The experiences of postgraduate psychology students regarding the development of multicultural competence
Abstract
This study investigated the experiences of postgraduate psychology students regarding their multicultural competence development (MCCD). King and Baxter Magolda’s multidimensional framework for the development of intercultural maturity, comprising cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal dimensions served as theoretical grounding. A qualitative, case study design was employed, using thematic analysis to analyse focus group data. It was found MCCD takes place across the lifespan and in various contexts. Methods to overcome obstacles to MCCD were identified, as well as the participants’ positions of MCCD. Lastly, educational experiences that promote MCCD are discussed.Downloads
References
Abreu, J. M., Chung, R. H., & Atkinson, D. R. (2000). Multicultural counseling training: Past, present, and future directions. The Counselling Psychologist, 28(5), 641-656. doi: 10.1177/0011000000285003
Ahmed, R., & Pillay, A. L. (2004). Reviewing clinical psychology training in the post-apartheid period: Have we made any progress? South African Journal of Psychology, 34(4), 630–656. doi: 10.1177/008124630403400408
Ahmed, S., Wilson, K. B., Henriksen Jr., R. C., & Jones, J. W. (2011). What does it mean to be a culturally-competent counselor? Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 17-27. Retrieved from http://www.psysr.org/jsacp/ahmed-v3n1-11_17-28.pdf
Bernal, G., & Sáez-Santiago, E. (2006). Culturally centered psychosocial interventions. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(2), 121–132. doi: 10.1002/jcop.20096
Berry, J. W., Poortinga, Y. H., Segall, M. H., & Dasen, P. R. (2002). Cross-cultural pychology: Research and applications (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: University Press.
Braskamp, L. A., Braskamp, D. C., & Engberg, M. E. (2013). Global Perspective Inventory (GPI): Its purpose, construction, potential uses, and psychometric characteristics. Chicago, IL: Global Perspective Institute.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Campinha-Bacote , J. (2002). The process of cultural competence in the delivery of healthcare services: A model of care. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3), 181-184. doi: 10.1177/10459602013003003
Chitindingu, E. (2012). Students’ views on the inclusion of multicultural perspectives into the psychology curriculum at two South African universities: An Afrocentric analysis. (Doctoral dissertation, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg). Retrieved from http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10413/8081/Chitindingu_ Ethel_2012.pdf?sequence=1
Comas-Díaz, L. (2011). Multicultural theories of psychotherapy. In R. J. Corsinin, & D. Wedding, Current psychotherapies (pp. 501-529). Belmont, CA: Cengage.
Constantine, M. G. (2002). The intersection of race, ethnicity, gender and social class in counselling: Examining selves in cultural contexts. Journal of Multicultural Counselling and Development, 30, 210-215. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2007.tb00440.x
Constantine, M. G., Hage, S. M., Kindaichi, M. M., & Bryant, R. M. (2007). Social justice and multicultural issues: Implications for the practice and training of counselors and counseling psychologists. Journal of Counseling & Development, 85, 24-29. doi: 10.1002/j.2161-1912.2002.tb00520.x
Denson, N., & Bowman, N. (2011). The integral role of emotion in interracial interactions and college student outcomes. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 4(4), 223-235. doi: 10.1037/a002469
Denson, N., & Zhang, S. (2010). The impact of student experiences with diversity on developing graduate attributes. Studies in Higher Education, 35(5), 529–543. doi: 10.1080/03075070903222658
Duncan, N., Van Niekerk, A., & Townsend, L. (2004). Following apartheid: Authorship trends in the South African Journal of Psychology after 1994. South African Journal of Psychology, 34(4), 553–575. doi: 10.1177/008124630403400404
Eagle, G. T., Haynes, H., & Long, C. (2007). Eyes wide open: Facilitating student therapists’ experiences with the unfamiliar. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling, 9(2), 133-146. doi: 10.1080/13642530701363270
Government Communication and Information System. (2011). South Africa's people: A pocket guide to South Africa. Retrieved from http://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/www.gcis.gov.za/files/docs/ resourcecentre/pocketguide/004_saspeople.pdf
Griner, D., & Smith, T. B. (2006). Culturally adapted mental health interventions: A meta-analytic review. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(4), 534-548. doi: 10.1037/0033-3204.43.4.531
Health Professions Council of South Africa. (2014). Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.hpcsa.co.za/Publications/Statistics
Heppner, P. P. (2006). The benefits and challenges of becoming cross-culturally competent counseling Psychologists: Presidential address. The Counseling Psychologist, 34(1), 147-172. doi: 10.1177/0011000005282832
Hill, N. R. (2003). Promoting and celebrating multicultural competence in counselor trainees. Counselor Education and Supervision, 43, 39-51. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6978.2003.tb01828.x
Hughes, D., & Chen, L. (1997). When and what parents tell children about race: An examination of race-related socialization among African American families. Applied Developmental Science, 1(4), 200-214. doi: 10.1207/s1532480xads0104_4
Hughes, D., & Johnson, D. (2001). Correlates in children's experiences of parents' racial socialization behaviors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(4), 981-995. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00981.x
Hughes, D., Rodriguez, J., Smith, E. P., Johnson, D. J., Stevenson, H. C., & Spicer, P. (2006). Parents’ ethnic–racial socialization practices: A review of research and directions for future study. Developmental Psychology, 42(5), 747–770. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.747
Hugo, C. H., Boshoff, D. E., Traut, A., Zungu-Dirwayi, N., & Stein, D. J. (2003). Community attitudes toward and knowledge of mental illness in South Africa. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 38, 715–719. doi: 10.1007/s00127-003-0695-3
Illeris, K. (Ed.). (2009). Contemporary theories of learning: Learning theorists ... In their own words. New York, NY: Routledge.
