Immigrant Integration and Intercultural Communication Practices of Social Welfare Professionals in Finland
Valtari, Velumma (2021)
Lataukset:
Valtari, Velumma
2021
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021111820535
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021111820535
Tiivistelmä
The effects of globalization have rearranged modern societies’ economic, legal, social, and political structures. Immigration, for instance, has urged nations to adapt and promote integration, inclusion, participation, and independence of the immigrants settling in the new country. At the core of this task, social welfare professionals are faced with the challenge to acquire or enhance their intercultural competencies to provide culturally sensitive services that involve, at their core, constant communication.
The aim of this thesis was to enhance the knowledge and importance of intercultural communication competence of social welfare professionals working in the field of immigrant integration in Finland. As objectives, it sought to explore social welfare professionals’ experiences and challenges in intercultural communication practices in the context of immigrant integration in Finland. Its secondary objective was to study intercultural communication in the process of immigrant integration in the country. It was produced intending for it to become a framework for professionals and institutions in the integration field, to identify positive experiences and address challenges in intercultural communication practices in an increasingly multicultural Finland.
A qualitative research method was used, and data were collected by individual, unstructured interviews with three social welfare professionals in Finland, who work in the immigrant integration field. The literature search supported the construction of a theoretical framework on the main topics addressed and used as background for this study, including cultural competence and social work, intercultural communication, and immigrant integration in Finland.
The thematic analysis of the data identified six main themes: (1) the advantage of sharing cultural identity or background with the service user, (2) the relevance of informing immigrants about the Finnish integration system, (3) the impact of the fragile mental health condition of the service users on intercultural communication, (4) professional approach to intercultural communication, (5) self-evaluation of professional performance (a: when starting in the field /b: after acquiring experience in the field, and (6) the importance of establishing trust between professionals and service user.
This thesis provides a description of Finnish social welfare professionals’ experiences and associated challenges when practicing intercultural communication in the field of immigrant integration. The results reflect the professionals’ range of culturally sensitive approaches when practicing intercultural communication. The author recommends that multicultural training and education be a formal and regular occurrence in Finland, along with cross-sectoral cooperation and immigrant participation in the decision-making process of the services provided for them.
Keywords: Intercultural communication, cultural competence, social work, immigrant integration, thematic analysis
The aim of this thesis was to enhance the knowledge and importance of intercultural communication competence of social welfare professionals working in the field of immigrant integration in Finland. As objectives, it sought to explore social welfare professionals’ experiences and challenges in intercultural communication practices in the context of immigrant integration in Finland. Its secondary objective was to study intercultural communication in the process of immigrant integration in the country. It was produced intending for it to become a framework for professionals and institutions in the integration field, to identify positive experiences and address challenges in intercultural communication practices in an increasingly multicultural Finland.
A qualitative research method was used, and data were collected by individual, unstructured interviews with three social welfare professionals in Finland, who work in the immigrant integration field. The literature search supported the construction of a theoretical framework on the main topics addressed and used as background for this study, including cultural competence and social work, intercultural communication, and immigrant integration in Finland.
The thematic analysis of the data identified six main themes: (1) the advantage of sharing cultural identity or background with the service user, (2) the relevance of informing immigrants about the Finnish integration system, (3) the impact of the fragile mental health condition of the service users on intercultural communication, (4) professional approach to intercultural communication, (5) self-evaluation of professional performance (a: when starting in the field /b: after acquiring experience in the field, and (6) the importance of establishing trust between professionals and service user.
This thesis provides a description of Finnish social welfare professionals’ experiences and associated challenges when practicing intercultural communication in the field of immigrant integration. The results reflect the professionals’ range of culturally sensitive approaches when practicing intercultural communication. The author recommends that multicultural training and education be a formal and regular occurrence in Finland, along with cross-sectoral cooperation and immigrant participation in the decision-making process of the services provided for them.
Keywords: Intercultural communication, cultural competence, social work, immigrant integration, thematic analysis