The purpose of this assignment is for students to practice standards of cultural competence, including enhancing awareness and building knowledge about a social issue impacting a specific cultural minority group. Students will achieve this by identifying and researching a topic of interest and interviewing a cultural informant. Part I –Topics (5pts); Research Paper (35pts) Write a paper about an issue of your interest that affects a specific cultural group.
10Examples of topics for exploration are (you may choose others): •The intersection of identities (e.g., Latino/a culture and feminism; Providing social services to multiple Asian American communities; Traditional American Indian spiritual beliefs and practices and the New Age Movement; African Americans Civil Rights and gays and lesbians’ rights); •The intersection of a minority group with public policies or the dominant culture (e.g., multiracial identity and rules of hypodescent; American Indians and child welfare policies; American Indian burial rights, the media, language issues; Mexican Americans and immigration and/or labor policies; African Americans and an Afrocentric social work curriculum, the press, the justice system, social class; Latinos and Affirmative Action, bilingual education);•Inner-group current issues (e.g., American Indian Spirituality and Counseling, Mexican Americans and Immigration Issues, women and the labor force, the effects of HIV/AIDS in the gay and the African American communities; transracial adoptions and gay marriage; using language interpreters in counseling: ethical issues; suicide in Asian American communities).To complete the first part of this assignment you will need to conduct a literature search. The paper will be evaluated on how you,the writer,is able to review and synthesize the existing literature on the topic.This first section needs to be between 5-8pages long. Include a separate cover page and a references page following the Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Ed.) specifications. Title page and reference page(s) areNOTincluded in required page count.The contents of this paper should follow this outline:•Cover page. Including the title of the paper, your name, the course title, and the date•Introduction. Briefly introduce the cultural group youare writing about. Define the issue/strength/challenge you are exploring. Introduce your research question or interest topic. Explain how and why you aim to advance knowledge about it, why is the topic significant (1-2pages).•Theoretical approach. Present the theoretical perspectiveyou are taking to study the phenomenon(see text Chapters 5 & 7). For example you may decide to approach your study using a resiliency, systems, or an ecological approach. Explain how this approach will guide your research and inform your research question (1-2 pages).•Literature review. Provide background information about the group and the social issue by summarizing relevant and current published literature on the topic. Provide a summary of the “state of knowledge”(whatis known and reported in the professional
11literature)regarding your research question. Identify any contradictions between research findings and possible gaps in the literature. Connect the existing research to your proposed study; restate your researchquestion (3-5pages). •Implications for social work. To conclude your paper, please describe how this experience enhanced your development as a culturally grounded social worker. How will you continue to enhance your learning about the cultural group described? (1-2 pages).•Reference page. Prepare a separate page with all the references you cited (at least 5 (not including textbook). Please follow the APA Manual guidelines. Use onlyprofessionaljournal and book citations. Part II: Power Point Presentation(50pts) Due Week 7This is a continuation of the Research Paper (Part I) and provides you with a chance to present to your peers what you learned about your chosen topic from your research paper (Part I) and interview with a cultural informant. You will identify and have a conversation with onemember (or more) of the identity group you are studying. In the conversation,you may explore some aspects of racial relations, cultural differences, or power differences. Establish an honest conversation about what it is like to be American from different vantage points of power; to understand the ideas of the other person on some issue, and honestly offer yours. Be aware that sometimes people perceived as “experts” either resent the label of “experts” or are tired of having to educate others for free on areas of their perceived or real expertise. One purpose of this assignment, whatever your identity might be, is for you to initiate a dialogue very much needed in the U.S. in general, and in Social Work in particular, a dialogue in which both parties together search for answers to the pervasive issues related to racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation or ability status inequality. We suggest that both participants in the dialogue come out as winners and partners in this journey of mutual awareness. We suggest that you do not force yourself on anyone, but respectfully ask and simply invite to chat. Please note:To assure accurate representation you are encouraged to video or audio record the interview. You will need to turn in either a video, audio, or detailed transcript of the interview in order to receive credit for this assignment. Please assure the interviewee(s)that such content will be kept confidential and will only be accessed by the instructor.The 20 slide MAX Power Point Presentation should contain the following: •Introduction: An overview of the issue you selected, why you selected it and a summary of what you discovered in your research from the first paper. •Procedures. Explain how you went about selecting/identifying the person to have the conversation with and how, when and where did you conduct the conversation. Explain how you examinedand analyzed the information you collected.
12•Findings. Present the main themes emerging from the conversation. Explain the importance of the selected issue [from an emic perspective] in the life of the group/community based on the interview with the “expert” informant.•Discussion. Connect and compare the findings from your conversation with the existing literature you summarized in your researchpaper. Were there contradictions between your two sources of information and/or with your preconceived ideas about the phenomenon? Shareyour personal insights. Did you learn anything new based on your literature review and/or the conversation with the expert informant? •Implications. Discuss implications for social work practice/research/policy. How can we apply your findings to our work? PLEASE NOTE: Additional details of this assignment is available in the Major Assignments tab and during the corresponding week.
