From Mastery to Accountability: Cultural Humility as an Alternative to Cultural Competence
Description
This article criticizes cultural competency training for social workers and practitioners. It looks into how its broad definition and inconsistent education fails to prepare workers. While cultural competency acknowledges culture and it's differences, cultural humility places a greater emphasis on critical self-reflection and power imbalances. Additionally, it describes how it is a lifelong process that requires constant learning and institutional accountability. Transitioning training to focus more on cultural humility may help workers to change outcomes for clients and communities while also challenging systemic power imbalances.