Self-Determination: Cross-Cultural Implications for Social Work

1. Self-Determination: Cross-Cultural Implications for Social Work Heather Sandala University of North Carolina Wilmington

2. Self-Determination: • Recognized by the social work profession as the “right and need of clients to freedom in making their own choices and decisions” (Hollis, 1967). • Includes the determination of everything, from trivial to crucial choices.

3. Importance to the Social Work Profession: • Component of social work’s fundamental values and principles. • Common base as the framework with which social work practitioners operate amongst various diverse client populations. • This ability for adults to be capable of making personal choices is viewed as essential to functioning.

4. International Social Work: • Impact of globalization • Western-educated social workers practicing abroad • Current social work values and ethical codes are too grounded in Western-oriented individualistic values

5. Western Ideals • Not congruent with communal-focused cultures • Controversial

6. Case Findings • Africa • Problematic, role-stratified culture, groupness and commonality • India • Religious implications, fate • Denmark • Responsibility to society and welfare for all

7. Objectives • Add to current ideals of “cultural competence”: • “sensitivity and awareness of cultural implications and influences in all aspects of [social] work with clients” (DuBois and Miley, 2005).

8. Objectives • Deeper understanding of a population’s values • Inform and educate potential international social workers • Better understanding of conflict between Western market societies which value individualism and self-determination, and traditional societies which value communal identity • International viability

9. Methods • Measurable survey utilizing vignettes • Vignettes modeled after social worker and client scenario • Involves both client's own self-determination and the role of the social worker in providing opinions and advice.

10. Methods • Designed to measure student’s level of individualism in relation to the concept of self-determination • Provide basis for each respondent to get a score for this concept • Respondents will be classified according to the cultural group to which they belong • Set of hypotheses will be constructed to examine whether individual scores vary with cultural groups. • A comparative study will enable measurement of one’s level of self-determination versus communal ideals

11. Subjects • Various social work students: • University of North Carolina Wilmington and similar programs would serve as base line • Rosebud, South Dakota; rural West Virginia • International communities South Africa, Eastern countries, Eastern Europe

12. Final Project • Report that details the survey’s findings • These results will be coupled with extensive research of existing findings about the cultural ideals of self-determination

13. Expected Outcome • Measurement of the current degree of commitment to self-determination among social work students will enable insight to various dimensions.

14. Bibliography DuBois, B. & Miley, K.K. (2002). Social work: An empowering profession (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Hollis, F. (1967). Principles and assumptions underlying case work principles. In E. Younghusband (Ed.), Social work and social values (p. 22-38). London: George Allan & Unwin Ltd.