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Development and Initial Examination of the School Psychology Multicultural Competence Scale

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Abstract

This study reports on the initial development and examination of the School Psychology Multicultural Competence Scale (SPMCS), a 45-item self-report measure for evaluating school psychologists’ multicultural competence in the primary domains of school psychology practice (i.e., assessment, consultation, intervention). A sample of 312 school psychology graduate students was recruited by outreach to school psychology training programs and email listservs to complete the SPMCS and a questionnaire about previous multicultural/diversity coursework and practicum with culturally and linguistically diverse clients. The results from principal axis factoring indicated that 28 of the 45 SPMCS items contributed to a four-factor solution with subscales identified as cultural skills, cultural knowledge, cultural appreciation, and cultural awareness. Internal consistency for each subscale was moderate to high. Overall, completion of multicultural/diversity courses and completion of practicum with culturally and linguistically diverse clients were associated with higher self-reported scores of multicultural competence. The SPMCS can potentially be used as one component to evaluate the extent to which training programs develop the multicultural competence of their trainees. Additionally, these findings provide additional insight into the conceptualization of multicultural competence.

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Acknowledgments

This study served as Celeste M. Malone’s doctoral dissertation at Temple University. Special thank you to Catherine Fiorello, Joseph Ducette, and Frank Farley of Temple University; Erin Rotheram-Fuller of Arizona State University; and James Connell of Drexel University for their assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies, Howard University, 2441 4th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20059, USA

    Celeste M. Malone, Elizabeth Ricks & Kyndra Middleton

  2. Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, USA

    Candyce Briggs

  3. Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, The University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Sycarah Fisher

  4. A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    James Connell

Authors
  1. Celeste M. Malone
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  2. Candyce Briggs
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  3. Elizabeth Ricks
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  4. Kyndra Middleton
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  5. Sycarah Fisher
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  6. James Connell
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Correspondence to Celeste M. Malone.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Malone, C.M., Briggs, C., Ricks, E. et al. Development and Initial Examination of the School Psychology Multicultural Competence Scale. Contemp School Psychol 20, 230–239 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-015-0079-1

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