Forget Cultural Competence; Ask for an Autobiography

Hollinsworth, David

doi:10.1080/02615479.2012.730513

Cited by 50 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…While Indigenous Studies is attempting to move away from essentialised and fixed notions of 'the Indigenous', Johnson and Munch (2009), Pon (2009) and Hollinsworth (2012 argue that cultural competence is in fact dependent upon such conceptualisations in order to make sense. As Hollinsworth writes, essentialism manifests in three key ways.…”

Section: Higher Education Research and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 98%

The limits of cultural competence: an Indigenous Studies perspective

Carey

2015

Higher Education Research & Development

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Taking the Universities Australia report, National best practice framework for Indigenous cultural competency in Australian universities (2011) as the starting point for its discussion, this paper examines the applicability of cultural competence in the design and delivery of Australian Indigenous Studies. It argues that both the conceptual underpinnings and the operationalisation of cultural competence necessitate an over-reliance on essentialised notions of Indigeneity, cast in radical opposition to non-Indigeneity, which negate multiple and diverse expressions of Indigenous identity and lived experience. Thus, this approach perpetuates the very colonialist logics Indigenous Studies should endeavour to overcome. Secondly, it argues that cultural competency's emphasis on non-Indigenous self-reflexivity, broadly consistent as it is with both scholarship and praxis in Indigenous Studies, is represented in some of the literature as uncritical deference to an always-unified Indigeneity, thereby exacerbating the original essentialising impulse evident in the cultural competence paradigm. Therefore, this paper proposes that Indigenous Studies should explore the limits of self-reflexivity, with a view to establishing a genuinely anti-colonial/decolonising praxis that incorporates the capacity to negotiate Indigenous intracultural diversity along with other markers for identity.

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Section: Higher Education Research and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 98%

The limits of cultural competence: an Indigenous Studies perspective

Carey

2015

Higher Education Research & Development

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“…When the content is a 'one-off' unit or lecturer or intensive workshop the course structure may be inadvertently reinforcing the idea that Aboriginal patients lie outside the realm or the average patient, which can lead to essentialism and subsequent stereotyping 33,34 . Additionally, when Aboriginal health is taught as integrated curricula in some cases it "can be simply vertically collocated, rather than meaningfully integrated" 24 and without a meaningfully integrated approach, cultural competence curricula is at risk of being perceived by students and faculty alike as an 'add-on' to the important core curricula 24(p22) .…”

Section: Additionallymentioning

confidence: 99%

Can my mechanic fix blue cars? A discussion of health clinicians' interactions with Aboriginal Australian clients

Hill

Ewen

Paul

et al. 2016

Aust. J. Rural Health

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We expect our professional mechanics to 'diagnose' and 'treat' our cars irrespective of colour, but are we expecting less from our health professionals? There is an increasing focus in the literature on health practitioner decision-making and its influence on the nature and quality of health care. In this article we explore how the basic diagnostic and therapeutic skills that health care practitioners have should be utilised equitably for all clients and propose ways this might be realised. Could the development of Indigenous specific curricula be teaching our medical students to think that Aboriginal patients are different from the norm? We conclude that despite the gains in introducing more comprehensive Aboriginal health curricula there remains considerable work to be done before we can be confident that we are ensuring that health practitioners are no longer contributing to health disparities. Key words:Aboriginal Health, Indigenous Health, health professional, racism in health, health disparities. 3 Applying ones expertise …Consider the following: if we own a car that is experiencing mechanical problems we usually would seek the advice and services of a mechanic, whose expertise in mechanics as demonstrated by their qualifications. We expect the mechanic to be able to diagnose any known mechanical problems that we, as the car owner, cannot be expected to know. We expect the mechanic to explain to us what is wrong with my car, to investigate and apply the most efficient ways of fixing the car and to be held accountable if she/he misdiagnoses or maltreats the mechanical needs of the car. We, as the owner, cannot be responsible for fixing the mechanical problems that are beyond my particular expertise and knowledge. Despite health professionals only playing a small part in the diverse factors influencing health and health care outcomes, it is useful to ask a range of questions. These questions include, could the continuing poor health of Aboriginal people be partly caused by health practitioners due to the practitioners not receiving the education required for reducing the ongoing health disparities? Could health professional's engagement with individuals and / or community also be a factor? Have practitioners not made the contribution they could or should do in this area?And, do we expect practitioners to be sufficiently skilled to substantially reduce the gap? 4 Just as we would expect a qualified mechanic to be able to repair different cars, regardless of their colour, a qualified doctor or other health professional should be able to effectively treat people from different populations with identified medical problems -regardless of their background. What if a mechanic said they could not work on your car because it is blue and

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“…At times, not always, we have seen the focus on exotic elements played out through 'Welcome to Country' sessions, requests for traditional dancers, smoking ceremonies, singers, dancers, and Elders talking about Aboriginal 'Dreamtime' stories, which can reinforce romanticised notions of Indigenous people. Most often, people reported that they enjoyed this type of training (Fredericks 2008;Fredericks & Thompson 2010;Hollinsworth 2013;Westwood & Westwood 2010;Young 1999), but that does not mean that the training changed behaviour or challenged the way business was done, nor even the way in which participants saw themselves. Furthermore, this type of training has little relevance in terms of application to participants' day-to-day work environments and there is little evidence to suggest that a cultural approach has bettered the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.…”

Section: Getting Startedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We wanted to challenge the notion of the 'real Aborigine'. That is, the Eurocentric and white understandings of what culture is and is not, and what an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person is and is not (Carlson 2016;Fredericks 2013;Gorringe et al 2011;Hollinsworth 1992Hollinsworth , 2013Sarra 2011). This had been raised numerous times in the University by both students and staff, and, thus, needed to be addressed within this course.…”

Section: Getting Startedmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Which way? Talking culture, talking race’

Fredericks

Bargallie

2016

IJCIS

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In Australia, organisations identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cross-cultural awareness training or Indigenous cultural competency training as a means to address the service needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to address the gap in disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This training is also one of the strategies utilised in working towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This paper presents the findings from an institutional study based on the development and implementation of an Indigenous Cultural Competency Course within an Australian university and the tensions that exist within the teaching and delivery of such a course.

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Forget Cultural Competence; Ask for an Autobiography

Cited by 50 publications

References 55 publications

The limits of cultural competence: an Indigenous Studies perspective

The limits of cultural competence: an Indigenous Studies perspective

Can my mechanic fix blue cars? A discussion of health clinicians' interactions with Aboriginal Australian clients

‘Which way? Talking culture, talking race’

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