Examination of Multicultural Coursework Across School Psychology Training Programs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the multicultural course requirements and courses for school psychology training programs. Data were collected for 332 programs across 240 college and university campuses within 47 states and the District of Columbia through publicly available program websites. Overall, 76% of programs offered at least one multicultural course and that 22% of programs offered a school psychology based course. Other course areas included counseling (19%), general psychology (25%), and education (10%). Specialist and master’s programs (29% and 31%, respectively) were most likely to have no courses offered or required, and doctoral programs were more likely to require at least one course (84%). On average 2.59 semester credit hours were offered (SD = 1.86; median = 3), where doctoral programs required more semester credit hours than specialist programs (Cohen’s d = 0.49). However, neither National Association of School Psychologists approval nor American Psychological Association accreditation was associated with significant differences in credit hours required. Implications for training are discussed.