Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social Work Meanings and Practices Among the Yup'ik of Southwestern Alaska

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

OPP-0084076 Uehara and Burke University of Washington This dissertation study will examine the fit between social work and the culture of Alaska's Yup'ik people. Scholars have demonstrated that other western systems are ill matched with Yup'ik cultural expectations and practices. This study will document whether the practice of social work is another example of cultural mismatch by examining the everyday institutional practices of social service provision in four Yup'ik villages. Methods will include participant observation with semi-structured and unstructured interviews.