Pretest Essay

LaTricia Russell
SW 3000 Communication and Cultural Diversity
November 30, 2014

LaTricia Russell Pretest Essay

Description
I am taking Communication and Cultural Diversity as part of the required curriculum for
attaining a Bachelors of Social Work from Georgia State University. I took two pretests. One
pretest consisted of thirty-six items that measured my level of cultural competency. The other
pretest consisted of seventy-eight questions that measured my social work cultural competency
when working with culturally diverse groups and social and economic justice.

Feelings/Surprises
I felt confident I knew the definition of culturally competent prior to taking the pretests, and I
know I need more awareness of other cultures so that I will be cognizant of how to respect and
build positive interactions universally. I thought I would know more and be more familiar with
the jargon and different communities for providing culturally competent service due to my
previous jobs as an outpatient psychiatric and substance abuse case worker for ten years. I look
forward to learning more about many communities that I hope to serve in the future. I worked in
Connecticut and Tennessee as an Outpatient Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Case Manager for
a combined total of ten years. I have worked with persons with disabilities, African Americans,
European Americans, Laotians, Puerto Ricans, Muslim Americans, and a Sri Lankans but based
on the pretest there are plenty of other groups I have no or little familiarity and could use as
much information as possible to equip my toolbox to help someone in the future.

Evaluation
The scale for both pretests ranged from level one to level four. The lowest scores are on level
one. The highest scores are on level four. I scored one hundred and thirteen on the first pretest
that measured my level of cultural competency. This score placed me at a level three. I scored
two hundred and thirty-four on the second pretest that measured my social work cultural
competency with culturally diverse groups and social and economic justice. This score placed me
at a level three also.

Analysis
I scored similarly on both pretests and fall on level three on both tests. I was surprised about how
my first socialization and reinforcement by institutional and cultural systems influenced my
cultural competence. I am an ally for persons with disabilities because of my early exposure to
this diverse group. I visited Alabama annually in the summer and worked with an uncle and
other family members on the farm to harvest and I suspected that one of my uncles had mental
health issues. I did not see anyone in my community seek treatment or take medication to help
manage their illness. Many people in the African American community regarded persons with

LaTricia Russell Pretest Essay

disabilities as incapable of accomplishing goals or unable to care for themselves. My uncle
stayed with my grandmother and rarely came out of his room other than to eat or work in the
field. I could hear him frequently talk to himself or make bird calls. I was afraid of him for
many years until other family members explained he had schizophrenia and I learned more
information about the illness. I asked my grandmother and father about why he did not go to the
doctor and was advised that is not what African Americans do, only European Americans did
that. I worked as a case manager and saw how poorly persons with disabilities are treated and
are stigmatized and many are afraid to interact with them. The information also is consistent with
my desire to learn more about how to be more culturally competent.

Action Plan
In the future, I plan to be more mindful of events or opportunities to interact with more diverse
populations. I have joined the Georgia State University Social Workers Club, and I will
encourage the group to participate in activities that will expand our opportunities to interact with
various groups. I plan on reading the materials for my communication and cultural diversity
class, listen to lectures and utilize multi-media to familiarize myself with becoming culturally
competent.

Conclusion
The first steps to learning about cultural competency is to do a self-assessment to see what you
do know and determine a plan of action to get to what you need to be in order to be of greater
service to yourself and the diverse population you serve. Learning how be culturally competent
is a vital part of effectively communicating with a diverse population.