Keywords
Cultural; Culturally relevant pedagogy – Study and teaching; Counseling; Education; Education; Rural; Multicultural education – Study and teaching; Rural; Rural schools
Abstract
Abstract
The intention of this study was to explore the ways in which graduates of a master’s level counseling program reflect their knowledge and experiences gained during a required course entitled, “Cultural Contexts in Counseling.” Seven graduates of the counseling program participated in the study. The study took place at a state university located in a rural, racially homogenous region of the northeast. Using a qualitative design, the researcher, who was also the course instructor, solicited feedback from her former students who had taken the course at least one year prior to the time of the study. Participants responded via email, answering questions regarding their level of cultural competency before and after taking this class, whether there were any activities and/or experiences that the participants feel changed the way they view and/or interact with people unlike themselves and what were they, and were there any aspects of this course that participants feel impact them on a regular basis? The responses were then coded for themes and gleaned for similarities in opinion regarding the course’s strong points. The findings indicate that all participants felt strongly about the long-term impact of a couple of the course activities in regard to their cultural competence as counselors. The implications of these findings contribute to the field of best practices in multicultural education, particularly for universities in rural settings.
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