We all know the three pillars of Dual Language Education: Grade-Level, Academic Achievement in both languages, Bilingualism and Biliteracy, and Sociocultural Competence.  However, the more I delve into these pillars, the more I am convinced that these three pillars are not enough… that with sociocultural competence must come the other side of the cultural coin, cultural humility.  

Cultural competence has long been a goal in diversity, equity, and inclusion work.  A great part of cultural competence involves learning about other cultures and putting that knowledge into practice to ensure equity of practice and more importantly equity of outcomes for marginalized groups.  However, with the term cultural competence comes a tacit expectation of completion… that one can in fact reach an end goal of being culturally competent.

A person who thinks that they have in fact become culturally competent may make comments such as the following, “I know more about Mexican culture than most Mexicans” or “I’ve taken a lot of workshops on cultural competence.  I’ve already done this work.”  However, to think of oneself as more knowledgeable about a culture than the adherents of that culture or to see cultural competence as a series of workshops that one can complete is nothing more than cultural arrogance. And those who think they have arrived will likely unwittingly continue to direct microaggressions at others at a high frequency because they do not see the need to monitor their speech.  Furthermore, many who see themselves as culturally competent may limit their work for equity to dominant minority groups with which they feel more competent so as to not challenge their self-proclaimed accomplishments.   

On the other hand, cultural humility teaches us that the path to cultural competence never ends. Cultural humility was first coined by healthcare professionals Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia in 1998 and is defined by The National Institutes of Health (NIH) as “a lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique whereby the individual not only learns about another’s culture, but one starts with an examination of her/his own beliefs and cultural identities.”  Cultural humility involves understanding the historical realities behind structural racism, the intersection of identity groups, and engagement in constant self-reflection.

Cultural humility involves understanding the historical basis of racism that exists not only in the United States but globally and how the past has led to the implicit biases that we all have, regardless of racial identity.  It requires an understanding of racial structures that exist even outside the United States and European contexts that lead to people world-wide embracing and perpetuating racism when they do not check their behaviors with constant self-vigilance.  By understanding the impact of these historical realities, we understand that the process of becoming culturally competent is a forever process, not a check-the-box series of workshops.

Furthermore, cultural humility requires an understanding of the intersection of identity groups that leads to the complexities of both culture and prejudice.  Hence, knowing one person or even a group of people from a particular cultural background does not necessarily mean that you can understand all people from the same background.  Instead, cultural humility leads to a perpetual and genuine curiosity about people rather than the stereotyping of behaviors and beliefs.  

Finally, cultural humility requires constant self-reflection.  Some questions that promote cultural humility suggested by Shamaila Khan (2021) include: 

• Which parts of my identity am I aware of? Which are most salient?
• Which parts of my identity are privileged and/or marginalized?
• How does my sense of identity shift based on context and settings?
• What are the parts onto which people project? And which parts are received well, by whom?
• What might be my own blind spots and biases?

I would also suggest reviewing one’s actions periodically and asking, How might my blind spots or biases have impacted others?

Because racism and prejudice are world-wide phenomena, it is important for all people, regardless of identity, to engage in activities that promote cultural humility. Overall, if we recognize cultural humility as the flip side of cultural competence, we will become more culturally competent as will our students.