Cultural Humility Through the Lens of Freirean Praxis: Critiquing an Emerging Construct in Music Education

• In Event: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in Music Education

Abstract

Cultural humility has gained traction as a potentially transformative construct in social justice work, compelling practitioners to engage in a lifelong process of self-critique as they recognize the limitations of their personal knowledge, practice openness toward others, and actively interrupt systemic inequities. Whereas the related construct of cultural competence has been critiqued for endorsing a sense of teacher neutrality and earned mastery, cultural humility instead beckons practitioners to directly confront matters of power, privilege, and equity. From a theoretical lens, we argue that cultural humility uniquely compels practitioners toward transformative change through intrapersonal reflection and interpersonal engagement with others. We further discuss common shortcomings that may arise from practicing cultural humility incompletely—including armchair activism, performative allyship, and dehumanization.

Authors

• William J. Coppola, University of Southern California

• Don M. Taylor, University of North Texas