Cross-Cultural Practice: South Indian and Australian Cultures

This essay provides a reflective analysis of cross-cultural practice, contrasting South Indian and Australian cultures. The author, a South Indian student in Australia, shares personal experiences of cultural adaptation and the challenges faced in navigating cultural differences. The essay highlights the importance of cultural understanding and the impact of cultural perceptions on behavior and interactions. It discusses the AASW code of ethics and its role in social work practice, particularly in addressing issues of social justice and oppression. The anti-oppressive theory is presented as a relevant framework for understanding and addressing cultural differences. The essay uses examples to illustrate the practical application of these concepts, demonstrating the complexities of cross-cultural interactions and the importance of ethical considerations in social work. The conclusion emphasizes the need for social workers to address cultural differences effectively, adhering to ethical guidelines and promoting meaningful engagement with diverse communities.

Running head: CROSS CULTURAL PRACTICE
Cross cultural practice
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

1CROSS CULTURAL PRACTICE
Introduction
Culture refers to the uniqueness and information of a specific group of people, language,
religion, cuisine, attire, social habits, music and arts (Connolly & Harms, 2015). It can be
defined as the social manner and interactive behavior found in the human society. Culture varies
from one location to another and from one person or groups to the other. This essay will focus on
the different aspects of culture and cultural diversity by contrasting between South Indian and
Australian culture.
The difference between South Indian culture and Australian culture will be discussed
throughout this essay. The importance of culture on an individual’s life will be highlighted as it
influences the regular practices. Use of different theories will make the understanding of culture
easy through this essay.
Body
Personal cultural background
I belong to a south Indian middle class family and respect my cultural values. The family
values in my hometown are in total contrast to that of the western culture. There is huge diversity
in culture and ethnicity, which is loved by everyone around the world. For educational purposes,
I had to move to Australia where I am doing master degree in social work. While staying in
Australia I had experienced cultural diversity, as I was accustomed to a different kind of life in
India. My cultural perceptions have helped me in guiding behaviors, other expectations,
attitudes, assumptions and values. As I belong to a middle class family, therefore my habits were
grown as per the heredity of my ancestors. The reason behind this is that culture is learned and
adopted among the generations.

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In my growing stages, I was not much aware about the cultural diversity as I was only
confined to my hometown. When I moved to Australia, my preconceived notions started
changing. I had an idea that caste system such as Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the
Shudras only exist in India. However, the discrimination in Australia was of a different kind. As
they were white skin people, therefore they looked down upon the darker skin people and treated
them as untouchables (Ife, 2012). The aboriginals and Torres Strait islanders are also humiliated
in Australia due to their skin color and heritage. This was out of my expectation from the people
of Australia and started changing my opinion about them.
My cultural experience was enhanced and I had understood that the attitude of a
common person makes the difference between the two cultures. I realized that in Australia
people are more cooperative and show concern towards others unlike India (Mattsson, 2014). It
might be that people in India are helpful too but they cannot be trusted. For instance, in India
when a stranger came forward to help me when I as lost in the crowd, I could not trust him
completely and thought that he has some wicked idea in his mind.
The critical race theory can be discussed here as it evaluates the society and culture
relative to the categorization of power, race and law. This theory has been used because it refers
to the combined struggle for racial justice for future improvement. The most common form of
argument about this theory is raised while defining the traits of race and racism. It aims to reveal
the individual patterns of omission and the activities taken as granted for the privilege of race
(Joseph & Murphy, 2014).
AASW code of ethics

3CROSS CULTURAL PRACTICE
The profession of social work in Australia adheres to the Australian Association of Social
Workers (AASW) code of ethics. As it is mentioned about the family values, the code of ethics
aims to “promote social change and problem solving in human relationships and the
empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well- being (Australian Association of Social
Workers, 2010).” It has helped me in enriching my experience and removing the assumptions
that I had about the cultures of the world. As it is discussed earlier the code of ethics of AASW
focuses on working and supporting people to attain the best feasible levels of personal and social
well- being. In the cultural experience part, the supportive and caring nature of the Australian
people is mentioned, which adheres to the AASW code of ethics.
Earlier, few aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders took active part in the working of the
Australian Association of Social Workers, but they had faced obstacles. It has led to a rough
relationship between the social workers and the native Australians. An air of mistrust grew
among the natives regarding the social workers. The social workers have followed the code of
ethics to support and help people and address the injustice faced by them. For instance, the
aboriginals were sometimes forced to do, as the dominant race in Australia wanted which
included moving out from their home (Kolivoski, Weaver & Constance-Huggins, 2014).
The involvement of the social workers can be best related to Anti- oppressive theory,
which surpasses the critical race theory. This particular theory is imbibed within the practice of
social work and focuses on the reduction of socio-economic oppression; therefore, it is relevant
to my work. However, there are ethical dilemmas in social work when there are people from
different backgrounds working together (Laing & Humphreys, 2013). Culture becomes a barrier
such as in my case where a South Indian had to learn about the Australian culture while working
as a social worker.

