An exploratory study of multicultural competencies in graduate communication disorders programs: Graduate multicultural program development and faculty and student perceptions

This exploratory study used the Multicultural Program Survey and the Multicultural Competencies Survey to gain national information regarding the current status of 224 graduate communication disorders programs and the self-perceptions of a census of Graduate Program Directors, faculty, clinical staff and graduate students on multicultural competencies. The Multicultural Program Survey resulted in a 33.4% response rate and indicated highest competencies met in the areas of Curriculum Issues and Research Considerations and lowest in the areas of Racial and Ethnic Minority Representation, Practice and Supervision, and Physical Environment. Three hundred and twenty seven faculty, clinical staff and graduate students responded to the Multicultural Competency Survey. Results indicated that experiencing the following multicultural training opportunities were related to higher levels of perceived competency: a three credit course on multicultural issues in communication disorders, multicultural clinical experiences, multicultural professional experiences, and personal exploration of multicultural issues. Results showed that means of reported self-awareness, multicultural knowledge, and multicultural skills increased with higher levels of perceived multicultural competencies. Areas for future research are included