Raechele L. Pope

Faculty and Curriculum: Examining Multicultural Competence and Inclusion

Raechele L. Pope is Associate Professor of Higher Education at The University of Buffalo, State University of New York. John A. Mueller is Associate Professor of Student Affairs in Higher Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. As multicultural research in student affairs literature diversifies and expands, new areas of study continue to emerge. Exploration of multicultural issues in student affairs preparation programs is one of those developing areas of research. Although some studies have been completed, there is limited information about the demographic composition of students and faculty members, exploration of multicultural issues within the curriculum, and the multicultural competence of faculty and staff. For student affairs practitioners to be more multiculturally competent in all aspects of their work, it is vital that diversity issues be effectively and systematically infused into preparation programs. Knowledge and understanding about faculty members who design curriculum and courses, supervise practica, and teach within student affairs preparation programs is essential to fully appreciate the strengths and challenges that exist in creating a more multiculturally sensitive and skilled profession. The researchers gathered important information about faculty members who are teaching in student affairs programs, such as the amount of multicultural education and training they have received and their level of multicultural competence. Multicultural competence has been described as having the multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills essential for creating multicultural campuses (Pope & Reynolds, 1997). This knowledge can assist the profession in curricular transformation within preparation programs and designing additional multicultural education and training for faculty (cf., McEwen & Roper, 1994; Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004). Talbot (1996) and Talbot and Kocarek (1997) gathered data about the gender, racial, and sexual orientation background of two distinct national samples of student affairs faculty members and graduate students. In Talbot’s study, and Talbot and Kocarek’s study, 84% and 92%, respectively of the faculty members were White, and 57% to 59% were male (Talbot & Kocarek). Racial background of the graduate students was somewhat similar with 82% being White; however, there were far fewer men (29%) among the students (Talbot). Talbot also reported that 8% of the graduate students identified themselves as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Although these demographic results are somewhat dated and not necessarily indicative of the percentages found in the profession today, recent scholarly work supports the notion that the student affairs profession remains predominantly White (Liang & Sedlacek, 2002; Mueller, 1999). In terms of the curriculum, data are limited regarding the degree to which multicultural issues are integrated in student personnel coursework. Talbot (1996) investiFaculty and Curriculum: Examining Multicultural Competence and Inclusion

The Relationship of Demographic and Experience Variables to White Racial Consciousness among Student Affairs Practitioners.

Using the Oklahoma Racial Attitudes Scale-Preliminary Form (Choney & Behrens, 1996), researchers examined the White racial consciousness (WRC) of 534 White student affairs practitioners. Of particular interest in this study were the demographic and experience variables that were related to WRC. Experience with multicultural issues, self-identification with a socially marginalized group, discussions with supervisors on race and multicultural issues, and interest in working with culturally diverse students and staff were all significantly related to several dimensions of WRC. Suggestions for future research and practice are offered.