can cultural competence be taught? evaluating the

CAN CULTURAL COMPETENCE BE TAUGHT? EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF THE SOAP MODEL

Angie Coivin-Burque

Denise Davis-Maye

Auburn University

Auburn University

Carole B. Zugazaga Auburn University

This article discusses the Self and Other Awareness Project (SOAP) cultural competence development model and presents the results of a study that evaluated its impact on the racial attitudes of 110 imdergraduate students erirolled in an undergraduate interdisciplinary Minority Groups course at a mid-sized public university in the Southeastern United States. Findings indicate that students experienced a statistically significant change in racial attitudes (measured by the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000) from the beginning to the end of the course. Further analysis revealed that social work majors («=30) were significantly more aware of racial privilege and blatant racial issues at the end of the course than they were at the begiruiing of the course.

"TEACH AND THEY WILL LEARN," seems to be the sentiment of proponents of courses related to minority issues and cultural competence. The challenge, however, has been to create a learning environment conducive to encouraging professional and personal growth in contemporary students that would be sustained once these students entered practice. Social work educators are now teaching students who will serve the most culturally and racially diverse population in the history of this nation. Assisting students in applying the often abstract concepts of cultural and racial competence in

an academic setting that requires accountability and measurement of achievement continues to challenge social work educators. For more than 30 years, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) have issued mandates which require that pre-professional and practicing social workers be able to sensitively and competently serve culturally and racially diverse populations (CSWE, 2001; Devore & Schiesinger, 1996; Sue & Sue, 1990). Further, and more significantly, pre-professional and practicing

Joumal of Social Work Education, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Spring/Summer 2007). Copyright © 2007, Council on Social Work Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

223

224

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

social workers are expected to exhibit an awareness of their personal cultural backgrounds, issues, and biases that will enhance their ability to serve others. In 1992, CSWE issued a general curriculum policy statement that required accredited social work programs to offer significant course content regarding cultural diversity as it related to race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, ability, and sexual orientation. NASW (2001) also identified 10 standards for cultural competence. They include ethics and values, self-awareness, crosscultural knowledge and skills, service delivery, empowerment and advocacy, a diverse workforce, professional education, language diversity, and cross-cultural leadership. Although the mandates issued by CSWE and NASW are clear, little practical information exists to assist social work educators to facilitate their students' development of cultural competence. More than a decade ago D'Andrea, Daniels, and Heck (1991) warned how changing demographics in the United States would present a new dilemma for helping professionals if they were unprepared to manage interactions with consumers who might not share their ethnic, racial, or cultural backgrounds. In an attempt to heed the warnings and provide effective interventions to a diverse body of consumers, diversity- and minority-issues curricula were developed. The general goal of these foundation courses has been to facilitate students' development of self-awareness and the ability to effectively integrate one's knowledge of values, feelings, and experiences into practice responses to consumers' issues (Coumoyer, 1991). This article describes a model of cultural competence development for social work stu-

dents. The Self and Other Awareness Project (SOAP) model of instruction was developed to simultaneously promote students' acquisition of knowledge regarding specific cultural groups, while increasing their self-awareness and cultural sensitivity. This model may be used to address cultural competence issues related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, or age. Literature Review Discourse aroimd diversity issues and multicultural education often begins with a basic debate surrounding the validity of the concept of race (D'Andrea, Daniels, & Heck, 1991). Recently there has been evidence that reinforces the commonly held idea that race has no scientific fovmdation and thus is a concept that has no utility in empirical study (American Sociological Association [ASA], 2003). The ASA references a "large body" of research that documents the role of race in major social institutions, including educational, health, criminal justice systems, and job markets. According to the ASA, race is a social phenomenon that, in the United States and among other nations, continues to be used to categorize, assess, and judge people. As a consequence, social work students bring their interpretations and experiences with race to social work education and eventually practice. Ultimately, social work practitioners have the responsibility of providing effective culturally competent services to consumers belonging to all racial groups. Recent literature on infusing cultural diversity content into social work curricula has emphasized the need for active learning to increase self-awareness and the capacity for

