Cultural humility in an intercultural mentor-mentee relationship: overcoming emotional “borders and borderlands” of Nepali-mentors and US-mentees

Intercultural Mentoring in Higher Education

“…Intercultural mentors ought to be trained in cultural relations skills (e.g., cultural competence, cultural sensitivity, cultural humility, and effective communication) before and during intercultural mentoring (O'Brien et al., 2007; Repo et al., 2017; Stelter et al., 2021). It is also recommended that training emphasizes that intercultural mentors and mentees may experience emotional tensions due to cultural differences and, therefore, they should possess an understanding and cultural humility necessary to evaluate some differences in actions as cultural differences, not cultural discrimination (Thapa & Madrid Akpovo, 2022). When experiencing emotional tension, mentors and mentees may explore these emotions through the framework of cultural humility to evaluate their biases and values.…”

We Before Me: Developing a Self-Referent Measure of Cultural Humility for Postsecondary Students

“…While not abandoning the importance of constructs like (inter)cultural competence and cross-cultural awareness in addressing common goals of international education programming such as mutual respect and shared understandings among diverse individuals, experts in several fields, including teacher education (e.g., Thapa & Madrid Akpovo, 2022), social work (e.g., Fisher-Borne et al, 2015; Ortega & Coulborn, 2011), health care (e.g., Chang et al, 2012; Foronda et al, 2016; Jisrawi & Arnold, 2018), journalism (e.g., Goltz et al, 2016), and psychology (Hook et al, 2017), highlight cultural humility as a complementary student outcome of international education programs. In contrast with cultural competency (and other, related constructs), development of cultural humility is a fluid, lifelong process that challenges individuals to recognize and address inequalities in power structures (Murray-García & Tervalon, 2017; Tervalon & Murray-García, 1998).…”

“…Researchers and professionals in fields as diverse as teacher education (Thapa & Madrid Akpovo, 2022), mental health care (Jisrawi & Arnold, 2018), and nursing (Kako & Klingbeil, 2019) have highlighted the importance of supporting students and professionals to work with an increasingly diverse clientele. Student teachers, for example, must learn how to navigate their own cultural norms, values, and beliefs when interacting with students from other backgrounds (Thapa & Madrid Akpovo, 2022). Nursing and other health professionals need to enter their profession with the ability to work with diverse patient populations and provide culturally safe care (Kako & Klingbeil, 2019).…”

“…Davis et al (2010) define cultural humility as interpersonal, noting that “humble individuals are able to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented rather than self-focused, characterized by respect for others and a lack of superiority” (Hook et al, 2013, p. 354). Thapa and Madrid Akpovo (2022) offer a complementary definition, characterizing cultural humility as “an ongoing process of critical self-reflection that continually develops an understanding of how experiences are shaped based on one's assumptions, values, and beliefs” (p. 514). The cultural humility's interpersonal stance is thought to contribute to positive outcomes such as mutual respect and understanding, often a primary goal of postsecondary international education (Murray-García & Tervalon, 2017).…”