THE TRAINING OF CULTURALLY SENSITIVE PROFESSIONALS

THE TRAINING OF CULTURALLY SENSITIVE PROFESSIONALS
Although there has clearly been a greater recognition of the need for training in multicultural competence across professions, many programs still conceptualize this training as more of an "add-on"; that is, programs require only one or two courses for their particular professional specialty. This is in contrast to a more comprehensive and integrated "paradigm shift" in the teaching of all helping professional courses (Nuttall, Sanchez, & Webber, in press).
The training of school staff and other related professionals can be conceptualized by using a model that emphasizes three major components: awareness, knowledge, and skills (Sue, Arredondo & McDavis, 1992; Sue et al., 1982). The awareness component involves professionals examining their own values, myths, stereotypes, and world view. Knowledge entails developing a non-stereotyping, flexible understanding of cultural, social, and family dynamics of diverse groups, along with a comprehension of the critical sociopolitical, historical, and economic contexts in which people from diverse multicultural groups are embedded. Skills require the development of culturally sensitive, flexible, and empowering treatment and assessment strategies that are accompanied by communication skills, the integration of multicultural and diversity issues in various treatment modalities, multicultural consultation, and advocacy skills.

Depending on the school, staff, and community context, flexible training can take place on many levels, such as formal multicultural issues course work, in-service training, long-term consultation and analysis, multicultural program development, and reciprocal relationships with the surrounding multicultural communities.

taken from: ERIC Identifier: ED390018
Publication Date: 1995-00-00
Author: Sanchez, William - And Others
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Student Services Greensboro NC., American Psychological Association Washington DC.