A IVIODEL FOR CULTURAL COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT

self-examination (Armour, Bain, & Rubio, 2004). Hepworth, Rooney, and Larsen (2002) suggest that many students are simply unaware of their biases or how those biases manipulate their perceptions, attitudes, and actions in practice. They further suggest that this unawareness may be advanced by the limited interaction students may have with other cultural groups and strata. Thus, one of the most important functions of racial diversity content is the promotion of simple recognition or heightened awareness of one's own values or beliefs that may be discriminatory. Devore and Schiesinger (1996) list four primary strategies that promote the basic knowledge acquisition necessary before cultural competence is possible: (1) recognition of the influence of institutional racism in consumer problems; (2) the need to emphasize institutional change approaches; (3) the need to incorporate culturally appropriate practice strategies and interactional styles; and (4) respect for culturally based perspectives as a valid and important component of culturally competent practice. Nakabusgu and Rittner (1992) discussed the difficulty with which faculty teach diversity content without dichotomizing. Encoiiraging students to recognize their own worldviews while respecting the worldviews of others is at the very least a daunting task. Another area of debate related to diversity content in social work courses has centered on the didactic methods chosen to impart this subject matter. Some instructors choose to focus on cultural diversity and include a promotion of students' familiarity with, among other factors, the values, demographics, behaviors, and customs of specific ethnic groups. The strengths

225

of the cultural diversity model include the opportunity to not only identify unique characteristics of a particular culture, but to draw attention to universal customs, values, beliefs, and roles. Avoiding characterizations that can result in stereotyping requires a great deal of skill, preparation, and sensitivity on the part of the instructor. Other instructors of diversity content choose to concentrate on the development of cultural competence, which focuses on the students' development of methodologically and theoretically framed skills, self-awareness, and sensitivity to the dynamics of majority-minority relations (Nakabusgu & Rittner, 1992). Recognition of the role of power in minority-majority experiences is a key component in developing sensitivity and ultimately, cultural competence. Teaching models that may be used to enhance cultural competence in students appear to be limited (Armour, Bain, & Rubio, 2004). Since the 197O's Pinderhughes (1979) has asserted the value of pedagogical methods that promote experiential exercises, selfdefinition, cross-cultural empathy, and inclusion of distinct ethnic or cultural dynamics. Nakabusgu and Rittner (1992) established a useful framework for addressing culture and diversity in the context of the classroom. Further, Aponte (1995) contributed to the identification of content areas such as culture, prejudice, and discrimination that are considered vital to the development of cultural competence. The SOAP model described here draws on the theoretical frameworks and strategies delineated by Pinderhughes (1979), Nakabusgu and Rittner (1992), and Aponte (1995) to create a practical course model

226


designed to guide instructors in the development of strategies to facilitate cultural competence. The Intervention: Self and Other Awareness Project The Self and Other Awareness Project (SOAP) is a course model developed by ColvinBurque (2001) to be applied throughout an undergraduate minority-groups course. The primary goals of the course are: (1) to foster students' ability and willingness to recognize and explore cultural diversity; (2) to facilitate students' acknowledgement of their own cultural identity; (3) to increase student knowledge related to minority-group concepts, and majority-minority group dynamics; and (4) to develop skills in cross-cultural communication, in preparation for working in a diverse society. Instructional Organization The SOAP model was created as a tool to use in diversity and minority-groups courses that serve as "incubators" for cultural competence development. The SOAP model is intended to serve as both a course-content and process model for developing student cultural selfawareness and sensitivity to the experiences, strengths, and needs of others. The SOAP model provides a clear structural process for "starting where the students are." In the development and refinement of the SOAP model, Nakabusgu and Rittner's Inclusionary model (1992) served as a basic framework for addressing culture in a personal (self) and diverse (others) context. Pinderhughes' (1979) strategies were used to introduce the interrelatedness of race and power.

and Aponte's (1995) Cultural Competence Course model was used to identify specific course content areas. The theoretical content areas in the SOAP model are addressed in the following sequence: diversity and culture; power, inequality, and stratification; minority and majority groups; and prejudice and discrimination. The SOAP model is composed of a variety of individual and collective instructional strategies including: self-evaluation, large and small group activities, journals, videos, guest speakers, and Lensperson assignments. The SOAP model is unique in that the inclusion of the Lensperson assignments, which students complete as homework, are structured as integral supports for the process of cultural competence development (see Figure 1). Through the Lensperson assignments, students are guided across a graduated bridge that carefully and planfully provides opportunities for increased self-awareness and understanding related to the experience of a specific minority group. Initial Self-Evaluation The first component of the SOAP model of instruction is self-evaluation. During the 1st week of class, the instructor gives students questionnaires created by the instructor to assess student knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and experiences related to persons from different cultural groups. At the end of the semester, students review their initial responses to these questionnaires to identify any change that has occurred across the cultural competence continuum over the course of the semester.

