Section 1 activities
Contents
Activity: Level of Acculturation
Activity: Formation of culture
Activity: Level of Acculturation
Acculturation is an adjustment and adaptation process. In this activity you
are asked to assess the levels of acculturation based on case studies
provided.
1.
Read the case studies below and mark A, B and C on the diagram
to indicate what you see as their levels of acculturation.
A. Your client, Anu, is a 50-year-old Indian woman who has been
residing in Australia for 15 years. In Australia, all her friends are
Indian and she spends most of her time caring for her family. Anu
still dresses in traditional clothing and cooks traditional Indian food;
she has only learned the basics of English language required for
daily life.
B. Susan, a new employee, is a 20-year-old Chinese woman who has
recently migrated to Australia from Hong Kong. She identifies only
partially with her own culture and has adjusted to Australian culture
quickly.
C. Nelson is a young Indigenous worker who feels extremely
challenged and anxious when confronted by direct questioning. He
has done very well at TAFE, but on attending a job interview the
style of questioning made him feel uncomfortable and he found
difficulty answering questions about his skills and experience.
It was only the skills of the interviewer that turned the questions
around into a more relaxed interchange. This allowed Nelson to
express his ideas and demonstrate his skills.
Level of acculturation
High
Low
High
Ethnic
identity
Low
© The State of Queensland (Department of Communities and Disability Services
Queensland) 2007.
2. Give some examples of how the level of acculturation might affect your
working relationships.
A. Anu
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
B. Susan
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
C. Nelson
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
Feedback to Activity: Level of acculturation
1. Levels of acculturation:
Level of acculturation
High
Low
High
A
Ethnic
identity
Low
B
C
2. Examples may include:
A. You will need to ensure Anu understands the processes involved in
the service you are providing. It may be necessary to provide
information printed in an appropriate language or engage an
interpreter.
B. Susan’s level of acculturation suggests that she is likely to prefer to
be treated in the Australian way rather than the traditional Chinese
manner.
C. Nelson’s discomfort with direct questioning suggests that he
identifies strongly with his Indigenous culture. The interviewer
needs to acknowledge the cultural difference and adjust her
questioning style.
© The State of Queensland (Department of Communities and Disability Services
Queensland) 2007.
It is important that you take questioning techniques and other
interview processes into account. This is especially important where
people from other cultural backgrounds or people with a disability
are concerned.
Activity: Formation of culture
What factors contribute to the formation of your culture? In this activity
you will explore some of the values or behaviours of your family or social
group.
Factors that contribute to formation of culture:
Internal factors
External factors
•
•
Values and beliefs ─ provide
guidance to our attitudes,
perceptions and judgement
Norms ─ provide guidelines
towards culturally acceptable
behaviour or expected
behaviour
•
Thinking style ─ how
information is processed
•
Problem-solving style –
problem analysis and
identifying solutions
•
Art and craft
•
Customs ─ dressing style,
forms of address and relating to
others
•
Dietary habits
•
Law system ─ social rules,
standards and regulations
•
Communication style ─
language, non-verbal
communication and
interpretation of meaning
• Family structure ─ kinship and
Family loyalties and
role expectations
responsibilities
(Modified from Marsella and Westermeyer, 1993)
•
1. Give at least one example of cultural values or behaviours typical in
your family or social group, for example, how you greet people,
celebrate events, religious observances etc.
2. Are these values or behaviours shared by other families or social
groups that you know? What do you think may be the reason for
differences or similarities?
3. Could demonstrating these values or behaviours cause
misunderstanding or friction in the workplace?
Feedback:
You may have given an example like this.
1. Members of my family always greet each other with a kiss on both
cheeks - it is the norm in the part of Italy where we are from.
2. Some of our non-Italian friends do it when they visit our home – it’s
like they have adapted to our culture.
© The State of Queensland (Department of Communities and Disability Services
Queensland) 2007.
3. As my co-workers are not of Italian heritage, I think they would be
very uncomfortable if I greeted them this way.
© The State of Queensland (Department of Communities and Disability Services
Queensland) 2007.