By Chukumeka(Chukes) Maxwell

November 2011

Working With Difference“Resistance is Futile”

Spirit of the Session

Confidentiality

Safe space to explore self

Respect the differences in the room

Engagement with the issues and feelings raised

Informal and interactive

Reflective

Thought -provoking

Responsibility for one’s own learning

3 minutes each person and then feedback your name and other information

Your name:

The meaning of your name - if known – it’s origin.

Your identity: How do you see yourself in terms of

Age, Disability, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnicity, Religion or belief and any other info

Other Information:

What is your role

What do you do for your wellbeing

3 places you have lived and where you live now

What is your expectation of the session

Cultural Introductions

Aims of the Session

Culture and Values are two key concepts

when working with difference. How does

your Personal, Professional Culture &

Values impact on children &families

when working .

 

 

Courageous ConversationThe 4 Whats

What is your internal culture?

What a you fearful of with resistant families especially from other cultures?

What attitudes & beliefs hijack your work ?

What are your values Do they flourish in the workplace?

 

Resistance is Futile There were five contexts where disagreements between the social

workers and the family members about the nature of problems

emerged, and therefore where resistance was likely:

Domestic abuse

Parental learning disability

Poverty

Working with men

Race and immigration - being a refugee

Family perspectives on safeguarding and on relationships with children’s services

June 2010

Pre-amble

Values, Policy, Culture and Diversity

Social Workers must operate at all times from an inclusive values

base which promotes recovery and recognises and respects diversity.

Diversity encompasses the range of cultural norms, including

personal, family, social and spiritual values, held by the diverse

communities served by the service within which the worker is

operating.

Workers must respect and value individual differences in age,

sexuality, disability, gender, spirituality, race and culture. Workers

must also take into account any physical and sensory difficulties

people may experience in accessing services and make provision in

their work to mitigate these. They must be able to respond to

people’s needs sensitively with regard to all aspects of diversity.

They must demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities for all

and encourage people’s active participation in every aspect of care

and treatment.

They must also demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the

power issues in professional/patient relationships and take steps in

their clinical practice to reduce any potential for negative impact

these may have. This session will, therefore, expose workers to the

concepts of diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism highlighting and

equipping them with the necessary knowledge, attitudes and

competencies to operate in an inclusive values driven service.

Defining Culture

To define culture more clearly and appreciate it’s complexity

To introduce a useful model for understanding culture at different levels

To begin to make links between culture, power and oppression

Adapted by Peter Ferns from Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997) and Argyris (1990)

A Model of Culture

People’s cultural values, or what they think is most important to protect in a

situation presented, influence what they would do in that situation leading

to actions and outcomes.

These are clues about the nature of culture and how it can be seen as a

series of layers that interact with each other.

Values are based on certain beliefs and assumptions that give meaning to why something is important – in other

words beliefs give rise to values.

At the deepest level of culture, core beliefs and assumptions exist as the unspoken rules of a cultural group or are viewed by the group as ‘common

sense’.

Reflecting on Culture

• made up of a number of factors such as values, language, traditions, religion, rituals, symbols, food, clothes and fashion

• part of a living environment where individuals grow and develop; it influences them but does not totally define them as people

• is experienced subjectively and is chosen or rejected by individuals and often results in parts of cultures being brought together by people, leading to a constant mixing of cultures

• always changing with time and with different groups of people in society

• not easy to define clearly as it is not just a collection of facts that can be learned or passed on to people who are new to that culture

• culture frames realities, notions of normality and human experience. How self is constructed. West - autonomy, self-reliance, self-containment. East - interconnectedness, dialogical, mutuality.

Reflection on Culture

Not easy to define clearly as it is not just a collection of facts that can

be learned or passed on to people who are new to that culture

Rich and varied, with a range of different values within each culture

Not value free – for example in a racist society in which Black

people’s cultures will tend to be seen as inferior to White people’s

cultures; lesbian and gay culture will be seen as inferior to

heterosexual culture and deaf culture will be seen as inferior to

hearing culture

Competence refers more to the acquisition of

knowledge and skills for specified tasks in a

largely predictable environment

Cultural Competence

Capability refers to the capacity of people to deal

with rapid change and novel situations with

greater creativity, confidence and effectiveness.

Cultural Capability

Multicultural Devon & Plymouth The 2001 census found that 1.24% of the population of Devon identified as

coming from BME backgrounds. Plymouth- 1.62% and Exeter- 2.38%.

recent demographic changes to note:

It is estimated that the BME population has risen substantially since 2001:

EAL Service – 50 + languages in Exeter, 60 + in Plymouth

In 2009, most commonly used languages for Devon Partnership Trust

were Polish, Turkish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Slovak

Schools statistics- 3.4% of pupils in North Devon Schools come from BME

backgrounds. In Exeter some schools range from 17.2% -5.2%

Data Blog % White British Other

Exeter 89.141 10.859

Teingbridge 93.459 6.541

Mid Devon 94.211 5.789

East Devon 93.218 6.782

Torridge 93.262 6.738

North Devon 92.896 7.104

Data Blog % White British Other

South Hams 92.575 7.425

West Devon 93.58 6.42

Plymouth 90.845 9.155

Torbay 92.164 7.836

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/may/19/ethnic-breakdown-england-wales?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

What do you see

Binna Kandola’s work on eliminating bias in organisation

‘The Value of Difference’

We need to accept that we are all biased,

or we can’t make progress with the

diversity agenda.

