Multicultural Education and Training in Rehabilitation Counseling Educ

Michael White 10/31/11 Journal Article 2 Quinn Multicultural Education and Training in Rehabilitation Counseling Education Programs The clientele have become increasingly diverse in regards to racial-ethnic backgrounds of those needing rehabilitation counseling. This article addresses multicultural education and its role in rehabilitation counselor education. The implementation of multicultural practices in educational programs is still unclear; nevertheless, the rehabilitation counseling training programs have begun to embrace multicultural practices as they are implemented in the accreditation standards process. Multiculturalism has become an increasingly relevant topic over the past decade due to surveys conducted by researches for organizations such as the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE). Research has found that participants agreed on the importance of providing multicultural training; however, the participants did not feel it necessary to require the information to be infused throughout the curriculum as had been suggested. As national studies began to expose inequities in outcomes and se rvice provision for individuals with disabilities from culturally diverse backgrounds, government mandates such as the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992 would seek to address needs for competence and diversity. Considering the previously mentioned content, I agree that implementing a framework surrounding multicultural education can help ensure that students are receiving a quality education and are fully prepared to work as culturally competent professionals upon graduation. I also believe that it will continue to be necessary for adjustment to be made not in the core of the curriculum but in the methods in which it is taught. I believe if we are to create a field of level play, we must first allow for multiculturalism to take the field. Staten, B., Staten, D., Hollis, A., & Whittaker, T. (2009). Diversity and rehabilitation counseling: a historical perspective of the contributions of Minority Serving Institutions to the field of rehabilitation counseling. Rehabilitation Education, 23(3-4), 149-157.