Fostering Multicultural and Identity Development in Adult Learners Through Study Tours
✍ Scribed by Michele D. Ribeiro
- Publisher
- American Counseling Association
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 763 KB
- Volume
- 4
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1524-6817
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The author qualitatively examined adult learners' experiences on a study tour to South Afiica and assessed the effectiveness of the tour as a tool for enhanced multicultural awareness. The findings may be of interest to counselors/educators who teach about multicultural issues or wish to enhance their personal growth in multiculturalism.
Adult learners are often seen as individuals who pursue a degree or specialized training in a field of interest. Hensley and Kinser (2001) found that "adult learners constitute a significant percentage of all students enrolled in higher education" (p. 88). In an expanded definition of adult learners, professionals who are encouraged or required to participate in continuing education opportunities to maintain a level of competency in their field should also be identified as adult learners. Thus, counselors and counselor educators, whether in practice or teaching, should be considered part of the adult learner population in the United States. Furthermore, these professionals, as both educators and adult learners, should see learning as continuous, particularly in the area of cultural understanding and exploration.
The Multicultural Counseling Competencies (Arredondo et al., 1996) encourage counseling professionals to become aware of their personal background in terms of culture and how their background has influenced their attitudes, values, and beliefs. The education of adult learners, then, needs to incorporate opportunities that provide an assessment of their cultural beliefs and values, followed by critical reflection of how their assumptions and biases affect their own and others' worldviews. Counselors and counselor educators need personal growth experiences that provide them with exposure to people and contexts dissimilar to their own cultural background, although racial similarities might exist. With exposure and the opportunity to process affect that arises from encountering differences, counselors may be better equipped to work with racially, economically, and culturally