Critical Multicultural Social Work

Critical Multicultural Social Work is the first book to explore multicultural practice from a critical perspective. The authors provide tools and techniques that enable readers to recognize their own perspectives and find meaning and importance in what they learn. The text examines oppression and diversity across multiple dimensions, including race and ethnicity, gender, sex and sexual orientation, and ability/disability. In addition to presenting the history of diversity as well as a basic framework for evaluating the issue, the authors guide practitioners through enlightened self-reflection to encourage awareness and sensitivity as they work with clients.

Critical multicultural practice, rather than being a specialism, is integral to Australian social work. Drawing on critical race theory, critical multiculturalism, intersectionality and critical reflection as practice theory, this major new edited collection challenges many of the dominant assumptions of cross-cultural social work and provides instead a new model of transformative engagement. Key concepts are considered, including identity, culture, diversity and superdiversity, how power and privilege shape everyday interactions and what is meant by citizenship in the contemporary context. Part One explores the changing nature of multicultural practice in Australia, including our society's changing demographic profile, the impact of asylum and refugee migrations, race and racism and cultural identity. Indigenous perspectives and the relationship with multicultural practice are examined, together with the ethical and legal basis for multicultural practice. This part concludes with an outline of the editors' framework for critical multicultural practice. Part Two draws on contributions from a range of practitioners and offers new perspectives on diverse fields, including child protection, mental health, disability, ageing, homelessness and rural and regional practice. Featuring case studies and insights drawn from across the spectrum of practice, this book is a vital resource for all social workers practising in Australia today. '[A] rich and nuanced analysis of what is happening at the interfaces of our work and the lives of Australian citizens, [it] articulates ways forward that are genuine, bold and empathetic.' From the foreword by Professor Kerry Arabena, The University of Melbourne

Critical Multiculturalism and Intersectionality in a Complex World guides the reader through a process of critical self-reflection that allows for examination of social identities, biases, and experiences of oppression and privilege. Its exploration of the history, sources, mechanisms, structures, and current manifestations of oppression -- complimented by case examples (with new stories from across the globe) and guiding questions -- provides a framework for improving the ability to recognize, confront, and dismantle oppressions. Deeper cultural patterns, implicit biases, and internalized negative perceptions are examined, enabling readers to explore cultures that have different patterns, values, and behaviors while challenging their own biases about 'other' cultures. In addition to a focus on the USA, this edition features added content on Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Canada, South Africa, Australia, India, and Kenya. This new edition will appeal to all graduate and undergraduate students of the social sciences, human sciences, and humanities.

This book aims to bring together two movements - multiculturalism and anti- racism - which, though having aims in common, have been at arms length in the past. Differences of emphasis have meant that classroom practice has been the natural realm of multiculturalism, while anti-racism has been dissatisfied with an approach that accentuates life-style at the expense of challenging or changing the racism that minority students experience. In these debates, there has been a concentration on culturally specific topics and this book goes beyond national boundaries to find how international concerns and contexts might provide answers to problems faced in single countries. Leading figures in the USA, Canada, South Africa, the UK and Australasia write on the issues.

A thorough exploration of diversity and social justice within the field of social work Multicultural Social Work Practice: A Competency-Based Approach to Diversity and Social Justice, 2nd Edition has been aligned with the Council on Social Work Education's 2015 Educational Policy and Standards and incorporates the National Association of Social Workers Standards of Cultural Competence. New chapters focus on theoretical perspectives of critical race theory, microaggressions and changing societal attitudes, and evidence-based practice on research-supported approaches for understanding the influence of cultural differences on the social work practice. The second edition includes an expanded discussion of religion and spirituality and addresses emerging issues affecting diverse populations, such as women in the military. Additionally, Implications for Multicultural Social Work Practice' at the end of each chapter assist you in applying the information you have learned. Multicultural Social Work Practice, 2nd Edition provides access to important guidance regarding culturally sensitive social work practice, including the sociopolitical and social justice aspects of effective work in this field. This thoroughly revised edition incorporates new content and pedagogical features, including: Theoretical frameworks for multicultural social work practice Microaggressions in social work practice Evidence-based multicultural social work practice New chapter overviews, learning objectives, and reflection questions Multicultural Social Work Practice, 2nd Edition is an integral guide for students and aspiring social workers who want to engage in diversity and difference.

"Children’s literature is a contested terrain, as is multicultural education. Taken together, they pose a formidable challenge to both classroom teachers and academics.... Rather than deny the inherent conflicts and tensions in the field, in Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children’s Literature: Mirrors, Windows, and Doors, Maria José Botelho and Masha Kabakow Rudman confront, deconstruct, and reconstruct these terrains by proposing a reframing of the field.... Surely all of us – children, teachers, and academics – can benefit from this more expansive understanding of what it means to read books." Sonia Nieto, From the Foreword Critical multicultural analysis provides a philosophical shift for teaching literature, constructing curriculum, and taking up issues of diversity and social justice. It problematizes children’s literature, offers a way of reading power, explores the complex web of sociopolitical relations, and deconstructs taken-for-granted assumptions about language, meaning, reading, and literature: it is literary study as sociopolitical change. Bringing a critical lens to the study of multiculturalism in children’s literature, this book prepares teachers, teacher educators, and researchers of children’s literature to analyze the ideological dimensions of reading and studying literature. Each chapter includes recommendations for classroom application, classroom research, and further reading. Helpful end-of-book appendixes include a list of children’s book awards, lists of publishers, diagrams of the power continuum and the theoretical framework of critical multicultural analysis, and lists of selected children’s literature journals and online resources.

This analysis offers a starting point for readers to reflect on their own experiences and assumptions of multicultural practice with diverse ethno-racial communities. Major themes include differential processes in seeking help and the importance of taking into account a community's history or an individual's age, gender, acculturation, or socio-economic status when developing strategies for social work in multicultural settings.

This edited collection offers an original critical clinical approach to social work practice, written by social work educators from the School of Social Work at Dalhousie University and their collaborators. It provides a Canadian perspective on the diverse issues social workers encounter in the field, highlighting the practical application of feminist, narrative, anti-racist, and postcolonial frameworks. With the aim of producing counterstories that participate in social resistance, this volume focuses on integrating critical theory with direct clinical practice. Through the use of case studies, the contributors tackle a range of substantive issues including ethics, working with complex trauma, men’s use of violence, substance use among women and girls, Indigenous social work praxis, critical child welfare approaches, counterstorying experiences of (dis)Ability, and animal-informed social work practice.