Cross-Cultural Social Work: A Critical Approach to Teaching and Learning to Work Effectively across Intersectional Identities

Abstract

All relationships in social work education and practice constitute sites of cross-cultural exchanges. In keeping with the profession's social justice mandate and anti-oppressive principles, it is fundamental for emerging social workers to begin the life-long learning process of developing a congruent composite of awareness, values, knowledge and skills essential for working effectively across diverse social locations and intersectional identities. Grounded in a social justice framework, this article engages critically with the concept of cultural competence in social work pedagogy, explores the significance of diversity and intersectionality in social work education and proposes a multidimensional model for teaching, learning and evaluating cross-cultural sensitivity and responsivity in the social work class-room.