Fall 2026 SOWK 587 Week 07 - Culturally Responsive Practices in Schools

Fall 2026 SOWK 587 Week 07 - Culturally Responsive Practices in Schools

Tailoring our practices to our clients’ cultural needs helps us build strong relationships, improve engagement and outcomes, and address barriers and biases in our practice. Week seven of SOWK 587 focuses on culturally responsive practices in schools and takes place synchronously on Saturday (10/10/26). The reading by Jarolmen and Bautista-Thomas (2023) focuses on developing self-awareness in cultural competence, culturally responsive practice, and cultural humility within anti-oppressive frameworks. It also provides some tools and ideas for working with different populations. I also ask you to read Davidson Cowling (2018), which explores culturally responsive practices with indigenous populations. In this class, we will explore cultural responsiveness by examining biases, systemic inequities, and strategies for tailoring interventions to diverse populations. Through discussions, interactive activities, and case studies, we will develop practical skills for culturally competent social work practice. Students will review ethical decision-making videos from their peers.

The agenda is as follows:

• Reflective practice on your knowledge of cultural competence and your own biases
• Examples and best practices of addressing racism in schools
• Strategies for becoming antiracist
• Cross-cultural knowledge and cultural competence
• Midterm feedback

The learning objectives are:

• Reflect on personal biases and their impact on client interactions.
• Understand and apply culturally responsive practices in social work settings.
• Increase cross-cultural knowledge.
• Provide meaningful feedback to guide this course.

Week Seven Agenda and Learning Objectives

The agenda is as follows:

• Reflective practice on your knowledge of cultural competence and your own biases
• Examples and best practices of addressing racism in schools
• Strategies for becoming antiracist
• Cross-cultural knowledge and cultural competence
• Midterm feedback

The learning objectives are:

• Reflect on personal biases and their impact on client interactions.
• Understand and apply culturally responsive practices in social work settings.
• Increase cross-cultural knowledge.
• Provide meaningful feedback to guide this course.

What Are You Going to Tailor? Padlet Activity

I want to get us started this afternoon with some of your thoughts on what it means and some of the benefits and challenges of offering culturally responsive interventions.

[Whole Group Activity] 🧵 What Are You Going to Tailor? Padlet Activity.

I have the following prompts on a Padlet. Go through and make a couple of responses to the prompts

• What does it mean to be culturally responsive?
• How do we tailor or adapt our work with clients?
• What does cultural humility mean?
• What are common examples of biases a social worker might have?
• What are barriers or challenges to being culturally responsive?

[Content Note] ✅ Competency G

Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey (MAKSS)

The textbook provided some of the questions used in the MAKSS. We should take a little bit of time to take the questionnaire and consider the responses.

[Whole Group Activity] Complete the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey (MAKSS)

• Print 16 Copies of the MAKSS for SOWK 587 Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey (MAKSS)

[Small Group Activity] Debrief with people around you

• Was there anything you learned about yourself doing this?
• How satisfied were you with your results?
• Was it a surprise, or did you expect your results?

[Content Note] ✅ Competency G

Racism in a School Examples

I wanted to come and share a couple of stories

Systematic Problems Related to Racism

• Student comments to staff with lack of response
• Students using the “N” word all over campus
• Teacher leaving district
• Committee started to try to address and plan

The general intention is to share the lack of progress and the challenges of trying to make changes.

A Student Case Study MR-46296 case

• Story of confederate flag
• Comments, writing on desk and objects, behaviors
• Threat assessments, planning meetings, collaborating with WISe, family, external resources etc.
• Considerations of special education services

General intention to share some of what you might do for an individual

How to Change Racist Behavior in Schools

• Set clear anti-racism expectations: Articulate a clear statement of expectations regarding racism.
• Enforce fair consequences for violations: Establish and enforce a series of consequences for violations of those expectations.
• Address racial incidents swiftly and remedially: Respond to racial incidents quickly and fairly by gathering adequate evidence. Corrections should be remedial.
• Encourage diverse social interactions: Discourage students from congregating on the school grounds according to race.
• Prioritize integration in seating arrangements: Design seating assignments with a priority on integration.
• Use peer counseling when possible: Rely on peer counseling whenever possible.
• Consult parent and student advisory boards: Seek advice and support from parent and student advisory boards.
• Engage minority leaders in training and conflict resolution: Enlist the help and advice of key minority leaders in the community for teacher workshops, assemblies, and arbitration of racial incidents when appropriate.
• Recognize efforts to reduce racism: Reward those who strive to reduce racism in their schools and classrooms.
• Ensure diverse faculty representation: Hire and assign an appropriate balance of minority faculty and staff to act as role models and provide an adequate base of authority for policies and discipline.

