Beyond Cultural Competence: A Methodology for Teaching Effective Practice across Difference

ABSTRACT

Cultural competence and cultural humility dominate discourses on practice across difference within social work and other helping professions. Despite their prominence, they remain contested constructs, thoroughly critiqued within the literature, and fall short in providing guidelines for intersectional practice across myriad differences. This article analyzes challenges inherent in approaches to preparing social work students for practice across difference in diverse settings and introduces a methodology for teaching difference practice grounded in applied social science paradigms: Traditional/Rational, Interpretive/Experiential, and Critical/Radical. Rooted in analysis of deeply embedded assumptions relative to history, values, reality, and knowledge development, it serves as a clarifying tool for learning, selecting, and developing practice approaches based on context.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural competence
• oppression
• cultural humility
• teaching diversity practice
• Diversity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).