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Personal example
I envisage a situation where my culturally- informed self had faced challenges. My
thoughts about cultural diversity had changed while I started living in Australia. It is a country
where diversity conveys different meanings. There are positive differences between the language
groups and the cultural groups within the Australian community. I was not much aware of the
fact that the people of Australia speak some more languages too other than English. Other
common forms of languages used are Greek, Vietnamese, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic and
Cantonese (Mattsson, 2014). I was laid back on my cultural knowledge about Australia, as I did
not know about the basic languages spoken in that area. In such a critical situation, I took help of
my fellow mates who were conversant in these languages to speak to the people. I understood
that in order to remain in that place I have to make myself skilled in other native languages too.
This is because in order to mingle with the ground level people one needs to be fluent in the
native languages because English is only used for official purposes (Nelson, Price & Zubrzycki,
2014).
Theories
There are a number of probable theories, which can be used in this case such as Critical
race Theory, Empowerment Theory, Anti- oppressive theory, Trauma theory, Ecological theory
and Intersectionality theory (Quinn, 2009). However, after considering the different factors it can
be said that Anti- oppressive theory is best suited for this case. This is because the particular
theory is a multi- knowledge approach implemented within the roots of social work practice to
mitigate socio- economic oppression. For instance, I took a schizophrenic patient for a job
interview with whom I was working. However, as soon as the company came to know about her

5CROSS CULTURAL PRACTICE
illness they said that the vacancy was filled up. I protested at once and told them that the job of
making tea and coffee has nothing to do with her illness. I had put all my effort in fighting for
this situation of oppression but maintained the dignity of the person for whom I was fighting.
Therefore, the case of cultural difference between the Australian natives and other foreign people
is taken into consideration for focusing on the issue of racism. As per the code of ethics of
AASW the practices of anti oppression has been produced in social work. It is an effort to
increase the commitments of social justice and improve the outcome (Whitmore & Wilson,
2005). The anti oppression practice can be considered as a lens which helps in understanding
experience. The influence of this theory is strongest in Australia and it is still on the run of
becoming stronger.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from this reflective report that the consistency in failing to address
the issue of difference between the native Australian needs to be managed by the social workers.
The activities of the workers are followed by the AASW code of ethics, which aim to support
and work with people. The use of anti- oppressive theory is well recognized that the aboriginal
communities need to be meaningful, ethical and effective in such a way that it is explained by the
communities. After looking out for a number of theories, the anti- oppressive theory was
considered relevant to the cultural mix of south India and Australia. This report has been made
precise by putting instances, which made the concepts clear and easy.

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References
Australian Association of Social Workers (2010). Code of Ethics, Canberra, ACT.
Connolly, M., & Harms, L. (2015). Social work: From theory to practice. Cambridge university
press.
Ife, J. (2012). Human rights and social work: Towards rights-based practice. Cambridge
University Press.
Joseph, S., & Murphy, D. (2014). Trauma: A unifying concept for social work. The British
Journal of Social Work, 44(5), 1094-1109.
Kolivoski, K., Weaver, A., & Constance-Huggins, M. (2014). Critical race theory: Opportunities
for application in social work practice and policy. Families in Society: The Journal of
Contemporary Social Services, 95(4), 269-276.
Laing, L., & Humphreys, C. (2013). Social work and domestic violence: Developing critical and
reflective practice. Sage.
Mattsson, T. (2014). Intersectionality as a useful tool: Anti-oppressive social work and critical
reflection. Affilia, 29(1), 8-17.
Nelson, D., Price, E., & Zubrzycki, J. (2014). Integrating human rights and trauma frameworks
in social work with people from refugee backgrounds. Australian Social Work, 67(4),
567-581.
Quinn, M. (2009). Towards anit-racist and culturally affirming practices.

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Whitmore, E., & Wilson, M. (2005). Popular resistance to global corporate rule: the role of
social work (with a little help from Gramsci and Freire). Globalisation, global justice and
social work. Routledge, London, 189-206.