Multicultural Training Experiences as Predictors of Multicultural Competencies: Students' Perspectives

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.     

Counseling International Students in Canadian Schools

International students face many demands as they navigate the cross-cultural transition of living and learning in host countries such as Canada. The cultural diversity represented in this student population poses unique challenges for multicultural counseling. The ways that international students have been represented in the literature may contribute to barriers for effective counseling services. The discussion begins with a summary of the issues faced by international students when living and learning in a foreign country. Several limitations in the counseling literature about international students are addressed, including, the limitations of culture shock as a model of cross cultural transition, the lack of methodological diversity in research involving international students, a focus on group characteristics, and the continued emphasis on the problems experienced by international students. Suggestions for counselors are given to enhance their multicultural counseling competencies for working with international students.     

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.     

Food and Culture: A Pedagogical Approach to Contextualizing Food‐Based Activities in Multicultural Counseling Courses

Pedagogic approaches that draw on reflective practices and experiential activities are valued for their perceived ability to enhance multicultural understanding. The use of food‐based assignments is not uncommon in multicultural counseling courses; however, the authors contend that although these activities may be experiential in nature, they are often devoid of any meaningful in‐depth discussion about related contextual elements, such as power dynamics, economic systems, familial structures, cultural values, and religious meaning. This article describes a food‐based assignment used in a multicultural counseling course incorporating firsthand experience with members of various cultures. Anecdotal evidence, as well as suggestions for practice, is included.     

Valuing Diversity in the Schools: Learning from Multicultural Counseling for Teachers in the Greek Educational Setting

This paper explores the challenge of diversity in an increasingly multicultural world, and adopts the position that the valuing of diversity can be taught – especially within the context of teacher training and education in general. It gives an overview of major components of diversity training within the context of multicultural counseling, and stresses what counseling can offer teacher training in regard to diversity issues and competencies for the Greek educational setting. Finally, it examines key notions of difference and ‘otherness’ in Greek thought, which can inform contemporary discourse on diversity and multicultural counseling theory and practice.     

Development of the Multicultural School Psychology Counseling Competency Scale

The purpose of this study was to begin to delineate competencies needed by school psychologists in the provision of counseling services to culturally diverse clients and to develop an exploratory measure of multicultural counseling competence in school psychology practice. The present article discusses the development and preliminary psychometric characteristics of the Multicultural School Psychology Counseling Competency Scale (MSPCCS). The MSPCCS, which assesses trainers' perceptions of the multicultural school psychology counseling competencies of graduating trainees, was administered to a national sample of directors of school psychology training programs. Preliminary findings, based on a 57% return rate, suggest that the scale has good internal consistency reliability. Results of the factor analysis support a one factor solution for the scale. Specific considerations in the use of the scale are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

International Counseling Trainees’ Experiences and Perceptions of Their Multicultural Counseling Training in the United States: A Mixed Method Inquiry

This study examined international counseling students’ (ICTs) experiences and perceptions of their multicultural counseling training (MCT) in the United States. The focus was on (a) relevance of the training, (b) effectiveness of the training methods, and (c) development of cross-cultural competence as trainees. Major findings indicated that ICTs found their MCT to be more useful in the areas of knowledge and awareness rather than in skill development. Dissatisfaction was expressed with training received; limited applicability to country of origin was noted. MCT in the US appears to reflect primarily a Westernized approach to teaching and learning related competencies. Implications and recommendations for counselors and educators are discussed.     

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.     

Teaching Pragmatic Psychodynamic Psychotherapy to Graduate Social Work Students

Evolving developments in psychodynamic theory have strengthened it as an evidence-based approach and have made it concordant with social work’s strengths-based, multicultural perspective. An elective focused on teaching fundamental concepts of psychodynamic psychotherapy was developed for graduate social work students based on Kolb’s theory of experiential learning, applied to Summers and Barber’s pragmatic model of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Data were collected based on students’ experienced self-efficacy with specific competencies in psychodynamic psychotherapy in the first, sixth, and last class. Outcomes were positive, and the data were used to make specific suggestions to strengthen course outcomes.     

