Why Understanding Culture Is Important
By Janlee Wong, MSW
For social workers, understanding culture is one of the highest goals in becoming a competent practitioner. It’s too bad the mainstream social work literature has coined the term “culturally competent” because connecting the two in a single term is misleading and is often read narrowly as the practitioner must become competent in the culture of the client. Often this results in the profiling and stereotyping of clients with sweeping generalizations.
Cultural humility is a superior term placing the responsibility on social workers to learn the culture of the client from the client as well as the systems surrounding the client. It is equally as important to understand the macro socio-economic cultural picture of our entire society and how the client fits in from his or her viewpoint.
Recent articles have depicted Asian Americans as the model minority (a concept developed in the 1970s) and posited that they are somehow in conflict with other peoples of color when it comes to hot button issues such as affirmative action in higher education. The article referenced below paints Asians as anti-affirmative action when it comes to college (Ivy League) admissions.
Rather seeing this as a “race vs. race” issue, it’s helpful to understand the attributes of mainstream Asian cultures and how our clients use them. This is not to stereotype or profile however because we also need to understand how our clients fit or do not fit in the mix of cultures in our society.
There are historical cultural factors at play here beyond the usual “tiger mom” (Asian parents who relentless drive their children to excel academically) caricature or “Asians are good students, Asians are smarter” stereotype.
Asians come from a long history where their value systems continue to this day. This includes values that do well in school including filial piety (including an almost submissive respect for the teacher), merit, connecting wealth and education, and continuous civilization since the time when the Chinese writing of pictographs developed from cracks in bones thrown in the fire pits (predates brush and ink) over thousands of years ago.
Contrast that with the horror, genocide and civilization wipeout associated with slavery and the colonization/extermination of peoples which continues to this day through racism, violence and oppression.
Ancient writing systems consisting of pictographs that transcend pronunciation can be seen as eternal. For example, the meaning of words in Chinese writing systems have changed little for thousands of years but the pronunciation of those words have. To learn those systems, you had to memorize and by memorizing you’re giving your brain a thorough workout. The memorization brain does well with STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math).
Rote memorization, while not the best for American culture in terms of innovation and critical thinking, is a great skill to have in an education system. Witness the constant struggle between whole word and phonics, new and old math, etc., as attempts to learn without rote memorization.
The other cultural aspect that while not a strength in the innovation/creativity culture of America (or the West), but ideal for the learning systems of Asia, is cultural conservatism. The Confucian values of order and structure (as in family, education and government) lend themselves well to self-discipline and focus on goals within an ordered social construct rather than the existential live-for-today West.
Of course, there are drawbacks. Asians won’t break through glass ceilings using traditional Asian values (which respect one’s superiors), nor will they necessarily be the innovators or creators that drive American culture which is constantly seeking the new. However, the technology that innovation and creativity needs is often best supported by the masters of STEM of which there are a large number of Asians.
Today’s universities are focused on STEM and favor students who excel in STEM. Many non-STEM majors are losing resources as universities hope to generate more revenue by providing the workforce for the information technology world. Students in STEM are diverse but not as diverse as students who are non-STEM.
For social workers, understanding how deep cultural roots help or do not help (clients who are having trouble reconciling historical cultural values with current modern day culture) is essential in effective social work practice. It can also help dismiss ugly racist stereotypes whether they be Asian or otherwise. And if we understand how economic and education systems favor certain transgenerational cultural traits, perhaps we can redesign those systems to better meet the needs of all people and cultures.
