Developing Multicultural Competence Using the Structured Peer Group Supervision Model

Interest in the role of supervision in counselor training has increased concurrent with the interest in effective strategies for developing multicultural counseling competency. L. D. Borders (1991) proposed a model of group supervision appropriate for use with supervisees of differing skill levels; however, the model does not overtly provide for supervisees' development of multicultural awareness and skills. This article presents a format of peer group multicultural supervision in which supervisees work to increase their multicultural competencies while engaging in helper roles important for working with culturally diverse clients.     

Multicultural Personality and Multicultural Counseling Competency in Counselor Trainees

The authors hypothesized that multicultural personality and ethnic identity would significantly predict variance in multicultural counseling competencies in counselor trainees, beyond the variance predicted by demographics, multicultural training, openness, and cognitive racial attitudes. Results showed multicultural personality predicted multicultural counseling competency, but ethnic identity did not. Results and implications are discussed.     

Pre-service physical education teachers’ Indigenous knowledge,cultural competency and pedagogy: a service learning intervention

In this paper, we investigate the effects of a community- and school-based service learning experience (SLE) on pre-service physical education teachers’ Indigenous knowledge, cultural competency and pedagogy. Informed by the theoretical tenets of Indigenous research methodologies, experiential learning and critical reflection, we examine 55 final-year pre-service physical education teachers’ (age: 21.9 [8.3]; 10.7% low SES; 68% females) cultural learning and competency in a core unit of study with a six-week SLE. Measures of their experiences included reflective journals, multicultural teaching competency scales and focus group interviews. Findings support the design of the SLE, with statistically significant changes in pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their cultural competency (p < 0.001). Pre-service teachers were able to challenge their assumptions about Indigenous students, plan and implement student-centred and culturally relevant pedagogies. Attention is drawn to the design of this SLE and demonstrates the importance of using Indigenous community members and teachers as mentors, which has not been explored in previous SLE studies.     

Culture and Technology: implications for multicultural teacher education

ABSTRACT

American classrooms are experiencing a rapid growth in cultural and ethnic diversity, as well as an increase in educational classroom computing. Because culture directly affects classroom organisation and classroom learning, teachers need to understand, incorporate, and support their students’ cultures. Furthermore, since educational computing is not culturally neutral, teachers in culturally diverse settings must integrate the computer culture, the classroom culture, and students’ learning preferences. To meet the need for culturally and technologically competent multicultural teachers, teacher education programs must first define both cultural competency and computer competency. After examining the relationship between culture and educational computing, the paper explores some essential components of cultural and technological competency for multicultural teachers. Finally, it indicates the need for further research on the interaction of culture and technology in the multicultural classroom.     

Ethnic Identity and Social‐Cognitive Maturity in a Multicultural Group Experience

This study examined a multicultural group experience on students' (N= 94) ethnic identity development and social‐cognitive maturity. Although no differences were identified between treatment and comparison group participants, group therapeutic factors scores were predictive of ethnic identity development and social‐cognitive maturity. Implications for counselor educators and future research are discussed.     

Supervisory Working Alliance: A Model Providing Direction for College Counseling Supervision

This article presents an overview of the Supervisory Working Alliance Model (E. S. Bordin, 1983) and related research. The author proposes an extension of the model by applying it to evaluation and multicultural competency. The following major advantages of the model for supervision in college counseling centers are discussed: (a) model's transtheoretical nature, (b) model's compatibility with alternate models, (c) model's conduciveness toward multiculturally competent supervision, and (d) model's utility in evaluation.     

The treatment of relapsing primary nephrotic syndrome in children

Objective: To explore better therapy and reduce the rate of re-relapse of primary nephritic syndrome in children who had been treated with corticosteroids but relapsed. Methods: Eighty relapsers were enrolled from Jan. 1994 to Apr. 2000, who were randomly divided into two groups. The treatment group (n=39) had been treated with tripterysium glucosides for three months, with the control group (n=41) members were treated with cyclophosphmide (CTX) by intermission intravenous pulse, with total dose of CTX not being more than 150 mg/kg. Prednisone, meanwhile, was given to both groups. The total treatment period of prednisone was prolonged by 12-18 months. Results: After following up for 3-7 years, the re-relapse rates of both groups were observed. The re-relapse rate of the treatment group was 28.2% to 29.3% in the CTX-controlled group. The re-relapse rates between two groups were almost similar, and with no observed significant difference (P>0.05). The side effect of tripterysium glucosides was less than that of CTX. Conclusion: For the treatment of relapsing nephritic syndrome in children, the combination of tripterysium glucosides and prolonged corticosteroid therapy is as effective as the regimen of CTX plus prolonged use of prednisone.     

