Academic literature on the topic 'Assessment of multicultural counseling competence'

xiv, 134 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.<br>Recent mandates for increased multicultural competence training in a variety of fields have stimulated a growing need for reliable and valid multicultural competence assessment instruments. Existing instruments have demonstrated varying levels of reliability and validity in assessing multicultural knowledge, awareness, and skills and have been critiqued for limitations in scope, applicability, and ability to capture the developmental nature of multicultural competence. In an attempt to address limitations of existing measures, this study investigated an original measure of multicultural competence utilizing a stages of change framework. The stages of change model has been applied to many types of behavior change but not yet to the construct of multicultural competence. The participants in this study were undergraduate and graduate students in human services (assessed one time), graduate students in education (assessed before and after participation in a required diversity course), and student services professionals (assessed before and after participation in a multicultural training). Findings suggest that the proposed measure, the Multicultural Competence Stage of Change Scale (MCSCS), has a six factor structure corresponding to the five stages of change and one social acceptability factor. The reliability of the measure was adequate, with values of Cronbach's α above .70 for 4 out of 6 subscales and .82 for the full scale score. The validity of the MCSCS was demonstrated by significant correlations with the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Scale, Counselor Edition, Revised. Results indicate that student affairs professionals scored significantly higher than education students on the Pre-Contemplation and Preparation subscales and that pre-test scores were significantly lower than post-test scores on the Pre-Contemplation, Contemplation, and Action subscales. This study provides evidence that the MCSCS is a promising measure of multicultural competence stage of change. A discussion of the findings includes strengths of the MCSCS, limitations of this study, future research directions, recommended measure revisions, and applications of the MCSCS to clinical and vocational settings.<br>Committee in charge: Dr. Ellen McWhirter, Chair; Dr. Krista Chronister; Dr. Joseph Stevens; Dr. Mia Tuan

Thesis (M.S.Ed.)--Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2009.<br>"Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education." Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-168). Also available online.

<p> The concept of multiculturalism has traditionally referred to visible racial and ethnic cultural differences among people, and has expanded to include other marginalized and oppressed populations in the United States in the past 25 years. However, in the context of counselor education, there appears to be an incomplete understanding of what constitutes multicultural competence, the characteristics a competent counselor embodies, and how counselor education programs are evaluated for their efficacy in cultivating multicultural competence. The hypothesis guiding the current study was that there are shared characteristics between a mindful counselor and a multiculturally competent counselor such as cultural humility, increased awareness, genuineness, cultural empathy, and a non-judgmental disposition. To explore this further, the researcher used a mixed method research methodology to explore the phenomena of multicultural counseling competence and mindfulness. The qualitative aspect of this study involved the use of a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to correlate the attributes that are shared between these two phenomena, while the quantitative aspect involved using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and Everyday Multicultural Competencies / Revised Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy to statistically measure the magnitude of the correlation between mindfulness and multicultural competence. A grounded theory for the cultivation of multicultural counseling competence is presented in the final chapter as a synthetic outcome of this study.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2007.<br>Thesis research directed by: Psychology. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

A number of studies have examined how counselor educators can facilitate counselor development of multicultural competence within the context of graduate counseling programs (e.g., Chu-Lien Chao, 2012; Constantine, 2001; Constantine, Juby, and Liang, 2001; Dickson and Jepsen, 2007; Sodowsky et al., 1998). Much less research has focused on counselor development occurring in students' personal lives, yet some evidence has shown that students report the impact of extracurricular experiences on counselor development (Coleman, 2006; Furr and Carroll, 2003; Rønnestad and Skovholt, 2003). Many qualitative studies have demonstrated positive effects of cultural immersion experiences, yet much less research in this area has utilized the quantitative measures related to cultural awareness. Few studies have also examined the effects of living among a different culture instead of visiting a different culture short term. After a thorough review of the literature on cultural immersion experiences, this study was designed to fill the gap that presently exists in quantitative findings exploring differences in multicultural competence and universal-diverse orientation, which is an awareness and accepting attitude for those who come from diverse backgrounds. The sample for the study consisted of students experiencing cultural immersion by means of relocation for their graduate training program. Additional analysis examined how universal-diverse orientation and duration of graduate training predicted multicultural competence scores. The results were not significant showing any differences in either multicultural competence or universal-diverse orientation scores based on cultural immersion. Similarly, no differences were found for either of these variables based on amount of multicultural training either. One finding that was statistically significant was a strong, positive correlation, as well as predictive ability, between universal-diverse orientation and multicultural knowledge and awareness. Implications of the findings could be applicable to clinicians and counselor education programs. By fostering more universal-diverse orientation, counselor educators could work towards increasing multicultural competence as well. This study was found to have some limitations, primarily a small sample size for quantitative analysis. These results do have implications for future research to continue studying multicultural competence, universal-diverse orientation, and cultural immersion.<br>Doctor of Philosophy<br>Much research has examined how people who train mental health professionals can facilitate counselor development of multicultural competence, an awareness for cultural differences and an ability to work with people from many cultural backgrounds. Much less research has focused on counselor development occurring in students’ personal lives, yet some evidence has shown that students report the impact of events in their personal lives on counselor development. Many studies have demonstrated positive effects of cultural immersion experiences, in which participants immerse themselves in a different culture for a time period. A few studies have also examined the effects of living among a different culture instead of visiting a different culture short term. After a thorough review of the literature on cultural immersion experiences, this study was designed to research how living among a diverse culture could result in differences in multicultural competence and universal-diverse orientation, which is an awareness and accepting attitude for those who come from diverse backgrounds. The study focused on students who moved to live in a different culture as part of their graduate training program in a counseling related field. The researcher also explored the relationship between universal-diverse orientation and multicultural competence scores. The results were not significant showing any differences in either multicultural competence or universal-diverse orientation scores based on whether or not participants had experienced cultural immersion. Similarly, no differences were found based on amount of multicultural training either. One finding that was significant was a strong relationship between universal-diverse orientation and multicultural knowledge and awareness. Implications of the findings could be applicable to counselors and counselor education programs. By fostering more universal-diverse orientation, counselor educators could work towards increasing multicultural competence as well. This study was found to have some limitations, primarily having few participants take the study’s survey. These results do have implications for future research to continue studying multicultural competence, universal-diverse orientation, and cultural immersion.