Intercultural Humility in Social Work Education

Abstract

This conceptual study draws from social work, education, psychology, and moral philosophy (i.e., virtue and Confucian ethics) to inform our conceptual definition of intercultural humility (ICH) with five interrelated features. Starting with cultural humility in the context of the Educational Policies and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) for Baccalaureate and Master’s Social Work Programs of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), we examined conceptualizations of humility and cultural humility as virtues required for ethical social work practice. Implications for social work education are discussed by outlining rationales and strategies for developing each ICH feature.