Abstract
Social workers are employed in a multitude of places and they work with racially and ethnically diverse populations. The impact of race on social work was a popular topic during the 1960s (Olsen and Olsen, 1967; Mizio, 1972, and Goodman, 1973) but little work has been done since then. This research analyses how racial issues impact the job of social workers today. Theories used to explore this question included contact theory, colorblind theory and recognition theory. Eight social workers were interviewed about how race and cultural competency play out in their practice. The analysis indicated that a minority of workers espouse colorblind ideologies that most feel comfortable working with diverse clientele, and that language is the primary barrier they face. The interviews also revealed that cultural competency trainings vary in effectivity. Social workers noted that that the trainings provided by employers were better than the trainings provided in their educational institution.
Advisor
Nurse, Anne
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Casey, Ashley N., "What’s Race Got To Do With It: The Preparation and Perceptions of Social Workers Working with Diverse Racial Populations" (2017). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 7529.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/7529
Disciplines
Social Work
Publication Date
2017
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2017 Ashley N. Casey