Differences and Anti-Oppressive Pratice

Please do not go under or over the noted page limit. The title page and reference page do not count toward the page limit. An abstract is not required.

This paper is a field-based reflective analysis. Your discussion must be grounded in your current field placement experiences. General or hypothetical examples are not acceptable. You can use multiple cases when providing examples.

Paper Requirements

1. Reflection on Personal and Professional Growth

Reflect on your personal and professional growth in working with diverse populations within your field placement. Consider:

• The importance of cultural awareness in working with clients
• Recognizing and addressing past prejudices and implicit biases
• Appreciation of diversity
• Cultural sensitivity in practice situations
• Awareness of power, privilege, and positionality

Your reflection must clearly connect to your specific practice setting and client population and include at least one brief case example from your field placement (maintaining confidentiality) to illustrate your growth in practice.

2. Discussion of Diversity in Practice

Address relevant areas of diversity present in your field placement and client population, such as:

Age, class, color, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

Do not simply define these categories. Instead:

• Explain how at least one identified area of diversity shows up in your field setting.
• Include a brief case example from your field placement (maintaining confidentiality) that illustrates how this area of diversity influenced assessment, engagement, intervention, or outcomes.
• Analyze how systems of power, privilege, or oppression may have shaped the clients experience.

Be specific. Show how diversity impacted real practice decisions.

3. Field-Based Examples of Cultural Humility (Required)

Provide two clear and detailed examples from your field placement where you demonstrated cultural humility.

For each example:

• Briefly describe the client situation (maintain confidentiality).
• Identify the bias, assumption, value, power dynamic, or area of privilege you had to reflect on (select at least two overall).
• Explain how you engaged in critical reflection, self-awareness, and/or self-regulation.
• Describe how you handled the situation.
• Identify at least two specific social work skills you used to engage the client(s) (e.g., reflective listening, validation, reframing, strengths-based questioning, boundary setting, advocacy, etc.).
• Explain how your response aligned with anti-oppressive practice.

The case example used in Section 2 may overlap with one of these examples if clearly developed.

4. Scholarly Integration

Include at least two scholarly sources published within the last 10 years. Sources must be peer-reviewed journal articles.

You may use the NASW Code of Ethics as one source.

Your sources should support your discussion of:

• Cultural humility
• Anti-oppressive practice
• Critical reflection
• Bias, power, and privilege
• Professional growth in social work practice

Formatting Requirements

• APA 7th edition
• APA headings required
• 12-point font
• 1.5 spacing
• Title page and reference page required
• No abstract