Avoiding Cultural
Assumptions
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What practitioners and migrant families told us
How we identified this theme - the findings of the 'Everyday Bordering in the UK' project
Many practitioners and migrant family members described experiencing challenges when working with, or being supported by, people from different cultures to their own. Here, ‘culture’ refers to the habits, beliefs, knowledge and social behaviours that people from particular regions can share.
Some of the challenges related to misunderstandings between families and practitioners about the role of local services and institutions and how they operate (see ‘working with people from different cultural and national backgrounds’). However, this theme focuses on the challenges practitioners describe when working with families and individuals with different social habits and behaviours – or norms – to their own. Practitioners explained, for example, that they (and colleagues) can lack knowledge of cultural practices and make assumptions about families with a history of migration. Common examples related to the nature of gender roles in families, the role of extended family members, and educational expectations of children.
Practitioners told us that they worried about this affecting their assessment of the support needs of families with migrant backgrounds. They were also concerned that this could lead to them asking questions that might cause cultural offence to family members, and some reported feeling uncomfortable when talking about race and ethnicity, including using labels such as BAME.
From this, we learnt that some practitioners are aware of the impact of ‘cultural bias’ on their work with migrant families, or the ‘unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that impact on our understanding, actions, and decisions’ about a particular group (Suveren, 2022). Some also understood that when working with people from cultural backgrounds different to their own, they drew or knowledge that was not always based on evidence or first-hand experience, or they made judgements based on what was culturally 'normal' to them. These judgements are sometimes referred to as 'automatic thoughts'.
Although some practitioners had benefitted from learning basic information about a range of cultures in 'cultural competency’ training, they also felt that this tended to focus on specific minority ethnic groups, and that this could reinforce stereotypes and existing ‘cultural bias’. Therefore, the resources provided here do not include information about specific minority ethnic cultures or other groups. Instead, they aim to prompt reflection on the sources of the cultural assumptions that we make, and on how to deal with this in professional practice.
In this video, 'Talking about 'Race' and Ethnicity', we encourage you to reflect on the challenges practitioners told us about when working with people from cultural backgrounds different to their own. These challanges are related to people making 'cultural assumptions', talking about our own or other people's ethnicity or race, and the use of labels, such as, BAME or BME.
As with all the resources in the website, this brief video aims to support individual and group reflection.
Please pause the video to engage in the suggested reflective activities and remember that you can use this resource together with the case studies on the website.
Using this specific resource, including completeing the reflective exercises, will take you around 20 minutes.
Things practitioners can do
Evidence from health care research shows that external pressures to be ‘politically correct’ are rarely effective in supporting practitioners to understand and address the cultural assumptions that they can make. Instead, this is more likely if individuals have ‘internal motivation’ to do so, and that this happens by encouraging practitioners to become aware of their own and colleagues’ cultural bias [see case study activities].
The same research highlights the importance of practitioners understanding the historical origins of the cultural assumptions that they make - for example, cultural bias in their education or the national media - and how this influences their thoughts. This is so that people recognise that ‘cultural bias’ often results from common thought processes that should be explored and challenged, and this is not necessarily a sign of racism. We invite you to engage with the recorded presentation, 'Talking about 'Race' and Ethnicity', to support this process.
Practitioners also told us that they developed confidence in their work with people from cultural and ethnic backgrounds different to their own, by meeting and working with diverse groups of people, and sharing their experiences and learning with colleagues.
Ways to incorporate these recommendations into your work
As an individual practitioner:
Be open in your communication and share anything that you do not know or understand with colleagues.
If there is something that makes you feel uncomfortable, or that you have not asked, reflect on why this is the case.
On an organisational level you can work with management to:
Create a safe space where people can freely share any experiences, learning and/or examples of cultural bias.
Set regular reflective practice meetings.
Commit time to sharing and discussing relevant case studies.
Create opportunities to work and exchange knowledge with organisations that support people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
How to use the resources provided
The information and case studies can be used by an individual, or to facilitate a group exercise for a team of practitioners.
They have been developed to give you, or your team, an opportunity to:
Reflect on the challenges identified by practitioners in our study when working with people that have a different cultural backgrounds to their own.
Consider if and why these issues are relevant to your profession and the community in which you work.
Explore why it is important to address any cultural assumptions that you make in your practice.
Consider the strategies, tools, and information available to support effective working between people that do not share the same cultural practices and norms.
Apply the knowledge and skills that you already have, and anything new you have learnt, to the case studies provided.