Kaygusuz, C. (2012). Psychological counselling within the context of globalization and multiculturalism. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, 895–902. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.753
Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kendall Brown, M. (2008). A mixed methods examination of college students' intercultural development. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
King, P. M., & Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2005). A developmental model of intercultural maturity. Journal of College Student Development, 46(6), 571-592. doi: 10.1353/csd.2005.0060
Kumas-Tan, Z., Beagan, B., Loppie, C., MacLeod, A., & Frank, B. (2007). Measures of cultural competence: Examining hidden assumptions. Academic Medicine, 82(6), 548-557. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e3180555a2d
Landreman, L. M., Rasmussen, C. J., King, P. M., & Xinquan Jiang, C. (2007). A phenomenological study of the development of university educators’ critical consciousness. Journal of College Student Development, 48(3), 275-296. doi: 10.1353/csd.2007.0027
Leach, M. M., Akhurst, J., & Basson, C. (2003). Counseling psychology in South Africa: Current political and professional challenges and future promise. The Counselling Psychologist, 31(5), 619-640. doi: 10.1177/0011000003256787
Lee, A., Williams, R. D., Shaw, M. A., & Jie, Y. (2014). First-year students' perspectives on intercultural learning. Teaching in Higher Education, 19(5), 543-554. doi: 10.1080/13562517.2014.880687
Lee, J. J. (2002). Religion and college attendance: Change among students. The Review of Higher Education, 25(4), 369-384. doi: 10.1353/rhe.2002.0020
Marchetti-Mercer , M. C., & Cleaver, G. (2000). Genograms and family sculpting: An aid to cross-cultural understanding in the training of psychology students in South Africa. The Counseling Psychologist, 28(1), 61-80. doi: 10.1177/0011000000281004
Merryfield, M. M. (2000). Why aren't teachers being prepared to teach for diversity, equity, and global interconnectedness? A study of lived experiences in the making of multicultural and global educators. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16, 429-443. doi: 10.1016/S0742-051X(00)00004-4
Padilla, A. M., & Perez, W. (2003). Acculturation, social identity, and social cognition: A new perspective. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 25(1), 35-55. doi: 10.1177/0739986303251694
Park, J. (2013). Multicultural experience and intercultural sensitivity among South Korean adolescents. Multicultural Education Review, 5(2), 108-138. doi: http:/dx.doi.org/10.14328/MER.2013.09.30.108
Pedersen, P. B. (2002). The making of a culturally competent counselor. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 10(3). doi: 10.9707/2307-0919.1093
Quaye, S. J., & Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2007). Enhancing racial self-understanding through structured learning and reflective experiences. New Directions for Student Services, 120, 55-66. doi: 10.1002/ss
Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information, 22, 63-75. Retrieved from http://steerweb.org/research/FRM/sample/Trustworthypaper.pdf
Socha, T. J., & Diggs, R. C. (Eds.). (2009). Communication, race, and family: Exploring communication in black, white, and biracial families. Mahwah, NJ: Taylor & Francis.
South African Department of Health. (2006). Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act Nr. 56 of 1974). (HPCSA Publication No. R 717). Pretoria, South Africa.
Statistics South Afirca. (2012). Census 2011: Highlights of key results. Retrieved from http://www.statssa.gov.za/Census2011/Products/Census_2011_Methodology_and_Highlights_of_key_results.pdf
Staudinger, U. M., & Baltes, P. B. (2001). Lifespan developmental psychology. Contemporary Psychiatry, 751-759. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-59519-6_43
Staudinger, U. M., & Lindenberger, U. E. (2003). Why read another book on human development? Understanding human development takes a metatheory and multiple disciplines. In U. M. Staudinger, & U. E. Lindenberger (Eds.), Understanding human development: Dialogues with lifespan psychology (pp. 1-14). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Stewart, D. W., Shamdasani, P. N., & Rook, D. W. (2007). Focus groups: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Tongco, M. D. (2007). Purposive sampling as a tool for informant selection. Ethnobotany Research & Applications, 5, 147-158. doi:http://hdl.handle.net/10125/227
Vera, E. M., & Speight, S. L. (2003). Multicultural competence, social justice, and counseling psychology: Expanding our roles. The Counselling Psychologist, 31(3), 253-272. doi: 10.1177/0011000002250634
Ward, A. C., Bochner, S., & Furnham, A. (2001). The psychology of culture shock (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Routledge.
Wilson, J., Ward, C., & Fischer, R. (2013). Beyond culture learning theory: What can personality tell us about cultural psychology? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(6), 900-927. doi: 10.1177/0022022113492889
Yin, R. K. (1999). Enhancing the quality of case studies in health services research. Health Services Research, 34(5), 1209-1224. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Zúñiga, X., Williams, E. A., & Berger, J. B. (2005). Action-oriented democratic outcomes: The impact of student involvement with campus diversity. Journal of College Student Development, 46(6), 660-678. doi: 10.1353/csd.2005.0069
Copyright (c) 2017 Lenate Bodenstein, Luzelle Naude

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.
Authors, copyright holders, may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.
A copy of the authors' publishers version may also be hosted on the following websites:
- Non-commercial personal homepage or blog.
- Institutional webpage.
- Authors Institutional Repository.
The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: This is an electronic version of an article published in SAJHE, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX “XXX", DOI. Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/SAJHE) may be found.
Authors publishers version, affiliated with the Stellenbosch University will be automatically deposited in the University Institutional Repository SUNScholar.
Articles as a whole, may not be re-published with another journal.
The following license applies:
Attribution CC BY-NC-ND 4.0