2.1 Cultural competence

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Cultural competence requires that, as an educator, you possess interpersonal awareness, an interest in cultural knowledge and the skills to provide learning conditions conducive for learners coming from cultures other than your own, and/or the mainstream culture in which your educational institution exists (Seeleman et al., 2009). This involves a willingness to understand cultural beliefs, values, attitudes, traditions and language preferences which may differ from your own. It requires a curiosity about the learner’s position and background, and how these may impact on their mental health, and any mental health conditions they may experience, as well as a willingness for ongoing reflection on your own cultural background and assumptions. Without cultural competence, it can be challenging to build effective professional relationships for education, and inclusion can be compromised.

Figure 1 is a model for cultural competence originally used in health care. It demonstrates the attributes necessary to achieve cultural competence, namely cultural awareness, cultural skill, cultural desire, cultural encounters and cultural knowledge.

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Figure _unit7.3.1 Figure 1 Critical Cultural Competence Model from Cooper et al. (2011).

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At the bottom of this diagram is a box containing the text ‘Families and communities. Multicultural strengths, assets and resources. Funds of knowledge’. There are then two arrows going to two more boxes. The first contains the text ‘Educator-self. Personal worldviews and cultural values. Personal experiences (including cross-cultural experiences)’ and the second contains the text ‘P-12 students. Growing complexity of diversity. Backgrounds and assets’. There is also an arrow going between these two boxes. Above these boxes is the text ‘Critical cultural competence of teachers and administrators’. Above this is a box containing ‘Instruction that promotes equity in education’ and above this a circle containing ‘Student achievement’,

Figure 1 Critical Cultural Competence Model from Cooper et al. (2011).

The knowledge and skills for inclusively involving other cultures that are embodied in cultural competence also involves ‘cultural humility’. This refers to the need to reflect on your own cultural background and assumptions, including your values, practices and responses. It also requires a willingness to be open to learning new things about unfamiliar cultures and not assuming that one is ‘better than’ or ‘superior to’ another. Your cultural humility can help learners to consider and communicate their needs and practices and to view them not so much as ‘other’ than the mainstream, but as equally valid and worthy of exploring and communicating. This can support the levelling up of cultural inequalities for learners. More recent models of cultural competence, such as Cooper et al.’s (2011) Critical Cultural Competence model, include the need for self-reflection, and consider cultural knowledge exchange as a dynamic process, which cannot be learned from books, but which requires dialogue and an open attitude with learners and communities.