Efficacy of online training for improving camp staff competency

Preparing competent staff is a critical issue within the camp community. This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of an online course for improving staff competency in camp healthcare practices among college-aged camp staff and a comparison group (N = 55). We hypothesized that working in camp would increase competency test scores due to opportunities for staff to experientially apply knowledge learned online. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyse the cross-level effects of a between-individuals factor (assignment to experimental or comparison group) and within-individual effects of time (pre-test, post-test #1, and post-test #2) on online course test scores. At post-test #2, the difference in average test scores between groups was ~30 points, with the treatment group scoring lower on average than the comparison group. Factors that may have influenced these findings are explored, including fatigue and the limited durability of online learning. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed.     

Building Multicultural Competencies in School Counselor Trainees: An International Immersion Experience

The authors describe an international cultural immersion field experience, make recommendations for counselor educators who want to establish a similar program, and present an example of a student's reflection on the experience as recorded in the personal multicultural competency portfolio.     

Influence of ethnic-related diversity experiences on intercultural sensitivity of students at a public university in Malaysia

In this study, the authors examine the influence of ethnic-related diversity experiences on intercultural sensitivity among Malaysian students at a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual Malaysian public university. Results reveal a significant differential level of ethnic-related diversity experiences (but not at the level of intercultural sensitivity) across ethnic groups studied. In comparison, the minority ethnic group of Indian students had a significantly higher level of ethnic-related diversity experiences than the Chinese and Malay students. The hypothesized significant main effect of level of ethnic-related diversity experiences on the level of intercultural sensitivity among the students is supported. The high-level ethnic-diversity experiences group significantly shows a higher level of intercultural sensitivity than the moderate and low-level groups, and the moderate level group is significantly higher than the low-level group. However, no significant interaction effect of ethnicity and ethnic-related diversity experiences on intercultural sensitivity is found. The implications of these findings are discussed further in the paper.     

Promoting Ego Development and Multicultural Competence During Internship

This research involved an exploratory intervention to determine the effectiveness of using a deliberate psychological education (DPE) approach that incorporated issues of ethics, multicultural competence, oppression and diversity. The study attempted to discern if the DPE model used could make a difference in the promotion of ego development (which subsumes moral development) and multicultural knowledge and awareness of counselor interns. The intervention group showed significant gains compared to comparison groups in ego development as measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WSCT) (Loevinger 1985) as well as significant gains on the Knowledge subscale of the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS, Ponterotto et al. 2002).     

Creating Peace by Confronting Prejudice: Examining the Effects of a Multicultural Communication Skills Group Intervention

This study investigated the effects of a Multicultural Relationship Enhancement Workshop on American education majors' ability to confront prejudice in order to create more peaceful communities in school settings. Due to the diverse group membership, participants were provided an opportunity to practice communication skills in a multicultural context that emphasized a social justice perspective. A repeated measures design with random assignment of participants to experimental (n = 26) and wait-list control (n = 22) groups was employed. Participants were studied at three different points in time, in five-week intervals, with the experimental group participating in the workshop during the first five-week interval and the control group receiving the treatment during the second five-week interval. The repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant time by treatment interaction effects between Times 1 and 2 on a measure of communication skills in multicultural situations. The intervention is discussed in the context of policies that promote cultures of peace.     

Teaching Interpreted Counseling Practice: A Step Toward Multicultural Competence

We conducted an interpretative phenomenological analysis of five counseling students' experiences collaborating with American Sign Language–interpreting students during counseling practice sessions. Themes were identified in developmental domains of counselor self-awareness, counseling relationship, and advocacy interventions. Interdisciplinary collaboration led students to address cultural deficiency models and increase multicultural competency and efforts in social justice.     

