Effective Community and Social Change

631 Words3 Pages
An essay on the role of human diversity,sense of community, ecology and social support on effective community and social change. Social workers understand how diversity characterizes and shapes the human experience and is critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Social workers appreciate that, as a consequence of difference, a person’s life experiences may include oppression, poverty, marginalization, and alienation as well as privilege, power, and acclaim. In keeping with the School's mission and the commitment to educate students for practice in a heterogeneous society, curriculum content on human diversity is integrated into nearly every course. In addition, students must take one or more courses from a list of approved first and second year offerings. The requirement in human diversity is intended to provide students with an analytical framework to understand human behavior and political processes in the environment of a diverse society to satisfy the following five goals: 1. To promote respect for ethnic and cultural diversity as an integral part of social work's commitment to preserve human dignity. 2. To foster knowledge and understanding of individuals, families, and communities in their socio-cultural and socio-economic contexts. 3. To analyze the ethnic and political issues related to the patterns, dynamics, and consequences of discrimination and oppression. 4. To develop skills to promote individual and social change toward social and economic justice. 5. To provide a theoretical framework for integrating an approach toward diversity within students' own
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