From Social Work Praxis to Transformative Social Justice: Cultivating Cultural Competence in an Age of Diversity

Abstract

As the world experiences the impact and after-effects of shifts in power (geo-political, economic and military), resources and ideologies of governance, governance mechanisms and organizational state structures struggle to keep up with the demands imposed on them as a result. In addition to the challenging circumstances confronting the populations which remain in the countries experiencing turmoil and rapidly changing sociopolitical conditions, never in its history has the world witnessed such widespread international migration, which remains unprecedented even when compared with migration patterns triggered by other phenomena such as industralisation, the two world wars and decolonization. With increasingly diverse population groups living side by side in shrinking communal spaces with limited resources to go around, many minority communities continue to experience exclusion, oppression and other forms of marginalisation. Although there is now evidence that these experiences are the produced by structural forces in society, despite the proliferation of numerous human rights treaties imposing obligations on states to address discrimination and inequalities, these experiences continue to define the lives of minorities living amongst us. In these circumstances, there are significant gaps emerging in the delivery of various social services due to the different demands placed on a system which was not designed to deliver on the diversity of needs it is now confronted with. In the face of these demands, it is necessary to reassess the role and relevance of traditional frameworks which inform social service education and practice models, and to consider how social work practitioners of the future can cultivate cultural and diversity competencies to be able to effectively address the complex demands they face in the course of their practice and more importantly, to understand the unique role that social workers can play in achieving transformative social justice through praxis. This lecture will outline recent research in relation to Hong Kong’s diverse ethnic minority population to enhance knowledge and critical awareness about social work practice in Hong Kong and to underscore the indispensability of practices such as self-awareness, self-assessment and critical praxis in developing cultural competencies for social workers and to demonstrate how knowledge and skills adaptability in social work practice serve as drivers of change and transformative justice in an age of diversity.