition the oppression of
women in general is directly related to global patriarchy. I entered this course with
preconceptions that this is a white male dominated society therefore there was little if any
challenge to the notions. One of the major questions I have where does one start when
empowering individuals how are oppressed on a global level.

PERSONAL WORK PLAN

What this means for my practice is that I must be able and willing to advocate for my
clients at as many levels as possible. Weather it involves individual case management,
implementation of policy changes within my agency or political activism, the concept of
acquiring a working knowledge of cultural diversity and oppression is one of the cornerstones of
social work.
Attempting to identify any population, which may be difficult for me to work with,
produces a very short list. After giving it some consideration, I could only identify one. This
particular population includes violent sex offenders and child predators. The reason for this
decision is solely based on my personal values as a woman and mother. Fortunately I feel this is
something I am quite able to overcome by acquiring the necessary understanding about the many
processes that contribute to these behaviors. In addition I have the ability to separate the behavior
from the individual.
Some of the things I would like to learn more about are child rearing techniques of other
cultures. Specifically how might these techniques differ between the classes of a specific culture?
Clearly one of the ways of effectively acquiring this information is through in-depth study
possibly from an anthropologic or sociologic standpoint.
One action that may be reasonable to increase my cultural competence is simple research.
This can be done from a historic view to modern day practices within a culture. Another
possibility if increasing my knowledge is by simply asking questions about specific cultures
values and norms. This might be done visiting a culturally specific organization. Another way of
effectively increasing cultural compliance might be inter agency exchange of information.
Information can be documented by different employees then made available to others within the
agency itself.

PERSONAL WORK PLAN

In conclusion cultural competence is one of the many aspects of effectively advocating

for ones clients. Having an understanding of the clients strengths weather personally or
culturally aids in promoting their wellbeing.

PERSONAL WORK PLAN

5
References

Russell, L. M., & Clarkson, J. (1996). Dictionary of Feminist Theologies. Westminster

Appleby, G., Colon, E., Hamilton, J. (2011). Diversity, Oppression, and Social Functioning