Social workers must be culturally competent, and their research approaches should reflect their competencies(Appleby et al., 2011). This paper will first analyze and describe traditional research and what it comprises culturally relevant, its key differences, and three pieces of research addressing Native Americans. The paper will also present the cultural relationship relevant to promoting social justice for Native Americans and ways to engage in collaborative practice.
Description of Traditional Research
Researchers need to utilize an organized process that requires a scientific stand method in which they would identify the problem, hypothesize the questions, do research, and create predictions to help answer the formulated hypothesis—being keen on observations affects the outcomes at the end of the research. In traditional research approaches, action research looks at generalizing the outcomes about specific variables that focus on providing a solution to the problem (Henderson et al.,2016). Dealing with the cultural relevance of research methods against the patterns of native Americans is personified symbolic views, which includes historical implication, communication, standards, and guidelines. It is also necessary to identify cross-cultural barriers that affect cultural awareness.
Description of Culturally Relevant Research
In research, cultural relevance is scholars’ ability to specify the enhanced values of research in different cultural practices and beliefs. In this case, the Native American art, literature and music, and the public mixture are essential in identifying the emerging research, conducting the research, and identifying the relevance of the research conclusion. Cultural relevance also plays a vital role in learning designs and the application of developments that include recruitment tactics, research theories, data collection, findings, analyses of the outcomes, and interpretation and conclusion (McIlduff et al., 2020). In addition, to protect culturally relevant research, it is crucial to consider ethnic equivalence, as it can be connected to societal, semantic, and ethnic requirements.
Research on Native Americans
The first research study is“Community-Engaged and Culturally Relevant Research to Develop Behavioral Health Interventions with American Indians and Alaska Natives” by McKinley et al. (2020). This article evaluates the experiences of Alaska Natives and Indian Americans regarding physical, behavioral, and health issues, and it has limited the evidence-based programs available for specific groups. The study focused on the training progression instead of the mediation process in dealing with family-based illicit drug misuse. It utilized a mixed methods design involving 436 participants from southeast tribes. The study provided culturally sensitive information on community-based interventions.
The second research study, “Returning Fire to the Land: Celebrating Traditional Knowledge and Fire” by Lake et al. (2017), illustrates the knowledge of fire as a sign of value to nature and its resources by indigenous individuals. It also illustrates the theoretical framework associated with such fires, which includes the surrounding ecosystem, ecology, conservation concepts, and wildlife management. The article provides a good overview of appropriating nature hence protecting it. The third article is Substance Use Research with Indigenous Communities: Exploring and Extending Foundational Principles of Community Psychology” by Wendt et al. (2019). The articles discuss the implication of exploration and civic mindset of substance on Native Americans. The article also illustrated how it is vital to be apprehensive concerning the preservation of inhibition, condition-centered mental health challenges, and societal perception about substance use. The article provides a culturally sensitive perspective on the Native American mindset of cultures on substance use and its effects.
Differences between Traditional and Culturally Relevant Research
Cultural relevant research focuses on single learning, whereas traditional research uses a margin that generalizes several cultures in a single topic or subject. Traditional research focuses on the product; that is, it focuses on the group that has been studied with nature and the surrounding environment instead of learning from an institution as it is in culturally relevant research. However, the culturally relevant research focuses on outdoor experiences that enable the learner to gain knowledge on specific community components.
Relationship of Culturally Relevant Research to Social Justice Promotion
Culturally relevant research plays a significant role in promoting social justice. As a social worker, it is essential to understand that as an agent of change, it is necessary to focus on social justice and the provision of valuable services to individuals from different cultures, particularly the marginalized. The focused group responds to the client’s needs and develops a conducive environment that helps them receive their needs, precisely healthcare needs. In addition, culturally relevant research helps contribute to the exploration of the social worker in social justice promotion, such as implementing appropriate policies.
How to Engage in Collaborative Practice to Advocate for Appropriate Services
Social workers will engage in collaborative practices to advocate for community-relevant services by learning to adopt different cultural practices. They should also adopt evidence-based practices to help reduce the cultural gap in professional practice. Collaborative practice can be achieved by identifying community members based on their cultures and background and valuing community experiences as it builds trust and good rapport (Appleby et al., 2011). Engaging the community members in every changing aspect will also help advocate appropriate services. Finally, recognizing societal and federal policies and guidelines is essential in engaging collaborative practice.
In conclusion, social workers must be culturally competent, and their research approaches should reflect their competencies. In traditional research approaches, action research looks at generalizing the outcomes in relation to specific variables that focus on providing a solution to the problem. Cultural relevance also plays a vital role in learning designs and application developments, including recruitment tactics, research theories, data collections, findings, outcomes analyses, and interpretation and conclusion. As a social worker, it is crucial to understand that as an agent of change, it is necessary to focus on social justice and the provision of valuable services to individuals from different cultures, particularly the marginalized.
References
Appleby, G. A., Colon, E.A. & Hamilton, J. (2011). Diversity, Oppression, and Social Functioning: Person-In-Environment Assessment and Intervention, (3rd Ed). Pearson
Henderson, Z., Acquaye-Doyle, L. A., Waites, S., & Howard, T. (2016). Putting principles into practice: Addressing historical trauma, mistrust, and apprehension in research methods courses. Journal of Social Work Education, 52(1), 69–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2016.1112631
McIlduff, C. D., Forster, M., Carter, E., Davies, J., Thomas, S., Turner, K. M., … & Sanders, M. R. (2020). Model of collaboratively engaging communities: Working towards integrating implementation science, cultural adaptation, and engagement. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, 13(1), 45-69.https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcis.v13i1.1346
McKinley, C. E., Figley, C. R., Woodward, S. M., Liddell, J. L., Billiot, S., Comby, N., & Sanders, S. (2019). Community-engaged and culturally relevant research to develop behavioral health interventions with American Indians and Alaska Natives. American Indian and Alaska native mental health research (Online), 26(3), 79. https://doi.org/10.5820%2Faian.2603.2019.79
Lake, F. K., Wright, V., Morgan, P., McFadzen, M., McWethy, D., & Stevens-Rumann, C. (2017). Returning fire to the land: celebrating traditional knowledge and fire. Journal of Forestry, 115(5), 343–353. https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.2016-043R2
Wendt, D. C., Hartmann, W. E., Allen, J., Burack, J. A., Charles, B., D’Amico, E. J., … & Walls, M. L. (2019). Substance use research with Indigenous communities: Exploring and extending foundational principles of community psychology. American journal of community psychology, 64(1-2), 146-158.https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12363
write