(Dupper, 2003, as cited in Jarolmen & Bautista-Thomas, 2023)

How Can We Wear the Antiracist Nametag?

Kendi’s book is great if you haven’t read it.

Kendi describes these titles as non-permanent, and they can be placed (like a peelable name tag) and changed based on what we are doing or not doing.

[Small Group Activity] Working in groups of 3 or 4, discuss how to be antiracist

In what ways can you put on the label of antiracist?

See it In Either of my Offices

This idea did really change the way I think. I made a poster and printed it and put it in both of my offices.

Cross-Cultural Knowledge

In thinking about cultural competence, the NASW has a great do document outlining standards and indicators of practice for this. I want to spend time talking about one.

Standard 3: Social workers shall possess and continue to develop specialized knowledge and understanding that is inclusive of, but not limited to, the history, traditions, values, family systems, and artistic expressions such as race and ethnicity; immigration and refugee status; tribal groups; religion and spirituality; sexual orientation; gender identity or expression; social class; and mental or physical abilities of various cultural groups.

1. Expand their cultural knowledge, expertise, and humility by studying
   • the help-seeking behaviors and pathways of diverse client groups
   • the historical context of marginalized communities
   • the role of language and communication styles of various cultural groups
   • the impact of social policies on marginalized groups served
   • the resources such as organizations, people, informal helping networks, and research that can be mobilized on behalf of various cultural groups

[Small Group Activity] Discuss how implementing this in their practicums and what it might look like.

The rest of the indicators are as follows –>

1. Possess specific knowledge about traditional and nontraditional providers and client groups that they serve, including
   • understanding historical experiences, immigration, resettlement patterns, individual and group oppression, adjustment styles, socioeconomic backgrounds, and life processes
   • learning styles, cognitive skills, worldviews, and specific cultural concerns and practices
   • definitions of and beliefs about service- related concepts such as the causation of wellness and illness, physical and psychological disorders, normality and abnormality, family roles and responsibilities, child rearing practices, birth, marriage, death and dying, and so forth
   • beliefs and practices related to how care and services should be delivered, including diverse approaches to service delivery and alternative healing options
   • factors associated with acculturation and assimilation
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the power relationships in the community and in institutions, and how these affect marginalized groups
3. Possess specific knowledge about U.S., global, social, cultural, and political systems–how they operate and how they serve or fail to serve client groups; include knowledge about institutional, class, cultural, and linguistic barriers to service
4. Identify the limitations and strengths of contemporary theories and practice models and those that have applicability and relevance to their specific client population
5. Recognize the heterogeneity within cultural groups and similarity across cultural groups
6. Describe how people within different groups manifest privilege
7. Describe the effects that dominant and nondominant status has on interpersonal relations and group dynamics in the workplace
8. Distinguish between intentional and unintentional assertion of privilege related to race, class, and other cultural factors
9. Recognize the intersection of “isms” (for example, racism with classism) and their institutionalization
10. Acknowledge the ways in which their membership in various social groups influences their worldview and contributes to their own patterns of privileged behavior or internalized oppression
11. Understand the interactions of cultural systems of the social worker, client, the service setting, and the community
12. Demonstrate cultural humility and empathy toward clients from different cultural groups.

[Content Note] ✅ Competency G

Sharing Cross-Cultural Knowledge for Communities of Color

We are going to share knowledge for a community of color:

[Small Group Activity] Develop a poster for what a social worker needs to know about this population. Divide students into 6 groups and have them each develop a post. One resource is communities of color.

The NASW and their Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice is a great resource. Along with Mental Health America’s resources on communities of color it can be used in developing the poster activity we will be doing in class. The Library has provided some online guides on populations and social work practice. You can find Latinx Social Work and Native Americans & Social Work Tabs, which have a lot of content that you can explore.

They have the following;

• Communities Of African Descent
• Communities Of Arab Descent
• Communities Of Asian And Pacific Islander Descent
• Communities Of Indigenous American Descent
• Communities Of Latine / Hispanic Descent
• Communities Of Multiracial Descent

[Whole Group Activity] Have the group share with their peers.

[Content Note] ✅ Competency G

Complete Your Midterm Feedback

[Whole Group Activity] Give students time to complete their survey; once completed, they can go.

SOWK 587 Survey