Benefits of Cultural Diversity - Essay Example

Psychology Social work is one of the most sensitive community services in the world. Since I was a child, I have always wanted to become a social worker. My father who was a social worker always encouraged me to also become a social worker. As I grew up, I got opportunities to work in various social work activities and I have since developed a deep interest in social work. Having an opportunity to join University of England School of Social Work will provide me with an opportunity to become a skilful and more helpful and competent social worker. As a social worker I am faced with various challenges on topics such as social justice, cultural diversity and human dignity. Social justice refers to the equality in the distribution of wealth and opportunities in the society. This exits when all individuals in the society share a common humanity and are treated right and equally. To enable this, there is usually a fair and equitable allocation of resources in the community. Where there is social justice people are not discriminated based on religion, gender, political affiliation, belief, disability, age, social economic status, race , class, caste or group membership (Toowoomba Catholic Education, 2006). I am a firm believer that social justice should be promoted at all levels of the society. There should be equitable distribution to resources and opportunities within a given community. People should also have equal access to resources that are of help to them. Equitable distribution and access to resources and opportunities such as education, healthcare, employment and housing is a proper mechanism through which the marginalized groups in the society such as the poor and the handicapped can be empowered to become productive, wealthy and a healthy population. Cultural diversity refers to the various and different cultures that exist in the world in societies and institutions. These differences may be seen in the varying peoples’ language the way they dress and traditions. There is varying support and opposition for cultural diversity. Some people are of the opinion that cultural diversity is essential and should not be altered at all (UNESCO, 2002). On the other hand some people are of the opinion that cultures that undermine human dignity should be abandoned. These include Female Genital Mutilation, Sati (burning the widow on the husband’s burial), child brides and human sacrifice (Starr, Amory, Jason Adams (2003). I have always been a firm believer in the importance of a society’s culture and practices. Cultural diversity fosters development because it encourages integration of new ideas into systems. Appreciating diversity promotes collective transformation at individual level, organizational level and national level. This immense value enables people from different cultural backgrounds to feel appreciated and eventually prosper in competitive environments (Kapoor, 2011). Cultures such as community sporting, dance and storytelling are important in shaping a communities behaviour and bringing unity to the community. However, cultural practices that do not respect human dignity and are retrogressive to a community development should not be practiced and should be fought against. These include cultures such as Female Genital Mutilation, Sati, child brides and human sacrifice. Human dignity refers to the treatment of people with respect and honour. Human dignity can be violated in many ways such as, humiliation, instrumentalisation or objectification, degradation and dehumanization. Practices such as torture, rape, social exclusion, labor exploitation, slavery, poverty and lack of proper sanitation are some of the ways that violate human dignity. Recognition of human rights is an effective way to respecting human dignity and should be encouraged through empowering people. The school of social works aims at training and empowering students and the community on ways that will promote social justice and human dignity. The school teaches on various ways through which the society can interact harmoniously and use their cultural diversity to promote the communities well been. The school of social works is committed to ensuring that there is professional and practical ways to fight and dismantle barriers to human dignity and ensure equitable distribution of resources and human justice in the community. In my opinion, individuals who have undergone post graduate training at the University of England. School of Social Sciences is usually competent to handle all social work activities. Currently, I work as a social worker at the Seven Hill Behavioural Health organization. I have also been going through training at CADAC (Certified Alcohol Drug Addiction Counselor). I work directly with the mental health population, where I attend to ten patients. This population is a critical aspect of social work in the contemporary society. Health is a state of complete physical, emotional, mental and social being. Working with this the mentally challenged population in the society has given me the opportunity to better understand the difficulties faced by the mentally challenged in the society. One of the most difficult challenges faced by the mentally handicapped is unemployment. Most employers terminate their employee’s contracts as soon as they discover they are mentally handicapped. These individuals also have a challenge of getting a sustainable employment. They then find themselves in a situation where they have to pay high medical bills on the other hand; they are also unemployed and poor. These situations are common to many socially disadvantaged communities. Children from poor communities do not get an opportunity to go to good high schools. This limits their opportunities to go to University and most of them end up been employed as semi-skilled labor where they are lowly paid. Social workers along other stakeholders in the community are faced with this problem of empowering the socially disadvantaged and ensuring there is equal access to resources to all members of the society. I continuously make improvements in my skills in social work through training. I am team player and I love to handle my work professionally with respect to people from all area, culture, gender, race or caste. My ability to work with all people is one of my greatest strengths. I also have weaknesses, which I strive to perfect. I want to join master’s studies as this would enable me to get skills that would enable me handle any educational related weakness. I also want to learn on how be more cognitive than emotional when making decisions. This is an important skill for social workers when making professional decisions. I have developed an element of care which is important for every social worker. I started social work at a young age of 13 and continued exposure to social work has continuously polished my skills. I have nurtured my caring responsibility which gives me passion of working with the socially disadvantaged. Working at Seven Hill Behavioral Health Facility has exposed me to social workers who have different cultures from mine. This has given an opportunity to understand, embrace and appreciate our cultural diversity. I have also been exposed to challenges faced by various patients that I find to be of urgent response. Most patients have unjustified treatment from privileged groups such as illegal and unfair termination due to their mental incapacity. These social injustices are inhuman and should be dealt with professionally. By me joining School of Social Work, I would get the necessary skills needed when dealing with these issues. Distance learning is an important milestone in enabling access to education to people who are distant from the main campus. Proliferation of technology through the use of the internet and high speed internet has been a key driver in facilitating this kind of learning. Students can log in into their classes through the school website and get the lecturers notes assignments and lessons. Students are also able to submit their assignments online. This kind of learning system is important because it creates independence and responsibility for the student. I have an in-depth knowledge on how to use various computer programs and applications that would be necessary for my classes. I am knowledgeable in the use of all the Microsoft programs such as Word, Excel, Access, Power point, Publisher and Note. I am also familiar to the internet and I have an active email address. I am determined to excel in my education and career; I will familiarize myself to any other relevant computer program that might be relevant to my studies and profession as a social worker. Having accessed my current skills and knowledge, I am convinced that the most effective way of improving my skills and knowledge is though undertaking further education. I am prepared to pay the cost of having to see my family less often as I will be engaged in education; however, I believe this is a worthy investment. I am convinced that the University of England School of social Work will provide the ideal place for learning, The skills I will learn will enable me to serve the community better and improve the community. The institution provides the learners with the opportunity to become professional social workers, who can give dignity to humanity and work towards the development of a healthy community. My goal will be to acquire the most crucial learning that will not only empower my career advancement but also promote my expertise in social work. I look forward to having an opportunity to learn at the University of England School of Social Work and henceforth serving my community better. Reference Kapoor, C. (2011). Benefits of Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-cultural-diversity/. ILO (2009), The Cost of Coercion Read More