Developing holistic competence in cross-cultural social work practice: Simulation-based learning optimized by blended teaching approach

Integrating anti-oppressive practice (AOP) into clinical interactions is critical for embodying social justice values and promoting equitable and socially just interventions in social work practice. Therefore, training social work students to perform this task is invaluable and pedagogically challenging. Social work education scholars note that students’ knowledge and attitudes are not automatically translated into well-demonstrated professional behaviors and thus encourage to develop the holistic competence inclusive of both meta- and procedural competencies in students. Toward this pedagogical goal, this paper elaborates the development of a cross-cultural social work practice course to foster students’ holistic competence. Following the Council of Social Work Education’s Education Policy and Accreditation Standards and AOP scholarship, we outline students’ learning outcomes and the expected competencies in embodying socially just and culturally competent practice (SJCCP). Using blended learning, this course maximizes both online and in-person interfaces to foster social work students’ competencies in SJCCP. We provide details of how we incorporated simulation-based learning into various teaching methods (i.e., intergroup dialogue, digital storytelling, and role plays) and present a case illustration that highlights cross-cultural social work encounters. We close with discussing challenges and new lessons learned from teaching AOP in clinical practice and future teaching recommendations.