The Caring Encounters Guiding Framework: A Narrative Inquiry-Informed Innovative Model for Navigating Diversity.

The article focuses on the development of the Caring Encounters Guiding Framework, an innovative model designed to help social workers navigate interactions involving significant cultural and worldview differences in increasingly diverse, or "superdiverse," Western societies. Developed through narrative inquiry with 32 social work students and alumni from diverse backgrounds, the Framework comprises three interconnected elements: Context (considering past experiences and physical settings), Core Issues (Person, Differences, Communication, Climate), and Prescriptions (nine guiding principles and processes promoting flexibility, humility, and respectful engagement). Unlike existing models that emphasize systemic oppression or social inclusion, this Framework centers an ethic of care and relational sensitivity, offering adaptable strategies for fostering respectful dialogue in both practice and educational settings. While promising for small-scale interpersonal interactions, the Framework's theoretical distinctiveness and application challenges suggest the need for further empirical testing and complementary use alongside other diversity models.