Multicultural Counselor Training Experiences: Training Effects and Perceptions of Training Among a Sample of Predominately Hispanic Students

The effectiveness of multicultural training among a sample of predominately Hispanic counseling students was examined. The results of a series of 2‐factor repeated measures analysis of variance and follow‐up paired‐samples t tests suggest that multicultural training was effective in increasing students' multicultural competencies and in improving their cognitive racial attitudes. Students' affective racial attitudes were not changed. Students' perceptions of their multicultural training suggest that students from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds may experience multicultural training differently and unique life experiences may help explain this difference. Counselor educators may wish to use a variety of training experiences to provide multicultural training that is effective across diverse student populations.     

Multicultural Counselor Training: Students' Perceptions of Helpful and Hindering Events

Counselor trainees perceptions during a multicultural counseling course highlighted the importance of experiential activities and ethnically diverse speakers to the development of awareness and knowledge.     

Crash: Using a Popular Film as an Experiential Learning Activity in a Multicultural Counseling Course

Crash (P. Haggis, 2004) depicts the intersection of race, ethnicity, religion, and social class in a culturally and politically charged environment. The result is a film that places the viewer in situations that are void of simple right and wrong solutions. The authors describe an experiential learning activity that is based on using Crash to stimulate student awareness and reflection as a part of their affective development. Reactions from students to the use of Crash as a teaching tool are shared. Implications for counselor educators and supervisors electing to use this film to address multicultural counseling competence are presented.     

Multicultural Course Pedagogy: Experiences of Master's‐Level Students of Color

The author conducted a grounded theory study to examine multicultural training as experienced by 20 master's‐level students of color enrolled in multicultural counseling courses. Findings revealed an emergent theory of student of color learning experiences and multicultural course pedagogy. Implications for counselor educators are discussed.     

When Diversity Training Goes Wrong: A Case Study Analysis of the University of Delaware Residential Education Program

In an increasingly global and interconnected world, it is necessary for corporations and educational systems to develop mechanisms for community members to enhance multicultural competencies related to diversity including race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, and the like. Some people internalize anger, fear, contempt, and guilt about these issues. As a result, people express their feelings in unhealthy and unproductive ways in school and in the workplace. The solution often is to provide diversity training or sensitivity training. This case study analysis utilizes Kaufman's systemic thinking model to examine what went wrong when one university attempted to implement a yearlong intensive diversity training program that brought national media attention and a potential lawsuit against the university, ultimately resulting in a dramatic shift in the university's out‐of‐classroom experiential learning policies.     

Counselor Trainees' Experiences Counseling Disability: A Phenomenological Study

Transcendental phenomenology was used in this study to examine the lived experiences of counseling interns (N = 10) receiving multicultural training to assist clients with disabilities. Five essential themes were identified. Drawing on their findings, the authors recommend programmatic and curricular changes, including the infusion of personal narratives and service learning, to the multicultural training of counselors.     

International Immersion in Belize: Fostering Counseling Students’ Cultural Self-Awareness

International cultural immersion provides an in vivo, authentic, cross-cultural experience that can enhance multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills. This article examines the impact of an international immersion on graduate counseling students’ cultural self-awareness using a qualitative approach. Five graduate counseling students participated in a 3-week study abroad in Belize where they interacted with persons from diverse cultural backgrounds and settings. Four major cultural self-awareness themes emerged from the analysis of participants’ journals, (a) discrimination and prejudice, (b) cultural pride and appreciation, (c) cultural sensitivity, and (d) self-awareness. The findings are presented along with implications for future research and the use of international immersion as a viable experiential teaching strategy to enhance counseling students’ cultural self-awareness.     

Iowa Lakes Community College: Partnerships for Academic and Economic Success in a Rapidly Evolving Wind-Energy Industry

Iowa Lakes Community College responded to a national need for wind-energy technicians. The Wind-Energy and Turbine Program aligned industry and academic competencies with experiential learning components to foster exploration of additional renewable energy applications. Completers understand both the physical and academic rigor a career in wind energy demands.     

Racism Attitudes,White Racial Identity Attitudes,and Multicultural Counseling Competence in School Counselor Trainees

The author investigated the relative contributions of prior multicultural training, racism attitudes, and White racial identity attitudes to self‐reported multicultural counseling competence in 99 school counselor trainees. After accounting for the number of previous multicultural counseling courses taken, results revealed that racism attitudes and White racial identity attitudes together contributed to significant variance in self‐perceived multicultural counseling competence. In particular, higher levels of racism were correlated with lower levels of self‐reported multicultural counseling competence. Moreover, higher Disintegration racial identity attitudes held by Whites were associated with their lower levels of self‐perceived multicultural counseling competence. Implications of the findings are discussed.