How to use the resources
To get the most out of using the information and case studies on this page, we suggest that you (or members of your team) follow the four steps set out below. Remember that reflections and experiences can be shared with other practitioners by accessing the online community for this theme:
Stage 1: What practitioners and migrant families told us
Read/watch: i) ‘what practitioners and families have told us; ii) the recorded 'Talking about 'Race' and ethnicity' presentation; ii) a video from the 'Additional resources and links' section.
Consider if and how the issues identified, and the content of the film and presentation, relate to your work with migrant communities.
Identify an example from your professional practice where you worked with a families or individuals with different cultural norms to your own. Reflect on if and how this impacted on your work, and the people that you were supporting.
You can write your thoughts down, discuss them in you your team, or start a conversation on the online community.
Stage 2: What practitioners can do
Read the ‘things practitioners can do section’ on your own, making any notes that will help you to remember anything that might be helpful in the future.
Stage 3: The case studies
Carefully read through the chosen case study and make notes on your immediate response to the case and any initial thoughts that you have.
Then respond to the questions posed at the bottom of the case study page.
Write down your responses, discuss the responses in your team, or start a conversation in the online community.
Stage 4: Applying your reflections
During the following four weeks, spend five minutes each week reflecting on if and how your learning from completing the above stages has been helpful in your work with migrant communities. You can do this during any daily activity.
After four week, revisit your learning in more detail. Set a time in your diary to revisit your learning. This only needs to be 15 minutes or, if you are working as a group, an agenda item in a team meeting. Again, you can discuss this with the online community.
Case studies
Additional resources and links
Whilst specific professions and/or groups of people with migratory backgrounds are considered, this is not an exhaustive list, but a selection of useful resources that are available online. We hope that this will prompt you to search for further resources related to your profession and the communities with which you work. Please share any further resources that you find useful with the online community for this theme,
Definitions of cultural bias
A blog explaining cultural bias with examples: Understanding the Phenomena of Cultural Bias With Examples
A blog with a short definition of cultural bias and examples in various settings: 12 Cultural Bias Examples
Approaches to deal with cultural bias, racism, and discrimination
Refugees, Racism and Xenophobia: What Works to Reduce Discrimination? - Our World (unu.edu)
Navigating white privilege – the key to achieving anti-racism in social work (Video 2 minutes)
Videos
Here you will find a selection of brief videos related to a range of cultural practices. As noted, the videos do not reflect our views on the particular subject but, rather, they present perspectives on the topics in order to challenge our cultural biases.
Arranged marriages
This video, 'Finding Love in an Arranged Marriage', presents interviews from couples from various countries that have had an arranged marriage (14 minutes).
Being a European migrant in the UK
Being Polish in the UK produced by BBC Three: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10155579128500787
A Channel 4 report on the voices of young people living in the UK, but born elsewhere, in the EU: 'The Brexit fears of the chiildren of EU nationals'.
Wearing the hijab
This video presents information about the complexity of wearing the hijab: 'Wearing a Hijab Is Complicated. So Is Deciding to Take One Off' (7 minutes).
This video is produced by The Guardian and is based on a series of interviews with women that wear the hijab: 'Muslim women discuss removing their hijab at work: 'I feel so guilty'' (5 minutes).
How to work with women that have experienced female genital mutilation (FGM)
FGM is illegal in the UK and a form of abuse. Professional responses to women that have experienced FGM may, however, be influenced by our 'cultural bias' and the resources provided here aim to address this.
This is a video produced by NHS that presents 'Women talking about their personal experiences of female genital mutilation (FGM) | NHS' (25 minutes).
A video from the BBC featuring survivors of FGM: 'Things Not To Say To FGM Survivors And Campaigners' (6 minutes).
Academic work on cultural bias and discrimination
Hackett R, Ronaldson A, Bhui K, Steptoe A and Jackson S (2020) Racial discrimination and health: a prospective study of ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom. BMC Public Health.
Hackett R, Ronaldson A, Bhui K, Steptoe A and Jackson S (2020) Racial discrimination and health: a prospective study of ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom. BMC Public Health.
Heath A (2019) How ethnic minorities are still discriminated against in the UK job market. The British Academy.
Suveren Y (2022). Unconscious bias: Definition and significance. Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar, 14(3): 414-426.
FitzGerald C, Martin A, Berner D and Hurst S (2019). Interventions designed to reduce implicit prejudices and implicit stereotypes in real world contexts: a systematic review. BMC psychology, 7(1): 29.
Burgess D, van Ryn M, Dovidio J, Saha S. (2007) Reducing racial bias among health care providers: lessons from social-cognitive psychology. J Gen Intern Med, 22(6):882-7.