Cultural competence; culture and diversity; social work education; social work practice
Driven by increasing cultural diversity across North America and growing inequi- ties in health and social outcomes among minority groups, cross-cultural compe- tence has become a fundamental dimension of effective and ethical social work practice. The concept of cultural competence has assumed a prominent discourse in social work education, scholarship, professional practice, codes of ethics, and organizational policy. How one defines, acquires, applies, and evaluates cultural competencies, however, continue to be issues of debate in the social work profes- sion. This article reviews selected bodies of theoretical and empirical literature examining cultural competence in social work and related disciplines, including conceptual underpinnings, practice approaches, and controversies. Grounded in a postmodern epistemic frame, we propose an integrated model of critical cultural consciousness for working effectively across differences in social work and discuss implications for micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice.