There is a social work academic core competence that sets
the goal to “Engage diversity and difference in practice.” It’s further unpacked
in these practice behaviors:
•
recognize the extent to which a culture’s
structures and values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create or enhance
privilege and power;
•
gain sufficient self-awareness to eliminate the
influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups;
•
recognize and communicate their understanding of
the importance of difference in shaping life experiences; and
•
view themselves as learners and engage those
with whom they work as informants.
The Uganda Studies Program is marked by a pedagogy of praxis. We talk frequently about
translating theory to practice, especially when it comes to student’s field
education. Students often come to USP
being able to recite these academic principles, but putting them in to practice
is where the critical, exciting, and deeper learning takes place at USP.
“I lived for a month in Honduras so I assumed that I had
this figured out” is a comment I recently heard from a student. Part of cultural humility, another guiding
concept that we use, is the understanding that we never really “have it figured
out.” Engaging diversity and difference
is HARD. It takes work. It requires a humility that often is not in
our nature; so much so that when we aren’t practicing these principles, it can
go largely unnoticed by the sympathetic crowd around us. But it seems that the stakes have never been
higher in our society to grasp these core concepts of engaging in difference
well, and being able to practice them in the communities where we live and
work.
How do we start building these formative experiences for
students and ourselves? These are some features
that have emerged from USP’s Social Work Emphasis:
The “we” and the “I”. A place to start in this
process is to recognize the importance of difference and the richness of diversity
within our communities. There is a risk
in speaking of unity as if distinctions are unimportant. African-American
theologian, Ruby Sales explains well the need for unity and difference: “…we live in a very
diverse world, to talk about what it means to be humans is to talk with a
simultaneous tongue of universality and particularities. I need to talk about my experience as an
African American but also about my experience that transcends the universality
of humanity. We have to stop talking
about humanity as if it’s monolithic, we’ve got to wrap our consciousness
around a world where people bring to the world vastly different histories and
experiences but at the same time a world that experiences grief, and love, in
some of the same ways. We need to develop
theologies that join together the “I” with the “we”, and “we” with the “I”.”
The tension is
real. Our student’s thoughts,
assumptions and ways of interacting in the world have been formed by an
individualized culture. They live and
work for 4 months with others who have been formed from a communal
culture. This is perhaps one of the most
significant differences that can cause confusion and conflict. “My roommate used my comb again!” and similar sentiments are often heard from students within the first few weeks of living in the dorms.
“People kept stopping by the office and talking, I hardly got any work done!”
is almost always a frustration among students who come from a culture that
places productivity above just about anything else. To start to engage in these differences we
have to acknowledge that they can be hard, uncomfortable, and require
supportive environments to process through the differences with people further down the road.
Living in to the
answers through relationships. Understanding these, and
many other differences, requires time
and relationships with people to help
us along the way. At USP we call these people our “monks” along this
pilgrimage. What are the differences and
how do I interact within those differences? These are questions that cannot be
answered fully within the parameters of a semester, but can be explored in
depth during intentional relationships with “the other”.
Providing
opportunities to practice…and make mistakes. I will often say to students
that their USP social work education began before they ever touched Ugandan
soil. The lessons, particularly within the competency of engaging in diversity,
extend well beyond their placements. Students live with Ugandan roommates and host families throughout the
semester, in both rural and urban settings. They join choirs, sports teams and clubs where they are pushed to engage
with students who have vastly different worldviews, and then process their
experiences through classes and discussions. These are all opportunities to practice using their “cross-cultural
muscles” in a context of learning and grace for a process made up of lots of
small decisions. I love when students
share their experiences of stepping outside their comfort zones and trying to
speak a few words in Luganda, the local language, and having clients or coworkers
shout with excitement at their small attempts at engagement and connection. Or
when a student shows their effort to value what Ugandans value by keeping their
muddy shoes clean and dressing “smart” – walls of difference break down as
students embrace a different way.
Modeling the process. USP staff live and work at Uganda Christian
University within a very diverse staff. We are on our own learning curve with engaging difference and
diversity. The experiences may not look
exactly the same as students, but the need is even greater to strive to engage
in diversity respectfully and with increasing self-awareness. One significant
development in the Social Work Emphasis is our relationship with the UCU’s
Social Work and Social Administration Department (SWSA). We are working towards joint placements where
a USP student will be placed at a site along with a UCU SWSA student. We are also holding cross-cultural social
work meetings where Ugandan and North American students have the opportunity to
ask questions of one another, learning about “difference and diversity in
practice.”
Mr. Kasule, the head of the SWSA department here at UCU, and I are
learning from each other in the process – trading ideas and getting feedback
from one another from our different backgrounds and experiences. Together we are navigating how cultural
difference shape practice and our teaching. As it is with students, my journey with Ugandan supervisors, faculty,
and coworkers can be hard and different than what I may have expected. It requires the inner work of growing in
humility and patience. Even in the missteps
and miscommunications, there is growth. And it is always worth it.
There is much that the next generation of social workers can
contribute to our societies. But perhaps
nothing more valuable than a respect for difference and a uniting of diverse
communities marked by mistrust and miscommunication. We are in need of social workers who use
their voices to advocate for peace in communities, understanding that it requires
the building of relationships marked by time, hard work, and grace. Henry
Nouwen says, “Confrontation always includes self-confrontation” -- We need
humble leaders who have asked, and continue asking, the hard questions of
themselves about their own prejudices, privilege and power and how that impacts
the work of peace. We need future professionals
who remember the benefits of their hard relationships during a semester
studying in Uganda, and as a result, have built the tenacity to see the peace
process through, even when it’s frustrating and we don’t understand one
another. It’s why we ask students, “why
was that so frustrating that she used your comb?” Because it’s not about the comb at all…it’s
about building leaders that we are so desperate for.
|
|
UCU student Joshua, and USP student Kendra, discuss social work differences between Uganda and North America
|
 |
| Audrey with her Mukono host family |
 |
Lisa Tokpa, USP Social Work Coordinator, and Kasule Kibirige, head of the
UCU Social Work and Social Administration Department. |
 |
USP SWE students with their field supervisors
|
This semester, we have four students in USP’s Social Work Emphasis. Each of these students is interning at a local organization where they are getting hands-on experience and are being supervised by Ugandan social workers. These students also participate in a weekly seminar class that is facilitated by USP’s Social Work Coordinator, Lisa Tokpa, MSW.
