Cultural competence: a living theory of personal transformation within the context of higher education

English: This living theory was developed in response to indisputable evidence that racism and other forms of discrimination are still being experienced at South African universities. As a white female educator, it was important to investigate my practices to ensure that I am sensitive to the needs of a diverse student body. Committed to a process of personal transformation, I engaged in living action research to find answers to the question: "How do I transform my practices to be more inclusive, appropriate and effective in relating to a diverse body of people within the context of higher education?" In order to gain a better understanding of inter-group relationships, I conducted a comprehensive concept analysis by engaging in a review of literature from a multiplicity of perspectives. Ethnocentrism, in its various forms of expression, was found to be the main stumbling block in intercultural relationships and therefore I engaged in an enquiry to find ways of overcoming ethnocentrism. Cultural competence, a transformative process, which involves continuously striving towards relating more appropriately and communicating more effectively within a diverse context, was employed. This is a process of cultural humility, as it involves a desire to learn from others. Cultural competence is a continuous process and not an event, which involves cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skills, cultural encounters and cultural desire. To gain cultural awareness, I performed an autoethnography, as well as an ethnographic analysis of South African history to discover the intellectual baggage transmitted to me from generation to generation. White supremacy, an ideology based on eurocentrism, a specific form of ethnocentrism, was found to have had a major influence in the cause and maintenance of oppressive inter-group relationships. With this knowledge, I conducted a self-redefinition to set standards for my future practice based on the internal cultural constructs of values, beliefs, attitudes, assumptions, norms and lifeways. Ultimately, I discovered that excellence in teaching practice, scholarship and leadership can be achieved by means of a teaching philosophy based on an ethic of caring. In other words, values stemming from a caring ethic steer practices towards being inclusive, appropriate and effective in relating to a diverse body of people within the context of higher education.