Critical social work education as democratic paideía

Praxis of cross-cultural social work practice (CCSWP): A critical discourse analysis of graduate student and faculty perspectives on cultural competence and relevant constructs

“…Among various critical analysis methods of qualitative data, critical discourse analysis (CDA) is suitable for examining praxis because both CDA and praxis bear similar perspectives that “both are modes of critical intervention into hegemonic discourses of power and privilege” and “knowledges are not apolitical, but rather are invested in structures of power and ideology” (Lazar, 2020:6). For Castoriadis, “the reflection involved in genuine praxis can never be simply analytical-empirical but is essentially creative and critical” (Ablett and Morley, 2020:342). Therefore, using CDA allows us to critically analyze how discourses have been constructed and negotiated to embody the praxis of cultural competence and alternative constructs.…”

“…According to Freire (1970:126), praxis is defined as “reflection and action directed at the structures to be transformed” to liberate ourselves from the entrapments of our own thinking. In praxis, our reflection “creates projects that are constantly interrogated, revised and extended in the light of experience” and our “goal is realized” in our “own enactment” (Ablett and Morley, 2020:342). Given our experiences of struggling to understand and teach cultural competence and alternative concepts that have been contested despite their intended goals to promote better cross-cultural work, its interrogation in praxis is inevitable.…”

“…Given our experiences of struggling to understand and teach cultural competence and alternative concepts that have been contested despite their intended goals to promote better cross-cultural work, its interrogation in praxis is inevitable. A philosopher, social theorist, and psychoanalyst, Castoriadis (1984:235), offers insights on the importance of examining praxis—“praxis reveals and invites our reflection on questions about ‘what’ is being done in practice, education, program, or policy and ‘for what’ purpose.” For Castoriadis, praxis is a critical reflection which may “revise previous knowledge in its course and conduct” (Ablett and Morley, 2020:342) and a conscious action beyond the simple “know-how” techniques or application of existing knowledge:It is based on knowledge, but this knowledge is always fragmentary and provisional. It is fragmentary because there can be no exhaustive theory of humanity and of history; it is provisional because praxis itself constantly gives rise to new knowledge … This is why the relations of praxis to theory … [are] more profound than those of any “strictly rational” technique or practice (Castoriadis, 1984:76; cited in Ablett and Morley 2020:342).…”

“…Ablett and Morley (2020:334) argue that Castoriadis’ work provides “a coherent and robust revisioning of revolutionary praxis that can help clarify and extend the revisioning of critical social work’s emancipatory potential without recourse to deterministic structural theories or the pitfalls of post-structural relativism.”…”

“…Instead of falling into theoretical debates, it is important to examine the praxis of cultural competence and alternative concepts to promote critically reflective CCSWP in two areas: (1) how SW students and faculty members critically reflect on the fundamental ideas of cultural competence (i.e., critical reflection—what they think) and (2) what types of practice or actions this uptake leads them to (i.e., critical action—how they practice). Praxis is often subtle and embedded in the semantics of languages and discourses (Thibault, 1991) and cannot be decontextualized from epistemological and sociopolitical stances (Ablett and Morley, 2020). To examine praxis, we were informed by critical theories on power, language, and discourses that pay attention to both linguistic and social analyses of discourses (Fairclough, 2013; Gee, 1999).…”