A MODEL FOR CULTURAL COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT

Large and Smali Group Activities

227

places students in groups by random assignment. The most prominent sources of diversity in the class relate to gender and race. Men and women are fairly everily represented and as a consequence, in random group assignments most groups have sufficient representation of each gender. On the other hand, African Americans rarely comprise more than 10% of the class. In fact, there have been several semesters

During the first 2 weeks of each semester, tlie process focuses on creating a safe environment for learning and growing. As a result, the fii-st two groups are formed based on seating location, since generally students sit close to others they know and with whom there is some level of comfort. After the first 2 weeks, the instructor

FIGURE 1 . Self and Other Awareness Project: A Content and Process Model for Cultural Competence Deveiopment

Process Journals, Small and Large Groups, Videos, Guest Speakers

Content Culture Power Inequality Majority/Minority Prejudice Discrimination

Lensperson Assignment 1 Professional Literature Review Lensperson Assignment 2 Newspaper Review

i Lensperson Assignment 3 Modified Bogardus Scale

Outcomes Self Awareness Other Awareness/ Sensitivity Knowledge

Lensperson Assignment 4 Past and Present: Research and Review

Process Lensperson Assignment 5*

*Lensperson Assigriment 5 includes a review of in-class process (journals, small and large group activities, videos, and guest speakers), Lensperson assignments 1-4, and a final self-evaluation.

228


when the only African American presence in the class was the instructor. Students are assigned to work groups by the instructor to ensure that the group experience provides each student contact with less familiar fellow students. Group assignment is based on the student's birth month or color of clothing. This process is adequate to place students in groups that ensure diversity with regard to gender, race, and major area of study. Large- and small-group activities allow students the opportunity to recognize similarities and differences of thought, perception, and experience that exist in their immediate academic community. During the first few weeks of class, developing an awareness of diversity and highlighting sameness and differences within and among individuals, groups, and societies, is a basic yet significant necessity in the effort to create a safe classroom environment. This is accomplished by setting a tone for active class participation and the application of course content to real-Ufe experiences. Students are provided a questionnaire to complete that assesses their irutial awareness and assumptions about class composition with a variety of demographic factors that may influence culture such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, ability, religion, and region of residence. The instructor then explains that as a group, they will compare and contrast some of the identified factors to determine accuracy and begin to develop a broader understanding of aU factors. One component of minority group membership is that the members have a visible trait or cultural pattern that identifies and separates them from the majority. Generally, those

who are in a minority group have a heightened sense of awareness and this is often reflected in the activity. For each factor highlighted, the instructor models the cultural competence skill of requesting others to identify themselves, rather than making assumptions based on appearances. For example, the instructor wOl ask, "How many of you identify your ethnicity as Latino or Hispanic American?" Assigning race and gender distinctions are common and almost instantaneous reactions to meeting others. As a result of this exercise, students frequently recognize that they make assumptions about people often based on stereotypes and generalizations. In order to be sensitive to the reluctance of certain minority groups to be publicly identified, students are not asked to identify ability or sexual orientation. This large group exercise also illustrates that cultural competence, as well as prejudice and discrimination, is selective and variable. Small-group activities allow students the opportunity to explore diversity of perceptions and experiences in a safe, yet challenging setting. Students explore sameness and differences within the classroom, in small groups of 5-6 students. In this activity, students are directed to identify a set of differences and similarities that are present in their unique group. Small-group activities are also used to explore prejudice and discrimination. To reduce the resulting discomfort and anxiety for students when exploring prejudice and discrimination, this section begins with a unifying premise that "no one is immime from the experience of prejudice." Each student is asked to recall an experience in which some-

A IVIODEL FOR CULTURAL COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT

one pre-judged their ability, interest, intention, or history. In small groups, students share when and where the experience occurred and, if they wish, may provide more specific details. Students often discover commonalities pertaining to methods of prejudgment and responses to prejudice. Journals

Cultural self-awareness involves the ability to identify components of culture in our daily experiences. Cultural sensitivity first requires that students recognize their reactions to information that is new or incongruent with their past learning. Joumal writing is the process used to tangibly and privately capture this work. Students are directed to record their reactions to class content and process in weekly joumal entries. Students are encouraged to explore past and current personal experiences related to culture and dynamics related to cultural differences. Tatum's (1992) sources of resistance (e.g., race as a taboo topic, the myth of mediocrity, and I'm not a racist but. . .) are used to provide students with a framework for recognizing and processing the predictable discomfort, anxiety, and challenges that arise when attention is focused on comparing and contrasting different cultural identities and experiences. Students are asked in their joumal entry to identify with which source they are most aligned. Students must write at least one entry per week and submit journals for review and comments twice during the semester Videos Videos allow students to explore new information regarding minority and majority rela-

