Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was twofold. The first was to determine if there was a significant difference in multicultural counseling competence before and after counselor trainees received multicultural counseling training. The counselor trainees received training by completing a multicultural counseling training course designed to develop multicultural counseling competence and its three elements: awareness, knowledge, and skill. The second purpose was to determine if there was a significant difference between the two groups based on the demographic moderator variable of ethnicity. Methodology. This study used a nonrandomized separate sample quasi-experimental research design. The researcher used two samples composed of a total of forty-six counselor trainees. The Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI) was administered as a pretest and posttest to measure the level of total multicultural counseling competence as well as awareness, knowledge, and skill of the counselor trainees before and after multicultural counseling training. The quantitative data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and dependent t-test. Findings. The analysis of the results of the data showed that counselor trainees scored at a significantly higher level of total multicultural counseling competence as well as multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skill after multicultural counseling training. Before multicultural counseling training, ethnic minority counselor trainees scored at a significantly higher level of total multicultural competence, awareness, and skill than the White counselor trainees. After multicultural counseling training, the ethnic minority counselor trainees scored at a significantly higher level of multicultural awareness compared to White counselor trainees. Conclusions. The researcher concluded that multicultural counseling training is effective in increasing the total multicultural counseling competence of the counselor trainees as well as their multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skill. Furthermore, the researcher concluded that the multicultural counseling training course, Counseling Diverse Populations, required in the Master in Counseling program at the University of La Verne is specifically effective in training future counselors to develop multicultural counseling competence. Finally, the researcher concluded that there was a significant difference in multicultural counseling competence based on the demographic moderator variable of ethnicity.