My Self-reflection in Accra Ghana
The quote that mostly impacts my personal perspective with regards to any activity that I embark on is Socrates’ that states, ‘to know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.’ Such a perspective tends to be relevant especially when one is approached with new knowledge or information such that it becomes easier to understand it. The aspect of diversity is quite relevant in any profession with regards to analyzing, understanding and accommodation various needs, personalities, culture, attitudes and many more factors present in the social environment.
Learning About Myself and Diversity
Learning About Others and Diversity
Diversity comes in various methods; in our work places, the people that we deal with when it comes to to giving services and in our day to day social environment. From a personal perspective, the course has exposed me to analyzing and understanding differences among the people in my work and social environment. The interaction facilitated by the course through field experience has enabled me to learn from the different views presented by my peers. It has also enabled me comprehend how people approach particular situations using different perspectives. For example, during my flight to Ghana in the company of my classmate Stephanie, at first I found it strange or rather awkward interacting with individuals that were sitting next to us. However, after several conversations, the interaction became interesting; especially when they inquired on the purpose and expectations of our visit. It changed my perception of viewing people such that I was able to appreciate the fact that we were different but able to engage in a fruitful interaction.
This information is important when working with diverse populations as it allows one to easily adapt and accommodate various personalities when one is placed in a new environment. The approach on diversity provided by the course made me understand and accommodate these differences. From the course outline, it was quite clear that the instructor was aware of diversity in the class such that various instructional methods were indicated (group discussions, and the field experience). This information is important when working with diverse populations as it allows one to take into consideration the various needs that might be present in an environment before handling any activity.
The Relationship Building Process
Through the various excursion, I was able to interact well with the people that I met. The excursions took place in the University of Ghana, the WEB Du Bois museum of street girls, New Horizon, DUNK, the Kakum National Park, and the Cape Coast. Chin and Gaynier defines the relationship building process as ‘the extent to which a leader engages in a two way communication by providing socio-emotional support, ‘psychological strokes,’ and facilitating behavior,’ (Chin & Gaynier, 2006). The statement is credible with regards to my interactions with various individuals during the excursions such that the two way communication was quite effective. The only challenge that I received was during the excursion at W.E.B. Du Bois whereby the lady in charge of the guide was not clear and seemed to be brushing of some information. What assisted me was the previous knowledge that I had obtained from the class readings. However, I had to adjust to her facilitation to ensure that I did not miss out. Nevertheless, I fund the combination of online access to information and face-to face access to be quite effective with regards to the learning process. Gundling supports the idea of teamwork as relevant in achieving success in a project (Gundling, 2007). I found the perspective to be true as working in groups made the movements, interaction and comprehension quite easy.
An Ethical Dilemma During FE
While still in the flight to Ghana, the man sitting behind me kept hitting my shoulders instead of tapping when requesting or asking for something. I found this behavior to be annoying and unethical especially since he showed no sentiments of apologizing. Possibly that was his nature and as per the approach with regards to various personalities, I was not sure whether to hit him back or persevere. Hitting him back would be perceived as causing harm and according to the ethical principles, it is important to ensure that no harm is inflicted to an individual (Akotia & Barimah, 2007). Therefore, instead of hitting him back, I approached him and requested for his explanation regarding his behavior. However, he brushed it off and I just left it at that. From a professional perspective, it is rather adequate to approach an individual or a group in the most organized way rather than acting out to prevent any conflict and occurrence of an unethical behavior.
References
Akotia, C., & Barimah, K. (2007). History of community psychology in Ghana. In S.M. Reich, M. Riemer, I. Prilleltensky, M. Montero (Eds.), International Community Psychology: History and Theories (pp. 407-414). New York, NY US: Springer Science + Business Media. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-49500-2_23.
Chin, C. & Gaynier, L. (2006). Global Leadership Competence: A Cultural Intelligence Perspective. MBAA Conference Copyright.
Frimpong-Maso, K. (2014). From walls to homes: Child care reform and deinstitutionalization in Ghana. International Journal of Social Welfare, 23(1), 402-409. doi: 10.1111/ijsw.12073.
Gundling, E. (2007). Twelve people skills for doing business across borders. Employment Relations Today, 34(2), 29-42.
Quinn, N. & Evans, T. (2010). Understanding the carers' experience: Examples from a Ghanaian context. International Social Work, 53(1), 61-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0020872809348953
