Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Counselor Education and Supervision

Advisor

Shelley A. Jackson

Abstract

Current literature explains that multiculturally incompetent behaviors demonstrated by counselor educators have negatively affected the personal and professional lives of students, clients, counselors, counselor educators, and supervisees. Using the theoretical framework of critical race theory (CRT), this study examined the relationship among race, ethnic identity awareness, and multicultural competence in counselor educators. CRT involves recognizing conscious and unconscious biases, attributed to race, that individuals might experience. Ninety self-identified counselor educators currently employed in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) counseling programs completed online surveys containing questions concerning racial classification, adapted questions from the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS), and questions from the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). Linear regressions were used to test the relationships between race and multicultural competence, as well as ethnic identity awareness and multicultural competence. No relationship between the concepts of race and multicultural competence was established at a significant level; however, a significant relationship between ethnic identity awareness and multicultural competence was confirmed, F(1, 88) = 17.287, p = .000. Counselor educators who possessed a higher ethnic understanding of self on the MEIM also demonstrated higher levels of multicultural competence on the MCKAS. Implications for social change include increased incorporation of ethnic identity awareness opportunities for counselor educators and counseling curricula to influence the multicultural knowledge, skills, and awareness of counselor educators in practice.

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