229

tions and to challenge their accumulated information in a relatively safe and comfortable setting. Students often have a limited view of inequality that is fragmented and isolated to a very minimal understanding of one or two events from American history. Using historical and current references presented in video format, this course seeks to expand student awareness and understanding of inequality and stratification embedded in society. Approximately one quarter of the course content is focused on race. Videos used in the course that address race include: Shadow of Hate: A History of Intolerance in America (Guggenheim, 1995), Race: The Power of an Illusion (Adeiman, 2003), and A Time for Justice: America's Civil Rights Movement (Gug-

genheim, 1992). Students are required to complete a concept application worksheet following each video to facilitate the integration of minority group issues and experiences identified in each video. Guest Speakers Guest speakers are invited to class at midsemester and beyond after the development of a safe classroom environment wherein genuine reflection as well as respect for diverse ideas, values, and experiences has been modeled and practiced. Invited speakers typically reflect the minority groups represented in the Lensperson assignments. Guest speakers are invited who can promote greater understanding of specific groups as well as consequences of minority group status. The process of using guest speakers for optimal benefit of the SOAP model involves engaging students in self-reflection before the

230


scheduled presentation. Prior to each guest's visit, students are required to submit at least one question for the guest and an initial thought or reaction related to the identified minority group. The submitted questions and comments are compiled and the list provided to the guest speaker in advance. Students benefit not only from the speaker's general knowledge and experiences, but the student's unique questions are addressed as well. Lensperson Assignments Lensperson assignments are designed to encourage students to increase knowledge, awareness, and sensitivity by approaching everyday activities (such as reading a newspaper) through the perspective of an individual belonging to a specific minority group. Students randomly select a Lensperson from the following minority groups: a person who is African American, a person who is Hispanic American, a person who is gay or lesbian, a person who is Muslim, or a person with a disability. Prior to class, the instructor prepares slips of paper that list one of the five Lensperson groups. Next, each student randomly draws one of these slips of paper. The Lensperson named on this piece of paper will determine their Lensperson group for the semester. If a student selects a Lensperson group to which they belong, they must select again. The five Lensperson assignments move progressively from indirect to direct (macro to micro) activities, while employing the selected minority group as a reference. The assignments are spaced 2-3 weeks apart with conceptual themes for the assignments running parallel with class lecture, discussion, and in-

class activities. Each assignment is graded and returned to the student to be placed in their Lensperson folder. Lensperson assignment #1: professional liter-

ature review. This assignment seeks to increase the student's awareness regarding their Lensperson and to answer the question, "What's in it for me?" Students are directed to locate a scholarly article that highlights the intersection of their Lensperson's group and the student's professional aspirations. For example, a social work student whose Lensperson group focuses on persons who are Hispanic, may find an article addressing case management with persons who are HIV positive and Hispanic. The student would then write a brief paper discussing both the article itself as well as the social work profession's response to the needs of this minority group. Lensperson assignment #2: newspaper

review. The second assignment involves a local newspaper search to identify five articles or advertisements, or both, reflecting characteristics of their Lensperson group. This assignment is focused on fostering awareness as students view news articles from a new "lens." Students complete a worksheet prepared by the instructor by answering specific questions about the characteristics of their Lensperson group. To develop greater awareness of the interconnectedness between majority and minority groups, students must also identify other cultural groups who might also be affected by the content of each article. Lensperson assignment #3: modified Bogardus social distance scale interviews. The third assign-

ment is designed to provide another opportunity to develop student self-awareness and sensitivity to others (other awareness). This


assignment continues the student's progressive movement to a closer proximity of their Lensperson group, by interviewing the student's friends and family. Students use a modified Bogardus Social Distance Scale (Bogardus, 1933) to interview 10 family members and friends and assess their level of acceptance toward the Lensperson. Family members and friends are interviewed about their tolerance levels for the student's Lensperson group in their community, workplace, neighborhood, and family. Students are then directed to imagine a community of these 10 interviewees and speculate how their Lensperson might be affected by moving into a community of 10 such individuals. Results of the surveys are submitted on a worksheet provided by the instructor.