Bias helps us make sense of the world, but

also leads us into faulty decision making

by creating false assumptions

Film Extract

The Dangers of the Single Story

Chimamanda Adichiehttp://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adiche_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

Institutional Discrimination

To recognise the characteristics of institutional discrimination and racism

To understand what inclusive practice looks like at the individual and organisational level

Dr Shetty, a consultant psychiatrist at The Norvic Clinicsaid: "There is a risk that, in places like Norwich, people may never develop the awareness and skills to deal with black people becausethere are so few of them".

Independent inquiry to the Death of David Rocky Bennett December 2003

‘The collective failure of an organisation to provide

an appropriate and professional service to people

because of their colour, culture ,or ethnic origin. It

can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which

amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance,

thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantages minority

ethnic people.’

Steven Lawrence Inquiry 1999

Defining Institutional Racism

Institutional RacismInstitutional Racism

“I have given up my country, my home, to be here, and I am

finding it hard to provide for my children on benefits. They (the

social workers) look at me as if I should be grateful for what I

have. They judge me for it. They make me feel ashamed. I

cannot ask for help. I cannot accept help. I must look after my

own family.” (Refugee parent)

 

Family perspectives on safeguarding and on relationships with children’s services

June 2010 

“When I first had contact, I thought, well they’re professionals,

they’ll help me. It was a shock. They’ve become a social police

force. They make you feel very small. If you say anything, they

twist it. If you get upset, they judge you. They rationalise it.

Accuse you. It can be so demeaning. They don’t realise some

basic fundamentals about what would make it easier (to) work

with them.”

“I felt violated at the end – like I had been raped – like

everything had been taken from me and there was nothing left.”

Family perspectives on safeguarding and on relationships with children’s services

June 2010 

 

1. AssimilationForcing people to fit into a dominant culture.

2. Under-reaction or Over-reactionIgnoring serious problems or intervening in a punitive way with minor problems.

3. Disempowerment & StereotypingTaking away personal autonomy, reducing influence over one’s own life opportunities and making negative assumptions about groups of people.

4. Service-led ApproachesAssessing and meeting people’s needs with the priorities of the service or organisation put first with little or no regard for anyone else’s priorities.

5. Poor Access to ServicesBureaucratic procedures, difficult locations and poor publicity about goods or services.

6. Erosion of RightsDenial of basic human rights and/or civil rights of people.

Themes of Institutional Discrimination

Fitting people into existing

services.

Primary concern to use

existing services

efficiently.

Services planned on pre-

conceived ideas about

needs.

Traditional ‘block’

services.

Assessment of need based on

service eligibility.

Services generated by

professionals.

A SERVICE-LEDAPPROACH

1. Valuing Cultural DiversityReinforcing cultural identity of individuals / Providing positive images and symbols of different cultures / Culturally appropriate services and work environments.2. Preventative ApproachesSupportive services available to all within services or organisations / Timely interventions in problematic situations / Providing opportunities for the growth & development of people.3. Autonomy & AdvocacyAssistance for individuals to express their point of view / Access to independent advocates / Groups for building solidarity between people, promoting positive self-image and building / self-confidence.4. Holistic ApproachModel of assessment and planning that takes into account wider social and community issues / Building on personal strengths & interests of individuals / Helping to define & create desirable personal futures for people.5. Participation & InformationEnabling meaningful participation of service users & communities in service developments / Accessible information & publicity about services / Positive efforts to involve communities in the management & provision of public services.6. Safeguarding RightsPolicies & procedures to maintain & promote equality and diversity / Ensuring that decision-making is linked to clearly defined values.

Themes of Equality

Negotiation for resources

based on level of need.

Construction of individualised packages of

care.

Services planned on assessed needs of

service user.

Service user objectives identified.

Creative options in the

service response.

Services generated by

needs of service user.

A NEEDS-LEDAPPROACH

ServiceUser

Family

Home

Support

Mental Health Team

Professional communication

Country of origin Culture

Media

Socio-Economic Inequalities

GP Health

Service

DisadvantagedNeighbourhood

Ψ

Voluntary Sector

LabourMarket

Housing Market

SW Culture

Family supportnetwork

Social Service

Cultural

Stereotypes

Government Policies

History of Psychology and Psychiatry

Recovery Model

Stigma

Spirituality -

Systemic Formulation:

adapted from Bronfenbrenner, 1979

Racism

Macro

Exo

Meso

Micro

Values

What Do These Really Mean?????

IFSW Code of Ethics

GSCC Codes of Practice

BASW Code of Ethics for Social Work

CQC

Single Equality Schemes

Equality Impact Schemes

BASW 

The social work profession promotes social change , problem

solving in human relationships and the empowerment and

liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of

human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at

the points where people interact with their environments.

Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to

social work (2001). 

 

All organisations should demonstrate

the ‘Ten Essential Shared Capabilities’

Working partnership

Respecting diversity

Challenging inequality

Promoting recovery

Identifying strengths and needs

Providing service user centred care

Making a difference

Promoting safety & positive risk

taking

Practising Ethically

Personal Development

Ensure a Positive Social

Contact

LimitDestructive

Emotions

Look afterYour Body

Engagewith

Nature

Reflect& Learn

Nurse J2008

Five DailySteps for Individual Well-Being

Film Extract

Dr Brene Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=player_embedded#at=16I

Values-based Leadership

Reflection

"Learning is experiencing, everything else is just

information”

Albert Einstein

“You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness

that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.”

Einstein

Reflection

Reflection

What you do for yourself -any gesture of kindness, any

gesture of gentleness, any gesture of honesty and clear seeing

toward yourself-will affect how you experience your world. In

fact ,it will transform how you experience the world. What

you do for yourself, you’re doing for others and what you do

for others, you're doing for yourself

Pema Chodron

Thank You