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Article Excerpt
The authors surveyed a national sample of master's-level counseling students regarding their multicultural training experiences and their multicultural counseling competencies. A series of hierarchical regression models tested the prediction of inventoried competencies from measures of selected training experiences: (a) program cultural ambience or learning environment, (b) multicultural instructional strategies, and (c) multicultural clinical experiences. Perceptions of program cultural ambience or learning environment predicted all multicultural competencies: knowledge, skills, awareness, and relationship. Additional findings support the importance of clinical training experiences in the context of effective multicultural training.
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Promoting the development of multicultural competence has become a critical issue in counselor education (Burnett, Hamel, & Long, 2004; Manese, Wu, & Nepomuceno, 2001; Vasquez & Vasquez, 2003). Various definitions of multicultural competence have been proposed with the purpose of training culturally sensitive and effective counselors (Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992; Sue & Sue, 2003; Taylor, Gambourg, Rivera, & Laureano, 2006). Standards and competencies have been written for the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) in which competence has been defined in the areas of knowledge, awareness, and skills (Sue et al., 1992). According to these standards, competent counselors have knowledge of the values and norms of different cultural groups, must be aware of their own culturally based assumptions and biases, and must be able to demonstrate skills that are acceptable to clients from diverse populations (Sue et al., 1992).
Recent discussions in the literature regarding the meaning of multicultural competence warn that current conceptualizations of multicultural competencies (i.e., knowledge, awareness, and skills) may oversimplify the complexities involved in multicultural interactions and may limit effective implementation of culturally sensitive communication (Knapik & Miloti, 2006; Toporek, 2001). From a postmodern perspective, Taylor et al. (2006) discussed the acquisition of knowledge, awareness, and skills as a starting point from which counseling students could construct multicultural competence through their ongoing relationships with clients. The understanding of the importance and complexities of multicultural competence continues to evolve, and counseling students rely on counselor education programs to provide training that will help them work effectively and sensitively in multicultural situations.
Counselor educators have pursued multicultural training objectives by designing pedagogical experiences that take many forms. Curricular changes range from adding a multicultural counseling course or area of concentration to infusing multicultural issues into all course work within the curriculum (Copeland, 1982; Reynolds, 1995). Providing a single course in multicultural counseling is less complicated than coordinating the efforts of all faculty members to integrate multicultural issues throughout the program curriculum. Some experts believe, however, that the integration of multicultural issues into all course work provides more comprehensive and integrated exposure to relevant issues in multicultural counseling than can be provided in a single course (Copeland, 1982; Ridley, Mendoza, & Kanitz, 1994).
Counselor educators design multicultural course work by selecting from a variety of instructional strategies: (a) traditional strategies, which include lectures and reading assignments that provide specific information to increase students' cognitive understanding of cultural norms and values (Reynolds, 1995); (b) exposure strategies, which provide an affective experience and include presentations by minority group members to increase students' sensitivity and empathy toward members of different cultural groups (Ridley et al., 1994); and (c) participatory strategies, which involve active student participation, introspection, and examination of personal attitudes and beliefs and can include simulations, role-play, and class discussions (Kim & Lyons, 2003; Pedersen, 2000). In addition, programs may include special attention to multicultural clinical training experiences. For instance, multicultural practica provide opportunities for students to experience working with clients from diverse backgrounds, and multicultural supervision provides an environment in which students can process and reflect on the impact of diversity on their counseling practice (Ridley et al., 1994).
