Examining Cross-Cultural Child Welfare Practice Through Simulation-Based Education

AbstractSimulation-based learning is an emerging pedagogical approach in social work education that is expanding to specialized areas of practice. This research examines the intersection of cross-cultural practice and child maltreatment investigations. Thirty-one (N  = 31) BSW and MSW social work students participated in a three-hour voluntary child welfare simulation workshop and engaged with one of three child welfare scenarios: (1) an immigrant Chinese family, (2) an Indigenous family, and (3) a White youth. Drawing upon the concept of cultural agility, a theoretically-informed mixed methods approach was used to analyze the data. Fisher’s exact test and independent samples T-tests were used to examine participants social work education and experience, perceived competencies, acknowledgment of the simulated client’s culture, and evaluation of th e simulation experience. Qualitative analysis examined participants’ critical reflection of their cross-cultural exchange with the simulated clients regarding allegations of child maltreatment. Statistical differences were noted among participants who engaged with each of the three child welfare s cenarios. All participants expressed positive learning benefits through simulation, however, statistical differences were found between participants who acknowledged the client’s ethno-cultural identity versus those who did not with respect to their overall learning benefits, meta-competencies, an d procedural competencies. Par...
Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research