Cultural humility

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Cultural humility entails the progressing procedure of self-contemplation and self-critique incorporated with the desire to acquire knowledge from others about their culture. It recognizes that cultural differences are complex and diverse. Cultural humility involves building relationships with others to prioritize their voices and experiences and reduce imbalances that aim to develop partnerships and learn with and from them (University of Oregon, 2021). In cultural humility, openness, curiosity, and willingness to learn other cultural aspects are essential to understand different cultures better.  

            Both cultural humility and cultural competence are important frameworks when working with oppressed populations, but they differ in their approach and focus. Both aim to deliver effective services in the field of social work. Cultural competence entails competence, knowledge, and attitudes that enable individuals to cooperate effectively with people from diverse ethnic inclusiveness. It includes understanding and respecting cultural differences, adapting communication styles to fit different cultural norms, and developing culturally appropriate interventions (Gottlieb, 2021). Cultural competence focuses on increasing knowledge and skills to work effectively with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Cultural humility is about examining one's own cultural biases and power dynamics to work collaboratively and respectfully with clients. Cultural humility is a framework that acknowledges and respects the diversity of cultures and experiences that people bring to their interactions. It also recognizes that individuals have unique experiences and that their cultural background influences their beliefs, values, and behaviours.

            Cultural competence has been a common framework in social work for several decades. However, it has been criticized for its limited focus on knowledge and skills without addressing oppression in some groups (Gottlieb, 2021). This led to the emergence of cultural humility to cater to the limited focus on knowledge and skills. Cultural humility is a recent framework that advocates for clients to explore their own social location and biases and prioritize the clients’ experience (Gottlieb, 2021). Cultural humility requires social workers to recognize their limitations and biases and engage in ongoing self-reflection and learning. It also involves acknowledging and respecting the clients' experiences and knowledge and recognizing the power dynamics in culture.

Importance of cultural humility and competence when working with oppressed populations in social work.

For several decades cultural competence has been used alone in social work. However, it has been proven that cultural competence is insufficient as it does not recognize cultural differences and pays insufficient attention to power dynamics between social workers and clients (Sacred Heart University, 2023). The application of cultural competence alone in social work has led to ineffective delivery of services when dealing with oppressed and minority groups. The ineffectiveness of cultural competence has revealed the need to cooperate with cultural humility. Both cultural humility and cultural competence are essential when dealing with the oppressed population in social work. Cultural competence provides a foundation for understanding and working with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds.

In contrast, cultural humility challenges social workers to continually examine their biases and engage in collaborative, anti-oppressive practice. Also, cultural humility enables social workers to approach their work with a willingness to learn and to work collaboratively with their clients and communities, reducing power dynamics between them. Combining these two concepts can help address the oppressed population's diverse needs. Social workers can also provide more effective and respectful services to clients and promote social justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gottlieb, M. (2021). The case for a cultural humility framework in social work      practice. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 30(6), 463-481.

           

Sacred Heart University. (2023). Cultural Humility vs. Cultural Competence: A Lifelong Journey.

University of Oregon. (2021). What is Cultural Humility? The Basics.

            https://inclusion.uoregon.edu/what-cultural-humility-basics