To promote multicultural competence, experts have suggested using a multifaceted training approach that includes cognitive, affective, and consciousness-raising activities (Carney & Kahn, 1984; Ridley et al., 1994). Carney and Kahn emphasized the creation of a supportive and challenging learning environment to prompt student movement across different stages of development. Moreover, the structure of the training program may also influence the development of student multicultural competencies (Gloria & Pope-Davis, 1997; Sue, 2001). According to Gloria and Pope-Davis, the day-to-day practices within training programs convey attitudes and behaviors that contribute to a learning environment or program cultural ambience that either reinforces or contradicts the program's commitment to multiculturalism. These authors emphasized that training programs must convey a cultural ambience that is respectful of multiculturalism in order to promote the ideal of multiculturalism and enhance the multicultural training of students. The extent to which a culturally sensitive ambience exists within a training program may be evidenced by the following: the integration of multicultural issues throughout the entire curriculum and supervision; multicultural practica; faculty participation in multicultural research; and a program climate in which students and faculty feel safe, comfortable, and valued (Pope-Davis, Liu, Nevitt, & Toporek, 2000).
Sue (2001) also emphasized the importance of a systemic approach to developing multicultural competence. He used the Multidimensional Model of Cultural Competence (MDCC) to demonstrate the interrelationship between the social contexts in which people learn and work and their multicultural competencies. The MDCC is a 3 x 4 x 5 factorial model that depicts three primary dimensions of multicultural competence: (a) three essential components of cultural competence (knowledge, skills, and awareness), (b) four foci of analysis (individual, professional, organizational, and societal), and (c) perspectives of five racial/cultural groups. According to Sue, the knowledge, skills, and awareness of the individual (student), profession (counseling), organization (counselor education program), and society are interrelated and influenced by one another. Multicultural development must occur across all levels of the environment to be effective (Sue, 2001). Therefore, attempts to train culturally competent students may be impeded if the practices and structures of counselor education programs convey little value for multiculturalism.
Faced with several training options, counselor educators need empirical evidence, as well as theory and belief, on which to base their judgments about program and course design. Counselor educator judgments can be construed as a set of implied predictions in which different program conditions (i.e., cultural ambience, instructional strategies, and clinical training experiences) predict student outcomes (i.e., knowledge, awareness, and skills). Research describing the effectiveness of specific instructional strategies in promoting students' multicultural competencies is scarce in the counselor education literature. We found only one study that addressed the multicultural counselor education training efforts (apart from psychology programs) across programs. Holcomb-McCoy and Myers (1999) reported that 151 responding professional counselors (30% return rate) who had taken a multicultural counseling course scored significantly higher than counselors who had not taken such a course on dimensions of multicultural knowledge and racial identity.
The current study was designed to examine how multicultural aspects of counselor education program experiences (i.e., program cultural ambience, multicultural instructional strategies, and multicultural clinical training experiences) contribute to predictions of students' multicultural counseling competencies. Our purpose was to identify the extent to which these three co-occurring program experiences predict students' self-reported multicultural competencies. The research question that guided the current study was, How do students' perceptions of program cultural ambience, multicultural instructional strategies, and multicultural clinical training experiences contribute to predictions of self-reported multicultural knowledge, skills, awareness, and relationship?
Method
Participation Recruitment
A national sample of master's-level counselor education programs and students was identified through a two-tiered recruitment process. First, via e-mail or telephone, we contacted department chairpersons and/or program directors from all 366 master's-level counselor education programs in the United States that were listed in Counselor Preparation (Hollis & Dodson, 1999) and asked them to solicit the participation of master's-level counseling students in their programs. Second, we mailed postcards to 232 of the 366 chairpersons who agreed to assist with the implementation of the study (63% response rate). Chairpersons were asked to distribute the postcards to students enrolled in their master's-level counseling program who were willing to participate in the online survey. The postcards included a brief description of the study, a URL address, and a personal identification number to access the researcher's secure Web site. The Web site included an introduction letter, informed consent form, description of tasks for participating students, information regarding the awarding and receipt of lottery prizes, one copy of each survey instrument, and instructions with the anticipated amount of time (25 minutes) required for completion and submission. Approximately 3 weeks after the packet of participant postcards was mailed, the department chairpersons or program directors of programs from which no students had submitted survey responses were sent a reminder e-mail message.
Sample
Programs. A total of 516 students representing 152 of the 232 participating counselor education...
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