Cultural Competence Check-Ins

Cultural competence, cultural humility, and culturally responsive services all are vital components to each professional interaction. ASHA has developed resources to help you reflect on your current level of cultural competence to improve service delivery.

Cultural humility is a dynamic and complex process requiring ongoing self-assessment and continuous expansion of one's cultural knowledge. Cultural humility forces us to consider power balances and imbalances in our interactions providing a structure to examine personal and institutional accountability. Cultural competence is a necessary component in order to achieve clinical competence. By definition, competence requires humility to evolve over time, beginning with an understanding of one's own biases and culture. It develops through interactions with individuals from various cultures and extending through one's own lifelong learning.

But, having cultural competence isn’t enough. One must apply the set of knowledge and skills to provide services unique to each individual. These culturally responsive services must consider the influence of cultural variables into each exchange. These series of check-ins were intended to heighten your awareness to provide responsive services. There are no answer keys, no "right" answers, and no finish line. Check-ins are intended to be a periodic personal audit to aid your growth and commitment to learning.

Looking to do more? Check out That’s Unheard Of and resources listed on the Multicultural Affairs and Resources page.