231

would then be directed to work with fellow classmates and the instructor to identify potential African American individuals to interview. Finally, the student would subrrut a brief summary of the past event, the present interview, and apply key class concepts (e.g., culture, power, inequality, prejudice, discrimination) to each. Lensperson assignment

#5: final self-

evaluation. The final assignment involves students completing a self-analysis paper that compares and contrasts their cross-cultural knowledge, attitudes, and experiences from the beginning to the end of class. Students review the self-evaluation questionnaires completed during the first week of class, journal entries, and Lensperson assignments 1—4. As students review these assignments and Lensperson assignment #4: past and present: activities they are directed to identify and disresearch and interview. The fourth assigrmient cuss any areas of change or personal growth. requires students to research a past experience This final Lensperson assignment provides of prejudice or discrimination for their Lensstudents a structured method for self-evalperson's group. Next, students are assisted in uation and expansion of their cultural selfidentifying a person belonging to their Lensawareness. person group willing to participate in a brief, At the end of the semester, students are private interview regarding personal experireminded that cultural competence is a selfences of prejudice and discrimination. For driven, life-long journey. The SOAP model some students, this may be their first direct affords students several opportunities to interaction with a person belonging to their review their development over the semester. Lensperson's group. For most students, this is This model also provides students with stratea unique opportunity to listen to a person's gies and directions towards next steps for present day experience of prejudice and dis- growth. crimination. Method For example, a student whose Lensperson Participants group is persons who are African American might use the Tuskegee Syphilis Study as an A total of 110 undergraduate students at a event from the past to apply class concepts mid-size. Southern, land grant university took related to prejudice and discrimination, as part in the exploratory study during 3 semeswell as power and inequality. The student ters: fall 2003 (n=29), summer 2004 (M=26), and

232


fall 2004 {n=55). There were 127 students enrolled in the class during the 3 semesters. Participants unavailable when the pre- or posttest was given were excluded from the analysis. This reduced the number of participants to 110. All of the participants were university students enrolled in a sociology course titled Minority Groups. This was an interdisciplinary course that included students with a variety of majors such as social work, sociology, criminology, and human development and family studies. Instrument The effectiveness of the SOAP model of instruction to facilitate the development of cultural competence (in particular racial attitudes) was measured with the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS) (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000). Although course content included material that addressed competencies related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, abiUty, or age, the authors chose to focus the initial evaluation of the SOAP model on race, given the incidents of racial intolerance that had occurred in the recent past on the university's campus. The CoBRAS is a self-administered written questionnaire that consists of 20 items that are divided into three subscales. There are 20 Likert-type items on the survey rated on a 5point scale that ranges from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The CoBRAS consists of three subscales: (a) Unawareness of Racial Privilege (seven items; e.g., "Everyone who works hard, no matter what race they are, has an equal chance to become rich"); (b) Unawareness of Institutional Discrimination (seven items; e.g., "Immigrants should try to

fit into the culture and adopt the values of the U.S."); and (c) Unawareness to Blatant Racial Issues (six items; e.g., "Racism may have been a problem in the past, but it is not an important problem today"). Total scores are summed and range from 20 to 120 for the total measure, with higher scores indicating greater levels of "blindness," denial, or unawareness. Unawareness of Racial Privilege and Unawareness of Institutional Discrimination subscale scores range from 7 to 42. Unawareness to Blatant Racial Issues subscale scores range from 6 to 36. The CoBRAS was designed to assess cognitive aspects of color-blind racial attitudes. Color-blind racial attitudes "[Refer] to the denial of racial dynamics (i.e., the belief that ideological and structural racism [do] not exist); thus, color-blind racial attitudes [do] not necessarily reflect a belief in racial superiority, just an unawareness of the existence of racism," (Neville et al., 2000, p. 61). In addition to the items on the CoBRAS, six demographic items were added to the survey. The CoBRAS has been found to have acceptable reliability with Cronbach's alpha for each of the factors and the total score ranging from .70 (Blatant Racial Issues) to .86 (CoBRAS total) (Neville et al., 2000). The CoBRAS has been shown to significantly correlate with the Quick Discrimination Index (Ponterrotto et al., 1995) and the Modem Racism Scale (McConahay, 1986). The instrument evidenced acceptable internal consistency across several studies and yielded an acceptable split-half reliability estimate (.72) (Neville et al., 2000). The 2-week test-retest reliability estimate for the Racial Privilege and Institutional Discrimination subscales was .80 for both. The reliability estimate for the


Blatant Racial Issues subscale was .34, and the

233

nology (38%), human development and family services (7%), and other (10%).

CoBRAS total was .68 (Neville et al., 2000).

Analysis of the results of the CoBRAS revealed that there were significant differences between the pre- and posttest for two of the three subscales and for the overall score as well (see Table 1). There were significant differences in pre- and posttest scores for the subscale Unawareness of Racial Privilege (t(80)=4.98, p