The training of social caseworkers for a multi-cultural society

This paper examines problems which arise between immigrants and social workers: conflicts and misunderstandings related to lack of awareness of each other's cultural patterns; racial prejudice, particularly expressed towards 'coloured' clients by white social workers. It is suggested that these problems reflect a more fundamental problem in social work: the gulf in communication and understanding between middle class social workers and working class clients. The currently held argument is examined that it is best to use 'immigrant' soical workers to look after immigrant clients, and the more radical position that casework with immigrants does more harm than good. The paper then describes a practical innovation in social work education for training social workers to function more effectively within a multi-cultural society. A review of relevant studies and discussions is also presented.