The Role of Multicultural Personality in Predicting University Adjustment of International Students in Turkey

The study examined how particular demographic and multicultural personality variables might predict university adjustment of international students in Turkey. One hundred and twenty-one international students from five geographical regions, including Middle Central Asia, the Balkans, the Middle East, the Kafkasia Region, and the Russian Federations, studying in a main university in İzmir, Turkey, participated in the study. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (Van der Zee and Van Oudenhoven, 2000) and a demographic information questionnaire were used to collect data, which were examined in regard to responses to the University Life Scale (Aladağ, Kağnıcı, Tuna and Tezer, 2003). According to the results, while demographic variables did not significantly predict the university adjustment of international students, multicultural personality variables did. Social initiative, emotional stability, open-mindedness and cultural empathy were found to be significant predictors of university adjustment.     

Clay Modelling and Social Modelling: effects of interactive teaching on young children's creative artmaking

In this project, 28 6‐year‐olds were taught skills involved in artistic claywork using principles of social modelling and cognitive learning in a classroom situation, over a series of six lessons. A further 28 students, serving as controls, were taught according to the normal art curriculum. The students’ clay models were photographed on pre‐test and post‐test, and rated by three expert judges (professional artists familiar with children's artwork) blind to treatment conditions. The cognitive social learning group evidenced strong gains on measures of creativity as defined by approximation to a three‐dimensional form, technical competency, decorative competency and aesthetic appeal. The control group students failed to evidence any significant change in rated creativity.     

Critical Factors in Cultural Immersion: A Synthesis of Relevant Literature

This synthesis of the literature on cross-cultural immersion experiences gives emphasis to the need for effective pedagogy for enhancing multicultural counseling competency, with cultural immersion being a potentially valuable training tool. The authors examine the empirical literature towards identifying both helpful and hindering structural and process factors in immersion experiences. Consideration is given to enhancing training experiences and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Report on multicultural education in pesantren

This article aims to report a single case study of how an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, prepared students for a multicultural Indonesia. Despite negative portrayal by the Western media about increasing Islamic radicalism in some pesantren, many pesantren are in fact transforming into modern Islamic institutions, incorporating the teaching of democratic values and practices, endorsing civil society and community development, and inculcating cultural/religious diversity and tolerance in students. Using schoolyard and classroom ethnographies, along with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) with teachers and students, the study found that classroom and non-classroom practices of the pesantren promote the development of multicultural education. Several subjects within both curriculum developed by the government and curriculum developed by pesantrens discuss a considerable number of issues that relate to cultural and religious diversity, tolerance, citizenship and democracy. The non-classroom practices of pesantren offer invaluable and intensive experiences for students to socialise with peers from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. However, challenges remain for the kyai (the pesantren’s great leader) and other leaders, such as teachers’ lack of competency, unclear multicultural objectives in both the pesantren’s curricula and the pesantren’s traditions, and unequal relations among students and among teachers. These challenges must be overcome to further develop education for cultural diversity.     

理念自觉与政策自觉——美国多元文化教育理论与我国民族教育理论的行动路径

作为不同地域中的教育现象,美国多元文化教育与我国民族教育在“民族”这一语义上具有了集结点,对其中的诸多问题进行比较具有一定的学术价值。本文就美国多元文化教育理论与我国民族教育理论的相关问题进行比较,认为,其同质处在于各自理论都具有解释性与发展性,异质性表现在：美国多元文化教育理论无论内容还是形式都具有强烈的民间成分,其所由形成者是理念的,比较而言,由于中国民族教育的发展与实践一直是在民族政策的框架内运行的,我国民族教育理论主要是作为对我国民族教育政策的补充而出现的,是解释性的,其实质在于“政策性”,它是中国民族教育政策的释放,其所由形成者,是政策主导的,其路径是自上而下的。     

A Case Study of King Middle School: The Symbiosis of Heterogeneous Grouping and Multicultural Education

Advocates of heterogeneous grouping, or detracking, have argued that it is likely to be well complemented by a multicultural curriculum (Oakes & Wells, 1995). Conversely, advocates of multicultural education have discussed the need for a reduction in tracking in order to meet the goals of this comprehensive reform (Banks, 1995; Gollnick & Chin, 1986; Sleeter & Grant, 1994). At King Middle School, a racially mixed urban school, educators have recognized the symbiosis of heterogeneous grouping and multicultural education. The implementation of these two reforms in tandem has contributed to King's success in offering a quality education to all students. King's organizational structure and curricular and instructional strategies complement and reinforce both heterogeneous grouping and multicultural education. Because heterogeneous grouping and multicultural education often become politically charged, King applies specific coping strategies for dealing with such pressures.