Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics

Marsiglia, F.F., & Kulis, S. (2009). Diversity, oppression, and change: Culturally grounded social work. Chicago: Lyceum Books.

http://lyceumbooks.com/DiversityOppressionChange.htm

Reviewed by Donette Shore Considine, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Aurora University

Flavio Francisco Marsiglia, Ph.D., is a professor at the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC) at Arizona State University. He has conducted research on culturally grounded interventions in connection with a variety of topics such as substance abuse prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention, and culturally specific social and health services. He has published more than fifty peer-reviewed articles and has presented at numerous national and international research conferences.

Stephen Kulis, Ph.D., is a professor of sociology and director of research at the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC) at Arizona State University. His research focuses on the role of ethnicity, acculturation, and gender identity in youth drug use; on gender and racial inequities in professional careers; and on the organizational sources of discrimination. His articles have been published in several periodicals.

In the preface, the authors state five goals of the text, which are (1) to provide a foundation for culturally grounded social work practice, (2) to explain how the intersectionality of social factors affects the client, (3) to foster an understanding of how the intersectionality of factors affects the social worker, (4) to strengthen critical thinking skills in analyzing oneself, other individuals, community, and society, and (5) to provide readers with the knowledge and skills needed to move beyond cultural awareness into social action (pp. xviii-xix).

The book is divided into four parts: an introduction to cultural diversity and social work practice, theories and perspectives on oppression, cultural identities, and the profession of social work grounded in culture. A key focus of the book is to help the reader gain an awareness of intersectionality, which they define as the “belief that humans form identities that are culturally multidimensional and beautifully complex” (p. xvi).

The authors present a model, culturally grounded social work practice, in which the key factors for practitioners are the acquisition, development, and mastery of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) related to the intersections of identity based on race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class, religion, and ability status. From this basis, social workers may practice from a culturally grounded model based on Paulo Freire’s model of social change, liberation and “learning by doing.”

The first three parts of the book provide introductory content on culture, oppression, theoretical perspectives, and cultural identities to help the reader gain knowledge of these areas for the foundation of the culturally grounded model for social work practice. Part four of the book, which has chapters on practice with different client systems, offers suggestions for attitudes and behaviors for culturally grounded social work practice.

The book is written very clearly and is quite understandable, which will appeal to students. Throughout the book, short case studies referred to as “notes from the field” are used to illustrate the content. The authors offer suggestions in the preface for using the case studies in small group exercises to discuss and reflect on the text material.

The book offers an introductory view of examining diverse groups in the context of their multiple identities within race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class, religion, and ability status. Although the authors state that their key focus is on race and ethnicity, they infuse content on the other areas of diversity listed above. However, two commonly recognized areas of diversity that are not included in the book are “age” and “socioeconomic status.” Also, the book spends little time discussing ethics related to social work and diversity.

The book accomplishes the authors’ goals (stated above from the preface) with the exception of providing readers with “skills needed to move beyond cultural awareness into social action” (p. xix). The book does, however, provide the reader with knowledge, suggestions for attitude, and behavior. It also provides the reader with an understanding of the multiple layers of diversity. This book would be appropriate for an introductory course in social work with diverse populations.