Cultural humility is a term I stumbled upon when doing an extensive literature review for my dissertation. I could not love the notion more given how needed and applicable it can be in today’s world.
The following is an excerpt from my dissertation:
Despite the existence of multiple and various theoretical constructs of intercultural competence (ICC), Tervalon and Murray-Garcia (1998) offered insight from the multicultural medical education’s perspective in arguing that cultural humility should be a more suitable goal than cultural competence. Tervalon and Murray-Garcia (1998) proposed that cultural humility required individuals to commit themselves to becoming lifelong learners as well as reflective practitioners who were flexible, honest, and humble enough to take a critical perspective on how their cultural identities and backgrounds influenced their thought patterns and attitudes, carry out a critical appraisal of the ways in which power imbalances played out in the dynamics of physician-patient communication, and developed and maintain mutually respectful partnerships with diverse community members and organizations.
Tervalon and Murray-Garcia (1998) proposed that it was through an ongoing process of self-reflection and self-critique that individuals could embody cultural humility and change their attitudes toward diverse cultural groups. Hook and Watkins (2015) concurred with Tervalon and Murray-Garcia’s (1998) notion of cultural humility from the perspective of psychological service provision and argued that cultural humility was an important component of multicultural competence and multicultural orientation, as it involved a willingness to reflect on an individual’ own self as an embedded cultural being with limitations. Hook and Watkins (2015) wrote that taking a culturally humble stance, manifest in individuals’ openness to, respect for, and valuing others’ cultural perspectives, was an essential start point to interact with culturally different individuals.
Online resources about Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion:
References:
Hook, J. N., & Watkins, C. E., Jr. (2015). Cultural humility: The cornerstone of positive contact with culturally different individuals and groups? American Psychologist, 70, 661– 662. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ a0038965
Tervalon, M., & Murray-Garcia, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 9(2), 117-125.
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