An exploratory study on the recruitment of bilingual Chinese social workers.
Item
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Title
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An exploratory study on the recruitment of bilingual Chinese social workers.
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Identifier
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AAI9000713
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identifier
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9000713
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Creator
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Mei, Pauline Y. B.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Simon Slavin
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Date
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1989
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Social Work
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Abstract
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A chronic shortage of bilingual Chinese American social workers in New York City is negatively affecting the quality and quantity of social service delivery to the Chinese immigrants, many of whom do not speak English. An extremely low enrollment of Chinese American students in graduate social work schools, over the past two decades, could have contributed to this shortage. This exploratory case study attempts to identify the causal factors and to seek remedies. This study focused on 13 Chinese American students, from six different colleges, who expressed an interest in social work. A project was designed to expose the students to social work through (1) site visits to community social service agencies, (2) campus visits to graduate social work schools, and (3) summer internships at selected community agencies. Core project activities were conducted from March through August 1985. Data was gathered from face-to-face interviews with the students, from questionnaires administered to them and from a written assignment submitted by them at project conclusion. Findings revealed that manpower shortage could be attributed to low student enrollment in graduate social work schools, as well as society's inability to identify and cultivate resources. It was found that low student enrollment could be caused by: (1) the students' lack of information on social work; (2) the intimidation created by the students own perception of social work as a highly demanding but low rewarding profession; (3) the lack of role models and mentors to provide inspiration and support. Proposed recommendations are: (1) to set up a recruitment foundation to oversee recruitment and manpower utilization; (2) to provide accurate information on social work to the Chinese American high school students; (3) to increase financial aid for graduate studies in social work; (4) to cultivate effective Chinese American social work role models and mentors; (5) to upgrade salary and work conditions for bilingual social workers; (6) to motivate college students from Hong Kong to attend graduate social work schools in the U.S.A.; (7) to identify, recruit and train Chinese immigrant retirees as social workers.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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D.S.W.
