Perceived Multicultural Counseling Competence of Malaysian Counselors: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study investigated the nature and extent of perceived multicultural counseling competence (MCC) of 508 professional counselors in Malaysia using a national survey approach. Differences in counselors' perceived MCC pertaining to gender, ethnicity, highest education, and multicultural training were examined. Results revealed 5 factors as constituents of MCC and significant differences in perceived MCCs due to ethnicity, highest education, and participation in multicultural training. Implications for future research, counselor education, and counseling practice are discussed. Este estudio investigó la naturaleza y la extensión de la competencia en consejería multicultural (MCC, por sus siglas en inglés) percibida de 508 consejeros profesionales en Malasia usando un enfoque de encuesta nacional. Se examinaron las diferencias en la MCC percibida de los consejeros respecto a sexo, etnicidad, nivel máximo de educación y capacitación multicultural. Los resultados revelaron 5 factores constituyentes de MCC y diferencias significativas en las MCC debido a etnicidad, nivel máximo de educación y participación en capacitación multicultural. Se discuten las implicaciones para investigaciones futuras, educación de consejeros y práctica de la consejería.

Development of a continuous professional development training module based on multicultural counselling competency for professional counsellors in Malaysia

“…In order to conduct this survey, the researchers used the Multicultural Counselling Competency Survey-Malaysian Counsellor Edition (MCCS-MCE: Aga Mohd Jaladin, 2011, 2017). The MCCS-MCE has 27 items (α = 0.70) divided into five sub-scales; (i) Multicultural Understanding (α = 0.85), (ii) Multicultural Knowledge (α = 0.75), (iii) Micro-Culture Skills (α = 0.86), (iv) Multicultural Awareness (α =0.60) and (v) Macro-Culture Skills (α = 0.83).…”

“…Example of questions includes ‘At present, how would you rate your understanding regarding Malaysian culture?’, ‘Differences exist between my clients and myself regarding ethnicity and beliefs’, etc. This questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale with higher score depicting a higher level of MCC (Aga Mohd Jaladin, 2017).…”

“…First, there is a significant increase in the number of practicing counsellors and counsellor education programs (See & Ng, 2010). For instance, there are more than 20 counselling programs in higher education institutions in Malaysia (Aga Mohd Jaladin, 2017). Hence, there is a difficulty in monitoring the quality of the programs.…”

“…It is a continual state of learning. For instance, attending various counselling training programs and taking on a greater number of diverse clients was empirically proven to increase counsellors’ multicultural knowledge and competence (Aga Mohd Jaladin, 2017). This means that by attending multicultural counselling trainings, they gain multicultural insights, increase knowledge base and stay updated on the latest trends.…”

“…Nonetheless, there are concerns that the present educational and training programs lack multicultural focus. For instance, multicultural components are being separated and taught as one subject instead of being infused in all teaching and learning processes (Aga Mohd Jaladin, 2017). As a result, many professional counsellors are lacking this important feature (multicultural competence).…”