Cultural Humility and Intercultural Contexts of Music Education

Abstract

A framework of cultural humility has three core tenets: (a) commitment to lifelong, critical self-reflection; (b) recognition and mitigation of power imbalances; and (c) accountability to individuals and institutions. In this article, the author provides a brief definition of cultural humility and apply the concept to frame my analysis of intercultural contexts of music education. By adopting the concept of cultural humility, music teachers can acknowledge their own biases, values, prejudices, and beliefs in relation to intercultural contexts of music education. A commitment to a lifelong process of introspection through self-reflection can help them redress power imbalances that exist in music education and can encourage the building of bidirectionality of relationships with students and communities.