Cultural humility: A framework for authentic, participatory engagement

I've been reading about the concept of "cultural humility" this week. It's an intriguing and attractive concept for those of us who engage in international (and inter-cultural) work.

Cultural humility emerged from the medical field to address power imbalances between patient-physician and non-paternalistic approaches to medicine (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998, p. 117). It certainly has relevance within education as well as we consider relationships that involve power over versus power with others. Essentially, cultural humility speaks to the importance of first developing relationships with those who we engage with, striving to learn about the other, and then working in true partnership to address identified areas.

A helpful book in this regard is Corbett and Fikkert's (2009) When helping hurts: How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor and yourself. The following chart is adapted from the book and provides an excellent framework to consider the work we do in global and local contexts:

Mode of Participation	Type of Involvement of Local People	Relationship of Outsiders to Local People
Coercion	Local people submit to predetermined plans developed by outsiders	DOING TO
Compliance	Local people are assigned to tasks, often with incentives, by outsiders; the outsiders decide the agenda and direct the process	DOING FOR
Consultation	Local people’s opinions are asked; local people analyze and decide on a course of action	DOING FOR
Cooperation	Local people work together with outsiders to determine priorities; responsibility remains with outsiders for directing the process	DOING WITH
Co-Learning	Local people and outsiders share their knowledge to create appropriate goals and plans, to execute those plans, and to evaluate the results	DOING WITH
Community Initiated	Local people set their own agenda and mobilize to carry it out without outside initiators and facilitators	RESPONDING TO

Taken from Hockett, E., L. Samek, & S. Headley (2014). Cultural humility: A framework for local and global engagement. Faculty Publications – School of Education, Paper 13. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/soe_faculty/13

 

Every kid needs a champion (everywhere)

Recently, I watched this great Ted Talk (8 minutes) by Rita Pierson. The title is "Every kid needs a champion." I would extend that to say "Everywhere."

Although she is speaking to a US audience, the talk is relevant to educators anywhere.

Rita speaks to the importance of relationships,apologies, and self-worth. These values and actions are universal in my experience:

• Students everywhere value teachers who care about them.
• Students respect educators who are not afraid to admit when they have made a mistake.
• The self-worth of students grows when the teacher demonstrates a genuine respect for them.

Children around the world need educators who demonstrate trust, respect, and care.

Most countries around the world have committed to ensuring that every child can go to school (Millennium Development Goal #2: universal primary education).

What we need now is a commitment to ensure that those schools are not only full of children but of teachers who bring joy to the learning experiences of the students.